The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
It had been two months of cozy holiday romance and “romantasy” when our local Indie bookseller put this in my hands. I wasn’t certain. I had been reading cozy fiction for a reason: for escape, for delight. The cover looked a bit intimidating—not as playful, and the stakes were definitely higher. But the look on Christa’s face said it all: You will leave this book different than when you entered.
The Everlasting is a glorious book about escape. It is about escaping timelines, about predetermined destiny, and about power. But importantly, it is about love. The characters are not the kind you fall in love with, but ones you come to deeply regard. The fantasy reminds us why we read; the writing is beautiful, the concept is brilliant and in the end, fantasy or not, it is about the human experience. The Everlasting is about escape, but also about being very alive and present in the times we are in. I can’t wait to place it in another set of waiting hands. I’ll give them the look, and I’ll tell them there is a Yew tree they need to meet.