Owen Mallory is a failed soldier, historian, and son of a rather anarchical father. Owen’s grey life has been filled with imagery of the Dominion’s greatest hero, Sir Una Everlasting. Una’s life was similarly grey, until as a young orphan she is swept away by the Queen, given wars to win, and tasks to fulfill. Her life becomes the Queen’s, until one day she meets Owen, who has fallen through time in order to write a book about Una. Immediately, the two are connected. By fate, by their journey, and by chemistry. They are tangled together in time and as Owen writes and rewrites Una’s story their fates too are entertwined.

Excited by all the five star ratings, I was really eager to read The Everlasting. However, I turned the first page with a little trepidation. I read Alix E. Harrow’s acclaimed novel The Ten Thousand Doors of January and I had trouble connecting with the main character. I thought the prose elegantly written, but that elegance created a barrier that made it hard to identify with the main character. The Everlasting is also very elegantly written, but this story reminded me of my classes in college where I would fall into the epic tails of Gawain, Sir Lancelot, and even Beowulf. Instead of creating a barrier where I had trouble identifying with the characters, Harrow’s lyrical words opened doors into a world I had zero trouble falling into.

I think what hooked me the most about this story was that the author combined several tropes seamlessly. First, the obvious, Good vs. Evil, and the reveal of that character happens slowly which makes their evilness so much more delicious. So, yes, I was drawn in by that first trope, but it was the fairy-tale elements to the story that secured that hook. The lyrical writing, which bothered me in her other novel worked perfectly in this setting and the pace and thoughtfulness in developing these characters fully was beautiful. I’ll also admit that I love a good romance and the slow build of Owen and Una’s relationship and love for each other was both breathtaking and heart-breaking. Normally, being captured by a story I would breeze through a book, but The Everlasting was methodical and I didn’t want to ruin the pace of her writing because of my own impatience to see what happens at the end. I’m glad I took my time because that ending was just fabulous. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

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