wow this one was interesting and kept me invested! it reminded me of heartless hunter & the invisible life of addie larue. the two MC’s are drawn to each other in every life but one is being hunted while the other hunts them, ALSO one cannot survive without the other…

imagine if someone cursed you where your greatest love turns out to be the person who destroys you in every life ☹️

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.

Sofia Oxenham gives a stellar performance in her delivery for the audiobook. With such emotional text it could be easy to over do it. But here, she finds the perfect amount of angst, longing, regret and care in her voice and especially in the dialogue between the two main characters. It was a wonderful experience to listen to the audio alongside reading from the book (my preferred way of reading) but you don't need the text in front of you to keep your attention and focus here- Sofia's delivery makes the listening experience immersive all on it's own.

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.

🌎 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'm going to start by saying I really enjoyed this. I loved the concept and Sofia Oxenham did a great job bringing the characters to life with her narration. That said, it wasn't quite what I was expecting based on the description of the book.

Big content warning, her little sister has cancer and her driving force of the book, something that was just completely glossed over in the description I was provided on NetGalley (it does look like on Goodreads and StoryGraph, they at least mention her sister needs bone marrow transplants so I'm hopeful that the back cover copy won't gloss over this). This wasn't a dealbreaker for me, but I think it is something people should be aware about going in.

The "hunting down a devil" plotline was completely non-existent for most of the book as well, instead it was focusing on Evelyn trying to convince Arden to let her live long enough to do the bone marrow transplant.

The timeline hopping via flashbacks was interesting and I enjoyed seeing their love play out in different lives, but the transitions were a bit jarring and they started to feel a bit repetitive.

This should have been a five star read for me, but the execution fell short of my hopes. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Young Listeners for the advanced copy!

This book quietly devastated me for the first 80%, but unfortunately fell a little flatter around the end when the twist came.

I was very engrossed in Evelyn & Arden’s story throughout their many lives. Laura Steven’s writing is so immediate and painted such a vivid portrait of the many disparate cultures they lived (and died) in. The romance was tragic, and I felt as angry and hopeless as Evelyn did during the big reveal in their Welsh life!

But the spell ended a bit when we reached the underworld portion. I found that section to be a large departure from the more magical realist tone of the rest of the book, in a way that didn’t really resonate.

I also felt like there just wasn’t enough catharsis in the ending, although the epilogue did make me cry.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but I wish it had been a true 5 star as I was sure it would be for the first 80%.

I haven’t posted this review online yet, but will do so before publication.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC of Our Infinite Fates. This book was so, so good! It was such a beautiful story-full of love, yearning and so much tragedy and loss. It was so emotional, and I cried numerous times. I will be talking and thinking about this book for a long time. Highly recommend for any romantics out there.

This book is straight magic ✨✨

A beautifully written tale of hardships and love prevailing. My heart. It’s not an easy read but I love the twists and turns and the character development. Wow. Her writing style is so immersive. I can’t help but want to keep reading, I read it in less than two days. Perfect for lovers of Addie Larue and also fantasy / magical realism. Highly recommend!

THE YEARNING!!! Poetic and hauntingly beautiful, Our Infinite Fates stirred something deep within my heart.

I want to crawl inside of this book and make a nest. The prose is breathtaking and soulful, and I could not put this down. It’s definitely a slow burn, and I relished in the sultry atmosphere.

I listened to the audiobook, which was phenomenal! Sofia Oxenham was a delight to the ears. But the words within this book deserve to be highlighted and poured over again and again. I will absolutely grab a physical copy to reread and annotate.

My rating: 5⭐️

Read if you enjoy:
✨ star-crossed lovers
✨ soul-stirring prose and poetry
✨ nonlinear, time-jumping across the world
✨ books like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and How to Lose The Time War

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

This story was gorgeous. Beautiful prose, amazing plot, incredibly rich atmosphere and the characters were just so lovable. I loved every single moment of it. This is one of the best standalones I’ve ever read! Highly recommend, 5 stars, and if you’re a fan of Addie LaRue or Divine Rivals. I think you’ll enjoy this one too a lot. I reading the ebook as I was listening to the audiobook, and honestly, I’d recommend either or. I was completely blown away from the story!

"Infinite Fates" by Laura Steven is a YA fantasy with similarities that reminded me of the contemporary fiction book, "One Day" by David Nicholls. The story follows Evelyn, aka Evie, a she works to save her sister from an illness that while curable, could kill her. However, she is with Arden, someone she loves deeply, but also with the understanding that he will kill her before she turns 18 though she doesn't understand why.

As the book follows Evie's efforts to save her sister, chapters periodically go back to previous periods and lives (and deaths) with Arden.

This book felt strictly YA, and while I typically enjoy YA I was not a big fan of this title. It felt arduous as Evie knows she has questions but refuses to ask them, rather just tries to move forward with the knowledge she has, though she has access to Arden and could ask at any time. It isn't until about 80% in that readers get to the big plot twist, and at that point it is underwhelming. The ending is HEA, and with a lot of action at that point, but by then it felt like just moving through the motions to complete the book. The book is single POV, if I remember correctly (it wasn't overall super memorable to me).

The narrator, however, was fantastic. Sofia Oxenham did a great job, I would absolutely listen to additional books she narrates.

I finished the ALC of Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven and narrated by Sofia Oxenham. This story is compared to This Is How You Lose The Time War and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I can see the comparisons - a deal made with the devil and two people in love, drawn to each other in every life regardless of their gender. They've loved each other in a thousand life times and killed each other in every one. I think the writing is beautiful and the narration by Sofia Oxenham is perfection. She kept me going in this story that gets bogged down in the middle with all the repetition. They always die before they turn 18, and Evelyn does not know why this is happening - she just knows that it will happen. I do think anchoring the story in the present timeline was well done and then flashing back to other lives, but it's difficult. because they die at 18 every time instead of the life playing out to see if this time they got it right or something. So, a little bogged down in the repetitive nature of the story and then the tidy ending. If this was a romance, I could understand, but this is a love story. Overall, I liked this story and I gave it 3.5 stars. The audiobook narration was absolutely stellar and I will listen to every book recorded by Sofia Oxenham - she gets 5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for my ALC.

Hello? I think I’ve just found newest Romantasy obsession!

This is the book that is bringing me out of the largest reading slump that I have ever been in and the book I will be recommending to quite literally every person who crosses my path. I have no words. This book is possibly the most beautiful Romantasy I have read in a while.

This is a YA Romantasy with no spice BUT…. THE YEARNING!!

The yearning omg I want to scream it’s so good. This author truly listened to us and gave us exactly what we have been asking for.

The plot was so interesting and unlike anything I have ever read before and the twist!! Wow! Completely unexpected!

The story follows Evelyn, an immortal soul who has lived countless lifetimes in different bodies, only to be killed each time by Arden, her soulmate, her home, her true love... and also her executioner. They are bound together by fate, cursed to find each other in every reincarnation, with one always taking the other's life before they turn 18.

OMG I am obsessed and this author will now be an auto buy author. Currently searching to see if they have any other books! Thank you for this special book!

3.5⭐

The Story: Evelyn and Arden have reincarnated hundreds of times, Arden always killing her by her 18th birthday. But now Evelyn has a life she doesn't want to leave, because her sister's life depends on her.

My Thoughts: I very much enjoyed the story as it unfolded. I thought each of the flashbacks showed a new facet of their relationship, some sweet, some not. Unfortunately, even with all of that backstory, I didn't feel truly attached to the characters.
I also felt like the initial reveal of WHY this was happening to them was underwhelming and unexpected at the same time. It was off-putting and had me struggling with the last part of the book.
So while it was an enjoyable story, it was definitely missing pieces (or the pieces weren't in the right order for me personally) that would have made it truly emotional. Although 'I love you, I have loved you, I will love you.' did hit me in the feels every time.

The Narration: I found the narrator's voice to be very relaxing, but that also lead to me missing the dates stated at the beginning of each chapter, as they blended in with the rest of the story. A heavier tone change when the chapter number/dates would have been helpful.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Evelyn is reborn over and over again. Two things are the same in each of their lives: 1. They will always find Arden and 2. They will always die before their 18th birthday.

This book was so cool! Here's what I liked:

The past lives: The way this book is set up, it. gives you a really cool look at Evelyn and Arden's past lives. The chapters bounce back and forth between the present storyline and various past lives. Each one gives you a little bit more and unravels more of their complicated relationships.

The present day: I loved the storyline with Evelyn and her sister. This gives the conflict of the story so much more depth. There's a reason Evelyn needs to live just a little bit longer. Something that she's pushing for.

The concept: The general concept of this book was so cool. It really has Addie LaRue vibes. The story has layers and the characters attract you to them. This is not one to miss!

The narration: Sofia Oxenham does an amazing job in this! She gets you completely immersed in the story.

All in all, a really cool book with a fantasy plot that is engaging.

Our Infinite Fates- Laura Steven
Narrated by Sofia Oxenham

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice 🌶️
Narration 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧

This story was so poetic and beautiful. Evelyn and Arden’s love is so epic, I loved them so much. Even though there are a lot of questions the first like 80% of the book, or rather just one major question, why? When that question gets answered, when I tell you, you could have given me infinite number of guesses on what the answer was and I wouldn’t have guessed it correctly. When a book twist gets me like that, instant love. lol

This was a beautiful solo narration by Sofia Oxenham. I’ve never heard her before but she did a great job on this one.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

Fantasy reading level: Beginner
Representation: Queer

"Battlefields and asylums, olive groves and caravels, the whole world a backdrop for our doomed love, for our infinite fates."

You want to read this for... the amazing prose and soul mate love story that will leave you replaying scenes in your head days later.

About the book: Evelyn and Arden are reincarnated time and again throughout the centures... but they never make it past the age of eighteen. Each lifetime, Arden finds Evelyn and murders her before adulthood begins, but she can't deny the pull she feels for him anyway. The problem is - she can't remember why she's being hunted or why they're stuck in this cycle.

My review: When V. E. Schwab had this on her list of best books she read in 2024, I knew it was going to be a total win. I highlighted approximately one bazillion quotes because GOODNESS this prose just pulled on my heartstrings and created the deepest sense of longing. I love that Evelyn and Arden come back in mulitple ways in multiple bodies for so many lifetimes, and I adored the present timeline that was consistent throughout the book. The constant "I love you, and I have loved you, and I will love you" was just so sincere between these two souls and they're my favorite. Even if they do kill each other every time. I also LOVE a good villain and the narrative of hero versus villain in this story is utter perfection. If you're into people being "the very fabric" of each other and desperately in love despite circumstances, this one's for you.

While the audio as narrated by Sofia Oxenham was done really well, I did get to 30% and choose to start over reading a digital copy because I felt like I was missing information and the impact of the prose from listening to the audiobook. I'm happy with my decision and think this is a book where reading a digital or physical copy is worthwhile.

*3.5 stars*

This was full of yearning and love. It covers a wide variety of historical and modern issues like war, poverty, sexuality, disease, etc, because of the main characters reincarnations over the last thousand years.

This was an enjoyable quick read. I did feel like the lack of Arden’s point of view kept the story from being deeper and more complex than it could have been and I would have liked to see that play out. The memories of past lives were interesting but so brief. It felt like a lot of the issues in the book were glossed over, maybe because of their brevity or because we didn’t get to see any lasting consequences. I was dissapointed that we got the answer to Evelyn’s question of where she came from at the end but didn’t get to see the characters learn the answer.

If you’re looking for something lighter with a lot of yearning and mystery surrounding soulmates I think this is work giving a shot. This is marketed as young adult and I think it very much gives that.

The narration was very well done and easy to listen to. There were one or two small editing glitches but that may be because I was listening to an advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

Audiobook rating 4⭐️
My enjoyment: 3.5⭐️
Objective Rating on writing, editing and presentation: 3.5⭐️
Update:
Because I was lukewarm on this title when I read it last month I wanted to give another go at it with its audiobook and I’m glad that I did. While I still stand by what I wrote after reading it the first time, listening to the audio recitation was enjoyable.

Narrator Sofia Oxenham was great to listen to vocally, maybe I am a sucker for a British accent?? But It was recorded a bit on the slow side where words were dragged out a touch in her sultry vocals. I sped it up just a touch to 1.25x which was perfect to enjoy. However, the pacing of the prose is off and the audiobook couldn’t save that.

I am going to reiterate the main issue with the book. I thought maybe I had missed something the first time as it had taken me a bit to read but alas it was even more evident the second time around. Here you have this epic love story but there was little to base it on of the “why”. It has a lot of “tell” but little “show”. The character development for the individuals was there, it just failed in execution to bring it together for an epic relationship.



I am thankful to have gotten the audio ALC for free from MacMillian Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

Original review:
3⭐️
Hmm.. I really wanted to like this book as I was so thankful to get the ARC for free from Wednesday Book via NetGalley so I could write this review but I need to be honest.. it just didn’t hold my attention.

Full disclosure I was not a fan of the invisible life of Addie LaRue and this seemed like another version of it. Dare I say that it’s a bit suspect of the similarities but maybe it was just the inspiration.

What bothered me the most is that you have this epic love that goes throughout the centuries but what is it based on? You can only be told so much before you want to be shown evidence of the why. It just wasn’t there. The premise is great. It’s the execution that’s lacking.

So I’ll leave it at the above. It’s not. Bad book by any means. The character development is there so many may love it. It just wasn’t for me.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Wow!
I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this. It's the ultimate trial of love and death! The story follows two lovers who reincarnate through centuries, finding and loving each other thousands of times. However, death always ends their love story on their 18th birthday, when one kills the other, and the cycle begins again.

Evelyn remembers her past lives and usually tries to hide from Arden, but this time she's fond of her life and wants to help save her sister from cancer. She aims to avoid Arden and live past her 18th birthday. The twist is that Evelyn doesn't know who Arden has reincarnated into, so she's constantly looking for clues to identify him. Sometimes she gets it wrong, and sometimes she's spot on.

The story includes flashbacks from their previous lives, showing how they've fallen in love repeatedly. Evelyn always grapples with the same questions: Why must this be their torment? Why must Arden kill her each time? How can she keep herself from falling in love with him again? This is a great story with many layers, and it's definitely worth the read!
With superb narration and captivating prose, the story keeps you listening.
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen and review this one! It was an absolutely heartbreaking journey full of love and surprise!

Evelyn and Arden must kill each other before they turn 18 but luckily, they are reborn only to die again before 18. In one life, Evelyn’s sister needs bone marrow to survive and to save her sister she must: find Arden before they can kill her, finally break the curse, and try not to fall in love again.

I liked how it was a mystery in every life to figure out who Arden is because we only get Evelyn's POV but also Arden for most of the book seemed to have more memories and knowledge than Evelyn does.

I disliked the random mostly unnecessary semi-closed-door sex scene at about 90%. It wasn't needed and could have just been a kiss to show their connection.