The Longest Autumn is a complex story about a world where Gods walk the earth and the bad guy will do whatever it takes to win. Tirne is the Herald for Autumn. She has held the job for years and loves the work she does. When the mirror between her world and the world of the gods breaks, she must unravel the mystery of who destroyed the mirror in order to save her world and the god she serves.

The author does a good job creating a large, diverse world with friendship and intrigue. The character of Tirne is strong willed and has worked tirelessly to become Autumn's Herald. I understood what was driving her through the story and I felt her emotions as she struggled to understand what was happening around her. I think the way the author showed the relationship between Tirne and Autumn was excellent. I had a sneaky hunch who the bad guy was from the very beginning of the story, but I doubted myself a couple of times as I was reading. I thought the bad guy and his reasons for what he was doing were really good. There is a large cast of side characters. Each character served a purpose in propelling the story forward. I thought there was a lot of potential for side stories with the other characters, but the author chose to focus on Tirne and the plight of Autumn.

I have some issues with the story but I think that the issues are mine and a lot of readers won't notice them. For example, the end fell a little flat in my opinion. The only explanation I have is that it seemed like the author decided the core story was done so just called it quits. It felt incomplete. Otherwise, my issues are things that would give away story elements and no spoilers here.

This is a fantasy novel set in a world where gods walk the earth and the seasons are changed by the gods. This is a quiet story where a lot happens but it is not pulse pounding excitement instead it is a slow building of information to lead to the conclusion. I would recommend this if you like to read fantasy novels.

The Longest Autumn is about Tirne, a Herald of the god Autumn and a curse that prevents Autumn from leaving the mortal world. This tragedy causes the season of autumn to last longer than usually, causing crops to die and now the mortals are faced with starvation. Autumn is losing his powers because he is trapped in the mortal lands.

I enjoyed the book but I couldn't fall in love with the characters. The world building was great and so was the magic system but that was it. Tirne, was extremely submissive. I expected more from her character, especially since she knew she was wrongfully accused for causing Autumn to be trapped in the mortal world and shattering the portal (the Mirror) that connected the two. She just kept allowing herself to be used. I thought it would be more of a mystery, where she's searching for clues and ends up solving the crime, but that doesn't happen.

I didn't get hooked until chapter 29 but then the ending was rushed and disappointing. It was as if Tirne went in circles and went through so much pain, for nothing. There wasn't any romance in the book, just a lot of sex. No character development and the pacing could have been better, The beginning was slow and the ending was rushed.

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity, in exchange for an honest review.

I almost don't want to make this review. I just want to start off by saying books are subjective and because I didn't like it doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a shot. That being said, this fell so short for me. I was excited to read this because the plot sounded amazing. It a very solid plot but wasn't executed well. The story itself is so slow. I felt like the same thing happened again and again. It didn't pick up until 70% and then you get to the ending which was also a let down. the only reason I finished was because I generally was interested in finding out why the mirror broke, like I said the plot was interesting. I was very bored and found it hard to finish.

As a avid reader of Greek Mythology, my anticipation for this book was marked by high expectations. Unfortunately, while the premise promised a spellbinding tale of a human ensnared with the god of Autumn, complete with life-threatening danger and a forbidden romance, the execution left much to be desired.

One of the standout features of the book is the world-building and the magic system, painting a vivid and enchanting landscape, fantastical realm where gods and mortals collide. The depiction of the god of Autumn and the inherent dangers that accompany him adds a layer of mystique to the narrative.
Regrettably, the positives are significantly overshadowed by several drawbacks. The plot unfolds in a manner that feels both repetitive and tedious, failing to sustain the initial promise of excitement and intrigue. The pacing, too, struggles to maintain a consistent flow, resulting in moments of stagnation that hinder the overall flow of the story.
Moreover, the characters, central to any engaging narrative, lack the depth and development needed to fully captivate me as a reader. Their actions and motivations become predictable, making it challenging to establish a meaningful connection with them. The forbidden romance, a key element in the synopsis, falls flat due to its underdeveloped nature, leaving me yearning for a more compelling emotional journey.

Thank you, NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This had an interesting premise, and I liked the magic system involved, with the mirror and ceremonial changing of seasons. However, the plot seemed a little too slow, and I’m not sure the character had enough backbone for the things she had to do. This had potential, but ultimately fell short of what I generally look for and enjoy in a fantasy novel.

Thank you to the publisher for my arc. '


I have never wanted to rage quit a book so many times. the writing right off the bat felt like a very bad greek mythology fanfic and IT DROVE ME INSANE. the main character comes off like a Bella Swan esque girl in a fantasy setting and I hated the romance. I'M SORRY I TRIED.

The beginning read very slowly, despite there being action from the get-go. It wound up being an odd juxtaposition that was hard for me to recover from. Perhaps it was how things were described? I couldn't place why the pacing of the story didn't match the energy. It just didn't work for me. With that said, I really did enjoy the story. Unfortunately, the story didn't quite match the description of the book. It's why I'm leaving this at 3-stars. If the description matched better, then I would have liked it more. If the energy matched the pacing, then I would have liked it more as well. As it currently stands, it overall fell a little flat for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read / review this book, and I wish all the best as this was a wonderful twist on gods and mortals.

This book started off so strong! For a debut author, Amy Avery definitely knows how to capture her audience’s attention and keep them in the story. The premise was unique in my reading habits, as I don’t read much mythology or retellings. But once I was halfway in, the story started to fall flat. It was a chore to finish, and unfortunately, I found the ending unsatisfying. I’ll definitely give the author another chance, as I enjoyed the writing, but this story wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Longest Autumn is about a young woman, Tierne, who is accompanies the god of Autumn to the human world and back to the divine world every year for the changing of the seasons. Early in the book there is an accident (or was it sabotage?) that leaves her and Autumn stranded in the human world, and the other gods unable to come for the changing of the seasons.

I got to about 40% and I just couldn't push through any longer. The writing style in this book screams teenager despite the adult themes and its marketing being directed towards adults. The prose is overly descriptive. Everything concerning the gods and their seasons is too on the nose and obvious, like Autumn smelling like apples and his cape dropping leaves everywhere he goes (which we hear about in EVERY scene with him), and Winter being pale and cold (in personality).

Additionally, the narrator repeatedly discusses the trial to piecing the broken mirror back together, which they're literally putting together like a puzzle. Like, these literal WIZARDS (well, they aren't called wizards, but same thing) are literally hiring "puzzle masters" to help with this. At the 40% mark this has been detailed multiple times and I just hope that by the end, they figure out a more exciting way to fix the mirror. Overall the magic system and
world building are not strong in this book.

Overall there isn't a lot of action in this book despite is being a fantasy. We get a lot of Tierne trying to solve this mystery by sneaking around, and based on what I've read in other reviews, there are a lot of sex scenes, which I foresee being the most action-packed parts of the book. The lack of strength in the fantasy aspect makes this a confusing genre-merging with mystery and romance.

The one thing in this book I do like is the chronic illness representation. Tierne has chronic migraines and that was an interesting aspect that would have made for an interesting fantasy, if the overall writing style was different.

Tirne (don't ask how many times I read that as Time for some reason) is a Herald, a mortal who escorts one of the gods of the four seasons back to mortal realm through a mirror portal. While her duty has gone flawlessly the previous six years, this year as she escorts Autumn through the mirror it shatters behind them, leaving the moral realm stuck in autumn until it can be fixed and the seasons can get back to their normal cycle.
This was an interesting riff on the Hades/Persephone myth from Greek mythology but with a few tweaks to the original myth. Tirne, Autumn (the god she's herald for) and the rest of the characters are interesting to various degrees and the suffering both internal and external that's caused by months of autumn is well described. The story moved quickly in the beginning, had a bit of a bog down in the middle, and wrapped up quickly with a decent ending for all the characters without being overly happy ever after. A good read if you like myth retellings. Thanks to NetGalley & Flatiron books for the free e-book.

3.5 / 5 stars

The Longest Autumn follows Tirne, herald to the God of Autumn, as she becomes center to an investigation after the portal from the gods' realm shatters, trapping Tirne and Autumn in the human world.

The book was a web of mystery and scandalous relationships as the investigation unfolds. At times, I did find the book convoluted, with flashbacks, too many characters, and subplots which left me confused throughout the story, but they seemed to tie together well by the end.

I loved the chronic illness rep of our MC, who suffers from chronic migraines. As a chronic illness girlie, I am always pumped to see representation of badass and intelligent characters who also suffer from chronic pain. Whilst it was not made an aspect of her personality, it still affected her in many areas of her life, driving some of the choices she makes.

There is some romance in the book, though it is not a central point to the plot. I have seen some mixed reviews on this, some saying there was too much, some saying it was not enough. So I am here to say, it does exist, but it is not a romance book.

Overall, I thought the book was pretty good, but there was definitely stuff I feel could have been ironed out. Tirne is a beautifully flawed character, surrounded by other flawed characters, and I greatly appreciate Avery's commitment to making the people imperfect.

Book Name: The Longest Autumn
Author: Amy Avery

ARC
Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an ARC of Amy Avery’s The Longest Autumn

Stars: 1
Spice: 4

Standalone
SLooooow Paced
FMC POV
High Fantasy

- Thoughts.
- First-Person Present
- Greek Mythology Vibes
- Great World Building
- Flat Characters
- Lots of Spice
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I expected to like this more than I did. The Synopsis and Concept are made for me however the execution was just not fully there. The spice was somehow unsexy and very unconnected to the overall plot which was lacking in my opinion. The FMC was passive with most of the action of the book being done to her rather than her reacting or moving within the world. This book was a debut so I would look into her work again at a later time but this one just didn't hit the mark.

- SPOILER

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*Not HEA which is a WTF for anything trying to market as a romance …. I was very disappointed

This complex high fantasy novel with a dark twist is a fascinating and immersive read. Tirne, the protagonist, is the Herald for the god Autumn and one of four heralds, but their latest trip through the Mirror from the divine realm shatters the Mirror and traps their world in a long autumn season.Tirne is blamed for the shattering of the mirror, an incident which throws her life into disarray, destroys her familiar routines, and leads her down a complex, treacherous, and unfamiliar path with new faces, the familiar old faces of her friends abandoning her along the way. Avery’s worldbuilding skills, from the different religious systems, mechanics of magic and other fantasy elements, and her settings and characters are incredibly detailed, complex, and well done. The characters have particularly complex personalities, with hidden motivations and characteristics, and their relationships with their religious order and their peers are also interestingly complex. Avery does an excellent job of subverting expectations and conclusions throughout the novel, especially regarding her characters, which adds another level to the novel’s complexity. This novel is particularly detailed and complex, and readers should enjoy the various aspects of this novel and Tirne’s perspective of the events and situations she finds herself in.

This was such a beautiful, enchanting book. It felt completely realistic and all characters were given appropriate depth.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was admissible at best. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the magic system and the world building. That was the best part of the book. It was really unique in its own right. The lackluster of the build up to anything: romance and plot, was just a huge let down. It was like OMG! Finally something going to happen and then it does happen and it’s just dull and ordinary. I felt like Tirne was just running around in circles not really accomplishing anything.

I received an ARC of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Longest Autumn is a rich, complex book -- one to be sipped and savored. Avery builds a world steeped in faith, with a central mythology that feels at once novel and familiar. The book follows the protagonist, Tirne of Autumn (relatable, complex, and with chronic illness rep), as she works to unravel a mystery that is both deeply personal and that could mean devastation for all. But in doing so, her relationships -- with friends, lovers, enemies, and her own god -- are tested and transformed. Fans of romantic fantasies with a darker edge will find much to love here.

I won't spoil the ending, but I found it a perfectly bittersweet note to end on. All in all, a rich and rewarding fantasy debut.

4.5 Stars

Me and Autumn? It's a thing.

So when I knew I was going to read this, I was desperately hoping for atmosphere and between chill breezes so visceral I shivered, apple cider kisses, and trails of dead leaves, I got atmosphere in spades.

Tirne is the Herald of Autumn - her duty is to usher him through a magical mirror into the human world to bring on the beginning of that cooler weather, those longer and darker nights, the smell of woodsmoke and fat, orange pumpkins. This is a role that means a lot to Tirne, desperate to be written into her history just like her mother before her.

Only, this year, something happens - that magical mirror shatters when she passes through it. And Tirne? She's the prime suspect for sabotage.

For someone so hellbent on loyalty to her god, we start to see her ambition control her - stripped of her title as Herald, she first beatifically commits herself to doing whatever's necessary to fix the mirror before food and firewood runs out and people begin to starve and infection spreads. But it soon becomes obvious that she'll also do anything to get her position restored, even if it means putting her trust in people she shouldn't.

Meanwhile, a bourgeoning energy is passing through Autumn and Tirne. Illicit touches are hidden, even though those same touches are against the commandments that Autumn himself laid down.

This was dreamy and sexy and mysterious and a super fun, quick fantasy debut. I'm sad to hear that it's a standalone - I'd have loved more of the lore of the passing of the seasons, more about the scions of each seasonal god, and more about the seasonal gods themselves. I definitely think there's an opportunity for a more expansive universe. Amy Avery is a skilled writer and I can't wait to see what she does in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with this ARC!

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Flatiron Books for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fantasy novel where the four seasons are actually gods who enter our world for only 3 months out of the year, and whose presence facilitates is the cause of the changing of the seasons. This novel greatly resembles how the Greeks saw the change of the seasons, with the presence or absence of Persephone in the Underworld, but takes it further to include all four changes - Summer, Winter, Spring, and Autumn.

Our main character, Tirne, is the Herald of Autumn - in charge of bringing the spirits of the dead to rest, and in bringing her god of Autumn into the world when it’s time to change the season from Summer. However, in her sixth year of doing this - when exiting the Mirror to bring the gods into the mortal realm - it breaks, shattering the connection and trapping the world in an endless autumn. Nothing can grow as everything slowly dies, and eventually famine hits the world and the spirits of the dead pile up, with nowhere to go.

Tirne is the main suspect for the breaking of this Mirror, and she must investigate on her own to try to uncover the real culprit before time runs out on the living. With her connection to Autumn, she has a bit of his magic, and the ability to feel his emotions - as the longer he remains in the world of the mortals, the more mortal he becomes.This is dangerous, as if he spends too long in the mortal realm he may no longer be an immortal god, and instead simply a man.

I wanted to like this novel more than I did. Even with its very Greek retelling feel, this novel never fully did it for me. I’ll explain further in detail with more specific spoilers, but as I believe this novel to be a standalone I felt much of the worldbuilding and character relationships left much to be desired. (If there is a sequel, then I will revise my statement.) I think if this book had a sequel, it could account for much of the issues I had with this novel, as much of my issues are things feeling unfinished with questions left unanswered.

There are issues with the religion in this novel - much of which are things assumed to be factual, that Tirne discovers to be untrue - that is simply brushed over at the end of this book as things go back to Square One. In the same way, she has 3 relationships throughout this novel, all of which do not really go anywhere and end with none of them together - which makes the reader feel a bit empty when the book ends. There were also parts of this book near the end that felt rushed, and as I was reading it (and especially after the ending) it felt like a good 100-200 pages of plot was removed and only the main events were kept. However, near the middle there is a bit of a stagnation where nothing really happens, which I think should have been the parts that were edited for brevity instead.

However, overall I did enjoy this novel and would recommend it for a reader who enjoys novels that feel like Greek myth retellings. As I was reading it, I was never bored and I cared about the characters and what happened to them. I enjoyed some of the romances in this novel, and thought the character relationships to be interesting and diverse. I also enjoyed the disability representation with the main character and her chronic headaches.

SPOILERS AHEAD: I kept these at the very end, so you could read my full review without reading any spoilers. These are more specifics with the issues I had with this book, but in describing them I’d be spoiling those events. Also, I may or may not get mean so don’t shoot the messenger, I warned you.


RELATIONSHIPS:

I thought the development and inclusion of some of the relationships in this novel to be unnecessary, and a few times it felt like they were included only to keep this novel from being classified as YA.

Our first look at this is when Tirne returns from the ceremony with the broken mirror, and meets up with her childhood friend. Instead of communicating, they immediately have sex to distract herself from her issues - and apparently, them hooking up when she’s back in the mortal realm is a regular occurrence, despite him having another relationship. I’m not a prude or saying friends with benefits can’t exist, but this felt like an abrupt change of pace when it happened and I was more surprised than anything. Reading this didn’t do anything for me, and I kind of just read it waiting for it to finish so we could continue the novel. (Also, I clearly missed something when he was introduced because I legitimately thought he was her brother before this point, but clearly I was wrong, lol. That’s how out of left field this development was.)

The other relationship that I kind of thought was unnecessary was her attraction to her god Autumn. I have to admit, while this concept drew me in (the relationship between the two developed kind of like in Gods of Jade and Shadow), with Tirne’s other more prominent relationship this never impressed me. The description says this is a forbidden romance between the two, but it’s more of a blink and you’ll miss it - and then, he’s back in the realm of gods and no longer has human emotions so it’s done. We suddenly go from her being his Herald, to her noticing how “attractive” he is, and then as Autumn becomes more human with more and more emotions - he starts breaking the rules to be with her. (Also, this is a personal gripe, but they hook up after she’s had months of starvation to the point she can’t eat without severely watering it down for her stomach - the entire time they had sex I was like “hello???? HELLO???? Miss ma’am, how do you have the energy for this?” It’s just hard to get into the idea of them having sexytimes when she’s described as being sunken and skeletal, okay.)

Her final relationship, and the only one that actually fits in this novel, in my opinion, is with a sorcerer named Sidriel. I was kind of surprised this turned into an actual relationship, because he’s such a morally ambiguous man who at times is a significant antagonist. However, their chemistry develops fairly well from hate sex to something more, and I wish the novel focused more on this than her other romantic entanglements. There’s supposed to be some drama between her being attracted to the other two as opposed to him, but honestly I feel like the drama could have been even if she wasn’t attracted to Autumn, and just him to her. Also, there’s literally no development to this relationship, as after the events of the novel he breaks it off with her and she mopes on her own. And then, she decides she NEEDS closure and goes to see him again - and once again, he just says no and then she accepts it?

Tirne had an entire dynamic where she had to break up with a significant other because she only spends 3 months out of the year in the mortal realm. However, after the events of the novel she has to remove Autumn’s magic and live there full-time. I thought for SURE that would be the catalyst for her and Sidriel to be together, as he had lost one love to the gods, but gained another - and she learned to prioritize being with others over her obsession with being important. But no, they just say “Nah” and move on. Sure I guess?

RELIGION:

I won’t go as in-depth here as I did the relationships, but there were multiple MUTLIPLE times we see the cracks in the facade of their religion after Tirne is cast out of it.

We begin with her having a less than stellar relationship with her aunt, who has rejected the main religion to follow a more offshoot one that focuses on the creatures who remained after the 4 season gods defeated the master of those monsters. Tirne doesn't believe in those monsters at all, and her aunt thinks that the gods are poisoning the world with their magic - and so, their relationship has frayed beyond repair.

However, when Tirne is cast out of the temple and must live on her own, she reconciles with her aunt and slowly starts to see the legitimacy in what her aunt believes. Tirne is told a hidden truth in the history of their religion by Autumn - a secret so major that she can’t tell a single other person - but refuses to see her aunt’s point of view when she says that there are two sides to every story. Even when Tirne begins seeing the creatures and monsters, she only “joins” that religion when she has nothing else to turn to - and even tells Autumn that she never abandoned him or her beliefs. This I understand, but it seems that the second her aunt dies and they fix the Mirror, Tirne goes back to Square One and never even THINKS about the truths she discovered away from the temple, and from her aunt.

This also goes into the conflict caused by the main bad guy, who is the cast away god from their religion origin story. He doesn’t seem to have much of a plan, and then at the very end he simply just tries to stab Autumn as he is fully mortal, rather than killing him in his sleep - as he could have very easily done. His reasoning is that by doing this he proves to the people that the gods are fallible, but I think a god dying would ALSO do that, no? However, because he randomly does this in a crowd of people he’s immediately caught and his blood is drained to fix the Mirror. The End. (What????)

This is what I mean by saying I think this novel would highly benefit from a sequel. As both the relationships and the religion are kind of shuffled back to the same status quo we had at the beginning of the novel, and unless this is further explored it kind of feels like a “what was the point?” to the reader.

A sequel could explore the issues with the religion, now that Tirne is no longer the Herald of Autumn and an important member of it. It could give context to the villain’s motivation (who was in a relationship with her best friend and may have had feelings for him) - where we could find out that using his blood on the mirror to fix it, and “killing” him, was his original plan all along. We could also learn more about the truths of the religion, and whether or not Autumn and the other gods are really as benevolent and trustworthy as they seem. And finally, we could explore her relationship with Sidriel as they both learn to live with one another without the issue of the Mirror or past lies hanging over their heads.

In all honesty, if we get a sequel I think I’d enjoy this first book much more, as my issues are with this novel being a supposed “standalone,” where it brings up a bunch of issues and then never solves them by the end.

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC and audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

We are presented with Tirne, the Herald of Autumn. As a mortal ,she serves her god by ushering the souls of the dead to the underworld each day and helps in the transition of the seasons from summer to autumn to winter. From the beginning I was captured by the atmosphere of the book as the author wove ways to represent the changing of the seasons and the way autumn brings about death, change, chill, and hints of warmth and comfort.

However, fairly quickly, Tirne is accused of being the force which breaks the mirror associated with the transition of the season, allowing one season to exit the mortal world and one to enter. It soon becomes her fanatical mission to repair the mirror and restore order.

In truth, I felt like the story started strong but went downhill after some time. Personally, the last quarter of the book didn’t feel as cohesive and well thought out as the rest. I also feel as though the romance was trying to be like similar books but didn’t hit the mark for me. All in all, a pretty good debut novel and I look forward to seeing what more may come from this author.

I wanted to like this way more than I actually did, at least for the amount that I read. I could not, for the life of me, get into this book. I feel like it very much reads as a debut novel and while the premise sounded interesting, it just could not keep my attention.