The Hundred Loves of Juliet

Informationen zum Autor Evelyn Skye Klappentext Helene always dreamt of the perfect man, but after her messy divorce, she has let go of such naïve fantasies. She's done with love, but fate has other plans for her, as she discovers that she is part of a legendary love story that spans lives, years, and continents in this modern-day reimagining of Romeo and Juliet. Leseprobe Helene Alaska in January is a fairy tale, with frost-­rimed branches glittering in the pale moonlight, like lace woven by a snow maiden. Icicles on rooftops twinkle like Christmas frozen in time, and I swear the spiraling snowflakes beckon to me as they fall. Fairy tale indeed. Or at least it's a great first impression for my first evening here. At thirty years old and after too many uninspiring years as an assignment reporter in the Los Angeles bureau of The Wall Street Journal, I'm finally chasing my dream of writing a novel. An actual book of my own! Not just telling other people's stories. I've been jotting down short stories ever since I was a teenager­bits and pieces of a novel­and now I finally have time to figure out how it all comes together. Truth be told, I need this. My recent past­hell, the last ten years­are best swept into a fire pit and doused with gasoline. The death of my two golden retrievers, one right after the other. My Pied Piper of a soon-­to-­be-­ex-­husband, who attracted interns and affairs like rats at cheese orgies. And my so-­called best friend, who stole the promotion that was supposed to be mine. However, she unwittingly did me a favor. If I'd been promoted to columnist, I wouldn't have left. If she'd been a true friend, I'd still be stuck in a nowhere life, married to a no-­good husband. Instead, she betrayed me, and by doing so, she handed me the match I needed. I lit it and burned the past down, metaphorically speaking. Goodbye, old Helene Janssen. Hello, new and better me. My mom always says that everything happens for a reason, and I obstinately hold fast to that belief. So when I saw super cheap plane tickets to Alaska (tourists don't usually visit here in early January) plus an artist's cottage for rent in a quaint fishing town, I saw it as a sign that this was where I was supposed to go to begin work on my novel, and my future. And I think I was right. Being here in this winter wonderland is already helping me feel better about my odds going forward. I hum to myself as I lock the door on the cottage and head down the street in search of dinner. It's only half past six, but it's been dark for hours now, which will take some getting used to. So will walking through the snow in these clunky boots, although it's better than driving. I've got a car stashed in the garage, but the trip this afternoon from the airport to the cottage was harrowing enough for one day. I'm used to driving down sunny, palm-­tree-­lined boulevards, and I don't want to use up the rest of my daily allotment of luck on the icy streets of Ryba Harbor. Luckily, my rental is only a few blocks from the picturesque downtown. On the corner, a cute, nautical-­themed bookstore cozies up to a little souvenir shop for the few tourists who venture away (in summer) from Anchorage and Ketchikan. Wood smoke billows out of a barbecue place, scenting the air with brisket and ribs. There's also a record store (I didn't know they still existed, and the fact that they have one here delights me), several bakeries, and a coffee shop. When I see a bar called The Frosty Otter, though, I know that is where I want to be on my first night in Ryba Harbor. It reminds me of a saloon from the Wild West, but with an Alaskan flair, the blue paint weathered by snow and salt from the roads. A wooden statue of a bearded fur trapper stands outside the door, rifle in one arm and beer stein in another, and ragtime piano music jangles from speakers inside. Thr...

Autorentext

Evelyn Skye

Klappentext

A writer who craves a real-life happily ever after and a gruff fisherman who doesn’t believe in them find out they’re part of the greatest love story of all time.

“Cleverly imagines the epilogue Romeo and Juliet didn’t get to have, and how curses can be blessings in disguise.”—JODI PICOULT

A POPSUGAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

After a bad breakup, Helene Janssen runs away to Alaska to find some peace and quiet. She’s been dreaming up bits and pieces of a novel for years and hopes to finally have time to write it.

On her first night there, Helene meets Sebastien Montague, a crab fisherman who looks exactly like the hero in the book she’s working on. But how is that even possible?

Sebastien seems to recognize Helene, too, but he lies about it and brushes her off, even though their chemistry is immediate and undeniable.

This is because their love story defies the ages: She is Juliet, reincarnated, and he is Romeo, lost in time. And if Helene can convince Sebastien to give her a chance, maybe this time they can rewrite their ending and find a true happily-ever-after.

Zusammenfassung
A woman discovers that she is part of a legendary love story that spans lives, years, and continents in this modern-day reimagining of Romeo and Juliet.

“Cleverly imagines the epilogue Romeo and Juliet didn’t get to have, and how curses can be blessings in disguise.”—JODI PICOULT

A POPSUGAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

*I may go by Sebastien now, but my name was originally Romeo. And hers was Juliet.

• It's a frosty fairytale of an evening in small-town Alaska when Helene and Sebastien meet for the first time. Except it isn't the first time. You already know that story, though it didn't happen quite as Shakespeare told it.

  To Helene, Sebastien is the flesh-and-blood hero of the love stories she’s spent her life writing. But Sebastien knows better—Helene is his Juliet, and their story has always been the same. He is doomed to find brief happiness with her over and over, before she dies, and he is left to mourn.

  Albrecht and Brigitta. Matteo and Amélie. Jack and Rachel. Marius and Cosmina. By any name, no matter where and when in time, the two of them are drawn together, and it always ends in tragedy.

  This time, Helene is determined that things will be different. But can these star-cross’d lovers forge a new ending to the greatest love story of all time?

  Leseprobe
  Ħelene

  Alaska in January is a fairy tale, with frost-­rimed branches glittering in the pale moonlight, like lace woven by a snow maiden. Icicles on rooftops twinkle like Christmas frozen in time, and I swear the spiraling snowflakes beckon to me as they fall. Fairy tale indeed. Or at least it’s a great first impression for my first evening here.

  At thirty years old and after too many uninspiring years as an assignment reporter in the Los Angeles bureau of The Wall Street Journal, I’m finally chasing my dream of writing a novel. An actual book of my own! Not just telling other people’s stories. I’ve been jotting down short stories ever since I was a teenager—­bits and pieces of a novel—­and now I finally have time to figure out how it all comes together.

  Truth be told, I need this. My recent past—­hell, the last ten years—­are best swept into a fire pit and doused with gasoline. The death of my two golden retrievers, one right after the other. My Pied Piper of a soon-­to-­be-­ex-­husband, who attracted interns and affairs like rats at cheese orgies. And my so-­called best friend, who stole the promotion that was supposed to be mine.

  However, she unwittingly did me a favor. If I’d been promoted to columnist, I wouldn’t have left. If she’d been a true friend, I’d still be stuck in a nowhere life, married to a…