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.

This is out of what I consider my typical genres to read, but I enjoyed it a lot anyway. The writing is amazing and the story brings you in. I enjoyed the retelling of a well-known story and the new spin that was put on it. Such a good read!

This wasn't my usual kind of book, but I enjoyed the spin on it. I thought the writing was well done and the author had clearly done their research on the topics they covered. I especially liiked all the different flashbacks to the old time periods.

What a great premise — Romeo and Juliet, reincarnated many times over the centuries, always drawn together and always linked in tragedy. In an added twist, Romeo is immortal and remembers all his previous loves. He knows, for example, that whoever Juliet is in any given lifetime, she will die within two years. Juliet, on the other hand, has no idea of their history together. Now in the 21st Century, writer “Juliette” and sea captain “Romeo” find themselves thrown together by fate and consuming attraction. Can they break the cycle?

Well, maybe, if he would just sit down with her and have a candid conversation. Clearly, he’s failed to do that before, only to watch his beloved-of-this-century die, usually horribly. You would think he’d learn from his disasters. Of all the failings of a typical romance novel, the stupidity of keeping secrets ranks top of my list. Even if “Juliet” thinks he’s delusional and doesn’t believe him, at least he would have given her a rationale for him walking away from her. Which he tries to do, but because she has no idea why, it doesn’t work.

I had other quibbles, including the passages supposedly diaries and so forth from past centuries but laden with contemporary sensibilities, that the heroine tries way too hard to be likeable, that the hero is an example of “female-gaze” and not a real person. Although the prose is for the most part pretty good, it slips into tone deafness all too often.

I suspect that this is a romance with fantastic elements, rather than a reincarnation/time-travel fantasy with a love story, and that science fiction/fantasy readers like myself will have a much harder time with it than romance readers. Regardless, I gave up around the 24% mark. I simply didn’t care what happened next as long as the characters were being so dishonest with each other and themselves.

This was a sweet reimagining of a star-crossed lovers story. The setting was great, I love books set in Alaska. There was a sort of time travel aspect to this, it reminded me a bit of The Time Traveler’s Wife. I did enjoy it, but there could have been a bit more depth to the story. But if you’re looking for a sweet surface level romance story this one should be great for you!

i loved the romeo and juliet vibes! this version of the retelling was really cool and interesting, i haven’t read any star-crossed lovers books in years and i was very excited for this. the concept for this book was fresh and different, which i loved!

Wow, just wow. I'm kicking myself for not reading this as soon as I got my hands on it. By far one of the best novels I've read so far this year. Beautifully written retelling of the classic story of Romeo and Juliet with all the twists and turns. This book is as if historical fiction and contemporary romance had a baby. I couldn't put it down and when it ended I wanted it to just keep going and going.

Evelyn Skye's "The Hundred Loves of Juliet" presents a stunning love story that captivated me from beginning to end. With a fresh and innovative concept, Skye offers a contemporary portrayal of Romeo and Juliet, exploring a potential future for this iconic couple. The author skillfully balances the modern setting while honoring their timeless history.

From the very first introduction, I became an ardent supporter of the courageous heroine, Helene. Her vibrant and resilient personality instantly won me over as she embarked on a journey to reclaim her life. On the other hand, my admiration for our reluctant hero, Sebastien, developed more gradually. As the story unfolded, I understood why the other characters held him in such high regard.

One of the aspects I adored about this book was its unpredictability. The romance unfolded at a natural pace, avoiding any sense of suddenness or rush. Each character received their moment in the spotlight, allowing readers to truly know them on a deeper level. The revelation of the greatest twist had me gripping the edge of my seat, eagerly devouring the remainder of the story.

"The Hundred Loves of Juliet" is a fast-paced and exhilarating read, brimming with freshness and originality. While romance holds a special place in my heart as a favored genre, I, like many readers, can appreciate a well-executed trope. However, every so often, a book emerges with such a distinct and inventive idea that it defies categorization and becomes something truly extraordinary. That is precisely what "The Hundred Loves of Juliet" represents to me.

I am immensely grateful to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with an advance reader copy (ARC) of this book. I offer this review willingly and without any external influence.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Hundred Loves of Juliet.

How could I not request this after the thrilling premise?

Romeo and Juliet's love story didn't end the way Shakespeare said it did.

Romeo lived! And Juliet is reincarnated again and again with disastrous ends in each life.

I'm so into this! Until I wasn't.

Sadly, this didn't work for me for a number of reasons:

1. The writing wasn't great, it was pretty cheesy and corny. The narrative read almost YA-like though there are plenty of great YA books out there.

2. There's no chemistry between Helene and Sebastien. Zip, Zilch. Nada.

3. The short story vignettes were unnecessary and read as filler.

4. After so many reincarnations, Juliet never once reincarnates as a person of color? Wow. What are the odds?

5. That nonsense about Merrick was just that...silly filler. It was like the author tossed in this not nice person to add drama and tension.

I wanted to like this a lot more. No, I wanted to love this, but I didn't.

I do appreciate the opportunity to read this before publication.

3.5 stars

When I heard this was a modernized Romeo and Juliet retelling, I jumped at the opportunity to read The Hundred Loves of Juliet. I loved the concept of the characters connecting again and again over time was well done, but struggled a bit with keeping track with the POV switches. Was fun though!

I was originally drawn to this book because of its setting in rural Alaska and the concept of a fictional character come to life. And the book delivered on both of those premises. But the overarching storyline of Romeo & Juliet reimagined, with the vignettes about previous incarnations of Juliet, and how this time might be different, made the book even more intriguing.

At first, Helene felt a bit impulsive and immature to me. I attribute that in part to the fact that the author has written more in the YA genre where such attributes are more common. However, Helene is also a woman who has very recently escaped a long-term relationship with a bully, and liberation of that nature often leads to a desire to throw caution to the wind and truly follow one's own dreams. She grows as a character, and in the end you see how much impact she has on Sebastien as a result.

FWIW, the Author's Note at the end was poignant and brought a personal touch to the whole story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

When I heard Romeo and Juliet retelling, I knew I had to read this. The concept of the characters connecting again and again over time was well done. This story was more modernized than I expected but I enjoyed that.

At times, I had a hard time keeping track with the switching of point of views and trying to brush up on what I remember from Romeo and Juliet.

If you’re a fan of classics and time loop type stories I recommend checking this out!