The Hundred Loves of Juliet

He Loves Her Always
I found genuine enjoyment in this book, whether due to my unabashed romantic tendencies or the engaging writing style. The exploration of the timeless Romeo & Juliet narrative takes a captivating twist as it delves into the profound question of how deeply one can love when confronted with the limitations of time. This unique approach, inspired by the author's real-life circumstances, adds a personal and touching dimension to the story, fostering a stronger connection for readers.

The tale unfolds in a charming Alaskan town amidst winter's embrace, introducing our main character, Helene, as she stumbles upon a woodsy, bustling pub adorned with mounted moose heads, lumberjacks, and welcoming locals. This cozy setting immediately establishes a comforting ambiance that persists throughout the narrative, despite the looming threat of death and despair.

While the book may not boast revolutionary concepts, it offers a straightforward yet endearing romance that refrains from reinventing the wheel. The sweetness and wholesomeness of the story, coupled with its cute and almost cheesy vibes, contribute to its undeniable charm. The adorable pairing of Helene and Sebastien, their seamless complementarity, and the consistent joy evoked in every shared scene had me smiling from start to finish.

As someone who endured fifteen weeks of Shakespearean studies in college, this story served as a delightful departure from the structured norm, infusing a sense of fun into the familiar narrative. The low-key world tour embarked upon by Helene and Sebastien added an exciting international flavor to the plot, making it a joy for enthusiasts of globally set books.

The prose, refreshingly devoid of pretentiousness, maintains a lovely and accessible quality that enhances the overall reading experience. In essence, while not groundbreaking, this book offers a heartwarming escape into a world of love, warmth, and adventure—a sweet and delightful read that leaves a lasting impression.

The premise was intriguing at first. However, the characters became a repetitive annoyance. Sebastian spends the entire book worried about Helene (Juliet), always in his cautious, heartache melancholy. He was a far more compelling character than Helene though. Helene has no distinctive characteristics that make her likeable - bland, unoriginal, damsel in distress vibes before and after meeting Sebastian. 70% of the book both characters repeating the same thing - "Why is he acting like xyz?", "Am I really the love of his life, Juliet?", and "I have to protect her, I have to distance myself". I really did not like how there were several back-to-back chapters that switched between Helene and Sebastian's POVs about the same situation. The big bad in this book is defeated with Sebastian's copious, unquestionable wealth and connections - it felt so silly and reminded me too much of rich, old vampires with their pretty playthings.

Save your time, skip this book.

I am not giving this book a formal rating because of the author's afterword, which reveals that her husband has a chronic and potentially fatal illness. I just can't bring myself to screw up her GR average, because she is obviously writing from a place of great pain and uncertainty.Having said that, THIS BOOK IS RIDICULOUS. Do you believe that Shakespeare's [b:Romeo and Juliet 18135 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629680008l/18135.SY75.jpg 3349450] was the greatest love story of all time? Would you buy the premise that Romeo lived, but was cursed with immortality, doomed to find - and lose - Juliet over and over again through the centuries? And that his latest Juliet, aka Helene, has just shown up in his tiny Alaskan town to write a novel (ugh), coincidentally based on her numerous dreams about a hunky guy who looks just like him?The writing would have to be pretty special to make me suspend disbelief for all of the above and unfortunately it's not. Helene and Sebastian (Romeo's current moniker) have no chemistry even though the author tells us repeatedly they are eternal soulmates. Sebastian is so perfect that, as captain of a king crab fishing boat, HE RESCUES A BABY POLAR BEAR who is stuck on the ice, turns the ship around, and brings the cub back to town so it can be raised and then released back into the wild. OTOH, Helene's ex-husband is so eeeeeevil that he might as well enter with “You must pay the rent!” and exit with “Curses, foiled again!” The vignettes of previous “Romeo & Juliet” couples are written with extremely broad historical strokes, and the tragic ending for each doomed Juliet starts to be kind of comical after a while (how many different ways can she be killed off?) There is something creepy about Sebastian commenting on Helene's behavior as being identical to “his Juliets” of the past, as if he doesn't see Helene as her own person. Of course our hero is fabulously rich, after accumulating wealth over the past 700 years, so the neutralizing of the Evil Ex can happen with a single phone call. There is more genuine emotion in the author's afterword than there is in the entire 300 page story that precedes it. I haven't read Skye's previous YA books but I hope they are stronger than this one. At the moment I don't have a strong desire to find out.

Rating: 3.94 leaves out of 5-Characters: 2.5/5 -Cover: 3.5/5-Story: 3/5-Writing: 4/5Genre: Fantasy, Classic, Romance, Retelling, Chick Lit-Fantasy: 5/5-Classic: 3/5-Romance: 5/5-Retelling: 4.5/5-Chick Lit: 5/5 Type: AudiobookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Loved FavoritedAs 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.