I wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t. It felt too rushed but I also didn’t feel like I got to know the characters at all.

Reincarnation is just one of those subjects I find fascinating - so pair it with classic Shakespeare in a romance novel? Sold. The way this book was written was excellent: with the main characters as an author herself searching for the story we were reading. I loved it and even though it ended in a good place, I would love to see Evelyn Skye maybe write us a few novellas or short stories about Helene's past lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

I adored the premise of this book, as pretty much anything that involves magical realism, especially as it relates to time, has my immediate attention. The pacing of the plot, however, felt a little anticlimactic in that nearly the entire book was spent trying to puzzle out the main issue, then it was resolved within a page or two without much fanfare. The writing itself also felt a little clunky and I was never really able to just lose myself in its pages without remembering "I'M. READING. A. BOOK". All in all, this would be a good enough beach read but nothing incredible memorable.

This was a very unique story and i loved it. The premise alone captured my heart.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m gonna be honest and say this book wasn’t for me. I would have liked to read the backstory of the author and her husband instead. That little summary was heartbreaking and gave all the feelings and emotions that this book lacked. Helene is a character who is pushy and likes cakes and books, (that’s all I got) and Sebastian had a wicked case of emotional trauma that made his run from his fear/love so it was hard to focus on the romance in the story. Between Helene who wasn’t all that memorable and Sebastian who continued to gush his love for a woman he’s running from, I had a hard time seeing the chemistry between them. There wasn’t dialogue that showed them growing closer or getting to know each other. They just already were in love….. because of the past. So it just sort of became two ppl who go places together and talk but we don’t actually see the love build so it felt hard to feel. The big, bad ex was unnecessary and cliche. I wasn’t really a fan of the ending but there are plenty of people who liked it. Overall, I wish it offered more of a connection between Helene and Sebastian and was more creative with the lives. ( Can we get more diversity besides raven vs blonde hair? I mean, this character was in other countries and still was nearly the same person.)

I always love a retelling and this retelling of Romeo & Juliet with a twist didn't dissapoint!

Sebastian and Helene are star crossed lovers who keep having to find themselves over and over again. This was a cute, quick love story for any hopeless romantic out there.

“I missed her as much as the stars would miss the sky if they ever fell to Earth.”

“And in that single, fiery moment of detonated stars when time ceases to exist, I know for certain: He is Romeo, and I am Juliet.”

5/5⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

Bravo. I feel speechless. I definitely sobbed more than once lol.

I am a huge Romeo & Juliet fan. (I even have a tattoo!)
In 9th grade English class Shakespeare was what made me fall more in love with literature. So it’s only natural that I’d pick up a retelling.

This was a brilliant display of a classic retelling & mixed in are some amazing bits of historical fiction. I loved the vignettes throughout the book, it added an extra layer to our characters in the story.

If there was one book that needed to be a movie or series within the next few years; this is it.

I seriously did not want this book to end. I’ve been dragging out reading it just to savor every word on every page.

The dual POV was also amazing. I sometimes struggle in books with more than one POV because I can’t snap into the other characters fast enough but this was effortless.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet was awe inspiring & had me on the edge of my seat.
Thank you Evelyn for an amazing read. 🩷


I’ll be posting my Goodreads review and instagram review immediately!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Romeo and Juliette meet each other again and again in this novel.

What if Shakespeare got it wrong and Romeo and Juliet didn’t end as we’ve been taught? What if Romeo lived, but was doomed to keep meeting reincarnations of Juliet? 🎭

I had such high hopes for this one! I thought the premise was so unique, but unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite work for me. The core of the story was great and I liked the mentions of Sebastien (Romeo) and Helene’s (Juliet) many past lives, and had the book focused on this alone, I think it would have been enough, but it seemed to fall victim to trying to add “more” until it was simply just too much. There is an entire sub-plot revolving around Helene’s divorce, which while it was the catalyst of her move to Alaska, it felt too front and center, and for me, was an unnecessary distraction from the main plot. I also struggled with the overall character development. For Sebastien, his backstory fleshed him out as a character, but Helene felt juvenile and more surface level, making her more difficult to connect to and I then struggled to buy into them as a couple. The book also took a turn around the 85% mark and became a bit too outrageous in my opinion. Overall, I thought the book was just okay, but I’m bummed because it had the potential to be so much more. 😕

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy of this eBook, out 8/1/2023.

This one just didn't work for me -- I hope it finds its audience, and I'm grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it.

I love books about reliving lives, so I couldn’t resist a book about Romeo and Juliet where Romeo is immortal and Juliet is reincarnated over and over.

Juliet and Romeo meet and fall in love every time Juliet is reincarnated, but it always ends in tragedy. We follow Helene (Juliet) in modern times as she meets and falls for Sebastien (Romeo). We also get insights into their past lives through vignettes that Juliet writes. In this timeline, Sebastien is trying to keep away from Helene. He thinks they can avoid tragedy if they don’t fall in love this time.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work well for me. I did like the beginning, although the writing was not my favorite. I didn’t love the way their past lives were told through vignettes. I wanted to know more about their pasts. The part that I disliked the most though was the ex-husband side plot. I didn’t think it added anything to the story, and I actively hated what was happening in the last 20% of the book. I found it a bit ridiculous and overly dramatic.

If the synopsis of this book sounds intriguing to you, I’d recommend you pick up A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers instead. It has a similar premise but is done better in my opinion.

2.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads

I loved the synopsis of this story, and the book has such a beautiful cover. Romeo and Juliet are cursed. He is immortal and meets his Juliet again and again throughout the years only to lose her when she dies young in each reincarnation. I was excited to see Helene come into his life.

After the first couple of vignettes, I started to feel disappointed as more and more were revealed. I felt most of these short stories were unnecessary and broke the continuity of Sebastien and Helene’s own story. Because of this, I didn’t feel the developing deep connection and unending love I wanted to feel from them.

The evil ex-husband part added interest. And the Author’s note was poignant and beautiful. 3/5 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Ballentine for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

absolute perfection. the writing was so beautiful and it’s a ROMEO AND JULIETTE RETELLING? yes.

such a unique concept and it was such a compelling read, i simply never wanted to put it down. my heart still hurts in the best way

After a terrible divorce, Helene moves to a small town in Alaska to write a novel. When she meets Sebastian, a handsome fisherman, he is the personification of all the dreams she ever had of her perfect man.

Helene is determined to find the truth about her instant connection to Sebastian, but he’s determined to keep it from her. I don’t want to spoil exactly how this Romeo and Juliet retelling is connected to the original story, but it’s a lovely romance with many mini-romances scattered throughout.

This was cute and had potential. It's a very sweet and simple love story. I loved the premise - the story of Romeo and Juliet was based on real star-crossed lovers but the ending was wrong. Romeo is cursed with immortality, and Juliet is reincarnated many times throughout the years. The pair are always drawn together and then tragedy always strikes, killing Juliet after a brief and passionate love affair. Romeo, of course, is fully aware of what is going on. Juliet, in her various incarnations, has no idea she is repeating a love story with Romeo over and over.

Present day Helene and "Sebastian" (Romeo changes his identity periodically to hide his immortality) meet, only this time Helene has been dreaming about Sebastian for most of her life, so is aware something strange is going on when she comes face to face with her lifelong imaginary friend/boyfriend.

Sadly, after the pair meet and slowly get to know one another, the story starts to fall apart. It felt scattered and I didn’t care for the ending. I think hopeless romantics out there will still like this, and anyone who appreciates a fated love story will likely enjoy it. For me, there was unfulfilled potential. That said, the author's note and explanation of why she wrote this story was moving and did make me see things a little differently. It's a sweet and loving tribute to her husband and their strength as a couple and I am fully behind that.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started this book, with there being so many adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, but I was so surprised by how good this book was. First the writing was so enjoyable to read, with the development of the characters being masterful. The idea of soul mates is obviously not new but the way the author write this story about Helene and Sebastian was one of my favorites.

Thank you Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

The premise of this Romeo and Juliet retelling was certainly interesting, but ultimately was not one of my favorites. I enjoyed the little vignettes from past iterations more than Helene and Sebastien's present day story. While this book has good messages about breaking cycles and what it means to live a full life, I did want more closure and explanation about the curse. Without it, Helene and Sebastien's interactions felt more superficial. I did feel that the middle portion dragged, but I enjoyed the ending and the empowering moments that both Helene and Sebastien were able to have. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in romance or anyone who is processing grief.

This book is for all my HOPELESS ROMANTIC girlies and guys out there!! It's such a beautiful story of everlasting love, grief and loss.

Sebastian has had many names, but his first name was Romeo, yes, that Romeo. It turns out there is much more to the story than Shakespeare ever knew. Sebastian/Romeo is actually immortal, and his fated love Juliette keeps getting reincarnated without any recollection of her previous lives. Life draws them together with each life but cruelly only allows them a short time of bliss before a curse rips Juliette away from Romeo and he is forced to despair until she comes back to him again.

I thought this book had such a unique premise and was plotted so distinctively. There are some absolutely GORGEOUS quotes that had my heart melting. I loved the alternating POVs and how we also got to visit Romeo and Juliette in their different lives together. Their love is what you would expect from Romeo and Juliette, and I was swooning for them. I thought the ending was beautiful although I would have preferred a bit more structure and for the loose ends to have been tied up a bit more since there was such an emphasis on the mystery of the curse. I still have so many questions! I really enjoyed this book so much and authors note at the end had me in tears!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the gifted arc

This is a reimagining of the Romeo and Juliet story. What if Romeo didn't die? What if Juliet reincarnated and came back into Romeo's life? Except when she comes back and falls in love with him, she tragically dies again. And this happens over and over and over again. So, for hundreds of years, Romeo has to continually relive the tragic death of Juliet. That is the story of The Hundred Loves of Juliet.

It's an interesting and ambitious concept. It's also kind of out there, and you have to be willing to just go along with it because it's a little wild! I thought I could go along with it, but I just didn't ever connect with this story. The story focuses on the most recent meeting of Romeo and Juliet (known in this time as Sebastian and Helene) in modern day Alaska. But interspersed with the modern story are vignettes about their previous "lives" together. I struggled to connect with Sebastian and Helene in the present, and I found them both to be not super exciting characters.

Then I really didn't get pulled into the vignettes, as it felt like a whole bunch of separate stories thrown into this story. I know that the characters in those vignettes were Romeo and Juliet, but I just wasn't invested nor did I care what happened or how Juliet died each time. So I struggled to finish this one.

It was an imaginative and clever concept, but the characters and story fell flat for me.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book—a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet that assumes a different ending to Shakespeare’s original tale. An immortal Romeo is doomed to meet Juliet, reincarnated with no memories of their past encounters, over and over again. I love the way the author weaved in stories from their history, and I appreciated her creativity in making each iteration feel fresh while staying true to the same basic star-crossed-lovers story. The story was subtly reminiscent, at times, of Matt Haig’s How to Stop Time or V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. That being said, this one did fall a little flat for me, but it is nonetheless a romantic read for fans of Shakespeare or modern interpretations of classic tales.