Rarely does a book leave such an impact on me! I was highly anticipating this book after LOVING The Six Deaths of the Saint, and my high expectations were beyond exceeded. I would give this six stars if I could!

As soon as I finished it, my fingers itched to turn back to page one, and read it all over again. This is the kind of book you read (at least) twice, lest you miss any of the fantastic parallels, foreshadowing and references Alix E Harrow works in so incredibly. I annotated this book within an inch of its life, every page full of profound statements and stunning imagery. Every word, every sentence, feels so deliberate, and the masterful writing shines through in the prose.

My favourite part was the epic romance between the Una and Owen, and the exploration of fate/chance. Their story was so beautiful, full of yearning and heartbreak. My chest ached reading their story, and I am sure that these characters will be sticking with me for a long time to come.

I look forward to singing this book's praises when it is published in October.

Ambitious, earnest, and meticulously told.

I don't know if I truly have the words to do this book justice. The Everlasting has been my most anticipated book of the year, and I felt oddly terrified when the proof arrived that it wouldn't live up to The Six Deaths of the Saint - but oh I was not disappointed.

The story is told to us primarily from the perspective of historian Owen Mallory, but he is rarely speaking to us directly. He speaks to 'you', to Una Everlasting, sharing the truth of their story with one another in contrast to the telling that makes it into the 'final' history book. A time loop plot device can be tricky, they can be confusing and repetitive: The Everlasting switches and changes and deepens just enough to make every Life and every Death compelling to read.

Not only is The Everlasting a brilliantly innovative fantasy and an epic love story, it has deeply insightful points to make about history: who tells it, how it is told, and who gets the benefit. For a medieval, Joan of Arc-esque narrative, there are some startlingly prescient points to be made about modern media and how our political world has been shaped, and it is clear that these themes have been percolating with Alix E Harrow for a long while.

I have pledged my entirety to this book, to Una, to Alix E Harrow. Sorry to everyone who will be hearing me wax lyrical about this book for years to come.