Sadly this was a dud for me. I went into this and requested this book by the cover and title. I really dont like the whole Romeo and juliet rype book i wish i didnt read and given my time back because this wasnt for me at all

Was just an alright book. I feel like I know people that will like this book and appreciate it but I feel middle of the road about it.

Bam! Bring this baby to light! Past loves connecting with present lovers! Reincarnation at its finest based on a classic love story -Romeo & Juliet-with a twist!
Heck, count me in!
I'm so thrilled to have received this ARC today & was so excited to have indulged in this Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romance novel by the great- Evelyn Skye!
It didn't take long to get the juices flowing as we embark on a journey with Helene. Helene encounters so many life changing issues at once: cheating husband, failed job, reinventing herself through her work as a writer as she travels to Alaska.
Little did she know Sebastian (Romeo) is already there as a fisherman. A man she once loved with a past that ignites the embers on a low sizzle has been ignited. How could this be? Fiction come to reality?
We all know about Juliet though- a curse! Death looms large -Doomed to die!
However, lets think this through, shall we?...
This isn't just about romance, unrequainted love, nor fairy tales.
In fact, as the author notes at the end - this story closely resembles her own love story with her husband who is in failing health (my deepest prayers go out to her family) because this in many ways is their story.
I know of many who have had lung transplants and my thoughts and prayers are with Evelyn Skye and her husband. It's that precarious balance of life, love, and living without fear that's behind this entire novel.
As a reader/reviewer/blogger there's nothing better than having a well written work that stands up and speaks volumes between every page and every word.
This beautiful work has that feeling. The kind that leaps off the page and tugs at your heart strings.
I'm so glad that Juliet/Romeo still live on in the hearts and minds of everyone. That their love is a love we're all seeking. One that is everlasting and enduring.
Love without fear of the unknown!
Thank you so much Evelyn Skye, Random House, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
This gem is due out: August 1st!

As someone who adores Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the premise of their love story not stopping in Verona but being relived through the generations definitely peaked my interest. The 100 Lives of Juliet tries to do just that, and while it starts off strong, I’m afraid it doesn’t live up to the task at hand.

Helene is changing her life. Recently separating from her cheating husband and quitting her go nowhere job, she rents a cottage in Alaska and works on taking short stories she’s written for years into her first novel. On her first night there, she runs into Sebastian Montague, a man who looks exactly like the hero in all her stories come to life. Confused how that can be, she tries to learn more about him while all he wants is to create distance between them. Being forced together, she learns why: Sebastian is really Romeo, and she is his Juliet reincarnated, her short stories not fiction but memories of their past romances that ended tragically. Trying to save her, Sebastian tries to stay away from Helene to save her from another tragic end, but will their destined love win out? And are they destined to a tragic end again, or can they end their cursed love affair and live happily ever after this time?

As I stated above, the premise of the story had great promise, and I thought this story started off strong. Our initial introductions to Helene and Sebastian give us a good idea of who they are so that the reader becomes invested in both their stories. Intertwined are Helene’s short stories, which are filled in with Sebastian’s memories of the events as they happened. As a reader, I looked forward to the moment they confront their history (the one that Sebastian remembers and Helene thinks is her imagination), but that’s when the story starts to go downhill for me.

The second the romance begins, we start to lose the character of Helene, being replaced with past versions of herself/Juliet. Her personality is now based on her past selves; her appetite matches her past selves; her desire to be a mother is tied back to the same desire of past Juliet’s; memories that Sebastian and Helene make are always tied back to who Helene was before. Helene is no longer her own character, she is just Juliet. It leaves me missing the Helene I met in the beginning of the book.

Where I really struggled was the plot twist. Through ¾ of this book, the plot centers around a curse that has Romeo living forever and Juliet meeting a tragic end once they are reunited. When Sebastian and Helene finally get together, a fear that it’s short-lived is constantly in the background of their lives, something they struggle to overcome so they can enjoy their time together. But then randomly, as a plot twist, Helene’s ex husband finds out the truth about Sebastian and tries forcing Helene to come back to him or expose said truth. Somehow Helene, who struggled to believe Sebastian was Romeo even with her “memories”, is convinced if exposed, no one would blink an eye at the story, arrest Sebastian and hold him forever in order to figure out how to be immortal. For me, this was just so random, unnecessary and unbelievable, and really took away from the original premise. I wish the curse remained the villain of this story rather than forcing the ex-husband into the role.

Overall, I gave the beginning of this story 4 stars, the middle 3 stars, but ended up at 2.5 stars. I started this story looking forward to how Helene and Sebastian would find each other and build upon their love story. I was sad when, after finally getting together, I was told more about how Helene was like other Juliet’s and their story was similar to the past as opposed to their own. I was completely disappointed when I had to read more about how Helene triumphs over her ex vs. how they both triumph over their fear of the curse.

I love everything about this book and I love the telling of Romeo and Juliet. I love the characters and the dual points of view. I really felt like I was in the scenes with the characters. I can’t wait to read what’s next from this author.

This is brilliant, modern retelling of star crossed lovers’ classic story! The concept was smart, unique, fresh!

Sebastian and Helene are incarnations of Romeo and Juliet, living thousand lives that ending with tragedy as different people in different bodies for centuries.

In his new life firm: Helene is grieving with her father’s death, nursing her wounds after her failed marriage, dealing with writer’s block. Her path crosses with Sebastian. She feels like she has known this man forever. She couldn’t be so right!

When Helene finds out Sebastian is immortal and he’s not the only one keeps reincarnating in a new body. Sebastian has been doing everything in his power to save the life of his devoted love for centuries. Can he achieve to save his love of his life? Can they find their highly deserved happily ever after?

The book was so surprising! Especially the epic ending is jaw dropping! I didn’t expect it! It was marvelous!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine, Del Ray for sharing this incredible digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

This book made me cry. What starts out as shades of a rom-com with a grumpy-sunshine pairing turns out to be deceptively more. It was full of heartbreak, longing, and a love that spans lifetimes. Helene and Sebastien reached off of the page and snared my heart in a vise grip that refused to let go. This is a story about love, and what happens when you have to be willing to fight for it. When you have to be willing to accept that sometimes, love stories and coincidences are more than they may seem. When you have to be willing to accept that love is not always happiness. And while the title references a female protagonist (and we do follow Helene), it is the perspective and character of Sebastien that cracked my heart the most.




*per the publisher's request for notification, this review will be posted to Goodreads and the linked social and blog accounts within 2 weeks of the publication date.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye has one of the coolest concepts that I have ever read. I really enjoyed the story line, and the different time lines really kept me wanting to read more, I couldnt put it down at times! I can't wait for this book to be released, I think it's going to be a best seller for sure! Great writing and characters you grow to love (and some you hate). A cute love story with a cool concept is always a great read and I hope to read more from her in the future!

We all know the story of Romeo and Juliet. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, they die, the end. Or is it?

This is a retelling of Shakespeare's classic love story gone awry.

Helene is running. She's running from a failed marriage, a book she can't quite finish writing, and the death of her father. She ends up in the middle of nowhere, Alaska, looking for peace and quiet. What she finds is beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

It's there she meets Sebastien, a man she feels likes she's known for lifetimes. She tries to figure out why he feels so familiar, and what she learns sends her life on a trajectory she could have never dreamed. The star-crossed lovers go on an epic journey and fight to keep their love alive.

Romance isn't usually a genre I get super into, but this book really charmed me. It was a sweet love story but also some good suspense and a few twists and turns. I really was invested in Helene and Sebastien as characters, and Skye breathes new life into a very familiar tale.

As a side note--reading the author's personal note at the end of the book made me love the book even more. It was obvious she poured so much love and personal experience into it.

Definitely watch for this one when it comes out in August!

I love this book. It is a light and fascinating story in which reality and magic blend seamlessly in a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet. It gave me reminiscent flashes of "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" and I can't stop talking about it.

Helene and Sebastien, who started their lives as Romeo and Juliet, are cursed to relive their tragic love story throughout the ages as different people within each generation. He is immortal and never dies, but she is reincarnated, over and over, and always does. He spends his life trying to figure out how to save her from death each and every time they meet. Will they ever be able to break the curse? Can they find their "happily ever after" before time runs out? Will their love eventually be able to transcend time? You'll have to read this book to find out.

I gratefully want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet is a sweet, cozy romance that puts a supernatural twist on the story of Romeo and Juliet.

Featuring the classic reincarnation/immortality trope, Helene has always dreamt of her Romeo whom she ends up meeting in the form of real life crabber, Sebastian Montague. Sebastian has been living the last 700 years, cursed to repeat his tragic love story with his Juliet, who is reincarnated over and over with no memory of her past lives until Helene.

As someone who personally lives each day in fear of losing a loved one and whom realizes how precious each and every moment is, this book hit me particularly close to the heart.

Recommended for fans of retellings and sweet romances.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Del Rey Books, and Evelyn Skye for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I always thought Romeo and Juliet got a really raw deal. They were so young and at the complete whim of their relatives who should have done better.
“I may go by Sebastien now, but my name was originally Romeo. And hers was Juliet.”

The concept of this book is definitely original. Taking a tragedy and spinning it to give a story full of reincarnation, immortality, tragedy, and a love that persists through all of it.
“The story is not quite as Shakespeare told it. ….he borrowed stories from real life and wove them through his imagination to make them his own.”
Would you rather be the one who is reborn time after time or the one who has lived for an eternity, meeting your love and then losing them all over again.
Sebastien has removed himself all the way to Alaska to keep himself from meeting “Juliet” again and yet here she is. In his town of all the places.
Helene cannot believe that the boy/man she created in stories as a young girl, is real and in Alaska. And he’s also an ass.
This book is beautifully written. It is not a traditional romance and it goes a bit off course toward the end but it is enjoyable.
I loved that he is so steadfast and that he wants her to be happy.
Of course, as a lover of romance, I wanted more at the end. But that is a me problem.

I was really excited to read this retelling of a classic many are familiar with. I enjoyed reading for the most part. I feel like this story leaves a few things left unfinished. I was really invested for most of the story but felt myself having to push through to the end and wasn’t quite satisfied with the finale. I think that there are people who would enjoy reading this though. It wasn’t starstopping, or overly thought provoking, but it was a lazy weekend kind of read.

I don’t even know where to start with this book. The fact that it’s a retelling should have been a give away but it’s so over done. I really felt like nothing of this was original. Helene’s character flip flopped more than a fish out of water and Sebastien’s blinders for the continuation of the “curse” added nothing more to the story, and Helene’s ex is the epitome of a stereotypical ex husband. Not to mention the overuse of the word vignette was nauseating. This was for sure not my cup of tea.

This book should appeal to readers of contemporary chick lit/rom-coms. I went into it expecting something closer to “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,” with more sci-fi/fantasy elements. It’s very light, not the angsty epic I expected. I found the writing to have short, abrupt sentences, which isn’t my preferred style.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet is an interesting twist on the harrowing story of Romeo and Juliet. Part love story, part time travel fantasy, The Hundred Loves of Juliet is told from dual perspectives and transpires across centuries of time. Helene is determined to start life over in the small Alaskan town that she’s chosen to write her novel and escape her deranged ex-husband. When she runs into Sebastien at the local pub, she’s shocked to find that he is the same man she created in all her creative writing stories in the flesh. While Helene is thrilled to meet him, Sebastien seems to want nothing to do with her. As Helene starts to discover where the various stories she’s created originated from, Sebastien is tormented by a past he doesn’t have the luxury of forgetting. This was a sweet story about what it means to love for eternity when you are guaranteed tomorrow. Author Evelyn Skye, gave an incredible afterward that tugged at my heartstrings and made me deeply appreciate Sebastien and Helene’s story.

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet is a very unique retelling of the Shakespeare classic.

I don't typically read a lot of retellings or time traveling books, but I enjoyed this one. Especially once Helene and Sebastian's current time story started to evolve. I also really liked the flashback scenes. They were well written and obviously brought a lot to the story. I am a big fan of books with more than one POV and this was my favorite aspect of this book.

Readers that enjoy contemporary romance and books with 2 POVs should read this.

I give The Hundred Loves of Juliet 4 stars.

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A magical (in several meanings of the word) retelling of the Romeo and Juliet trope. Helene/Juliet moves to small town Alaska to start over and meets the literal man of her dreams. Sebastien/Romeo is not so interested at first but, well, no spoilers here. You already know it is about Romeo and Juliet.

I could use a ton of words to describe this but I will settle on pensive, heartbreaking but always, always heartwarming and hope-filled. But most of all, beautiful. You’ll feel blessed to go on this journey with Helene and Sebastien.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I went into this book with zero expectations and I really enjoyed it. I am a sucker for a retelling of a classic story and this one mostly worked for me. I loved the vignettes of their lives together, though I would have liked more of the detailed ones from his journal. And I liked the “imaginary friend” aspect that turned out to be memories from the past lives. I found myself unable to put this book down, because I wanted to see how much if it went for a cheesy happy ending or a more ambiguous one (I assumed it wouldn’t end in tragedy.)

A few things I didn’t love: the whole ex husband drama felt pretty unnecessary and threw off the pace to the point that it almost felt like a different book, especially towards the end. There is plenty of internal conflict with the supposed curse, the ex drama was not needed. And also, the ex’s motivations for going to these extreme lengths to get her back just seemed flimsy to me. I can’t imagine anyone cares if an Important Journalist is divorced.

I didn’t expect a traditional romance style HEA where everything is tied up perfectly with a bow, but I was a little annoyed by the lack of resolution with his friend. It almost felt like it was leaving conflict to include in a sequel starring the friend, but I doubt that’s what’s happening.

But yeah, I’ve rambled enough. The fantasy/soulmate element was the best part, and it was worth a read for that. If you love romantic suspense then you may not have any problem with the ex plot.

This was a great read, with an important message of not watching the hands of time tick by and being present. Don’t count down the minutes to the end. So many aspects of Helene’s life is a tragedy, so her love with Sebastian hits harder and really guts you. I appreciated the unique retelling of Romeo and Juliet and how Romeo loved his Juliet in whatever form, whatever age and wherever they found themselves in life.

The book had a lot going on, and a frequent change in pacing and scenery. It started as a lovely tragedy and morphed into a exploitative crime drama of sorts. I loved that the book is ultimately the novel the character is writing and that you see both the vignette’s that she’s written and the “real” portrayal of events, so you can see that they don’t align 100%.

I loved that her dad is Dutch (like mine!), which was a happy little surprise that connected me further to the story. I was also really moved by authors note and acknowledgements, which greatly impacted my experience and processing of the story.

There were a few things I didn’t like in the writing style. For one, there are a lot of parenthetical asides that don’t feel right to me. I also did not enjoy the bullet points that occurred frequently, although I understand that it was how the character likes to process information. Some of the vignettes/flashbacks were really well placed and others felt dropped in randomly, but I can largely get past this. Perhaps my most petty complaints: there is no Trader Joe’s in Alaska, so the reference to TJ’s cheap wine jarred the scene. And, true Italians don’t put cheese in risotto.