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 gruff 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 like a live wire—immediate and undeniable.

It turns out that she’s Juliet, reincarnated, and he’s Romeo, lost in time. And if Helene can convince Sebastien to give her a chance, maybe this time they can rewrite the ending of their story and find a true happily ever after.

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this love story. It was so creative and sweet and heartwarming. I listened to the audiobook, which has two narrators since it’s dual-POV, one for Helene and one for Sebastien (Seb). They both did a great job, and I really enjoyed listening to them. 

There is some language, but no spice. There are a few bedroom scenes, but no details. I would rate it PG. I would consider this a clean or closed-door romance. 

This book would be perfect for a winter romance theme. The majority of the story is set in snowy Alaska, so you get that cold, wintry feeling. It’s perfect for reading from December – February.

I thought this story concept was very interesting and imaginative. At times, it reminded me of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Time Traveler’s Wife. There are past/present timelines, which give us more backstory about the couple. It also helped me connect to the main couple even more. I really enjoyed both characters and thought they had great chemistry together. This is more of a romance drama than a romantic comedy. It’s very swoon-worthy and romantic. It was easy to like this couple together, and I found myself rooting for them the entire time. I really, really wanted them to end up together. I did get emotional at some parts, so have the tissues handy because this is a bit of a tear-jerker.

Helene and Seb complement each other so well. Helene is a funny, witty, strong-willed, confident, and independent woman. She’s optimistic and tries to see the good in the situation. She doesn’t see sadness or tragedy, but instead, indestructible love. She thinks it’s just a circumstance of chance. Whereas Seb is extremely guarded and pessimistic, and holds his heart close to him. Since he’s immortal, he’s been scarred by all the times his Juliets have died, so he sees it as a curse. He’s stuck in the past and stuck in this pattern that continues and perpetuates all these tragedies. Therefore, he’s grappling with his own misery, guilt, and remorse. But he doesn’t want to be afraid anymore. He wants to stop blaming himself for all the past deaths of Juliet. He wants it to be different with Helene. He wants to finally break free from his curse. 

This book also does a wonderful job of looking at loss, grief, and death. There are lots of great quotes. Now I want to buy a physical copy so I can reread it and annotate it and remember all the gems inside. I loved all the universal messages within this romance story. We need to live in the present, not regretting the past or being fearful of the future. No one’s destiny is certain. No one’s future is foretold. Anything can happen to anyone at any moment. And, we must make the most of today and live for love now. It’s so beautiful!! 

Overall, I loved this story and highly recommend it, especially the audiobook. I would also encourage listeners to listen to the author’s note at the end because she explains how she came up with the concept of this story. It comes from her own life and her own realization that tomorrow is not promised. Her husband suffers from a medical condition that could take his life at any time. So she came up with the question: how do you love someone when you know their time is short? I loved listening to her talk about her story and why she wrote this book. I would definitely read more by this author.