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dani_reis's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Grief, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Stalking, Infidelity, Vomit, Cancer, and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide, Infertility, and Murder
lawbooks600's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Representation: N/A
Score: Five points out of ten.
Oh, look, a Romeo and Juliet retelling. A person I knew picked this one up and tried to read it. Unfortunately for her, it quickly disinterested her so she gave up after a few pages. However, The Hundred Loves of Juliet intrigued me, so I picked it up and read it. When I finished The Hundred Loves of Juliet, it disappointed me. It could be better, but alas, it didn't meet my expectations (I should lower them in the first place considering the low ratings and reviews.)
It starts with the first character I see, Helene, whose last name remains undisclosed, moving to Alaska to write a novel. She wants to write a romance involving two people, when suddenly, she meets another person: Sebastien, who came right off Helene's pages. Here's the catch: Once Sebastien starts a relationship with Helene, he tells her he is immortal but every time he tries to fall in love with a Juliet incarnation, she dies. The Hundred Loves of Juliet has such an intriguing premise, but the former squanders the latter by fumbling the characters, my biggest gripe. Sebastien and Helene talk like two cheesy philosophers, making me groan inside. I've had enough of people who talk like that, because it's unrealistic, and after reading another story with that type of dialogue, I didn't want to see it again.
The Hundred Loves of Juliet's flow was hard to follow at best and chaotic at worst. The narrative can jump back a few years sometimes to show the previous versions of Romeo and Juliet where the former survives but the latter meets her demise, but that quickly got repetitive. I also noticed the lack of diversity and saw that the author missed some opportunities to add more types of characters. One member of the couple that existed during the colonisation of America could've been Native American. The twosome in the Sahara could've been Black, and the one in World War Two era Japan could've been Japanese. You get the idea. I couldn't connect or relate to them in the first place.
The conclusion is a high note, as Sebastien and Helene break the curse as the former hacked some computers so that nothing could go wrong (Why?) and the latter had her first child. The Hundred Loves of Juliet mentioned divorce, but the author quickly glossed it over, which I disliked. It was apparent that in Evelyn Skye used YA writing which didn't translate well in her debut in adult fiction. To summarise, The Hundred Loves of Juliet was a promising Romeo and Juliet retelling, but the negatives outweighed the positives, disenchanting me.
Score: Five points out of ten.
Oh, look, a Romeo and Juliet retelling. A person I knew picked this one up and tried to read it. Unfortunately for her, it quickly disinterested her so she gave up after a few pages. However, The Hundred Loves of Juliet intrigued me, so I picked it up and read it. When I finished The Hundred Loves of Juliet, it disappointed me. It could be better, but alas, it didn't meet my expectations (I should lower them in the first place considering the low ratings and reviews.)
It starts with the first character I see, Helene, whose last name remains undisclosed, moving to Alaska to write a novel. She wants to write a romance involving two people, when suddenly, she meets another person: Sebastien, who came right off Helene's pages. Here's the catch: Once Sebastien starts a relationship with Helene, he tells her he is immortal but every time he tries to fall in love with a Juliet incarnation, she dies. The Hundred Loves of Juliet has such an intriguing premise, but the former squanders the latter by fumbling the characters, my biggest gripe. Sebastien and Helene talk like two cheesy philosophers, making me groan inside. I've had enough of people who talk like that, because it's unrealistic, and after reading another story with that type of dialogue, I didn't want to see it again.
The Hundred Loves of Juliet's flow was hard to follow at best and chaotic at worst. The narrative can jump back a few years sometimes to show the previous versions of Romeo and Juliet where the former survives but the latter meets her demise, but that quickly got repetitive. I also noticed the lack of diversity and saw that the author missed some opportunities to add more types of characters. One member of the couple that existed during the colonisation of America could've been Native American. The twosome in the Sahara could've been Black, and the one in World War Two era Japan could've been Japanese. You get the idea. I couldn't connect or relate to them in the first place.
The conclusion is a high note, as Sebastien and Helene break the curse as the former hacked some computers so that nothing could go wrong (Why?) and the latter had her first child. The Hundred Loves of Juliet mentioned divorce, but the author quickly glossed it over, which I disliked. It was apparent that in Evelyn Skye used YA writing which didn't translate well in her debut in adult fiction. To summarise, The Hundred Loves of Juliet was a promising Romeo and Juliet retelling, but the negatives outweighed the positives, disenchanting me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, War, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Car accident, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Death
Full trigger warnings: Death of girlfriends in the past by burning and physical illness, murder, grief and loss depiction, pregnancy and childbirth, divorce mentioned, infertility, near-death experience, fire, explosions, military violence and war themes, World War II, shipwreck, colonisation, car crashmimmixoxo's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Infidelity
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Stalking, Terminal illness, Infertility, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Misogyny, Medical content, and Murder
theliterarymess's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
It’s like a Shakespearean hallmark movie with a mission impossible twist
This story reminded me of Chloe Gong’s ‘A Thousand More’ but as a full novel. I really enjoyed the concept of this story, and I think Skye executed it perfectly. It’s a beautiful and emotional tale. Skye has taken the idea that Romeo is to blame for Juliet’s death and spun it into a tragic fairytale. It’s absolutely heart wrenching reading all of Sebastien’s memories.
The story is really well written. The pacing is perfect and I think the backstory has been scattered throughout in all the right places.
I’m not too sure I was content with how the curse ended. I think I’d have wanted more substance to it, maybe something to do with Adam also needing to forgive Sebastian?
Skye’s inspiration for this story is personal and touching, and I hope that she finds comfort in her labour of love.
This story reminded me of Chloe Gong’s ‘A Thousand More’ but as a full novel. I really enjoyed the concept of this story, and I think Skye executed it perfectly. It’s a beautiful and emotional tale. Skye has taken the idea that Romeo is to blame for Juliet’s death and spun it into a tragic fairytale. It’s absolutely heart wrenching reading all of Sebastien’s memories.
The story is really well written. The pacing is perfect and I think the backstory has been scattered throughout in all the right places.
I’m not too sure I was content with how the curse ended. I think I’d have wanted more substance to it, maybe something to do with Adam also needing to forgive Sebastian?
Skye’s inspiration for this story is personal and touching, and I hope that she finds comfort in her labour of love.
Content Warnings
Minor: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Alcoholism, Grief, Gore, and Stalking
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