Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time

by Elle Beaumont, Lou Wilham

Verona has 99 problems—including a time machine.

All Benvolio has ever desired is a peaceful life alongside his spirited—albeit quarrelsome—roommate, Mercutio. But as the story goes, the course of true love never did run smooth, and when tensions between the Montagues and the Capulets reach a boiling point, Benvolio and Mercutio are dragged into the mess Romeo makes of all their lives.

Then an older version of Benvolio crashes into their lives, offering the opportunity to change fate, Mercutio does as he always does—seizes the chance. There's just one problem: no deal is without strings, and this one involves a deadly secret that Mercutio is determined to take to the grave.

What follows is a lively adventure through the ages, replete with love and heartache. Amidst the chaos, this inseparable duo will unravel the true depth of their friendship.


A riotous romp of a retelling of Romeo & Juliet. Side effects of reading may contain laughter, heartache, and a need for more. This light, sci-fi fantasy is the perfect shelf companion to The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian, Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall, and The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles.

Genres: Romance, Time Travel, LGBT, Science Fiction, Queer, Historical, Fantasy

314 pages, Paperback

Published July 31, 2024

About the author

You can find me mostly on Instagram! I'm always ready to fan over amazing books, tropes, and favorite crushes. There have also been reports of me sharing teasers and giveaways... Come find me @ellebeaumontbooks

Elle Beaumont loves creating vivid and fantastical worlds. She lives in Southeastern Massachusetts with her husband and two children. When not writing or chasing around her children, she enjoys making candles. More than once she has proclaimed that coffee is the lifeblood and it is how she refrains from becoming a zombie.

To stay up to date on the latest and greatest, sign up for her newsletter! http://ellebeaumontbooks.com/newsletter

Reviews

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reachin' out for something to hold, looking for a love where the climate is cold / Manic moves and drowsy dreams, or livin' in the middle between the two extremes (Out of Touch – Hall & Oates).

Hey folks, did you know Romeo & Juliet is a tragedy? Arguably the most famous one, even. “Star-crossed lovers destined to die” and all that, it’s in the opening crawl? Surely this is ringing a bell. I mean, I know you know all of this, you've read and acted it out in school like the rest of us (probably looking for the character with the fewest lines), but apparently every one of these authors frothing at the mouth to get their grubby retelling hands on this classic story seem to have forgotten a core part of the play’s identity. That by removing any and all sad aspects of the original story, you’re also chipping away at its identity until it’s no longer unique in what made it beautiful in the first place. It’s like when video game streamers edit the faces of all the premade Sims in The Sims to look like supermodels. Like damn, even in the video game world it’s apparently a crime to look average, especially when you’ve got these “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” mfs running the show. Bella Goth is perfect the way she is! But yeah, I understand the urge to “set things right” in retellings of classics like Romeo & Juliet and it sucks that the story made us all feel shaking our fists at the unfairness of it all, but at what point are you just… writing a different story that is so far removed from the source material that the only resemblance are the character names? At that point, you might as well just do a new thing. Usually I’m okay with changing it up a bit, why call it a retelling if you’re not even going to do anything new, right? But the thing is, Romeo & Juliet specifically is so defined by its cruel twist of fate for every character involved that it feels wrong to change any aspect of it. Like, a Rome & Juliet retelling can change up the details, but I feel like the ironic avoidable deaths and the exposure of a backwards society should always remain a core element of the narrative. I’m sorry, but “a riotous romp” is not really a phrase I associate with this play, and I guess this is the part where I get to my point; I thought Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time missed the mark simply because it often feels so different from the source material that by the time we finally got to the familiar haunts… I was already checked out. As you’ve probably already surmised, Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time is a retelling of Romeo & Juliet that touts itself as being a fun adventure through time where we get to see fan favorite (?) characters Benvolio and Mercutio flying through the ages Magic Tree House style in order to prevent the deaths of everyone they love.

Oh, it’s also gay and Benvolio and Mercutio are gay in love. So yeah, I suppose I’ve already talked about it, but I thought this book was rather all over the place and I don’t think it did a good enough job of highlighting exactly what was at stake here. You know, the tragic deaths and all that. Sure, we all know the original and are distinctly aware of what awfulness awaits the main characters, but even if you’re doing a retelling of the most famous play in history, you still have to reintroduce your specific cast of characters. Who are these people, let us know. Yeah, everybody loves Mercutio, but why should we love this specific Mercutio that exists in Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time? Like, you still have to do your job as an author, make us care! It doesn’t really help that the first half of the book features entirely quirky, Disney Channel, Phil of the Future ass adventures through time where the basic premise is just a constant stream of “and what if Benvolio and Mercutio were in the 2000’s now? Isn’t this fun?” and you just have to wonder, is this actually servicing the greater narrative? I know we were promised a “riotous romp” or whatever, but is it really all that important for us to see these Shakespearean characters in these situations or could we have just "Marcia Lucas" drawn a red line through all of this bullshit in the editing stage? And if the story absolutely had to be about Shakespearean fellows running around different time periods, then we should have at least had real fun with it. Where’s my scene of Benvolio and Mercutio recreating Paula Abdul’s “Opposites Attract” music video where Mercutio is the cat? Because otherwise we just get weak ass scenes of these two in the early 2000’s eating candy and being all like, “what the hell is this? Har har.” and I’m sorry, but who the hell asked for this? I know it’s supposed to allude to that joke that made the rounds way back about how a peasant from a hundred years ago would explode if you gave them a Dorito, but like… is that what we’re doing now? Centering an entire novel around a tired joke from the bygone era of Buzzfeed slop articles? Also, if I were trying to kill a time traveling medieval peasant, I sure as hell wouldn’t feed them Doritos! Nah, I’d do something truly dastardly and play them a Gracie Abrams song to which they’d be so overwhelmed with pain that they’d run straight back into their own time. Oh, and I know this is a total nitpick, I also didn’t really like how Shakespeare is like, a thing in-universe.

“I’m in this as long as you are,” he vowed.
“That is a dangerous promise to make.”

I just think it does the book a disservice and makes the characters feel all that much more like characters in a novel rather than people in a fully fleshed out story. It reminds me of how whenever people are doing some kind of adaption of Frankenstein, they always make Mary Shelley a character within the narrative for some reason. I know she was an interesting person, but come on now, she was the author of the first science-fiction novel ever written, so let’s put some respect on her name. It gives the whole thing more of a parody vibe that isn't as interesting than if it had been a writing exercise in fighting against fate. Also, since I've been hating, I'll go ahead and say that I hated the fact that Romeo & Juliet’s original setting is moved up to take place in the year 1901 instead of Italian Renaissance time. Why? I mean, I guess it’s supposed to help explain how technology like a time machine could possibly exist and bring the story closer to the works of speculative fiction like The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. But again, we don’t have time machines now, so why would it matter if this story took place in 1350 or whenever the original play is supposed to have been. Besides, a time machine is a fantasy element anyway, so any attempt to explain it would have been useless regardless. As I understand it, there are really only three kinds of time traveling stories; the “we’ve got to prevent a terrible thing” story like The Terminator or Code Lyoko, the “I’m in a time loop, help, I’m in a time loop” kind of narrative as seen in Groundhog Day, and then there's the Loki, “Whee, I’m going to all these places throughout history” thing, and all of them lend themselves more to metaphor than something that should be taken too literally. This book was a bit of a combination of the first and third on this list that makes for a disjointed story when it would have been much more concise had it simply picked a lane. There’s a reason why Guy Pearce’s The Time Machine falls apart so rapidly the moment he stops trying to save his wife and instead travels a millions years in the future and fights with a blue skinned Jeremy Irons for some reason, it’s because there’s no emotional tether to keep the story grounded in something real. Because how are we supposed to relate to a man traveling a million years in the future and fighting with a blue skinned Jeremy Irons!? These aren’t things a normal person does, only Guy Pearce understands the emotional turmoil of traveling a million years in the future and having to fight a blue skinned Jeremy Irons! Oops, sorry about that, I guess I got stuck in a time loop myself there. We've all been there.

Time travel always work best when it's used more as an exploratory metaphor rather than a tangible thing that requires concrete explanation. It allows the story to exist outside the confines of genre and allows for actual meaningful conversation. I don't need to see all the bolts and screws if it's at the cost of a good story. Take when Trunks from Dragon Ball Z travels back in time to prevent the world from being destroyed by evil androids, it's not like Akira Toriyama wasted any time explaining how this works! In fact, the time machine barely even shows up again, and you know what? It doesn't matter because it's only ever used to set the stage for everything else. Anyway, let's use an example readers would actually care about; remember We Are The Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson? Yeah well, in case you don't, the entire premise is about a all powerful aliens giving a queer kid the choice to press a button that would save the human race from extinction, and he can’t in all honesty take the next step because he isn’t sure if humanity deserves saving. Now that’s interesting to me! Not the “who, what, where, when, and why” of it all, but rather what venues an author can explore with such an outrageous scenario. Besides, this Shaun David Hutchinson book poses a more interesting question than his other book about whether or not a right-wing gay boy (read: a traitor and a loser) and a leftist gay boy could fall in love. The answer? Yes, easily. But what we should be asking is whether you could live with yourself while having no fucking morals. But yeah, if Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time had taken place entirely within the three days leading up to Mercutio’s death at the hands of Tybalt where we follow Benvolio and Mercutio as they attempt to prevent the tragedy, then I would have loved it. Will they fix everything or end up making everything worse? Who knows, but what I do know is that this book needed to have tragedy as a main pillar instead of just a bunch of random adventures going to different places throughout history or whatever. So yeah, I didn’t love Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time, but I should probably emphasize that it’s not because this book dared to try for a happy ending for characters with famously depressing endings! It's only natural to detest inequality, but it came across as inconsistent how the tone went for fun when evoking the sense of impending doom Romeo & Juliet is known for would have helped it remain narratively linked to the very play that it’s supposed to be retelling.

You're out of touch, I'm out of time / But I'm out of my head when you're not around.

[Verdelite · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am only too happy to turn my brain off when reading a romance book but this honestly exceeded my suspension of disbelief.
The plot and pacing were all over the place - the entire first act reads like an altogether different book and is barely connected to the rest of the story at all.
The promised meat of the book (the actual fixing attempts of the Romeo and Juliet tragedy timeline) occured way too late (around 40% into the story) and were also not very interesting.
The world building was extremely shoddy. Apparently there are fae and demons and they make deals, and also time travel is a thing, but all this is never properly explained - even though they are used in plot critical moments but the exact ramifications are never elaborated on.

I would be willing to overlook these things if at least the romance was compelling, but unfortunately the characters had very little time for meaningful development and romantic moments due to the above mentioned, nonsensical plot getting in the way.

tl;dr: The idea of Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time was promising, but the execution was lacking.

I received a free ARC of this book and am providing an honest and unbiased review.

[Vayl · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read the synopsis I knew it was a book I needed to read.

However, there were a number of things that made the story feel absurd, and boring to read, even though the pace was pretty fast.

My biggest complaint when reading books with sci-fi elements, like time travel, is the lack of logic they can have, and I understand that it's fiction, I can't ask for much, but god, everything felt out of place in this book, keep it in mind if you want to start it, as an advice: take this book as comedy.

I confess that reading this I even forgot the plot of Romeo and Juliet. When I read the synopsis I imagined it would be some kind of strategy to ensure the letters arrival and to prevent their death, but that never happens, the plot is not even close to that idea, I warn you.

I liked the romance, but everything happened very quickly and I stopped getting excited at some point. I think the "sad" parts were my favorites because they were more emotional.

Conclusion, I recommend to pass the time, but don't take it seriously or have high expectations.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sofia Boquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given an arc of this book by BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.


This is one of those books you shouldn’t take seriously. If you decide to read it you should be prepared for something ridiculous and light hearted, a book where nothing is explained or questioned. If you like a book that fits what I just described then I think you should read it, otherwise no.

I don’t like books where nothing is taken seriously, and in this book nothing was taken seriously. They met a farmer who went from threatening them with a gun to the next second invite them to his home after they appeared in his cow pasture in an elevator. Benvolio and Mercutio just arrive with a time machine and meet strangers and no one questions the existence of it. None of the characters seem to question or take anything in general seriously, main characters and side characters alike. They never sit down and have a conversation about what to do when they face trouble, they just run around doing things all the time and treat someones death like it’s nothing. The way the book is written is so unreal because people don’t act that way. Things aren’t solved that quickly.

This book was very fast paced, it jumped from event to event like it was afraid of being tranquil. It was annoying because it didn’t allow the reader to take anything in, if something happened, something bigger happened the next second. We didn’t get the chance to get to know the characters, they were very shallow and only had one character trait. Benvolio were the careful one, while Mercutio were impulsive, and that were basically all there was to the characters.

There was next to no world building. We go from time traveling to summoning demons and making deals with fairies. It’s never explained to what extent the world is magical or if it’s known to the public that magical creatures exist. I was surprised, to say the least, when Mercutio suddenly summoned a demon when nothing had been said before about demons existing. I also don’t understand whether being homosexual is okay or not. Under some circumstances they seem to want to keep it to themselves while at other times they are very obvious about it. It’s things like this, explanations and world building, that I miss.

The book felt like two separate books, the first part was Benvolio and Mercutio traveling around to different times while the other was them trying to save Mercutio from being killed. What bothered me with that was that from the beginning Mercutio knew he would die in three days, instead of trying to find out how or come up with a plan on how to stop that, or even having a mental breakdown about the fact that he would die in three days, he and Benvolio just took the time machine and traveled around. It was first after that had done that that they took the fact that Mercutio would die seriously and that was after Mercutio had already died. Benvolio literally had to watch Mercutio die because Mercutio hadn’t mentioned a thing or even seemed to care that he would die. He just accepted it as fact. Like excuse me, sir, you got a Time Machine, use it! Don’t just accept your death for fact when your lover literally invented a time machine to be able to go back in time and save your life. Also older Benvolio, aka Big Ben, just showed up, said that Mercutio would die in three days and then left. You can’t even tell him how he will die?

Either way, I think you understand how I feel about this book. It wasn’t good and I didn’t enjoy reading it. I hope other people will have a mover enjoyable experience with it!

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a nut shell, this takes place in a steampunk Verona in 1901 with a smidge of magic thrown in. A future Benvolio creates a time machine to go back and have the past versions of Benvolio and Mercutio change the story we know of Romeo and Juliet to basically have (almost) no one dying. Plus Benny and Mercy realizing their love for each other.

Is it a bit bonkers? Yes. Chaotic at times? But fun? Absolutely! It's definitely one of those stories where you need to turn your brain off and just enjoy the ride. I laughed and had fun with the story. As someone who reads a lot of horror, this was a nice palette cleanser and put me in a good mood. I honestly would call it a fun Shakespeare beach read!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Romeo should be on a leash" is the truest statement about Romeo and Juliet I have ever read.

[˖ ࣪ ‹ seri ; ⁺ ⸝⸝ · Rating 3 out of 5]

🦭 ꒰ 메모 ꒱ ۪ ݁ 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬

this was such a gay, quirky, and interesting ride !

thank you to BookSirens for this ARC ! this book was sitting in my emails and i usually don’t get persuaded by the promotions, but once i saw the cover of this book.. I MEANNN ! how could i not pick this up 😭 and so i did !

Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time is a romeo and juliet-ish type of book that includes a demon, a time machine, and the motive to save your best friend who you have a crush on since like FOREVER. to be honest, that’s all you need to know about this book and just see where the story takes you.

the book has a fun way of portraying time travel and there was a scene in the book where they time traveled to a more modern type of world and it was just so much fun reading those scenes.

While it was good and i liked it, i can’t help but feel.. somewhat unsatisfied with the way the characters speak to each other as their vocabulary is kind of off putting. The characters would most of the time repeat their expressions and it was getting pretty annoying for me.

also what is this conversation?

: “If you didn’t call me here for that, what did you call me for? More party tricks? Or are we giving someone warts again? That was fun.”

: “Warts? Who are you giving warts to?”

: “Never you mind..”

because i was caught off guard. why do i have to know if the character has std or something? it was alright if the motive was to raise awareness but it was kind of made fun in the book for absolutely no reason.

overall, i did like this one ! it was just that i got so much ick when i read certain lines but that might not be the case for everyone. still, thank you to the author for this book !

[Bevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

{4.25/5}

CW: grief, death, mild spice, reference to SA

Read via Midnight Tide Publishing. Thank you to MTP and the authors for the ARC! “Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time” releases July 31, 2024!

Romeo and Juliet, but instead of two dumb@sses falling in love and ruining a lot of lives, it’s two of the side characters trying to save everyone. Also, there’s a time machine.

In the wake of Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated love affair, Benvolio is left broken hearted and alone. He wants to save them all, but especially his beloved Mercutio. And so Benvolio sets out to build a time machine. With a limited number of chances to change the course of fate, Benvolio and Mercutio will have to use all their wits to try and save their friends.

Alright, listen, there’s a lot going on in this story, so I’m just going to list as much of it here as I can to hopefully explain why this is so unique: Benvolio and Mercutio are the main characters, also they’re in love with each other, the story is set in a steampunk 1910 AU, magic and science are both big things, and Juliette is (thank god) not 13, but 20, making that entire dynamic significantly less concerning (she’s not the only one who was aged up, she was just the youngest of the original cast and it’s always been a sticking point for me).

With at least most of the unique facets of the story listed out (with no spoilers, I’d like to add), we can actually discuss the story. We can start with the characters because oh my god Benny and Mercy are the most adorable humans I’ve ever read about! They’re hilarious, unique, and utterly in love with each other. The dialogue between the two is so, so cute and there’s just a really sweet, feel-good vibe between them. The side characters are somewhat limited in their individual development, mostly by nature of the story, but there’s enough there to figure out who’s who and what they’re like, at least to the extent that it’s relevant. Romeo, as always, is an addlepated twit who manages to royally botch everybody’s lives by nature of having 0 self control or rational thinking capabilities. Everybody hates Paris. 10/10.

The world building is somehow both relatively minor and incredibly detailed, and I’m still not entirely sure how that was pulled off. This is a delightfully steampunk-ish alternate world, which means there’s scientific advances and shiny things and all sorts of ‘modern’ things you’d never see in the original play. It makes for a really fun setting, and it gives the whole story a uniquely fun twist. I don’t know that it’s exactly ‘cozy,’ but that’s the closest I can get to describing everything. There are also some incredibly fun locations that we get to travel to during the story, and I found them all to be entertaining.

The story itself is told in 4 acts, each act handling a different part of the overall story. I liked the structure of the book itself; it felt like reading an actual play without having to sift through all the stage directions and out of date language. The plot was engaging and entertaining; while it mostly tended towards a feel-good, time-hopping romp, it had enough grief and suffering to still pay homage to the original play. All of it was delivered with just the right amount of humor, and it ended up being a really good time.

You don’t need to have read (or remember) the original Romeo and Juliet play to enjoy this book. You certainly don’t need to have liked, or hated, said play. There’s enough information, and enough differences, that you won’t be missing out on anything if you’re going into this blind. If you’re looking for a great spin on a classic play, with adorable MCs and some extremely unique setting changes, then this is the book for you.

[KMart Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Representation: Gay and pansexual main characters

This is an utterly charming reimagining of Romeo & Juliet that takes the classic tale and gives it a fun, modern twist. This is a story for anyone who’s ever been a theater kid or found themselves wishing Shakespeare wasn’t quite so serious and old-fashioned. The premise alone is intriguing—a time machine in Verona? Yes, please!

What makes this book stand out is its focus on two of the most compelling side characters from the original play, Benvolio and Mercutio. By shifting the spotlight away from the star-crossed lovers, the authors breathe new life into the story, exploring the deep and complex friendship—and romance—between ‘Mercy’ and ‘Benny.’ Their relationship is the beating heart of the book, filled with humor, warmth, and just the right amount of heartache.

The time travel element adds a fresh layer of chaos and adventure, turning what could have been a straightforward retelling into a lively romp through the ages. It’s a wild ride, filled with moments that will make you laugh, tug at your heartstrings, and leave you with a smile on your face.

Fans of Shakespeare will appreciate the clever nods to the original text, while also enjoying how the story veers off the well-trodden path to create something new and exciting. The writing is sharp, the banter is witty, and it just feels so FUN!

Thanks to My Big Gay Book Tour for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own. This review is based on a complimentary pre-released copy and it is voluntary.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best friends Benvolio and Mercutio get dragged into the deadly feud between the Montagues and the Capulets when Benvolio's cousin Romeo falls in love with Juliet. Then an older version of Benvolio appears and gives them a chance to change the outcome.

A humorous retelling of Shakespeare's drama Romeo and Juliet. It's also a sci-fi with fantasy elements, so definitely not something you read every day! I like the concept of time travels in theory, but in praxis I often get confused and stressed about everything that can go wrong. Still, it was the time traveling that made me want to read it (besides it being a retelling), so I guess I'm not consistant in my thinking!

Benvolio and Mercutio take turns relating the story and it took me a while to warm up to Mercutio, as I found him too impulsive and rash. But he growed on me, even though I didn't like his inclinations for parties, alcohol and drugs. I fell for Benvolio right away, and his love for Mercutio is so sweet.

All in all I enjoyed the book, but I felt it got repetitive in some parts, and it had nothing to do with the time travels. A couple of loose ends were left without answers, but I actually think I'm going to miss Benvolio and Mercutio for a while!

* I received an ARC through BookSirens and I'm giving my honest review. *

[Anxietea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A whimsical Romeo & Juliet spinoff in which Benvolio builds a time machine to save Mercutio's life. Shenanigans ensue.

This book was such a delight! Imagine Romeo and Juliet meets Thursday Next, with a dash of chaotic time-travel energy. Just an all around zany adventure with some tender moments that will melt your heart. Totally charming and such a fun read!

[Soren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun read! As a more casual Shakespeare fan, I was excited to get to read a fun new twist on some of his characters. I really enjoyed getting to know this Benvolio and Mercutio and getting to watch them explore together. The story flowed nicely and I thought each new step of their adventure was so fun to follow. Every new step of their adventure had me hooked and I enjoyed this from start to finish. I received a free ARC of this, and I’m choosing to leave an honest review.

[Jen (Fae_Princess_in_Space) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fun comedy of errors answers the age old question, what happens if you mash together Shakespeare, Faust and Dr Who? The answer is a chaotic, romantic, drama-filled story, set in a steampunk historical Verona, which jumps through space and time as our titular heroes Benvolio and Mercutio try to prevent the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet and their families.

This book is told in 3 acts - with the first being the creation and initial exploration using the Time Machine, the second is the events which cause the initial deaths (which stays relatively loyal to the Shakespeare play) and the third is where Ben and Mercy get 5 attempts to change the past and set the story right.

I really enjoyed the best-friends-to lovers element of the story. Ben and Mercy are roommates who do absolutely everything together. It is only when Mercy dies during a duel with Romeo and Tybalt does Ben realise the true depth of feelings for his best friend. It’s this need to have another chance to tell Mercy that he loves him, that spurs Ben on to create the Time Machine.

The story is chaotic, with jumps through space and time and lots of comedy and amusing moments. I felt Mercy channeled a lot of Matt Smith-era Dr Who with Benvolio his nervous-but-willing sidekick. If you’re a fan of chaotic queers in fancy jackets randomly pressing buttons in a Time Machine, you’re gonna love this 🤣

The reason this lost stars for me is twofold; the first issue was I personally found the writing quite clumsy. There was a lot of exposition that I felt wasn’t needed but at the same time I felt it was missing a lot of world-building, such as more of the steampunk Verona where they live. Secondly, the book was also trying to do too much in my opinion. In the first section the boys were using the Time Machine to just jump about in time and space, but I think either that should have even a whole book on its own, or it should have been cut out of this one. It was a great idea but just not well executed. Also, at one point they landed in 1941… the farmer they met was overly friendly, but considering it’s smack bang in the middle of WW2 it seems to me like they might not be so friendly to a pair of strangers with odd accents that appeared from nowhere? Seems like a bit of an oversight.

Overall though this was a fun read and if you can get through the first section, the subsequent ones really improve in my opinion!

Read Benvolio & Mercutio turn back time for:
✨ Re-imagining of Romeo & Juliet
✨ Steampunk alternative reality
✨ Shakespeare x Dr Who x Faust
✨ Best friends to lovers
✨ Idiots in love
✨ Chaotic queers in space and time
✨ Five chances to stop a tragedy
✨ There’s also a demon called Dennis

Thanks to the authors for an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own 💕

[Beatrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea behind this book is engaging and immediately captured my attention: we all know how Romeo and Juliet's story plays out, but what if there was a way for two friends-turned-lovers to go back in time and prevent the tragedy from unfolding?

Any readers familiar with the original tale should be aware that the setting in this retelling differs from the original, to a more modern 1900s steampunk version of Verona, which promised to be an interesting change. Starting from this premise, I was looking forward to following Benvolio and Mercutio on their journey through time, and especially seeing how their relationship would play out. Unfortunately, I was seriously disappointed by the execution.

The pacing of this book is messy, with the first part essentially being devoted solely to Benvolio and Mercutio jumping around through time with no connection to the stated aim, which was to prevent Mercutio's death, but also with no time being devoted to exploring any of the timelines further. The book itself moves frantically from one thing to the next, with no breathing room nor space to delve deeper, leaving the sense that it remained consistently surface-level, leaving me unsatisfied.

The worldbuilding is also severely lacking, with no clear sense of how anything works nor the rules of the world. I was especially frustrated when a demon was suddenly summoned, when there had been no previous indication of the existence of magical creatures within this world.

The characters could have been better developed. As they were, they appeared to be largely one-dimensional, their dialogues often stilted and their behaviour nonsensical. The romantic element is cute though, and I did enjoy watching it develop although I would have appreciated it more if more time was spent significantly developing this instead of meandering through a messy plot.

I received an advanced review copy of this book for free via BookSirens. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

For more reviews, visit Book for Thought.

[Lisa Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE retellings and Shakespeare and this did not disappoint in that respect. This is a fun Romeo & Juliet retelling. I LOVED getting to know the Mercutio and Benvolio that Elle Beaumont and Lou Wilham have brought into the world; they are both delightful! If you are like me and Romeo & Juliet themselves are underwhelming and annoying as protagonists, you will love watching Mercutio and Benvolio take center stage! I would happily go on more adventures with them. Their romance will warm your heart and make you sigh; they love each other well and deeply. The characters and the concept were both winners in my book.

The time-travel spin is a great concept, the intense motivation of the survivors of a Shakespearean tragedy to go back and fix the ending, to save everyone from their dire fate; I LOVED that idea. But there were some stumbling blocks for me in the execution. The steampunk setting worked well, especially to set up the time machine aspect, but it was very cursory and not as vivid throughout the writing as I would have hoped, you see some dirigibles in the beginning, but not much more to set the scene or immerse us in the 1901 Steampunk Verona I would have hoped to see. Also, the sci-fi/time travel focus was great but then there were the bits of fantasy (summoning demons and deals with fairies to fix things) thrown in for a few chapters that felt like they didn't really belong and that made the story fall short a bit for me. I would have preferred if the story stuck to one or the other in order to fix the tragedy that is Romeo & Juliet, fantastical/magical creatures to solve the problems or time-travel, but not both. The time-travel stint in the beginning is a bit choppy and again, I would have preferred if it focused on the "fixing" of the original tragedy or on the idea of using the time machine to save Mercutio and have a romp through time together, rather than having both squeezed into one story.

Thank you BookSirens for an advance review copy for free; I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a fun story that was a mix of Romeo and Juliet, steampunk, Groundhog Day, and possibly other things that I didn't catch. It was fun seeing the old R&J story from B&M's perspective, and I really LIKED who they were. I don't remember all the details of the play, so I don't know what their personalities were like in the original, but I liked how different they were from each other, and yet they fit together. I liked the way being on the lgbtq+ spectrum was not a big deal for the society. Unfortunately, for several of the characters, being from the wrong family or coming from different social statuses WAS a big deal. Overall, I enjoyed the idea of Benvolio building a time traveling device to try to fix everything so that everyone he cared about could be happy. Where the story fell short was in some of the dialogue, and also the randomness of Demons and Fae. It just seemed to come out of nowhere. I found it challenging to figure out the rules of the world. I guess the world building was the weakest part of the story. They mentioned steam-powered carriages (as well as horse powered carriages) in their time, making me think that perhaps it was possible in several decades, Benvolio could find the instructions for building a time machine.

But all this said, if you're willing to not trying to make everything make sense, including the rules of time travel, and just sit and enjoy the ride as Benvolio and Mercutio desperately try to fix everything so that they can have their own happy ending, it's a fun yarn. My favorite part was watching them both realize they were in love with the other, and that the other loved them back. I also liked that they learned something from each hop back, similar to Groundhog Day.  

I would recommend this story if you enjoy retellings, imaginative stories that focus on the people, and you don't mind minimal world building.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from BookSirens. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you don't like Romeo & Juliet, read this book! It might just change your mind. If you do, read this book! It might be your favorite adaptation yet!

This book is so funny, cute, and endearing! It's an incredibly refreshing and unique take on the original. I loved every moment of it and now I want a sequel of Benvolio and Mercutio just traveling through space & time.

I've had a soft spot for Mercutio and this book's version doesn't disappoint in the least! He's brash and he's brilliant - if only he doesn't get bored first. I relate to that so much!

Benvolio is cautious and book smart, which pairs perfectly with Mercy's impulsive energy. I just love seeing these boys play off each other, building on each other's strengths and loving each other's human side. I can't help but cheer for these two loveable idiots while they slowly get their heads out of their asses. They have A+ chemistry and I could watch them scheme forever.

As a time travel fan, watching these guys pop up in different times and places made me feel like I was in a candy store! Benny and Mercy dancing to Cher! Watching the Northern Lights! Oh, my heart! I never knew I needed these!

I have to admit that Romeo & Juliet has never been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, but that's because I've never seen an adaptation quite like this. For most of the book I was convinced that this Romeo is the exact hummingbird-brained Romeo I find in most adaptations. At the end I had to find out that's not quite true and I think it makes him all the better as a character. Rosaline is possibly my favorite iteration on the character (and she finally appears!)

So, as you might get from this rambling review, this book was so good that I can't think straight. (Heh, do I ever…)

I'll keep recommending this book because it was an absolute pleasure to read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lizzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting a campy, fun-filled adventure, with queer romance, a bit of sci-fi, and a Shakespearean vibe. While the queer romance was there, the story was just all over the place.

It’s not until the second chapter that it’s established that the whole Romeo and Juliet story has been transported forward several centuries, all the characters aged up, and various details of the story changed. My first issue is that none of this was properly established; while I really liked the idea of the new setting and the various changes that were made, I felt like I’d wandered in halfway through and was just trying to pick up the world here and there.

For the first third of the book, Benvolio and Mercutio go on various time-travel adventures, which was fun but didn’t really add to the story at all, when that time could have been spent establishing other world and plot details. When we did eventually return to the R&J story, it was so far detached from the world and atmosphere of the original that it was almost unrecognisable.

In the final part of the book, a whole load of other elements were brought in – Mercutio somehow summons a demon? And there’s talk of fairies too?! None of these had been established earlier, as this whole paranormal element was brought in. And then in a blink, it was over.

There were so many ideas going on in this book, and they could perhaps have worked if the plot was more cohesive and fleshed out. The end result though is a book where the plot is all over the place and the world building is non-existent.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

[Mandy Kell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“But don’t think for one moment that I am going to let go of this grand adventure without a fight.”⠀
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Elle Beaumont & Lou Wilham, Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time⠀
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Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time by Lou Wilham and Elle Beaumont is an Adult Sci-fi Fantasy Romcom that just released and it was such a fun, campy read. Think Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but with a Shakespeare twist and make it gay!⠀
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The world building and time travel in the book was unique but familiar. I especially enjoyed the steampunk vibes of old Verona and the cautionary tales of the far future settlements. I'm totally with Mercutio that no matter where or when, there's always time for cheese and drinks! The places and people made each stop a fun adventure in itself.⠀
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Benny and Mercy are the cutest couple by the way. A classic case of opposites attract, these two are the best of friends....and a whole lot more! The friends to lovers trope is my absolute favorite so I couldn't be happier with the sweet romance of the MC's. I also loved the side character's romantic entanglements. Dennis by the way is my new fave, horny, punny demon - just saying.⠀
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Check out this book if you want a fantasy romance on the lighter side with a nod towards the Renaissance and The Princess Bride vibes. ⠀

[Andi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The idea of Benvolio going back in time to stop the events of Romeo and Juliet and get his HEA with Mercutio is amazing. However, the book is VERY loosely adapted from the play. The time traveling doesn’t make a lot of sense and there doesn’t seem to be much logic to anything, including the characters’ motivations (there is forward time travel for about a third of the book). This book reads like a couple of friends got together and wrote a really fun story. There’s a place for stories like that but it felt like there were many inside jokes I wasn’t privy to and as a result, struggled to stay focused. The dialogue changes between slightly older English to very modern (the phrase, “this is balls” is used).
One thing I did like about the book was the pining. Mercutio and Benvolio were very cute together and their romance scenes were nice. If you’re looking for a fun book with complete suspension of disbelief, this might be a nice weeknight read for you.
Many thanks to BookSirens for sharing this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review!

[Cas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recieved a free ARC from booksirens in exchange for an honest review

While this book was generally good, there are just a few things that dragged it's rating significantly down. To begin with, the writing style felt incredible yound adult and rather childish, so while I knew that in theory the characters were in their 20s when confronted with a spicy scene, seemingly out of nowhere, I was incredibly taken aback.

On top of this the plot didn't seem to know what it wanted to do/be. The first 30% or so did centre around the whole time travel element, but after that fact the time travel thing kind of just fell to the wayside. At one point (Around 60%) demons and faeries just show up randomly despite only being metioned as a possibilty once prior to this, in the prologue.

Finally the phrase "bee in his bonnet" is used three times in this book, which for almost any other phrase would be less noticable, but, just, why?

Overall the book was OK, definitely not what I was expecting based on its description and I'm not sure it or I knew what it was supposed to be.

[actuallymercutio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this so much. It fitted so well with how I imagine the depth is to the characters and it was just GODS AMAZING. Give me a Mercutio who does everything for those he loves but feels unlovable underneath, who would without a second thought throw his life away to save those he cares about. Give me a Benvolio who suffers so much at the loss of his friends that he’ll redefine the quantum, who loves deeply, who’s the common sense of his friends but loses it when he loses them too. Give me a Bencutio where they long for each other so much they’d tear the universe apart,who show us that the tragedy of Verona wasn’t R&J taking their lives, but those who were forced to endure it around them, those who had to suffer the consequences. AND THIS BOOK DID. I won’t lie, I was extremely confused over the beginning of them just jumping around time and all, but after finishing it I do get how just kind of sets their whole dynamic. I loved this so so much and will most likely do a re-read because Im too hyperfixated on Bencutio to forget about this book any time soon

[Lisseth Gaspar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Benvolio and Mercutio Turn Back Time is a nice read. I enjoyed reading this and was excited to see how the story would unfold. However, it is very fast-paced and I felt frustrated with some of the choices the characters made. The dialogue the characters was a mix between modern and Shakespearean, but it became fairly easy to understand as I moved forward.

I do want to say that the world building is very fast-paced considering that Benvolio and Mercutio are traveling through time. It also contains a mixture of demons and fae’s, but while it was mentioned a bit in the beginning, we don’t see more of it until the middle-end of the book which makes it feel that it came out of nowhere.


It’s a good book if you’re looking for something that’s high in fantasy and romance.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time travel Shakespeare retelling? Yes, please!

Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time was a blast of a read where we learn that the story of Romeo and Juliet is so much hassle to get perfectly right. When you involve a time machine and our opposites-attract pair of "lifelong friends", things really get wibbly wobbly. I adored the dynamic and the relationship development between Benvolio and Mercutio (just not as much their nicknames for each other, Benny and Mercy). It's a sweet romance, but be aware it has some pretty spicy scenes - it's not all high society parties and operating time-altering machinery with these two.

If you're a fan of modern-ish retellings, queer romance and time travel, you'll love this delightful tale.

✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.

[Joan Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, Elle Beaumont and Lou Wilham

I went into this story knowing to things it was about time travel and LGBTQIA lifestyle.

This story is very quirky. The scenes seem rushed. The two main male characters seem out of touch with each other. One is the practical rational stereotype, and the other is over the top impulsive at the drop of a hat. They are definitely an odd couple, like Oscar and Felix. This story was disappointing. I was hoping for a lot more fun and to have a solid connecting plot point. It's a light read full of some laugh out loud moments.

[Sayura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was nice, but not memorable.

I was a little bit surprised by the steam-punky setting and all the traveling to the future when I expected more of them trying to fix what is going to happen right from the start.

I sadly never really felt the romance between the two main characters and their voices weren't distinct enough for me, so I kept getting confused and mixing them up.

Overall it was nice, but I wouldn't read it again.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so fun! Such a fresh concept. I loved the steampunk elements. It gave me Around the World in 80 Days vibes.

The dynamic between Benvolio and Mercutio was so romantic and sweet. I loved their banter and their fully realized characters. I was rooting for them the whole way through, and I was on the edge of my seat wondering how they were going to accomplish their goal.

Thanks to the authors and BookSirens for an ARC of this fun book.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time is a fun cross-genre romp of a novel that you should crack open only if you're in the right frame of mind for ridiculous frivolity. Despite some clumsy pacing and awkward dialogue, I enjoyed the overall story and the genuine concern the MCs show for each other from page one.

[I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.]

[SarahReadsAndWrites · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 for me

This was a fun twist through a familiar story. The dynamic between Benvolio & Mercutio in all the iterations of their timeline was definitely a highlight.

Overall the story felt a little disjointed and the overall ending didn’t quite feel like it fit with the pace of the rest of the story.

I liked it, I wanted to love it, but it just didn’t come together for me in the end.

[Michelle Bibliovino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reimagining of the classic tale of star-crossed lovers. This gay love story pits Benvolio and Mercutio against time and destiny and takes the tale on a wild ride. I enjoyed the ideas here, but needed a bit more thoughtfulness in the execution. I think you’ll like the fast pace, the romance, and the banter.

Thank you to Book Sirens for my copy. These opinions are my own.