Name: Sabetha Danes's review of The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
Item: The Everlasting
Rating: 5
Author: Sabetha Danes

Alix E. Harrow

Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters—but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.

Centuries later, Owen Mallory—failed soldier, struggling scholar—falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives—and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.

But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend—if they want to tell a different story--they’ll have to rewrite history itself.


The Everlasting

CJ Osborn-Clark

Spice Level: a couple of mildly descriptive sex scenes.

Looping sadness, heartbreak, and historical meddling fit for a mastermind.

This book grabbed me by the heart and didn't let go until the journey was over. Alix has such a way with words, it's like she is soothing you with a lullaby about murder and power hungry foe. Magical. It is really hard to put into words how wonderful Alix's writing style is. Def. one of my favorites.

I never saw the light at the end of the tunnel for Una and Owen. The entire ride had me captivated, but puzzled. The twists felt like knives, no matter where they made adjustments, it still stabbed just as hard.

This book builds upon itself, so there is no way to talk about any of it. The way it flows is masterful. Little seeds of truth start falling into place as the loop logic expands, but they could be lies or false memories. So many 'no way' moments throughout.

I loved the text in text aspect. It really made the 'historical' aspects of the story feel real life. In the audiobook, the way they spoke of Una's government name was unique. Has someone described that to me, I would have though it distracting, but it just added to the mystery.

You'll love this book if you enjoy books that feel like poetry, read like history, and litter with a bit of romance.

Sabetha Danes

Spice Level: a couple of mildly descriptive sex scenes.

Looping sadness, heartbreak, and historical meddling fit for a mastermind.

This book grabbed me by the heart and didn't let go until the journey was over. Alix has such a way with words, it's like she is soothing you with a lullaby about murder and power hungry foe. Magical. It is really hard to put into words how wonderful Alix's writing style is. Def. one of my favorites.

I never saw the light at the end of the tunnel for Una and Owen. The entire ride had me captivated, but puzzled. The twists felt like knives, no matter where they made adjustments, it still stabbed just as hard.

This book builds upon itself, so there is no way to talk about any of it. The way it flows is masterful. Little seeds of truth start falling into place as the loop logic expands, but they could be lies or false memories. So many 'no way' moments throughout.

I loved the text in text aspect. It really made the 'historical' aspects of the story feel real life. In the audiobook, the way they spoke of Una's government name was unique. Has someone described that to me, I would have though it distracting, but it just added to the mystery.

You'll love this book if you enjoy books that feel like poetry, read like history, and litter with a bit of romance.

I famously love time travel stories where the main characters write love letters to each other (looking at you Red and Blue!) So you’d think I would love this book. Incorrect.

None of the characters were compelling. The mmc - Owen - is a fucking LOSER. He’s a borderline incel dweeb that cries at the drop of a hat. You can be sensitive without being a bitch. Furthermore, he has the audacity to call his love interest - Una - ugly multiple times, and I’m supposed to root for him and think he’s endearing for falling for her “despite” this. Una’s entire personality is being a rugged lady knight that’s bigger than the mmc. The romance came out of nowhere and felt very close to insta-love. There was no build up or angst. All of a sudden, they’re into each other. We only know that because we’re told so, but at no point do I actually feel the affection between them.

The title of the book is ironic because I felt like my suffering was “everlasting”. The pacing was unbearable and all over the place. We literally read the same story over and over again because of the time travel aspect, but once was already pushing it. The prose was fine for the most part, but some moments felt flowery for the sake of being flowery with unnecessary metaphors. The second person POV is something I’ve liked in other books, but those were broken up by other tenses. I’m now realizing that an entire book of second person is exhausting and off putting. That, on top of the fact that it was a lot of telling and not showing, affected my reading experience very negatively.

Basically, fuck this book. Owen is annoying. The writing is annoying. The plot is annoying — in the way that it’s nonexistent. I only finished this so when I express my negative opinions about it, someone can’t dismiss my thoughts by saying I didn’t read the entire thing. I truly believe the positive reviews are lies.

Nik ✨

I famously love time travel stories where the main characters write love letters to each other (looking at you Red and Blue!) So you’d think I would love this book. Incorrect.

None of the characters were compelling. The mmc - Owen - is a fucking LOSER. He’s a borderline incel dweeb that cries at the drop of a hat. You can be sensitive without being a bitch. Furthermore, he has the audacity to call his love interest - Una - ugly multiple times, and I’m supposed to root for him and think he’s endearing for falling for her “despite” this. Una’s entire personality is being a rugged lady knight that’s bigger than the mmc. The romance came out of nowhere and felt very close to insta-love. There was no build up or angst. All of a sudden, they’re into each other. We only know that because we’re told so, but at no point do I actually feel the affection between them.

The title of the book is ironic because I felt like my suffering was “everlasting”. The pacing was unbearable and all over the place. We literally read the same story over and over again because of the time travel aspect, but once was already pushing it. The prose was fine for the most part, but some moments felt flowery for the sake of being flowery with unnecessary metaphors. The second person POV is something I’ve liked in other books, but those were broken up by other tenses. I’m now realizing that an entire book of second person is exhausting and off putting. That, on top of the fact that it was a lot of telling and not showing, affected my reading experience very negatively.

Basically, fuck this book. Owen is annoying. The writing is annoying. The plot is annoying — in the way that it’s nonexistent. I only finished this so when I express my negative opinions about it, someone can’t dismiss my thoughts by saying I didn’t read the entire thing. I truly believe the positive reviews are lies.

so charming, magical, and special. like wow. i have nothing else to say the magic of this story was just so moving and special.

Cici Pearson

"History is mostly happenstance. Accidents piled on top of mistakes, a series of dice rolled in dim rooms by careless hands. It is not a lesson, until we learn it. It is not a story, until we tell it. And every story serves someone."

Wow.. what a story. Alix E. Harrow, you are a mastermind. This was poetic, awe inspiring, heart breaking, wondorous and beautiful. I just knew when I read the novella 

 that it would be stunning if told in longer form, and Harrow proved that absolutely correct. This was everything I have wanted in a time bending story, a feeling I haven't experienced since I read 

 (back when I was too young to understand the grooming aspect over that romance) and since I saw 

. Alix's surname really is poignant for this story too, because I found the whole concept of this novel pretty harrowing - the idea that two lovers have to chase each other through time and memory again and again, one always watching the other die at the end of every chase, not understanding why they're stuck in this loop, what purpose it serves and if it's all worth it? It was just... absolutely devastating but also, so heartachingly beautiful too. I could imagine this being a modern classic myth one day in the future.

The way this book studied the ideas surrounding the importance of storytelling and the dangers of rewriting history was so well done. Owen, our scholar, has always loved fairytales and history, and most of all the story of Sir Una Everlasting, a Saint who became the symbol of Dominion. Una, our knight, has always served another, the first queen of Dominion, Yvaine, as her champion, her shield, her weapon, but she has grown tired of this, the dark feelings that come with all of the death that she has wrought in the name of someone else. They meet one day under the yew tree and their story is as convoluted as it can be. What time are they really from? Why do they feel like they know each other already? Why does their whole story feel... off? I loved these two so much. Their gender bending relationship dynamic, her a huge, muscular protector, and him a kind, gentle caretaker, was so lovely. Right from the start when they were first awkward and at odds I knew their love would be a star in the night sky. The one thing I do wish is that their connection had been shown more on the page, this is one of the places where I dropped quarter of a star. I adored them together and you could tell how much they loved each other, but we were told this a lot, and often shown it through their actions, but I just wanted to fall deeply into that more intimate connection of dialogue, the quiet moments together where they're getting to know the inner workings of their minds together. We saw some of this in the way that excerpts were told as stories to one another, but I think it didn't fully translate to me emotionally which meant I didn't quite shed a tear like I thought I was going to. My heart swelled and my throat got tight, but it didn't quite break past that.

I loved that this book made you question the line between victim and villain as well. There are moments in this book where you can't help but feel sympathetic for Vivian and everything that she has been through, the why that lead to this whole mess. The last few chapters of this book really make you stop and think about what you would do to create a better world for your children and loved ones, for the women who are looked down on by men in power as less than. Her rant in her office:

it really hit me! But ultimately it shows how power corrupts even those with the best intentions and you can end up hurting the person you want to build a better world for more than anyone else, and hurting yourself. I really think the way this book finished was very satisfying, it doesn't try to pretend that the world is perfect and healed after the climax of action, it still acknowledges and even celebrates how flawed humans really are, but that it's what makes us human, it's what makes our history so colourful, and that censoring it or forgetting its important messages can make the future worse. You can't change the past, you can't predict the future, you only have right now to make life and love count.

This one did have a slow start for me, which also contributed to the quarter star I removed in my rating, so it did take me longer to read than I thought it would. But once I really got into it, I flew through it when I wasn't working and absolutely adored it. This book is as close to a full five stars as it could get, and the only way I could see this being better would be to make it longer and give us more! I thought this book was brilliantly clever and beautifully written, I highlighted so many quotes and had so much fun reading this. The cypher at the end was a really nice touch as well, even though I had already guessed Una's first name much earlier on in the book. I thought the messages about love and forgiveness and understanding in this book were really important, I will definitely want to reread this story again one day and will be recommending it to everyone I know!

"I loved you by then, or would soon, or always had. It was inevitable, foretold: When I look up, I will see the sky; when I fight, I will win; when I meet Owen Mallory, I will love him."

Genevieve 

"History is mostly happenstance. Accidents piled on top of mistakes, a series of dice rolled in dim rooms by careless hands. It is not a lesson, until we learn it. It is not a story, until we tell it. And every story serves someone."

4.75⭐

Wow.. what a story. Alix E. Harrow, you are a mastermind. This was poetic, awe inspiring, heart breaking, wondorous and beautiful. I just knew when I read the novella The Six Deaths of the Saint that it would be stunning if told in longer form, and Harrow proved that absolutely correct. This was everything I have wanted in a time bending story, a feeling I haven't experienced since I read The Time Travellers Wife (back when I was too young to understand the grooming aspect over that romance) and since I saw About Time. Alix's surname really is poignant for this story too, because I found the whole concept of this novel pretty harrowing - the idea that two lovers have to chase each other through time and memory again and again, one always watching the other die at the end of every chase, not understanding why they're stuck in this loop, what purpose it serves and if it's all worth it? It was just... absolutely devastating but also, so heartachingly beautiful too. I could imagine this being a modern classic myth one day in the future.

The way this book studied the ideas surrounding the importance of storytelling and the dangers of rewriting history was so well done. Owen, our scholar, has always loved fairytales and history, and most of all the story of Sir Una Everlasting, a Saint who became the symbol of Dominion. Una, our knight, has always served another, the first queen of Dominion, Yvaine, as her champion, her shield, her weapon, but she has grown tired of this, the dark feelings that come with all of the death that she has wrought in the name of someone else. They meet one day under the yew tree and their story is as convoluted as it can be. What time are they really from? Why do they feel like they know each other already? Why does their whole story feel... off? I loved these two so much. Their gender bending relationship dynamic, her a huge, muscular protector, and him a kind, gentle caretaker, was so lovely. Right from the start when they were first awkward and at odds I knew their love would be a star in the night sky. The one thing I do wish is that their connection had been shown more on the page, this is one of the places where I dropped quarter of a star. I adored them together and you could tell how much they loved each other, but we were told this a lot, and often shown it through their actions, but I just wanted to fall deeply into that more intimate connection of dialogue, the quiet moments together where they're getting to know the inner workings of their minds together. We saw some of this in the way that excerpts were told as stories to one another, but I think it didn't fully translate to me emotionally which meant I didn't quite shed a tear like I thought I was going to. My heart swelled and my throat got tight, but it didn't quite break past that.

I loved that this book made you question the line between victim and villain as well. There are moments in this book where you can't help but feel sympathetic for Vivian and everything that she has been through, the why that lead to this whole mess. The last few chapters of this book really make you stop and think about what you would do to create a better world for your children and loved ones, for the women who are looked down on by men in power as less than. Her rant in her office:

"Even now, after all my precedents, that are jackals at my heels. Wealthy men waiting for the slightest sign of weakness, the smallest dip in the polls. I've given them contracts, factories, new markets—prestigious appointments for their shitty sons, quick divorces for the inconvenient wives—I've given them an empire—and still, still, I am not safe. I cannot be too young or too old, too beautiful or too ugly. I cannot weep or rage. I cannot refuse a man nor fuck nor marry him—a queen is only powerful if there are no kings or prices nearby"


it really hit me! But ultimately it shows how power corrupts even those with the best intentions and you can end up hurting the person you want to build a better world for more than anyone else, and hurting yourself. I really think the way this book finished was very satisfying, it doesn't try to pretend that the world is perfect and healed after the climax of action, it still acknowledges and even celebrates how flawed humans really are, but that it's what makes us human, it's what makes our history so colourful, and that censoring it or forgetting its important messages can make the future worse. You can't change the past, you can't predict the future, you only have right now to make life and love count.

This one did have a slow start for me, which also contributed to the quarter star I removed in my rating, so it did take me longer to read than I thought it would. But once I really got into it, I flew through it when I wasn't working and absolutely adored it. This book is as close to a full five stars as it could get, and the only way I could see this being better would be to make it longer and give us more! I thought this book was brilliantly clever and beautifully written, I highlighted so many quotes and had so much fun reading this. The cypher at the end was a really nice touch as well, even though I had already guessed Una's first name much earlier on in the book. I thought the messages about love and forgiveness and understanding in this book were really important, I will definitely want to reread this story again one day and will be recommending it to everyone I know!

"I loved you by then, or would soon, or always had. It was inevitable, foretold: When I look up, I will see the sky; when I fight, I will win; when I meet Owen Mallory, I will love him."

CJ Osborn-Clark &
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Reviews

Join the club

CJ Osborn-Clark &The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Reviews

Join the club

CJ Osborn-Clark &
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow