Our Infinite Fates gave me the same kind of feeling I had while reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which is high praise in itself! If you love poetic, introspective storytelling with a touch of the extraordinary, I highly recommend this one!

I went into Our Infinite Fates absolutely loving the premise, and it did not disappoint. One of my favourite aspects was the use of flashbacks—getting glimpses into different time periods and seeing how the characters’ relationship evolved over time kept me fully invested. Each flashback felt like a puzzle piece, and I was invested in trying to find hints on the bigger picture.

The prose in this book is stunning, and I found the poetry woven throughout was especially moving. There are so many lines that will stick with me, the kind that make you pause just to take them in. Laura Steven has such a way with words, and I know I’ll be thinking about certain quotes for a very long time.

If I had one minor gripe, it would be the resolution. After such a mind-blowing reveal of their true dynamic, the conclusion felt a little lackluster in comparison. That could be entirely personal, but with so much buildup, I was hoping for a bit more of a punch at the end. That said, it didn’t take away from my overall love for the book—I still found it deeply immersive and beautifully written.

I enjoyed most of this book. The snippets of the past lives of Evelyn and Arden were fascinating. I like the idea of souls bound together and being able to recognize each other no matter what form they have taken. The mystery of why they were bound and why Arden kept killing Evelyn by her eighteenth birthday was also intriguing, until it got frustrating that he would not tell her why it had to be until the end of the book when the big reveal happens (which was surprising and I liked it). I must admit I shouted at him to tell her, especially when she also put it off so they could sit together on the cliff edge in peace for a bit. Though when the truth does come out, it does tie the book neatly together and you can really feel the love and why the characters did what they did through the years they were together. It made for a lovely ending and I liked how it tied the past and the present (when she had her sister Gracie) and then the future, which showed their true selves, quirks and all.

So I would call this a sweet story, albeit a little frustrating until the truth comes out and a good ending which ties up all the loose ends in a nice bow.

I loved the idea of this book, but unfortunately it just didn’t quite land for me. The concept of fated lovers coming together over and over across generations only to end up having to kill each other in every one was unique. I loved jumping back and forth in timelines and getting glimpses into each of the lives the characters had lived in before. That being said, it really didn’t help me connect with the characters, as one would expect. They never seemed to have any growth or depth, and were quite one dimensional. I just didn’t care about them the way I should have.

I also did not like the ending. It not only felt rushed, but it felt like it came out of nowhere. Sure there is magical realism throughout the book (obviously) but the reason for them being stuck in this circle suddenly felt like it dove into straight fantasy. It was messy.

Our Infinite Fates is not based on a unique concept. Love through the ages, transcendent beyond inevitable death. But Evelyn and Arden experience it a little differently: Arden must kill Evelyn before they turn eighteen, or something horrible will happen. Evelyn’s always been confused as to what horrible thing will happen but she’s always known her fate. This time, her sister has cancer and needs a bone marrow transplant. Evelyn is almost sure she’s managed to avoid Arden and still have time to save her sister. Until Arden shows up, just as determined to kill her as ever.

I very much enjoyed the story structure. Arden and Evelyn were always themselves, no matter what body they occupied or where they were in the world. It wasn’t like when you switch points of view during an epic novel and you dread that switch because you love the people you’re reading about so much and don’t want to leave them. They may be a pair of girls in the desert, or two boys in the baths, but they were always themselves. When we see them, they are always aware of their fate, having remembered their past lives. Evelyn feels so much love for her life, she never wants to leave, but is resigned to her fate. And she loves Arden beyond comprehension. Even when she hates him and rails against him, she loves him. I always trusted in that love, never doubted it, no matter what Arden did to Evelyn. When they use this death as a way to escape the horrors of life, I love them even more. It’s a huge relief that they have this reset button, especially when they’re locked in an asylum, or in the trenches of war. The world is full of horrors but they have this power of rebirth to escape it.

The twist at the end, revealing why these two are stuck in this cycle of love and death, was quite a surprise. I felt it was revealed at the perfect moment and dealt with fairly well, though a little quickly. I felt the ending was very satisfying, making the rest of the story even more worthwhile, despite the somewhat quick resolution.

There are queer themes throughout the book. Evelyn and Arden are almost genderless in a lot of ways, going through various iterations of themselves for hundreds of years. Evelyn refers to Arden as ‘they’ fairly often, especially when she doesn’t know what body he occupies. They appear in various pairings, matched or otherwise.

I recommend this book to people who like unquestioned love. The love will always be there, even if the people are at odds. For people who like murder mysteries with a twist. For people who enjoy fantastical elements in the normal world.

A beautiful story that really makes you think about the cost of love and how its worth all the pain.

💬 “I love you, and I have loved you, and I will love you.”

📖 A haunting, high-stakes tale of reincarnation, fate, and forbidden love. Evelyn remembers every past life—and the fact that in each one, she’s been murdered by the same supernatural being before turning eighteen. But this time, she’s determined to break the cycle and protect her little sister, even if it means hunting down the very creature destined to kill her.

💭 I loved the overall concept of this book. The past lives chapters really gripped me and were so well-researched. I was also so locked in on trying to figure out why Evelyn and Arden were connected.

The twist definitely caught me off guard, but I wish there were more clues looking back that could have led up to it (or maybe I just missed them). The ending wrapped up too quickly for me. I was hoping for more closure from the Wales storyline since we’d been following it almost the entire book. I also just loved Gracie as a character and wanted even more of her.

Though I didn’t love the last 25%, I would still recommend this for a heart-wrenching YA romantasy read.

💌 Read this if you like Invisible String, queer fiction, reincarnation, forbidden love, soulmates, travel, rich scenery, vintage clothes, and poetry.

I wasn't able to get into this book. I read about 50% in and just couldn't finish. I think if I read it more in the fall then I would of devoured this book. I was so excited for it :(

I absolutely LOVED The Society For Soulless Girls so I was ecstatic to get a chance to read Laura Steven’s latest work & it did not disappoint!

Evelyn & Arden have been locked in a conscious reincarnation death spiral for centuries, living all around the world & always finding each other. Arden murders Evelyn before their eighteenth birthday (starting the cycle over again), but this time, in present-day Wales, there’s more at stake than just Evelyn’s life…

This book is magic. It’s falling in love & holding on to love & it’s poetry & history with a vast array of cultures & some supernatural forces & basically you just need to read it & experience it yourself! Also the epilogue gave me ALL the feelings.

Thank you very much to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the concept of this book and it had the potential to be a 5 star book, I was immediately sucked into the story and the writing was beautiful, unfortunately the ending didn’t do it for me. For as many lives as they lived without actually being together it would have been nice to have a chapter of them being together in the end. Overall it was a good read and would recommend giving it a shot.

Thank you NetGalley for an earc in exchange for my honest review.

I’m not the biggest fantasy reader, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Really interesting premise and angsty, slow burn romance.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

unfortunately i didn’t finish this book until it was already out. it just felt like a very slow story to get through and i didn’t care at all for the characters or understand their motivations. it seemed like the reveal near the end should have been more exciting, but it fell flat. the romance between evelyn and arden felt performative, and there were way too many flashbacks that didn’t add anything to the story. writing is objectively pretty, but in my opinion, lacked depth. i wanted to LOVE this one, and i’m so sad i didn’t :(

3 stars ⭐️

Evelyn and Arden are cursed. In every life before their 18th birthdays, they are fated to die -- most often Arden is the one killing Evelyn, and up until about 80% into the book, we have no idea why.

I had high hopes for this book and love stories + the idea of reincarnation, but the execution in this book didn't do it for me. We bounced between Evelyn + Arden's many lives so frequently and quickly that I couldn't form a personal attachment to either of them. And, there was absolutely nothing that made me believe they were truly in love. We're given this kind of fated/forced proximity/soulmate love, where most of the time Evelyn doesn't realize Arden is right in front of her, and then when she does, a switch is flipped and she's suddenly in love. I just couldn't buy it. I really wished there was more relationship and character building, rather than just an endless, repetitive cycle of we meet, we remember, we die.

Come 60%, I was really starting to think, "He better have a damned good reason for this." And chat, it's up to interpretation but IMO he did not. We finally get a reveal at 80%, and then the book is wrapped up and everything is magically resolved in the last 10%. SOOOOO DISAPPOINTING! I couldn't believe it was that easy after everything. I was so exhausted at the end that some of the themes/messages were just cheesy at that point too.

Star points for the concept and some of the lyrical writing (and poems!) but overall just really flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a DRC in exchange for my honest review!

Wow. This book...

This is one of those rare cases for me where the writing and the emotions weaved throughout the narrative is what attached my heart to the story, rather than the plot or the relationship dynamic between the main characters. Not that either were insufficient! I just felt that both left me wanting a bit more to get fully attached to them, while the writing and level of emotion throughout the book still left deeply affected and loving the book.

I was really excited for this book and I still think it’s a fantastic premise! Unfortunately for me, the romance and connection between the main characters fell a little flat. Despite seeing them find each other in so many lives, it seemed like there wasn’t much more to their love than the inevitable connection they felt in most lifetimes. The ending felt like it resolved very quickly and easily, so it wasn’t very satisfying. That said, there was a lot to like about the book and I’m grateful to have had the chance to review it so I know who I can recommend it to!

This is going to be the book of the year. I devoured this. The story was wonderful and the characters were perfect. This book is definitely worth the hype it is getting.

How do I express how much this book resonated with me? I'm truly enamoured by this entire story. When I read the premise, I thought it sounded cool, but honestly, I was sceptical that the idea would work. How does one write a story about reincarnating souls that fall in love and kill each other? How do you explain it? How do you end it?

Well, Laura is a mastermind because I was BLOWN away by how well this was executed. The way it's told with the current timeline, and then flashbacks to past lives, works so well. I truly loved the slower pacing of this story because you connect so deeply with these characters over and over. Each timeline immerses you in a snippet of history that feels like you're living a thousand different lives. The big mystery that underpins the whole novel keeps you engaged, and the explanation was actually satisfying, not some cheap cop out.

The ending was so painfully beautiful I had to sit and stare into the void for five minutes after.

Most of all, I loved that we got to watch two people fall in love over and over, in countless different circumstances and different bodies. Truly the most beautiful unconditional love story 🥹💞

I absolutely loved the unique premise of this book. The idea of Evelyn and Arden's endless cycle of love and loss completely captivated me, pulling me into their tragically beautiful story. I found the jumping timelines confusing at time, but the emotional element of their relationship kept me hooked. I found myself really invested in their journey, as they found each other again and again only to be tragically torn apart. The glimpses into their various lives was so fascinating and unique. I loved how their love transcended time, race, and sexuality. Laura created a rich and immersive experience. However, I did feel like the ending was rushed and predictable, which left me slightly disappointed since the rest of the story felt like it was leading up to something amazing. Regardless, this is definitely one of the most memorable books I’ve read lately and I would gladly check out Laura Steven's other books.

✨Book Review✨
*
My thoughts- I was sold on this because it was compared to Addie Larue (one of my faves ever!) but I was a bit let down. The premise was intriguing enough and the twist was fun but this one dragged SO much. It was unnecessarily wrong yet lacked detail in why she would want to stay in this timeline specifically? I just didn’t quite feel connected with the characters in this one, which is really unfortunate because I so wanted to love it. 😕 thank you @macmillian and @netgalley for the advanced copy!
*
Rating- ⭐️⭐️💫
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Summary- Evelyn can remember all her past lives. She can also remember that in every single one, she’s been murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being linked to her soul. The problem is that she’s quite fond of the life she’s in now, and her little sister needs her in order to stay alive. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she’ll have to find the centuries-old devil who hunts her through each life before they find her first, figure out why she’s being hunted and finally break their curse, and try not to fall in love . . . again.
*
QOTD- any fun plan for the weekend ?! I have a 4 day weekend I’m hoping to get my veggie garden going

absolutely loved this story and watching the MCs fall in love over and over again. I loved loved how the gender pairings changed throughout the book along with races, identities, etc.

I did not have ANY idea where this book was going with the plot and I wish that there were little more breadcrumbing and set up throughout for the big reveal.

DNF @ 50%

This is a tough one to review—and probably a case of “it’s not you [the book], it’s me”. I read about 17% before I decided to put it down and come back to it. I was in a weird headspace, couldn’t get into it, and wanted to give it a fair shot. I picked it up again about a month later and got to around 50% before deciding this might just not be for me.

“They've loved each other in a thousand lifetimes. They've killed each other in every one.”

The premise of this immediately caught my interest. The idea of two people destined to fall in love in every lifetime but fated to be each others’ undoing—yes, please! But something was missing for me.

The pacing was slow and the story itself wasn’t engaging enough to hold my focus. Maybe the second half is better but 🤷‍♀️…

I wasn’t sold on the MCs everlasting love for each other. And while it might be explored more in the latter half of the book, I just didn’t see how or why they came to love each other so intensely.

I was reminded vaguely of A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers, which follows a woman reborn across multiple lifetimes, always doomed to the same fate. But something A Witch in Time did well that I felt was missing in Our Infinite Fates was giving depth to the past timelines and truly immersing the reader in each historical period and allowing a deeper understanding of the characters and their roles.

The chapters set in past lifetimes didn’t feel like they added much to the story. I felt that they either needed to be longer, to allow for a stronger emotional connection with the characters, or reduced and integrated into the present timeline (and been just as impactful). As they were, they felt repetitive and inconsequential.

I could feel the intention for this to be a deeply moving and emotional story, and I could even see it being a 3-star read if I finished it. But ultimately, I just didn’t feel connected to the characters or invested enough to keep going. So sad this wasn’t a win for me because look at that stunning cover 😩

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration.