4⭐️

Plot
Evelyn has been reincarnated countless times, always meeting the same fate—murder at the hands of Arden, a supernatural being connected to her soul. Unlike before, she now remembers all her past lives and is determined to break the cycle. But with her little sister relying on her for life-saving bone marrow transplants, Evelyn must survive. To do so, she must track down Arden before they find her, uncover the reason behind their deadly curse, and resist the pull of love that has doomed her in every lifetime.

Thoughts
This book is beautifully written, and I absolutely loved the story! I’m so happy that this was my first book from Laura Steven, it was an incredible introduction to her writing.

Arden and Evelyn’s relationship felt like the perfect portrayal of soulmates, as if someone had found the most beautiful way to express what it truly means to be bound to another person across time. The line, “I love you, and I have loved you, and I will love you,” hit me so hard, and I adored that they said it to each other. Their love story unfolding through different timelines was captivating, though I wish there had been more exploration of each historical period to deepen my understanding of their connection.

Overall, this was a fantastic book and an absolute must-read!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an arc!

This is one of my most anticipated reads of 2025. "They've loved each other in a thousand lifetimes. They've killed each other in every one." Are you kidding me?? What an incredible plot line. The author was kind enough to send the first chapter as a teaser excerpt. I was hooked from the very beginning. Can't wait to dive in and devour this book! Also, the cover and deluxe edition gilded edges are perfection. So gorgeous. I already have the Barnes and Noble exclusive pre-ordered.

I FINISHED THIS IN HALF A DAY. THAT is how good it is. More thoughts coming soon 😭😭

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!!!
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Ok...now that a couple days have past, and I've collected myself (sort of)... this book is absolutely beautiful, and I will never be the same again.

Our Infinite Fates is a one-of-a-kind novel and so unbelievably captivating right from the very first sentence. Steven's writing is poetic and brimming with romance and nostalgia. She will leave you in a constant state of awe.

Evelyn and Arden. Their love is unlike any I've ever read before. Soulmates doesn't even feel like a strong enough word. An epic, sweeping love story that transcends time, centuries, and gender.

"𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖,
𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖,
𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖."

Being a teenager is hard enough - being the only one who can donate bone marrow to a dying sister is even rougher. And having to do it before you turn 18 and your soulmate kills you? The hardest of all.

Our Infinite Fates is a book with a lot of complicated thoughts about love, about the core of who we are. My favourite thing about the book is that, at times, the ideas are conflicting and messy. The two main characters have chosen to live with their series of lives very differently: Evelyn has truly loving and supportive relationships with their mother and sister (the scenes together just buzz with warmth, and were some of my favourite in the whole book), while Arden has secluded himself with his art. What is the core of us? Is it just our relationships, is it the art we make or the effects of the work we do in the world? The characters are musing it out along with us - and with far more grace than I had at 17.

The book also does a wonderful job of walking the line of portraying why these two are drawn together, over and over, even knowing that they will die together: there is something unique about knowing someone will always find you, always love you and never leave you alone. Yet it is also clear that Evelyn is resentful that they will always have to be waiting for an attack. Our Infinite Fates doesn't shy away from the duality of the relationship. Their relationship really reflects their broader relationship with the world - through the glimpses of their past lives, it's clear that people can be kind and selfless, but they can also be cruel and cause so much pain (their lives in an 1800s asylum are particularly brutal). I will say that when we get answers as to why Arden is killing Evelyn, it doesn't feel as weighty as the questions themselves did. But answers never do.

If I've made this book sound heavy, it absolutely is. But it's also incredibly beautiful, and thoughtful, and I am so glad that I read it. And it ends, as all books should, in one of my favourite bookshops. I loved visiting it with these character and I think you will too.

The prose of this book is beautiful, which added to my love for this book. The two main characters are Evelyn and Arden who meet and kill each other over and over again. Evelyn doesn't know why this keeps happening. The book would be great for fans of V.E Schwab (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue). This book is YA and has past and present timelines.

Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven

I loved this story, it had an incredibly unique and interesting concept.

Evelyn and Arden are destined to find and love each other in every life, but they are also destined to kill each other by the time they turn 18. Just to be reborn and do it all again. They are born into different cultures, countries, genders and centuries but still always find each other and only Arden remembers why. The book goes back between various lives, but is centred on present day as Evelyn tries to figure out a way to live past 18 so she can save her sister’s life with a bone marrow transplant.

I adored these characters and their romantically tragic storyline. The poetry and wisdom about souls and family and love were so thoughtful.

There were a couple tiny things that I question, but there always is in these types of magical realism books. There were a couple moments that seemed to wrap up too quick, and I wanted more details! Still I am thoroughly impressed and can’t wait to read more by this author.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio for the audio copy (the narrator was fantastic!) and @wednesdaybooks for the ebook. This one is out on March 4th!

Can you imagine remembering your past lives, and also remembering that you are murdered in every single one. This is a heartwrenchingly beautiful read! I generally hate comps to Addie LaRue because that is such a singular title, but this time it feels apt to say that if you adored Addie, you'll probably like this as well!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Our Infinite Fates is a tragic love story. It broke my heart over and over again. I enjoyed getting to know the characters through all their "lives". I thought the story was interesting the way it unfolded. The writing was beautiful with poetry mixed in. If you enjoy and gripping love story then give it a read.

Thank you for this e-arc!

I so appreciate what the author was trying to achieve with this story. I thought the way their love transcends time was so beautiful.

However, I wish there was more depth to the characters and story. Especially with the use of chapters back in time. I wish we got to understand their personalities more, which would then raise the stakes and make the reader more invested.

But all in all a good and pretty short read!

There is no doubt this will be a popular book but unfortunately I didn't love it as much as the early reviewers have.

We follow Evelyn who is approaching her 18th birthday. While most view this as a major milestone, she has yet to see it. Before she turns 18, Evelyns one true love Arden appears and they are fated to die together and be reincarnated. We get time jumps from the present to the past that explores all the different people they have become but always find their way back to each other before their 18th birthday. However this time is different as Evelyns sister has cancer and she wants to be able to donate her bone marrow before Arden makes himself known and seals their fate.

I loved the premise of the book. The blurb is correct that it gives Addie LaRue and Time War vibes. There is poetry in here that will make your heart skip a beat! Just absolutely beautiful.

I wish I could say the same about the romance. The romance between Evelyn and Arden never fully develops. It felt more like Evelyn was running away from her stalker and I could never feel the love between them. The story was also very repetitive to the point that I wasn't gaining anything and wished it had been edited more thoroughly. Once we get to the reveal, it was a bit over the top and then the book quickly ends.

Overall I'm giving this book 3 stars. It was a fun idea and I had a good time reading it but I just wish characters and plot would have been fleshed out a little more.

"Our Infinite Fates" was beautiful and extremely heart-wrenching-- very reminiscent of The Invisible Life of Addie and especially Every Day by David Leviathan. This was such an emotional roller coaster in the best way, and the writing is lyrical and haunting; the prose is truly amazing.

What really sets this book apart is how the author weaved Evelyn and Arden together in different times in history -- Constantinople, World War II, Ancient China, Siberia, etc. I adored the little glimpses in time and how Evelyn and Arden's characters evolved throughout each incarnation. Each life they can be reincarnated as male or female and in vastly different appearances, but their connection to each other transcends.

My heart broke a little every time Evelyn and Arden had to kill one another. However, while we only get short glimpses into their past life encounters (some more detailed than others), I thought that in many of them, the connection and heartbreak between them was so much more compelling than in their current lives. For two soul mates forced to kill each other over and over, I would've thought there would be a bit more substance in the present day and their chemistry was a little weak - I just wasn't convinced of this time-defying chemistry. Arden's current persona seemed unrealistically apathetic towards Evelyn and didn't give her much grace or understanding when it came to her sister.

The other thing I'd say is that the big revelation near the end and the way that it's resolved was a bit abrupt: too much too fast. But by the last chapter I was in tears - the ending was bittersweet and absolutely beautiful and I'll be thinking about this book for a long, long time. This book is so special.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

Wooooooow! This was beautiful, truly! Immediately I needed answers and I did not fully anticipate the ending. This is a love story that travels across centuries and is told in alternating chapters of different historical periods. At times I loved this back-and-forth, while other times I was begging to have answers during present time. Also, I wish we had more chapters/time dedicated to experiencing where the FMC and MMC’s romance FIRST sparked. However, still such a lovely read! Thank you SO much, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I am struggling to find words to accurately describe the grip this book had on my heart. This is one of those books that sticks with you for life.
Our Infinite Fates follows Evelyn & Arden through history and so many lifetimes, their love transcending every life, always finding one another. The catch is they are doomed to kill each other before their 18th birthday time, after time. Their souls know no gender – just each other. Not only that, but the familial bonds formed and lost throughout. The writing style of Laura Steven is lyrical, and poetic, and whimsical. It was so well written. It definitely gives The invisible life of Addie LaRue and there really isn’t anything else quite like it.
Truly one of the best books I have read and will be recommending this to everyone I know.
As always, and especially with this one, thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the opportunity to ARC read this book for a review

2.5 rounded up to 3.

Honestly, I expected so much more from this. From the way it was promoted, I was looking forward to some big sweeping fantasy, and instead was deeply surprised to be confronted by a rather quiet one.

Although it had moments of genius, heart, and hope, it was shockingly dull at times. The timeline slips back and forth between the present incarnation and each past life at the moment before their deaths. But for a such an important part of the story, they didn't seem to add much. It was just an introduction of seemingly "new" characters we won't see again, having the same three conversations recycled over and over, along with the deeply annoying answer of "I can't tell you" every time she asked why must you kill me.

What tipped me off the scale of enjoying this *was* the "why" of it all. I genuinely did not like the explanation and it honestly didn't make much sense to me. The writing style was also a touch annoying. A lot of "It was adjective. An adjective. A noun. An adjective."

I do deeply appreciate the queer element that was added to this though. It was thoughtfully done and very welcome.

This was my introduction to this author but I don't think I'll read more from her.

Evelyn and Arden are trapped in some kind of curse where they have loved eachother over many lifetimes but have always killed one another before or on their 18th birthdays. The book explores many of these lives and relationships while coming back to present day. I loved the longing and anguish, Steven’s really nails these components and I could feel the deep love these characters had for one another and their deep pain.

I needed a tad more plot and a I think the explanation of the why could have been developed more but I deeply enjoyed it nonetheless.

rating — 3.75 out of 5 stars.

how could i not want to get my hands on a copy of this as soon as possible!!! when a book is meant for fans of the invisible life of addie larue meets this is how you lose the time war, of course i’m at the scene of the crime.

admittedly, there was a lot to love about this premise for me: the angst of being reincarnated with the love of your life only to kill them every time is absolutely delicious. for this reason, the flashback chapter set in siberia was one of my favorites — i feel like that was where this dilemma really shined! i could feel it coming off the pages.

on a similar note, something i really loved about this book was the fact that their reincarnations were not specific to any gender/sexuality/etc. evelyn & arden simply Were, and though i haven’t read too many reincarnation stories, every one i’ve seen has been confined to a pretty rigid cisheteronormative structure, so it was an incredibly pleasant surprise to realize that this wasn’t the case at all here. i cannot overstate how important this was to me.

all that being said — despite a very promising premise & personally meaningful setup, the execution ended up falling a little flat for me. we were told over and over how much evelyn and arden love each other, but aside from the previously mentioned siberia chapter, i never felt like we got to spend long enough with them to really feel like that was the truth. they loved each other, and i as a reader had to accept that without really seeing a lot of proof. the love story and eventual reveal of why this was all happening felt a little hand-wavey, and made it a little hard for me to accept why arden had kept it a secret all these years. i just wanted more! i did really enjoy what we were given, but it ended up a little underbaked for me.

thank you to netgalley and st. martin’s press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was heartbreakingly beautiful. In every lifetime, Arden and Evelyn love each other and in every lifetime, they kill each other. This is a story about a tragic love that lasts for an eternity, a fate that transcends time itself. It is beautiful and stunning and so so lovely. I let this book devour my soul in less than 5 hours, and it will stay with me for a lifetime. Steven's work is phenomenal and the interwoven moments of past lives throughout the present day story were gorgeous and heartbreaking. Reading this book was like an embrace from a lover. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be angry, you will gasp, you will sob. You will feel love.

This book… wow. I'm almost speechless, yet I'm bursting to tell everyone about it. It's so good, I almost want to retroactively downgrade some five-star reviews I've given to other books. This one hit me *hard*.

The premise alone is captivating: lovers across lifetimes, destined to kill each other in each one, with inspiration drawn from Exile? I was hooked instantly.

But it's more than just a story; it's practically poetry. The writing is exquisite, a love letter to life itself. Lauren's prose is intoxicating, raw, and so meticulously crafted that every sentence felt like it was nourishing my soul. It perfectly captures the messy, beautiful complexity of love, loss, and what it means to be alive.

If you've ever been told you're "too sensitive" or "feel too deeply," you'll connect with Evelyn. She loves fiercely yet gently, finding beauty in the small joys and caring deeply for others. As one of my favorite lines describes, "They love softly, and fiercely, and openly, and it’s the bravest thing I know.”

Then there's Arden, who finds beauty in language, cherishes the perfect word for every emotion, is captivated by nature, and treats his diary like a lifeline. He's complex, mesmerizing, and I craved every detail revealed about him.

It felt like this book was meant for me. I discovered it on TikTok, requested a copy within minutes, and it miraculously arrived the very next morning. I cried when "Exile" was my surprise song at the Eras Tour, but those tears pale in comparison to how I feel now, listening to it while thinking of these characters. Laura, I'll read anything you write – grocery lists, notes app ramblings, anything.

I've struggled to write this review because words feel inadequate to express the impact this book has had on me. It's a MUST-READ for 2025. If you take one recommendation from me, let it be this. Please, read it. I desperately need someone to discuss it with!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an earlier copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars

Summary of the plot:
In this book, we follow two souls (presently known as Arden and Evelyn). I say souls because they reincarnate into different bodies/genders. So every 18 years, Arden kills Evelyn for unknown reasons. Evelyn at the age of 8 always starts to remember that Arden is there to kill her and will always find her. But they love each other no matter what, so it makes killing Evelyn so much harder. So we follow their various lives spanning hundreds of years, getting bits of their background. Then we finally get to figure out why this cycle of death keeps happening.

Thoughts on the book:
I thought this was a decent read. If you liked The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, I will say that unfortunately this does not have same kind of writing style of that. I think my biggest complaint about this book is not getting enough background/context clues in the previous lives chapters to try to piece together why this violent cycle is happening. (Or maybe I’m just dumb and didn’t catch them all…) While I enjoyed reading about their past lives, I was more interested with the “why”. And then we figure out the “why” and it kind of falls flat to me. The “why” makes sense, but it also wasn’t this explosive, emotional, big thing. The ending also felt a little rushed. But overall, this was a decent read and I’m not mad that I picked it up.

This book had me hooked from the beginning! Obsessed with how despite living for over a millennia, Arden and Evelyn are still the same people at their cores!!