4.5 stars overall. The Everlasting explores the legend of Una Everlasting, the hero of Dominion. A unique story that explores mythmaking, nation building, nationalism, and hero-worship with a dash of time travel and romance. Harrow explores the people behind the legend of Dominion and the complexities of their relationships, the evolution of these characters, makes for a truly compelling tale.

Easily my book of the year. A full novel version of The Six Deaths of the Saint, this novel is an absolute masterpiece that will inevitably bring anyone to tears. With characters full of life (and death), this will be a book people will talk about for a very long time.

Time travel, dragons, magic book, quests, true love , evil queen. Everything one could want all wrapped up in wonderful storytelling.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

4.5 stars… the beginning was a little slow for me and a little…not confusing but close, if that makes sense. But about 20% in I was hooked and needed to know what was happening.

Time travel, a female knight, a love everlasting, betrayal, fairy tales—it was everything you could want in a novel to get lost in!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing an e-ARC of The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow in exchange for an honest review.

It’s hard to share my thoughts without spoilers, so: SPOILERS AHEAD

I'll be honest - part one dragged a bit for me. I wasn't sure if I was fully prepared for the writing style, plot, or world-building. But when Owen stepped through the book, I literally sat up and said, "Hold on." From part two on, I was hooked. The story gave me the feel of many tales I’ve loved while still offering something entirely new. I stayed up late turning pages, unsure whether the same thing would happen again or if something different would take place. It felt like I was rereading the same events, but I wasn’t, and I stayed fully engaged. Harrow masterfully repeats the story while still pushing it forward.

The character development is where this book truly shines. Owen begins as a man who sees himself as a coward with nothing to lose and nowhere to go. By the end, he's been everywhere and gained everything. Making the ultimate sacrifice in an act of courage that many would label cowardice. Through it all, his love for Una never wavers. Una, raised as a tool for others, believes herself hardened by the choices forced on her. She nearly forgets who she was before the Queen began orchestrating her life. But throughout her journey, she allows herself to grow softer, to let Owen care for her, without ever losing her inner fire to protect those she loves. That core never changes.

I also loved the “aha” moments in the later chapters, when the threads start to weave together. The recurring “what if?” theme paired beautifully with the looping narrative. Each time I thought a conclusion had been reached, something twisted, and the cycle began again. But rather than frustrating me, it pulled me in deeper. Was the villain always two steps ahead? Could the cycle actually be broken?

There’s something about Vivian’s character that feels eerily relevant to today’s political climate. The book challenges readers to question propaganda and consider what it truly means to write your own story.

I'm grateful to have read this book early and highly recommend it. I look forward to reading more of Harrow’s work in the future!

Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

I regret reading this book. Because I will never live in a world where I can read it for the first time ever again. And no book that I ever read from now until I die will ever be this book. I am wrecked, cast adrift, buried forever at the foot of the yew tree that will never resurrect me.

Look, I cried a lot. I basically started crying around 30% in and barely stopped. Then I sobbed for 10 minutes straight once I'd finished. If you think Harrow wrecked you in 30 pages with Six Deaths of the Saint, just wait until you give her 320 pages with which to work her devilry. I will never recover.

So, yeah, there's a lady knight, and a scholar, and a time-loop, and someone pulling all the strings. But this book is about love, and stories, and who tells those stories and WHY they tell them and who they serve. It's a timless and timely story. It had me in a chokehold from the first page and didn't let go even once I was done.

And of course I want you to read it, so you can be like me...starving beneath the yew tree for a story I'll never get again.

"I saw a throne teetering atop a stack of bones. An appetite, unslaked. A nation obsessed with a past that had never existed."

When Una pulls the sword from the Yew tree she becomes the legend her country needs. Centuries later Owen is chosen to write her story - by going back in time to be there at the brutal end of Una's life and tell her story so she is never forgotten - creating the mythology of a triumphant country. Again, and again, and again, until the mythology is fine-tuned to serve its master, or until Una and Owen start to remember.

This story of the knight and the scholar and the creation of mythology is a spell-binding read. Alix E. Harrow's writing is golden, and she deftly weaves together a complex story of love, family, memory and manipulation that you won't be able to look away from.

5/5 ⭐
Not only is this a genderbent King Arthur retelling, but there’s also a time loop? Sign me up. This book perfectly scratched the niche time travel itch I get nearly every year when I hear about a new release with the concept.
I will say, starting off from the POV of a male character was actually refreshing – I adored Owen and his quirky obsession with Sir Una the Everlasting’s myth and even his skewed sense of justice was endearing.
I was already hooked with a mythical knight figure and time travel, but what really made this book so unique was the choice of using second person POV. I felt even more immersed in the story, as though I was sitting next to the fire listening to Owen tell his story with his love sitting right next to him.
As always, Alix E. Harrow knows how to tell a story in such a poetic and meaningful way, giving us characters to love and root for, to yell at and to cry over. This will be a book I recommend with every breath I have. Just like Owen, I wish I could go back in time, lose my memory, and reread it all over again.

This was an incredibly original storyline with interesting characters and time travel elements. I felt like the characters were extremely well-developed and it was interesting to see the same happenings told from their different perspectives. Time travel stories can get a little hairy at times but I was mostly able to follow the timeline throughout. It did get heavy from time to time so I didn't read this in one sitting - I needed a little time in between reading to think and absorb. I did like this novel a lot, though the sex scene was a bit heavier than I anticipated after the tame lead-up!

⭐️4.5⭐️

This story is a fantasy time-traveling romance that intertwines the legend of Sir Una Everlasting, a lady-knight who built a nation, with the story of Owen Mallory, a historian sent back in time to ensure her legend unfolds as it was intended, even if it means reliving her tragic fate.

Wow. This story blew me away. It’s an emotional story that is upfront about the level of tragedy that is set to happen, but honestly, nothing could really prepare you for the emotion throughout these pages. I found myself crying through a lot of this story. Alix’s writing is absolutely beautiful. I highlighted so many passages, and I am running out to the store to pick up more of her work immediately.

This book explores so many amazing themes: what true sacrifice is and what it really means to be a hero, unconditional love and loyalty, and the power a story has to reshape history and legacy. I also loved how the story was told; it was unique and really gave it that extra fable feel!

It’s ripe with lore and fantasy elements, but keeps the reader grounded in a modern world. The time traveling elements are very well done, but I did find myself getting a bit confused in keeping the rules of the timelines straight.

Overall, I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down, and I loved the main characters. I was just complaining the other day that we need more real lady-knights in books! If you are looking for an emotional fantasy read that will take you through time and change the way you view history, please put this book on your radar!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group/Tor Books for the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Amazing.

Alix never misses.

I’ll come back to update my review once I can think through some of this in words 😂 long story short.. absolutely yes.

I was surprised by how much i loved this book, it got me very engaged and the writing was beautiful, the time travel trope was so well written im obsessed with it!
first part was slow but i loved getting attached to the and see both sides of their story then the second part was one of my favorite love story, they knew they were doomed and still did everything to have a chance including destroying legends about her and everything she used to stand for in exchange of her finding happiness
it was gutwrenching and absolutely loved everything about it to follow their love through so many lifetimes

I can’t stop thinking about this book. I loved Starling House by the author but this new one is a whole new level of storytelling. It did take me a while to get into the main character and understand what in the Groundhog Day was going on, but once I was wrapped up in the world, I was rooting for them to win, whatever that was going to look like! If you love getting lost in a new fantasy world with echos of knights and queens past, then join Mallory on his journey!

I had really high hopes for this book because I absolutely loved the author's writing style in The Starling House; however, I was slightly disappointed. I think the premise of the book is very unique, and I can definitely see why people would love this book, as it has many great qualities as well.

The Everlasting is about a historian named Owen whose life's work is to create an accurate account of Sir Una Everlasting's life. All of her history is contradictory, and when Owen is thrust back in time to a pivotal moment in Una's life, secrets are uncovered. Una and Owen must travel through the decades to change their fates.

Reading the blurb, I was excited to see how their story played out; however, the first half of the book was a little too slow for me personally. The chapters are also very lengthy, which made it hard for me to want to continue. The first and second death were basically the same account, but from Una's point of view, and I questioned how the book would continue. I will say that after the second death, the book really picked up, and I was interested in how their story ended.

This is the perfect book for someone who loves a slower-paced time-travel romance. The second half of the book was such a good read; however, I did have to lower the rating because of the first half being a little too slow and ultimately very confusing.

An everlasting love that spans lifetimes, death, betrayal, and the legend of a knight to shake a whole kingdom. A lady knight known as Sir Una Everlasting was the kingdom of Dominion's greatest hero...and her story is told in stories and songs... but her life has been forgotten... until Owen Mallory, a filed soldier and struggling scholar falls in love with her story... and suddenly he finds himself thrown into the past and into her life. Owen and Una's lives are tangled together in time... in lifetimes... and in every one of them they die unless they can find a way to write history itself. This was one of the most unique stories I've ever read. It is truly genre defying. It's a love story, its a fairytale, its a political story, its everything in between. This book sucked me in and I couldn't get enough of it and was on the edge of my seat until the very last page. I absolutely fell in love with these characters and their love story was both heartbreaking and healing. It is just such a beautifully written story and one I would recommend for everyone!

Release Date: October 28, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book is the most beautiful fever dream only Alix E Harrow could write. I can’t stop thinking about this book days after finishing. What I wouldn’t give to go back through and relive it one more time, beneath the yew tree.
Following a coward of a historian and a badass of a Lady Knight. This book takes you on an epic quest of a time loop full of bravery, incredibly beautiful writing and heart wrenching love that you just can’t put down.
Rachel Gillig said it best, “(The Everlasting) is a feat of the ages. An utter masterpiece…It has scribbled itself over the heart line of my palm and there it will remain, as eternal as its namesake.”

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
Release date: October 28, 2025
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
--
The Everlasting is a slower-paced but compelling story within a story that ties in history, fantasy, and ultimately had me stopping to consider the hard-hitting motifs and themes. This is a story that challenges the reader’s conventional thoughts relating to propaganda, the stories we’ve been told, and the history behind… history.

This isn’t only an elaborate story, the puzzlingly fun time-loop element had my mind turning over and over wondering how many times different versions of this story has played out, what the ‘truth’ is, and so much more. It also has some of the most unique POV I’ve encountered in a novel in that it shifted often and it impacted the story in a hugely positive way.

If you’re a mood reader, pick this up when you’re in the mood for something unhurried that you want to ponder long after closing the book. I can’t think of anything else to compare it to, but I found it worth the read.

“You know that history is mostly happenstance. Accidents piled on top of mistakes, a series of dice rolled in dim rooms by careless hands. It is not a lesson, until we learn it. It is not a story, until we tell it. And every story serves someone.”

“𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

UM, ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I am spiraling, I am speechless, I am so thankful to be in the timeline that succeeded with this story in it. Oh my god???

I went into this story with only the knowledge that there would be a woman in armor (🧎🏻‍♀️) and I’m a simple girl so that’s all I needed to know.

That being said, I would absolutely recommend going into this blind because there is truly nothing that can prepare you for what you’re about to read anyway!

This book is a treasure. Alix’s writing is so smart and funny and heart wrenching. It was an effort not to greedily race through this, but every line is such a treat and I didn’t want to miss a word of it.

“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯, 𝘐’𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯: 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦.”

After achieving an "impossible" feat by pulling a large, ancient, sword from a yew tree, a young girl is forged into the preeminent warrior of her nation, a brave and storied knight. A thousand years later, a young boy discovers her story—or, a legendary vesion of it, anyway—and is inspired to become a historian. They meet, fall in love despite the circumstances, and are parted. And then it happens again. And again....

As a big fan of time travel stories, even ones with plot holes, I've noticed that time travel is a divisive trope—readers really love it or absolutely loathe it. As a device for parting the lovers in this particular book, time travel works well. 10/10: No holes (at least no incredibly obvious ones!) One of the most frustrating things about the time travel trope is that there has to be a good reason why the characters just can't go back in time once more and try again. In The Everlasting, they can try again, but their strings are being pulled so expertly by a master puppeteer that their attempts to find a happy ending are rendered futile again and again. It's devastating and a propulsive impetus for the plot. I'm not a huge fan of romance (or romantasy), but I was very much bought in on the yearning that imbued most of the book.

As usual, Alix E. Harrow's prose is enchanting. This one was a little more experimental than her usual because much of it is in second person. I found the choice to write in second person bold and well-suited to the tone of the book. In a book about stories and the power of stories, the intimate act of listening to the characters tell their stories as a tale that you, specifically and uniquely, are experiencing, is evocative and makes the book pack that much more of an emotional punch.

One thing I thought was weird: It's stated many times that the knight wants to keep her first, truest, oldest, name a secret. However, the name appears many times, at least in the ARC. I hope it will be removed in the final printing. Out of respect for Una, I won't repeat it here ;-)

The Everlasting is phenomenal. This book packed such a visceral punch that, while I was reading it, I had to put it down for a day and recover because my heart was aching for the characters so much it physically hurt.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Easily the best book I've read all year. Every Alix E. Harrow book is a favorite, but I think The Everlasting is on a completely new level. The writing was so beautiful and lyrical, nothing new for Harrow, and the plot is so intricately crafted. There are some really shallow comparisons to be made to Divine Rivals, but as much as I love Divine Rivals, this book is in a completely different league. I've read several of the 'Lady Knight' books that are coming out this year already, and The Everlasting is definitely my favorite. Owen and Una are such amazingly developed characters, and I loved watching them find each other over and over again. I thought the time travel element was so well done, and the deeper themes of the book have stuck with me since finishing the book last weekend.