Beautiful. Enchanting. Sweet, like honeyed wine.

I love reincarnated love stories that transcend time; however, rarely is it done well. There were times during this novel when I was very, very worried about if the author was going to be able to pull off all that was promised. In the end she wove a Romeo and Juliet retelling so magical and beautiful that it restored my faith in retellings.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet is the love story of Romeo and Juliet throughout history. The twist in this story is that Romeo is immortal, but Juliet is not. Every new lifetime Juliet is reincarnated and meets Romeo again. Romeo remembers each and every time they have fallen in love; however, Juliet never remembers her previous lives. Each time they fall in love Juliet dies an early. Sometimes their love lasts for 2 years while others only last a few days. The current Juliet is different. She partially remembers their past, but only as stories she made up as a kid. When they meet in the current lifetime events are triggered that are very different from their past meetings.

One of the favorite parts of this novel was the peak into their past lives. The snapshots of historical times and places gave their love more depth. No matter who or where Juliet was in a previous life she always crosses paths with Romeo and loves him.

Once I started this book I wasn’t able to put it down. Throughout this book I laughed, I cried, I swooned, and at times I was at the edge of my seat. One of the best books I read this year.

The Hundred Lives of Juliet is a contemporary re-imagining of the Romeo and Juliet story. In this version Romeo is immortal and survives the death of Juliet only to find and lose her over and over in different lifetimes.

When Helene was a child she wrote about an imaginary boy who was her devoted friend and eventually became her ideal boyfriend. She created romantic and epic love stories with him as the star. So imagine her surprise when she flees her disastrous marriage to hide out in Alaska and finds a handsome crab fisherman (Sebastian) in a bar who is the exact doppelgänger to her fictional friend. But Sebastian is cold and aloof and Helene can’t figure out why he hates her on sight.

Sebastian has lived hundreds of years only to lose the women he loves over and over. He is the only person that knows that Sebastian Montague is really Romeo Montague and the “curse on both your houses” means he will find and lose his Juliet repeatedly with sometimes only a few nights together. He’s hoping that by avoiding the most recent incarnation of Juliet (Helene) he can break the curse all together. But fate throws the two of them together and he has no choice but to share their epic love story and let Helene decide if it’s worth the risk.

I really liked the concept of this novel but in the end it wasn’t for me. The conversations were often unnatural and didn’t feel like how real people actually talk. The love story was corny and a little too Hallmark movie for me. Helene’s estranged husband was the mustache twirling villain that only seems to exist in books like this. I found the whole thing over the top and hard to enjoy.

In the end, although the concept is great I didn’t enjoy this reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic love story.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

As a young girl Helene dreamed of her perfect love. She would write him into her stories hoping for a future as idealistic as her heroines had. Now as an adult Helene is deep in the weeds of a bitter divorce settling into her new life in Alaska in order to hopefully write her novel. On her first day in town Helene meets some of the locals and one of them looks so incredibly familiar. The man she spent years writing about in her stories was now standing right in front of her. How could someone look so similar to her dreams? Determined to keep Helene at an arms length, Sebastien, scared from so many heartbreaks, does everything within his power to avoid contact with her. Yet somehow the two keep crossing paths as if fate has other plans for the two star-crossed dreamers. I feel really conflicted reviewing this book. I didn't dislike "The Hundred Loves of Juliet" but I also didn't love it either. Slightly outside of the normal genre I read with its Fantasy leanings I had a hard time really believing in the story. With themes like immortality, reincarnation all rolled into a retelling of Romeo & Juliet the author had high ambitions for her love letter of a book. Maybe for the right reader this will be a perfect five star but it felt too disconnected for me personally. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I never do highlights on my Kindle. But I'm definitely going to start. Because this book gave me one of my favorite quotes that I can remember... "Perhaps a life well lived isn't measured in months of years, but in love. In kisses and gentle twining of hands, in fiery embraces and soft, whispered affections." This is a beautiful love story and definitely one I hadn't read before. It's creative, it's heart wrenching, it's a book that makes you think about the ones you love and what you would do in the same situation. Would you choose to love or would you choose to run? Sebastian and Helene are characters you will fall for quickly, but there are so many more in this story to love as well. If you loved The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Time Traveler's Wife (two of my all time favorites), there are similar threads in this one. Highly recommended!

Forget everything you thought you knew about Romeo and Juliet.

I have always loved Romeo and Juliet, and this was such a beautiful and creative retelling. Helene was such an amazing character, and I loved how she learned how much strength and bravery she had inside herself. Sébastien was loving, protective, and vulnerable. And kind of grumpy. This was definitely a grumpy/sunshine trope. This will, for sure, give you all the feels. Beautifully written.

This book was cozy and largely pretty well written. A lot of the tropes weren’t necessarily for me, but I can see how they would appeal to a different audience. The concept is very interesting, especially after reading the author’s note about her personal connection with having a partner that you’re expecting to lose at any moment. While the narrative voice was occasionally a bit jarring, it was a good, fun read overall.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet is the first venture into adult fiction by author Evelyn Skye and hopefully not the last! This is a most unique telling of the age old tale of Romeo and Juliet. According to Sebastien Montague, Shakespeare got it terribly wrong; and he feels he should know since in actuality he is Romeo. With vignettes from Venice to Versailles and the Swiss alps to the Sahara, the many iterations of Romeo, or Sebastien, and Helene, the latest life of Juliet will thrill the reader in such a special way!
Helene Jannsen has escaped her cheating ex, running away as divorce papers are served and escaping to a cabin rental in Reba Harbor, Alaska. Having been a journalist for the Wall Street Journal in their Los Angeles office, the office he ran, Helene was recently passed over for a big promotion by her cheating husband who she caught in a compromising position with yet another intern. Of course Merrick is not too happy about Helene’s departure since he thought she was under his thumb.
Soon after arriving in Ryba Harbor, Helene sees Sebastien across the crowded pub. Knowing he is the embodiment of her imaginary friend/hero, she approaches telling him she knows him, in fact she has written about him for many years. Totally spooked by her statement, Sebastien bolts from the pub knowing he knows her too. For seven centuries he has known her. However, he continues on each time and she dies and reappears. In the last incarnation going their separate ways allowed her to live, so once again he must push away. However, due to Helene’s inquisitive nature and a blinding blizzard that leaves them stranded at his home for days perhaps their story will have the chance to develop further this time.
With transverse travels of the globe, many happy moments as they try to outrun Merculio’s curse, the only curse it appears they must deal with is that of Merrick as he tricks Helene into leaving Sebastien and heading back to LA. But Helene doesn’t fall for his threats but rather tricks him into believing he has won, but he has not!
This is one of the best books I have read this year. With shades of The Highlander and The Outlander, a rich tie to Shakespeare’s epic play, and a swing through European history, this realistic fantasy is pure perfection. I very much enjoyed this book and I certainly do recommend it!

What if Shakespeare wrote about a real pair when he penned the tragedy Romeo and Juliet? And what if the story didn’t go the way he wrote it?

That is the premise behind the new book, The Hundred Lives of Juliet by Evelyn Skye. Told in alternating first-person viewpoints of the modern-day characters Helene and Sebastien, this romance begins in a small Alaskan town in January. Helene has left her cheating, lying, controlling husband and is working to find out who she wants to become after years of lying down and taking what others did to her. She encounters Sebastien in the town and is drawn to him. He immediately pushes her away, though she has no idea why. As the story unfolds, he shares about his centuries of life since his true love was taken from him and the pair became cursed. Will they be able to overcome and find happiness?

This book had some great writing in it but then some jarring crude language which made for an uneven read. I was taken in by beautiful, eloquent descriptions and then Helene’s character keeps going back to tacky descriptions of the compromising situation in which she found her soon-to-be-ex. Each time took me out of the magical narrative and made me question the reason for this strange wording. Additionally, there were so over-the-top poor choices by both main characters which resulted in a crazy situation that did not seem plausible to me.

Overall, I enjoyed much of the story and feel those who like a unique romance will enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The description was intriguing, and boy did it deliver. I really enjoyed the role switch almost - it's not like typical romance novels. I can't say too much without giving it away (bc you should read it!). But I also really enjoyed that there wasn't too much dilly dallying with make plots.

I've been in a major reading rut lately but this kept me entranced.

A retelling of the story of Romeo and Juliet, makes for a fun light read. The premise of the book is that Romeo lives forever and over the years meets Juliet in a reincarnated form. Of course, Juliet dies and Romeo continues to live. Reading the authors note at the end of the book puts everything into perspective.

Sweepingly romantic in places and poignantly human in others, The Hundred Loves of Juliet is excellent for fans of The Time Traveler's Wife or The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. Both Helene and Sebastian are flawed people, and at several points I had my doubts that they would make things work, supernatural curse notwithstanding. They really had to work for it, to overcome their hang-ups about love and trauma and past circumstances.

I do wish the book was maybe 30-50 pages longer, just so there could be more transition time between "I'm in this crazy man's house" to "I might be the reincarnation of Juliet" before they were suddenly, irrevocably in love.

I will also note that pregnancy is usually an automatic DNF for me if it's from a POV character, but I kept going to the end, since that doesn't appear until about the 70% mark.

Content warnings include: death of parent, death, grief, cheating & gaslighting by previous partner, and pregnancy.

I really loved this one at first but the ending took a weird turn for me which caught me off guard. Talking to friends who have read the book, that really helped me understand more about the reasoning as to why those events happening and now it doesn't bother me so much lol. I loved their romance and their story, starcrossed lovers. I especially loved the stories from Helene's past lives and Sebastian falling in love with her over and over again.

something simple and sweet that goes down easy is just what the doctor ordered. it’s by no means some grand and philosophical or tough story but i really connected with it anyway. sometimes you just need to swoon

This book had a lot going on and unfortunately I didn’t love all of it. It has a very interesting premise but I felt the execution was off and pacing jumped around too much - sometimes we jumped ahead a day or two and other times it’s been months.
I actually liked the vignettes, but I really could have done without the Merrick plot line. I hate the surprise pregnancy trope so that plot twist really irked me. We already have the overhanging curse to bring doom and gloom, we don’t need a vengeful ex mucking things up.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 3.94 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 2.5/5
-Cover: 3.5/5
-Story: 3/5
-Writing: 4/5
Genre: Fantasy, Classic, Romance, Retelling, Chick Lit
-Fantasy: 5/5
-Classic: 3/5
-Romance: 5/5
-Retelling: 4.5/5
-Chick Lit: 5/5
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yeah

As someone who doesn't like romance focused books.... or Romeo and Juliet books, this one was a pretty good one if you can look pass the god awful cringe and how the FML is basically a not so nice word.

8% in I did cry. That scene, you will know when you read it, will mess you up. It messed me up. As for the rest of it. I was so/so. It was a good basic Romance novel. I like what Evelyn did with Romeo and Juliet. I wasn't fully dreading reading it until the end... which I absolutely freaking loved.

Helene is a journalist who is looking to escape her soon to be ex husband and spend time writing in Alaska. When she stumbles into a bar called The Frosty Otter, she is stopped in her tracks when she sees Sebastian, a local crab fisherman. He looks exactly like, no, he IS the exact man she has been writing vignettes about for years. He is just a figment of her imagination so how is he standing here in front of her? Sebastian turns pale as a ghost when he sees Helene in The Frosty Otter. He recognizes her although he has never actually met Helene before. But he does know her by a few other names...including his beloved Juliet who he has loved (and lost countless times due to a terrible curse) for centuries. I loved spending time with Helene and Sebastian and riding along side of them while they took us through history and every version of their love story as Romeo and Juliet. While the ending left a little to be desired for me, I overall enjoyed the romance and their story of true love.

I adored the premise of this romance's unique plot. I enjoyed the writing in this sweeping tale of love lost and found, as well.

I did feel that the plotting was a bit disjointed at times, with a few too many subplots, and the pacing was tricky to follow.

However, I still recommend this book for readers who appreciate fantasy romance!

A compelling, can't-put-it-down retelling of Romeo and Juliet as lovers reunited across the centuries due to a combination of immortality and reincarnation. Some elements are clunky or cliched, and readers must work hard to suspend disbelief, but it's still a highly readable story.

Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, but what if there’s more to it? Instead of dying, Romeo is cursed to live through the centuries while he finds and falls for reincarnations of Juliet that ultimately end in her demise. But could the curse be coming to an end? Will they finally get their happily ever after?

This book has a lot going on and unfortunately I didn’t love all of it. It has a very interesting premise but I felt the execution was off and pacing jumped around too much - sometimes we jump ahead a day or two and other times it’s been months.

I actually liked the vignettes and didn’t mind the *spoiler alert* surprise pregnancy, as it meant the curse had possibly run it’s course, but I really could have done without the Merrick plot line. We already have the overhanging curse to bring doom and gloom, we don’t need a vengeful fuckboi of an ex mucking things up.

CW/TW: death, murder, grief, depression, infidelity, death of a parent, stalking, blackmail, kidnapping, surprise pregnancy

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this.

While I was motivated to finish and get to the end of the book, the best way I can describe how I feel about finishing, is that this does not feel like a completed manuscript.

There were two overarching conflicts that got muddled and one of them was rushed. I feel like they didn’t mesh together well and resulted in a rather disjointed story.

The chemistry between the characters was also missing for a book based on reincarnations of their love.

The main character’s voice also felt YA, more juvenile though this was a book featuring adults.

Overall I give it a 3/5 stars as it was interesting enough for me to finish, though I don’t feel as if there was anything remarkable or memorable about this Romeo & Juliet retelling.