Genre: Romance (contemporary and historical)

Let’s be honest. The tragic form aside, didn’t most of us wish for a different ending for Romeo and Juliet? Even when I was teaching it and we talked about the flaws that led them down the tragic path - when I claimed “adult” perspective - part of me wished things would have been different for those two crazy kids. Enter Evelyn Skye’s The Hundred Loves of Juliet:An Epic Reimagining of a Legendary Love Story . Skye imagines an altogether different world for our star crossed lovers. Imagine if Romeo had not really died. If he would, in fact, never die. What if he met his reincarnated Juliet again and again only to lose her. When Helene, a newly divorced writer, meets Sebastian Montague, an Alaskan fisherman, she is stunned at how well he resembles the character that she has created in her head who populates all of her short stories. She does not know that they have had love affairs again and again all with tragic endings for hundreds of years. Sebastian is determined to keep her at a distance to protect her life and perhaps his heart, but Helene and fate have other plans.

Skye does a remarkable job of making this story absolutely believable. Part of the charm of the book for me is how she weaves in the love stories from all of the different eras - through Helene’s stories and Sebastian’s memories. I’d love to see the planning document she used for plotting. The inclusion of the stories and flashbacks are seamless. They help us believe right alongside Helene. I read the audio version and Aspen Vincent and Joe Arden do a beautiful job of bringing each character to life in alternating chapters. I struggled a bit with Sebastian’s character development - oddly enough because he reminded me of much of what annoyed me about Romeo in the original play. So ultimately kudos to Skye for capturing so much of that in a character that should have aged a few hundred years. And without spoilers, how that became such a part of his character arc. The settings here were outstanding. I loved the time travel and the glimpses into different worlds and eras. I also loved the world travel with endless money. The food, the experiences, the places they stayed - beautifully described. So much of the early novel was set in Alaska - spectacular in its own way. The whole community here contributed much to the developing relationship.

Some ambiguity cleverly exists at the end of this novel, but I am inclined to believe that Romeo & Juliet find a happy ending no matter how situations resolve. And, of course, that pleases me. Quite honestly, that was enough to make this a successful book for me. But the reminder that choosing love even when it might seem a lost cause or too scary, is a great choice to make. We can all stand to be reminded that the next day - even the next hour - is not guaranteed. Be sure when you are finished with The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye, be sure to read the author’s epilogue.