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.

A tale of love that withstands the test of time. Helene and Sebastian. Romeo and Juliet. It sounds so simple because we all know the classic literature but this book was hope, adventure, love, sadness, and frustration all in one. I say that in a good way as The Hundred Loves of Juliet has multiple love stories roped into one and I highly enjoyed the story from start to finish. The flashbacks and the incorporation of the original story were paced so fluidly in this book, which made this an easy read that I didn’t want to put down. This beautiful story of hope and love is one of the best things I’ve read this year so far. I was already deeply invested in the characters and their stories, then I read the authors note and that made this book so much more special. I loved it. Would love to read it again and hope everyone else enjoys it like I did. 5 stars!

This retelling of Romeo and Juliet supposes that good ole Willy Shakespeare got it all wrong in his version of events. It is sweet and fun and romantic and magical and fantastical, with a bit of angst thrown in. I highly recommend it if you need something on the lighter side - and I dare you not to fall in love with Sebastien!!!

This book feels like “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” meets a retelling of “Romeo and Juliet” with an extra little twist added in.

Helene has always had what she calls her “imaginary friend” - a dream guy she thought up in eighth grade. Amidst a difficult divorce and a change in career, Helene moves to Alaska and suddenly is face-to-face with her dream man, Sebastian. He looks and acts exactly as she imagined him. But how does this make sense?

Sebastian is a crab fisherman in Alaska and has created a life for himself. His secret, though, is that he is Romeo. Yes, like from Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet”. A curse was placed upon the Capulet and Montague families so that Romeo and Juliet will never get their happy ending.

When it turns out that Helene, the current Juliet, remembers Sebastian and details of their past lives together, what will happen? Will they be able to live their happily ever after? Or will the curse take them, as it has the past 700 years?

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book. It was a light, cute romance-y read. Only towards the end did it lose me, with some unnecessary drama and some unrealistic bits (yes, I know that a man living for over 700 years is also unrealistic but let me be).

I also loved the author’s note at the end - the personal touch was very, very sweet and I hope the best for the author and her love story with her husband, Tom.

3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

The trick to enjoying The Hundred Loves of Juliet is to accept the novel for what it is-pure fiction. Admittedly this is hard to do when the plot features two of the most famous and beloved literary characters in history-Romeo and Juliet. For the original "star crossed lovers," nothing but perfection feels good enough, and The Hundred Loves of Juliet is not perfect. But it is sweet and sentimental, and if you're willing to let your imagination run wild, as Evelyn Skye apparently did, it's a fun way to spend your time. The Hundred Loves of Juliet rewrites the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet. What if they really didn't die, how would their lives have turned out? Here Romeo does leave Juliet's tomb alive-although he goes through multiple lives with different first names (Montague is always his last name), while Juliet did succumb, but is reincarnated through the centuries, also with different names and backgrounds. None of the previous "Juliet's" remember their past lives-until present day Helene, who has been fascinated with the doomed lovers since childhood. Although Helene does not recognize Sebastien as Romeo, she is certain she has met him before. What follows is implausible, but that's part of the charm of The Hundred Loves of Juliet. So don't make more out of the story than needs to be, but more importantly, don't make less. Ok, so this isn't Shakespeare and The Hundred Loves of Juliet isn't going to be a story for the ages, but I think the Bard would approve!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I will be honest, I went into this not sure if I’d like another version of Romeo and Juliet but this book, this book has a different twist and turn that keeps a hold over you. It makes you want to dive in with a cup of tea and just binge read it.

I recommend

I was engrossed in this book for the first half but ultimately left unsatisfied.

I don't think this is a bad book, I think I am just not the audience for it and it didn't quite go the way I wish it had. The first 50% or so felt like a fun fantasy romance with an inevitable HEA, but it ended without really resolving any of the conflicts I had grown invested in, focusing instead on finding beauty and joy in uncertainty.

So, in sum, there is an audience for this book, but it wasn't me. Imagine biting into what you thought was a chocolate chip cookie, but it turns out to be raisins. Some people will love the raisins. I am not one of them.

Your mileage may vary.

A thrilling romance. I was hooked from the beginning. So glad I had the chance to read this and love this!

When Helene meets Sebastien in a remote town of Alaska, she can’t believe her eyes. Somehow, she knows him- but they’ve never met before. He doesn’t want anything to do with her, and is even downright rude. Helene can’t let go of the literal man of her dreams, because he’s identical to the man she has imagined since childhood. How could he be real? However, Sebastien has been followed by a dark curse that he knows will not allow him to live happily ever after with Helene, and he’s desperate to avoid tragedy and loss again. Can this modern day Romeo and Juliet break the curse that they are destined to repeat?

Oh my goodness, this book was just perfection. I absolutely love the story of Romeo and Juliet (I blame the Leonardo DiCaprio version from my youth) and this reimagined tale was just so beautifully written, heart wrenching, and unique. The different lives of Romeo and Juliet throughout history were so well done and added a special element to the book. I loved how the book addressed grief, making the most of your time on Earth, and focusing on loving a person for their soul and not their appearance. The messages inside this novel were so beautiful. Be sure to read the author’s note at the end for an insight to her brilliance behind the concept of the book and the message it conveys.

Thank you to Evelyn Skye, Random House-Ballantine books, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book that is such a fresh take on Romeo and Juliet. Evelyn Skye keeps the reader guessing until the end how it will end for the main characters, Helene and Sebastien, and delivers a novel that I will definitely reread in the future. Highly recommend for fans of Romeo and Juliet

TBH,the beautiful and simplistic cover is what grabbed me. I thought this was a really cute modern “retelling” of the romance novel Romeo and Juliet. Helene was definitely a loveable character to me. I also enjoyed reading about her dream come true man, Sebastien and his journal. Read it in a span of 3-4 days, easy to read and would love to hear the audiobook once/if released.

Release date: August 1, 2023.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC copy.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for letting me read this early in exchange for an honest review.


This book was the epitome of romance. Romeo and Juliet? How much more romantic could that be? Two soulmates trying to find each other only for one of them to end up dead every time? the story was beautiful however this might just be a personal preference but I wanted it to be longer! More build up. It felt like the plot moved really fast but it could be that I finished this in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down.

I wanted to enjoy this but overall found the story, characters, and plot to be something not what I was longing for or one that I would pick back up.

Skye writes wonderfully descriptive passages. The interaction between characters, however, feels younger than their given ages and more in line with young adult genres than a fully present, adult retelling of Romeo and Juliet. This isn't an issue in itself, but the description and possibly the title could leave the impression that the story will be more nuanced with adult, and possibly darker themes. At the same time, the cover art is more in line with a straightforward contemporary romance, so the overall messaging is a bit mixed. I'd personally recommend this to a new adult demographic looking for a romantic, cozy read and those who enjoyed The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Time traveler’s wife x Beauty and the Beast.

It was solidly okay. I imagine it was extremely cathartic for the author based on the author’s note.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

A beautiful and amazing love story. A modern star crossed lovers with a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. One of my favorite element was the words and prose that Evelyn Skye whipped up.