“In order to have a future worth fighting for, you must have a past worth remembering” I wanted to write down my favourite quotes and then realised it would be me just transcribing the book. What a beautiful masterpiece ‘The Everlasting’ is. It clocks in at barely over 300 pages but packs more of a punch than books twice as long. This is my first experience reading Alix E. Harrow but it certainly will not be my last. ‘The Everlasting’ is so many things, but in essence it is a romance, a romance that echoes throughout the centuries and changes the trajectory of a nation, romance that will be played out time and time again, a romance that is seemingly devoid of any happy ending. Owen Mallory is a middling historian, a self professed coward, and he is hopelessly devoted to the tale of the legendary Una Everlasting. Una is the hero who forged the future of Dominion, the Saint, the Legend of times past and the inspiration that took Owen to war and back. Owen is sent back in time to write the story of Una, a story that may not be quite what it seems, and a story that will be relived over and over again. I have been rather underwhelmed by my experience with the “lady knight” books so far this year, however this has absolutely blown the others out of the water. This is exactly what I was hoping for and so much more. The time travel, the time loop, the love that outlasts all and persists throughout every life. It is a beautiful love story told in such a tragic way. It is a book that takes on the idea of myths and legends too. How a story is not always what it appears to be and how these stories can be crafted to fit the narrative of those in power. It draws upon the ‘1984’ idea of how controlling the narrative is how you control the populace. It is extremely pertinent in the current climate and is such an interesting angle to tackle in a book that wouldn’t automatically appear to cover that sort of thing. Una in particular lives such a tragic story, the full extent of which you don’t discover until late, and it is truly heartbreaking to read. Everything about her life is never as it appears, except for one thing, Owen. Harrow’s writing is fantastic throughout, it is lyrical, poetic, it encapsulates the fairy tale feeling without losing the grounded reality and the serious emotion of it. The way the author tells the same story multiple times but it doesn’t feel repetitive, and it doesn’t lose its impact is impressive and really takes a lot of skill. I also really enjoyed the way she flipped multiple times to tell the story for a different POV, it provided context to moments that were not clear and helped develop the magnitude of the feelings between Una and Owen. I was utterly blown away by ‘The Everlasting’, I had high hopes and all of them were blown out of the water. Also that opening line “It begins where it ends, beneath the yew tree”, is a classic of an opening line.

This is a phenomenal concept, with Arthurian legend woven into a story about revisionist history, colonialism, and the futility of war. The changing settings, from WW1-esque to medieval, highlighted those themes. The prose is marvellous, and the characters compelling. There were moments where the cyclical nature of the plot made it a bit repetitive, but patience is rewarded by the subtle nuggets of change that you have to stay alert for. It's more romantic than I usually go for, but there is such depth to the relationship and beauty in how they heal each other's trauma that I was with them all the way.

Scholar Owen Mallory is given an opportunity to go back in time to help Una Everlasting become the iconic heroine she is known to be. But as he supports her on her quest, it all starts to feel familiar. This was such a beautiful book. The writing is masterful and the interwoven plots are truly impressive. I went from mildly curious to completely invested, heartbroken, hopeful once more, and then just ruined! This is definitely one of my top reads of the year. A recommended read for fans of Alix E Harrow and time-travel romance. Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.