Stevens’ writing feels like stepping under the night sky away from the light of cities. It is vast and beautiful and nuanced, with something else to discover everywhere you look. Our Infinite Fates was lovely and heart breaking and hopeful and tender.

That said, the pacing felt slightly off, with the narrative mostly meandering for the first 85% of the book, which made the final 15% feel rushed and forced and rather out of left field.

I do look forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Evelyn and Arden have lived for hundreds of lifetimes... and they've killed each other in every one.
Evelyn remembers all her past lives, but can't remember how it started. She vows to figure it out this time, and break the curse.

The writing in this was phenomonel. The poetry aspects were hauntingly beautifu. I loved the concept of this book and it's uniquness.
It had a bit of mystery, a bit of history as we get snapshots of Evelyn and Arden's past lives, it had magic and it had love. It really had it all.
The twist we were all waiting for as to the "why" wasn't quite as satisfying as I was hoping. But that last chapter... that last chapter was perfection ❤️

I'll remember this for a long time and can't give it anything but a 5!

"I love you, and I have loved you, and I will love you." 😭
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy!
This releases in less than a week on March 4th!

** Before I write out my review I do want to disclose that I received this book through NetGalley as an ARC. I am so incredibly thankful for Laura and St Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read this story early, but to also voice my opinion after reading it. **

Our Infinite Fates follows a love story spanning several hundred years. The relationship within this book surrounds Evelyn and Arden and the inexplicable curse that plagues their lifelines. Neither can live past the age of eighteen and due to this, their deaths are normally cause by each other. When one is murdered the other shortly succumbs as well, thus the entire cycle begins over and over.

Going into this book I had extremely high hopes. Like most, this book has been all over my socials and at this point is anticipated to be one of the best YA books of the year. I am a big reader of YA fiction, and when you add fantastical elements into the mix I can never turn down a story. I sadly wish I felt that way for this book.

What could have been an amazing, historical tale of star-crossed lovers only left me deprived and disappointed. I felt we never really learned a lot about our characters, including how they fell so deeply in love in the first place. In my honest opinion, the fact we did not get this as a main plot within the book (as there are multiple timelines) only left holes within the story that could not be explained or imagined.

At the same time as the missing plot, I felt the same scenarios were repeated over and over again. Mostly with Evelyn being bitter towards Arden never telling her the origin of the curse, why they cannot try to fight it, and the constant arguing of “do you love/respect me?” After seeing this same argument in four timelines, I grew rather bored and felt the book was growing more dull with each chapter. I do believe the distrust is an important element of this story, but I think it was focus on so heavily that the rest of the plot suffered. As a result, we lost so many key factors that could have made this book a four star read.

I understand that this book is YA, and that it will not live up to what we would expect in an adult romance book of this nature, but I think even a young audience would want more plot and less teenager bickering.

To compare this book to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is only a marketing ploy to reel in readers who enjoyed the immortal symbolism of Addie’s story. This book did not nearly encompass the emotion and rawness of V.E. Schwab, and I feel those who are looking to this story hoping for a similar joy will be very let down. I sadly am one of those people.

All in all, is this a terrible book? No, I have read more disorganized stories. Do I agree with the marketing and the “hype” I have seen on TikTok and IG? No, sadly. Do. I think a negative review will discredit any of Lauren’s future work? No, I think she will continue to grow and thrive. This book just sadly missed the mark for me.

3.5 stars

Love and hate across time. Two characters are reincarnated and die before their 18th birthday, but only one of them knows why this is happening.

Overall, the book was good.

I thought the story was great at first, but it quickly became bogged down with the same questions and the same scenarios with a different setting. I feel that all the settings would have had more impact if there wasn't so much focus on the same question of why. I enjoyed the characters when they weren't so focused on the why and the avoidance of an answer. The relationship between the two main characters is a bit unsettling at times and very sweet at others and in the end the why didn't seem to matter much at all.

Wow, wow, wow. This has been one of my favorite reads. I was looking forward to it ever since I heard about it and I am so grateful to NetGalley for giving me an ARC
The poetry is incredibly beautiful, the story is captivating, and the twist- I didn't see it coming! I had guesses and got close, but I wasn't getting it quiet right.
I want every special edition that will come available of this book. Recommending to everyone.

I'm teetering between a 3.5 and a 4 but will settle for a 4. I really loved the premise of this story... soulmates doomed to never be together as their lives are cut short by force for some unexplicable reason. The writing was beautiful and in elegant prose. But I think the execution fell a bit flat for me in terms of the emotional impact. I liked how the book was structured toggling between present day and different blips of their past lives which were typically teased/referenced but I feel like we didn't get the opportunity to spend enough time in their earlier lives which essentially served as the foundation of their relationship. Once the reveal/explanation comes around as to how they have ended up in this situation, the reveal didn't seem as impactful and honestly left me a bit confused as to how they've developed such an intense bond because we are kind of outsiders during the entirety of the formation of their bond. Maybe it's just me though but I can definitely see this book having a wide appeal.

Evelyn and Arden have lived hundreds of lives together, growing deeply in love. They have also killed each other hundreds of times. Evelyn still doesn't know why. She remembers only her most recent lives; the rest of her fraught existence is a frustrating blend of foggy locations and flashes of memory. What she knows for certain is that Arden has changed in the most recent lives. Gone is the soft, poetic being who she almost convinced not to go through with the killing just a few lifetimes ago. Now, he's more determined than ever not to let them survive past their eighteenth birthdays.

But Evelyn is fond of this life, and her little sister needs her for a life-saving bone marrow transplant. Is it worth trying to find Arden for answers? Or are they doomed to repeat this cycle of infinite, tragic fates forever...

This was such a beautiful and tragic concept. I am a sucker for the fated romance trope, and I love the idea that someone could have a true soulmate that they love no matter what body, gender, name, or time they are confined to. Steven does a wonderful job reminding us that one of the most vital parts of life is the love we share with other people. Evelyn and Arden are a heartbreaking example of true romantic love, but Evelyn's undying loyalty to her sister and all the people she has cared about in past lives is what makes her so undeniably human.

I do wish this book had been paced a little better, though I did blow through it pretty eagerly. It takes over half the novel to get any real answers about the nature of Evelyn and Arden's curse, and a lot of loose ends are left unsatisfactorily untied both for the sake of drama and just due to the nature of a story that is always fated to end too soon. 3.5 stars; compelling and tragic but not quite well-constructed enough to round to a four.

"the last thing they saw before the world blinked out was the red ribbon of fate still binding their wrists."

a beautiful story of infinite fates & the idea of soulmates. as someone who so strongly believes in the ideas of souls being tied, I found this story to be incredibly beautiful and someone haunting. i love every second of this story, from bran & dylan's present day path to the historical anecdotes that bled into the storyline of soulmates.

"even when we are but bones in the earth
my eternal heart will love you still,
for even when a star does not perish
its light burns on for millennia"

This book had it's hold on me from the second I read the comps. Addie La Rue meets This Is How You Lose the Time War- sign me up. Those are 2 of my favorite books ever. However, I was skeptical that any book cold really live up to that comparison. Talk about setting the bar high! But Laura Steven does just that, writing a beautifully romantic story about 2 cursed souls, bound to fall in love only to kill each other before their 18th birthday over and over and over again. Our Infinite Fates is one of the best YA books I have ever read!

Since before she can remember, Evelyn has met death at the hands of Arden (or sometimes vice versa) for hundreds of years. With each reincarnation, she is able to hold onto a little bit more of herself from past lives, but has now idea why she and Arden are connected of why he is compelled to hunt her down in each life. Told through her POV, the narrative moves from the present day arc to events in past lives seamlessly, slowly developing character depth and the bound between them. The prose throughout is poetic, and the dilemma excruciating. The hardest part for Evelyn is not knowing why this is their fate, and despite his love for her, Arden cannot (or will not) share the reason.

I was glued to the story from the first few lines and did not put it done unless absolutely necessary from beginning to end. It is devastatingly brilliant in every way. As someone who has read a great deal of YA fantasy as an adult, Our Infinite Fates offers something truly original and special, setting the standard even higher for what I want from a five star read.

3.5 Stars

I'm torn on my thoughts on this book. It ended closer to a 4, but took most of the book to get there. I definitely felt The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue vibes, but comparing it to This is How You Lose the Time War is a stretch.

I enjoyed the alternating timelines following the past lives of Evelyn and Arden. I loved the diverse range of their reincarnated souls! Evelyn's commitment to her sister and saving her life is admirable and I felt it. I also really enjoyed the revelation of the fated connection between Evelyn and Arden.

What missed the mark for me was I found it difficult to fully believe that it would take Evelyn 1,000 years to uncover the reason behind her and Arden's fate of always dying before her 18th birthday. The lack of substantial communication between Evelyn and Arden for such a significant thing made it hard for me to feel an emotional connection with them until near the end of the book. I wish the reveal had come sooner. Once I got there, it was easy to go back in my head and understand Arden a little more.

Overall, I'd recommend Our Infinite Fates if you're looking for a YA version of Addie LaRue.

Thank you, NetGalley and Wednesday Books, for an early copy in exchange for this honest review.

🌎 ARC REVIEW 🌎

OUR INFINITE FATES by Laura Steven
5/5 🌟
Pub date 🇺🇸: Mar 4th

Where do I even start with this one? I am so grateful to be able to read such a creative, well-written story. Discovering books and authors like these are what got me into this hobby, and continue to give me great joy. I'm looking forward to see what Laura puts out next.

The books follows a couple, reincarnated again and again through the centuries. They are fates to meet, fall in love and die each cycle. The catch is that he always murders her, and she doesn't know why.

Please read if you like the following:

✨️ A unique lense in which to view queer love
✨️ Historical backdrops to romantic tales
✨️ The love and suffering of living forever
✨️ Mind-blowing twists that make everything make sense

Thank you, Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, amd Wednesday books for the amazing review copy.

"I love you, and I have loved you, and I will love you."
Our Infinite Fates is the story of an enduring love, one that has endured centuries of lives and lived beyond each violent death. Arden and Evelyn are more than soulmates, they are tied to each other and destined to fall in love in each of their reincarnations...and fated to murder each other, as well.

This is definitely a slow burn of a story. It has a back and forth time line, hopping from the present to other lives in the past, and many times the characters switch gender for previous lives which was a little confusing. For about 2/3 of the novel, I was frustrated with the dilemma and did not empathize with the characters; I did not get the pull to each other, at all. When everything started to gel, and the curse began to be explained, I not only got it, but truly loved the beautiful, tragic love story. The twist and explanation brought everything together, and made the journey worth it.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the digital ARC of Our Infinite Fates, also to Goodreads giveaways for the print copy, as well. The opinions in this review are my own.

The poor communication trope might just be the death of me but ya know the teens eat that shit up so I simply cannot decide if that's a negative or a positive in this situation. I really enjoyed the story for about half of the book, but I quickly found myself frustrated by how obvious it became that one simple conversation could resolve the entire conflict. I know, I know "that's how stories work" I just think if I was alive for centuries I'd learn how to communicate properly okay!!

All of that complaining aside, I actually really enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting, and while I don't think it's the most creative thing in the world the pacing was great and I found it easy to fall into the story and get swept away. I can see booktok eating this bad boy up, and of all the books for them to love I'm not mad about this one. I'd give it 3.5 stars, but I'll round down to 3 because my enjoyment really couldn't get past that irritation for the silly plot devices.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC of this book.

Our Infinite Fates was a highly anticipated read for this year for me and luckily it did not disappoint. While at first, I was finding it a bit difficult to fully connect with the characters, by about 30%, I knew that I would love this book. The idea of soulmates who can never really love each other because they need to kill each other is such a unique concept.

Laura Stevens delivers impeccable prose and allows for the build-up to captivate readers. The ending was unexpected but also expected to an extent. Meaning I had theories but I was not fully correct in my predictions.

Overall, I had a wonderful reading experience and would love to read more about these characters or other characters in this universe!

2.5/5 stars
0.5/5 spice

I am very sad to say that this book ended up falling flat for me. I had heard nothing but wonderful praise for it and was so excited to jump in. Unfortunately, It didn't quite work for me. I think the premise was very engaging and was giving me modern-day 'Fallen' by Lauren Kate but the execution was a bit lacking. I also found myself incredibly frustrated with the fact that Arden wouldn't explain why he had to keep killing Evelyn. Then when we got the big reveal, I was entirely unimpressed and still confused and frustrated with why he wouldn't just explain to her what was going on. You claim to love her but you certainly don't act like it.

When we got to the climax of the book, I was excited for it to "finally get interesting", but I really did not enjoy the conclusion. It felt strange and out of place and just didn't work for me.

I thought there were many beautiful moments throughout the book and enjoyed hearing about the many lives of Evelyn and Arden. I also loved that they were never confined to just one gender or body. But those things were not enough to redeem the book for me. It was by no means a bad book, but it was not one that I enjoyed as much as I had hoped.

Our Infinite Fates
By Laura Steven

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I saw the blurb for this while scrolling in NetGalley and was so excited when I was approved to read this ARC. The description sounded like nothing I’ve ever read and I was so intrigued; I couldn’t wait to see how this story would unfold.

I could not put this one down! I loved every minute of reading this story. The little poems throughout were my favorite and the way the timelines were written was so smart and made for such a cool read. Also, I did not see the why of it all coming and I love when I can’t figure it out. And what a perfect ending! This will definitely be a book I recommend to everyone😍

I was very interested by the premise of this book. It filled the void the hole that invisible life of Addie Larue left in my heart. The writing was gorgeous and I could not put it down because I wanted to know the why of it all and also really wanted a happy ending for Arden and Evelyn. I loved the poetry and the love story that literally spanned the dawn of time. It was the most beautiful love story and I really liked that it kept me on my toes as to whether they were going to find each other without remembering anything and also how the whole deal with devil started as their love for each other.

First and foremost I want to thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to review this book. This story was so beautiful and very captivating! It hit me in all my feels and than some! So much magical enchanting realism presented within this book! I absolutely loved this love story between Evelyn and Arden. For anyone who is into love stories, fantasy Romantasy this is the book for you!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5

I wanted to love this book but I couldn’t get into the story line. I’ve heard great things about this book but it wasn’t for me which made me very sad. But I’m so thankful to get to read this book. I just felt like the story just kept going on and on but I do want to try another book by this author.

This was an absolutely heart wrenching and beautifully written book. It's so emotionally charged and the story line was so soul crushing. But I loved every second. The characters were so real and I felt their emotions shining through the pages.