I honestly don’t remember the last time I stayed up all night reading a book, but I couldn't put this down. I’m struggling to find the words to describe how good it is, possibly because I’m terrible at putting my thoughts into words lol. I'll keep it simple - the prose is incredible, and the story is brutal and beautiful all at once.
Here’s the blurb:
Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters―but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.
Centuries later, Owen Mallory―failed soldier, struggling scholar―falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives―and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.
But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend―if they want to tell a different story--they’ll have to rewrite history itself.
Please do yourself a favor and check it out.
This was my last book of 2025, and it was one of my fav fiction reads of the year (and my life). Harrow is definitely becoming one of my fav authors (her Starling House was one of my other fav reads of 2025).
Same!! Really ended the year on a high note!
It was my #1 book of 2025. Harrow is so good.
If you haven’t yet, you should check out her novelette “The Six Deaths of the Saint”. It’s narratively unconnected, but it was her stylistic test run before writing The Everlasting…and it’s fucking INCREDIBLE.
This was my fav short story of 2024 and so I eagerly picked up The Starling House. I ended up discarding it because it was so pedestrian, especially compared to The Six Deaths. I was so sad. Have you read starling house? Is this better?
I didn’t love Starling House but really liked Once and Future Witches!!
In general I think Harrow’s short fiction is way better than her novels…with the sole exception of The Everlasting
Thanks - I may give it a go
I think Once and Future Witches is solid.
And I didn't really like her Hugo-winning short story, the witch's guide to escape one.
I haven’t read Once and Future Witches. I thought Ten Thousand Doors was okay, and Starling House was kinda disappointing.
But “Mr. Death”, “The Six Deaths of the Saint”, and “Do Not Look Back, My Lion” are all amazing, and “The Knight and the Butcherbird” was pretty good.
Oh wow thanks, checking it out right now!
This convinced me not to read The Everlasting as I was not a fan of The Six Deaths of the Saint, I found it to be waaay melodramatic. Not knocking what people like, but good to know that it's similar to the Six Deaths.
I didn't like The Everlasting and melodramatic was definitely a reason why. I haven't read the author's other works and don't think I'll bother now. The book also told way more than it showed so I could not connect with the characters or story. And on top of that it was very repetitive. Dual POV between the romantic leads really hurt the story in my opinion. I didn't need to see the same scene twice from different perspectives that sounded the exact same. I often got confused about whose head I was in because the voices were identical.
The prose was pretty and the idea was cool. I hated the execution.
Same! It was a solid 3.5 stars for me but like you said, the melodrama ruined a large part of it. The focus on the prose being pretty instead of substantial, and the choice to use an extremely overly sentimental second person POV made the writing so distant… like I just didn’t care. If it had been written in 3rd person and more attention given to the world building I think it could’ve worked.
I thought the first-person second person worked great. It was the perfect kind of story to use that for.
To each their own! It's an ambitious POV to write and I didn't enjoy it in this book or find it compelling storytelling. I don't know if it would have been better for me in a basic first person or third person POV because the issues I had with the book (telling over showing and failing to give each POV character a distinctive voice) can also happen with those.
Totally agree! Just regular old first person from only one POV would have worked better too! And I agree about the worldbuilding. It focussed on the romance, which would have been fine if I could have gotten invested in it, but I couldn't and the other fantasy elements were lacking.
Both are on my shortlist currently but I couldn’t figure out which to read first. Any advice?
Read Six Deaths of the Saint first as a preview! It's so short (like 30 pages iirc) and masterfully done.
Note that it's not an actual preview.
Doesn't really matter. Six Deaths came first, if that matters. I actually like it a little more than The Everlasting, but it's tough to compare a novelette to a full novel.
I haven't read this one but she is fast becoming one of my of my favourite authors!! The Ten Thousand Doors of January was just exceptional! Can't wait to start The Everlasting!
I'm glad everyone seems to have enjoyed this. Personally, though, I DNFed the audiobook. Seemed like it had potential but I didn't gel with the main male character and eventually decided it wasn't for me. It's possible I might have responded differently if I was reading it (rather than audiobooking) but it didn't draw me in enough to continue in book form.
I didn't like it either. I read the ebook and powered through it due to the high praise, but I couldn't connect with the characters or story. I got so bored with all the repeat scenes and the dual POV that I could not tell apart.
SAME I found it boring, repetitive, and predictable. I could not feel the romance. Especially since she kept calling him "boy". This isn't usually a genre I'd read, but I LoVED The Ten Thousand Doors of January so I gave it a shot.
Man if you’re not liking a book read by motherfuckin MOIRA QUIRK, then that story def aint for you
this one has been on my list but i must say you give a very good pitch...perhaps there is still space for it on my bingo card so i can move it up on the priority list haha.
Not sure what is on your bingo card, but I snuck it in on mine for having more than 4 distinct colors on the cover just so I could get around to it lol. (worth it)
wait haha i meant my r slash fantasy sub bingo card but love that yours has a square for more than 4 colors?? that's so original i don't think i've ever seen that! i think i'm slipping it in under "publishd in 2025" though. did i reorganize my remaining squares earlier today for this purpose?? perhaps...
Oh haha, I'm doing one on Storygraph, it's got all kinds of prompts on it. 😊 Good luck, hope you love it!
oh i love the stroygraph ones!! last year i managed to complete the onboarding challenge and the genre challenge, but i didn't have time to do all of the read the world ones. i'm going to attempt all three this year though. if you have any really good ones to recommend i'd love to add more! anyway, enjoy! :)
Genre challenge sounds fun! You can add me if you want! The one I'm doing is 'supposed' to help you clear out your TBR...(LIES)
https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/itsmegpie
oooooooo that is what i need to be completely honest...the tbr is LONG and unwieldy but we will persist! :) EDIT: also i added you! or sent a request haha
Is it romantasy? I'm more into fantasy than romance but the blurb makes my romantasy sense tingling haha.
Its very different form the acotar/fourth wing style romantasy, if thats what you're asking. I read a pretty diverse range of books, and I would say The Everlasting feels very different from typical "romantasy" or romance. Even if you dont like romance I would suggest giving it a try. Its a great story and book overall, in multiple aspects, not just the romance.
I wouldn’t say it’s romantasy like how you’d normally think of romantasy. But it is the most romantic of Harrow’s books, I think. There is also open door spice. Nothing crazy but it’s there. I feel like it’ll appeal to fantasy and “romantasy” readers.
Gotcha. I have absolutely zero problem with spice, it's the romance tropes that annoy me.
What romance tropes annoy you? The Everlastjng is still a very romantic story and does have some romance tropes.
I guess just the general formula of romance books rather than any specific trope, but if I had to mention what I definitely wouldn't want to see:
Hmm I don’t feel that any of these are in The Everlasting, so hopefully you’ll enjoy it!
Same
No, it's not romantasy at all. Not every book with a romantic relationship in it is a romantasy.
In that case Goodreads tags are misleading.
Goodreads is pretty bad for that, somewhat because of latent misogyny.
Fantasy book written by a woman with a romance in it: Romantasy.
Fantasy book written by a man with a romance in it: Fantasy, with a separate tag for Romance.
Tell that to my local indie bookstore. They've shelved it as romantasy and I was really baffled by that choice... Especially considering that romantasy is in an entirely different room from non-romance fantasy at that bookstore. Not that I'll complain if romantasy readers pick up The Everlasting and love it! But there are a lot of non-romantasy readers who are solidly in The Everlasting's target audience...
Honestly I’d argue that it is romantasy in that the romance is not a subplot, it’s the driving force of the novel. The book could not work on just the fantasy elements alone/would not exist without the romance, so, romantasy.
Romantasy generally refers to a specific subgenre that has both the elements of a romance as a genre, and fantasy elements. The most famous examples are A Court of Thorn and Roses and Fourth Wing. That is really not the subgenre this is in. It's not defined by if the romance is central to the novel or not. Fantasy romance is very different from romantasy.
I loathe romantasy (sorry!) and this was my favorite book of the year. Do with that what you will.
Incredible prose
Also, incredible execution of the time travel element
This is the second book of hers that I've read and her prose really is just so lovely.
I dislike stories with time travel in them because they’re rarely done properly.
This was amazing.
Harrow is so hit-or-miss for me. I’ve only liked 2 of her books, and one of them is The Everlasting.
How does it compare to Starling House?
I really like Harrow's writing, but the plot of Starling House fell flat to me so I have been reluctant to pick up another of her books. If the plot is a bit stronger in this one I'd read it for the writing style alone.
I’ve never tried any of Harrow’s stuff prior to this, but I ABSOLUTELY am now! This book was amazing!!
I got this for Christmas and finished it in about 2 days. It really is fantastic and I've been recommending it to everyone who will listen.
Harrow is one of those authors where I IMMEDIATELY preorder anything she releases. Her style ticks all my boxes.
This is on my TBR! Everything I have read by Alix E Harrow has been spectacular, but I have only read The Ten Thousand Doors of January and Starling House so far
Absolutely. I've loved Harrow since Ten Thousand Doors, it is my favourite book of all time. The Everlasting is incredible.
I really didn’t like 3 of her other novels, like, at all, but loved the novella The Six Deaths of the Saint so really hopeful for The Everlasting! This has me more optimistic and going to have to move it up my list
I didn't know she had a new book out, thanks for putting this on my radar! I loved her first two books and I'm looking forward to picking this up.
So is this 'romantasy' or not? The answers here are confusing. Not that I have ever read 'romantasy'. I imagine fantasy bodice-rippers/50 shades, but I don't know.
It sounds a little like Guy Gavriel Kay's work. Is that right?
I’ve never read Guy Gavriel Kay, but I think most people would not consider it “romantasy” like Fourth Wing or A Court of Thorns and Roses.
But The Everlasting does have a very strong and prominent romance story line, and it checks a lot of boxes that romance novels check. It also has short open door spice scenes. I think people who read romantasy and fantasy really love this book. But if you are someone who dislikes any romance at all (or dislikes any open door spice), then maybe this book is not for you.
What is an open door spice scene and also why is everyone saying spice scenes these days instead of sex scenes?
"Open door spice" typically means that sexual interactions are described in detail on-page, whereas "closed door" typically means that it's implied the characters are having sexual interactions but they do not take place on-page.
I can't speak for everyone, but I view "spice" as a general term for sexual interactions that may not include (usually) penetrative sex but still warrant an explicit label.
So a sex scene. Thats what sex scene means, its a scene with sex in it. If characters have sex off page its not a sex scene. Do you need an explicit label because the concept of sex is included?
It just feels like weird unnecessary jargon.
I think it evolved from social media and talking about the sex scenes in romantasy books, if they said sex they could get banned hence spicy gets used
“Spice” as a term is older than social media censorship, I remember seeing it on fanfiction sites in the 2000s.
Spicy encompasses more than just sex, especially as a lot of things are classified as sex by some but not by others, so it's easier to have a general catch all that heads off any arguments in the latter camp, while also catching all the former instances.
The "romantasy" community is big on tiktok and instagram, platforms that are weird about adult words and how that impacts your accounts reach. Its "safer" to use neutral terms spice instead of sex, unalive instead of killed... etc.
Also often people talk about the spice level because there are different degrees of "spiciness". No sex at all, offscreen, fade to black, metaphors, direct description, graphic/pornograpic and frequency. Its more natural to talk about the spice level than sex level, because spice encompasses more than just is there sex. The term is more common because its more functional.
I know that it's the latter, but it's weird that you setup a premise, then contradicted yourself quite quickly. The "romantasy" community is also big on reddit, r/romantasy and r/fantasyromance see similar levels of traffic and engagement as this place.
Non of this is contradictory. A community can be big on multiple platforms, I know its big on reddit, that's where I mostly interact. And there can be, and most often are, multiple reasons for things to be the way they are. I'm just giving 2 reasons for why spice is a common term, neither of which are exclusionary or contradictory.
It's quite literally contradictory, you can't say that a term exists because they're scared of using "real" terms, then later explain that they actually use a term because it's more encompassing and includes a wider range of scenes. You can maybe argue that it isn't inherently exclusionary, but it really feels like that's just attempting to force the former claim onto something that was already happening.
Especially as sites like romance.io have been around since the early 2010's, and publishers like Torquere Press had always used a chilli symbol system to indicate how "spicy" their books were.
I dont know why you are treating this like there has to be some singular reason for something. Like do you eat for the flavor or for the nutrition? Do you wear a seatbelt for safety or to not break the law? There can be multiple reasons that contribute to something.
Also the existence of spice as a term prior to modern social media does not disprove the role these platforms can have on the terms prevalence today. An example of this is the term meme, which originated in the 70's, but grew immensely in usage because of the internet in the 10's. Meme as a term existed and was used prior to the wide adoption of the internet, but the internet was undeniably a major reason for its prevalence today.
You can very well argue how much each of the reasons contribute, but it seems probable that they do contribute.
They aren't my definitions, I'm just letting you know what the terms generally mean for many people who read romance or romance-adjacent books. And...that's what a sex scene means to you; that isn't necessarily what it means to everyone. It's entirely possible that someone might view any direct implication of sex, on-page or not, as a sex scene - or that someone might only view on-page penetrative sex as a sex scene.
Many, if not most communities develop in-group jargon - the spec fic (AKA speculative fiction, AKA fantasy) community is certainly no different from the romance community in this.
Ok but this isnt a romance community this is a fantasy subreddit. People here dont necessary know the jargon used by romance booktok so its silly to use it and then not explain it to anyone.
And sorry, we're all speaking English here. A scene is a thing that is occurring in the book. A fight scene is a fight being described in the book. No one would describe "last week I had a fight" as a fight scene. Equally "Bob and Henriette had sex" is not a sex scene.
I don't read romantasy at all and even I know what "spice" is.
You're yelling at clouds a bit here.
lol, You just illustrated the entire point of using spicy instead of sex. There are scenes that would be considered spicy, but dont have literal sex, so it would not be considered a sex scene.
Thats so funny, you just questioned the usefulness of the term and illustrated it, unintentionally, in 2 comments.
So there’s romance in the book then. You know, that other word that exists and in fact is the name of the genre that this is about.
I don’t care what terms romance readers use to minutely detail the level of personal intimacy in a novel, I object to expecting other people to understand or care about it.
... I mean, you literally asked... Nobody expected you to already know this, or care. We're telling you because you asked. I don't know why you're taking issue with people answering YOUR question?
Also a term as broad as "romance" is way less descriptive, so I don't know why you think that would be a suitable replacement, its not even similar in meaning...
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I googled and yes it means explicit sex.
Ive read the book and also some of it is outside, which was my initial though on what 'open door' meant.
I am assuming its from BookTok lol
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I come from reading more romance, and it is often just called spice. It’s not because I’m not an adult. And it’s not something only known to a small group of people, just because it’s not known to you.
Imo it is not romantasy. It is fantasy and it is about a couple, but Jane Eyre is also about a couple and you would not call it a romance.
It's not like GGK either though.
Very good prose, expertly crafted and plotted, beautiful story - I expect it to win awards.
Thanks. That's very helpful.
Edit: I don’t know why I’m being downvoted for saying thank you.
Are you referring to a single book or a series?
It’s a standalone
Just finished it today and it was amazing! Really loved the prose and the story, had to keep myself from speed reading and pace myself haha
I just finished this yesterday. Not typically a romantasy fan, but I really liked it - though the villain monologued a lot.
Six Deaths of the Saint is one of my favorite stories ever so when she said she was going to sort of expand it into a novel I was so excited. Unfortunately I disliked Starling House so I was scared for The Everlasting but she did not disappoint here! It became one of my top 5 reads of 2025 it was soooo good.
Because of you, I popped into the bookstore at the mall I was at for lunch today to ask if they had a copy. They weren't sure, but the system said one should be somewhere, so they searched around, couldn't find it at first, circled back when they realised it was a hardcover instead. In the end, I was the one who chanced upon it and brought it to the counter. Their last copy, and signed by the author.
I'm 2-3 chapters in and this has gripped me in a way a book hasn't in a while, perhaps because I am also a historian, almost black hair (white now) and eyes, foreign in the country I belong to. But I think it's the prose. It's just right. Thank you.
This is awesome! Thanks for sharing.
And I've also just finished it! I echo your praise: incredible prose. This book has so many little jabs only a writer-who-is-a-historian could have added, so in addition to being a beautiful story, it also made me feel very seen.
Love it!
Im currently partway through the audiobook and I really wish I had the novel.
The narrators are doing a great job but its so good I want to read it with my eyes.
I did the audio book and then got a shelf trophy.
I just read this too and loved it! Harrow is incredible and this may be her best work yet. I really enjoyed the themes. Impeccable.
Sounds like a lot of story to tell in a mere 320 pages, but $15 for a HC copy on Amazon means I'm gonna give it a shot. Thanks for the rec
Buying it now. I read her short story The Six Deaths of the Saint and it was really beautiful and a fantastic read.
One of the best things I've read ever. It's phenomenal.
This was phenomenal! She released a novelette this year called The Knight and the Butcherbird which is also fantastic.
My favourite book of last year! The audiobook narration by Sid Sagar and Moira Quirk is fantastic.
Love Moira!
Sounds very Arthurian, and with the Mallory name in there I do wonder whether that’s part of the angle. Looking forward to it!
I am just about to read my first Harrow book - The Ten Thousand Doors of January. I thought it fitting.
It was also my favorite fantasy of the year.
It was my top book of 2025. Absolutely loved it and highly recommend!
I’m reading this right now, I’m about 40% of the way through it. It’s stunning and I didn’t expect how brutal it is and the far reaches of the politics of the world we’re reading about. Absolutely amazing so far
When did it start to hook you? I had to return it to the library when I was about halfway done, and while the writing itself is gorgeous, I hadn’t gotten to a point where I felt intensely about the story. Wondering if it gets better, or if the plotting is consistent enough that reading more wouldn’t change my opinion
It felt like a chore the entire time to me
Just grabbed this from the library per your suggestion - I adored Starling House!
I found 10k doors of Jan a bit dry. Is this one better?
I listened to it on audio, and frankly the narrators absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Do you think someone who didn’t like Ten Thousand Doors (found the man character grating) would like it?
Ok fine I will try it, thanks for the recommendation.
Thank you for the recommendation. "The Ten Thousand Doors of January" was absolutely mindblowingly beautiful, so I am very curious to see what this is like.
I hated it.
I love everything Alix Harrow writes (The Once and Future Witches is one of my favorite books of all time). I haven’t read this yet so thanks for posting!
Totally agree! Easily one of my favorite books last year and probably ever!
This book was so good I’ve been in a reading funk ever since I read it. I
It was my top read of 2025.
This was my first read of 2026 and I loved it! One of the most beautifully written books I've read.
ooh I accidentally skipped this book via Owlcrate last year - thanks for the reminder to pick it up!
I loved this. Unfortunately I read it in short sittings during a busy time, because I really wanted to sit with it and finish it all in one afternoon.
This is sitting on my shelf waiting for me to read (along with many others), so now you’ve got me excited to read it.
This is on my TBR! Everything I have read by Alix E Harrow has been spectacular, but I have only read The Ten Thousand Doors of January and Starling House so far
Sounds amazing - just got the audiobook!
I’m a couple chapters in waiting for it to pick up, thanks for the motivation! I think I’m just turned off by how much the MMC cries lol. Men should cry, but the author shouldn’t tell us every other paragraph
Just started this three days ago and only on chapter 4. I’m surprised how fast it hooked me.
Hm, just got it, hope it's good, I love romance but...well, I'll just read it.
You've convinced me, will be detouring to Barnes and Nobles after work tomorrow!
Intriguing! Just grabbed a sample.
Thanks for posting this!
I really dug this, especially because I'm a historian who works at a historical society (where we're grappling with things like legacy and origin stories.)
I'd also highly recommend her debut, The Ten Thousand Doors of January.
I will definitely check that one out. Try reading The Duras Kingdom, by Edward L James. A very good fantasy adventure.
Romantasy. Pity.
It's not a Romantasy at all.
You reckon? I know what happens, I tried it. Can't say without as you say - spoiler - but sure seemed to me to a big part of the story.
Pity, the time travel bit was ok.
I have an aversion to female protagonists but I’ll check it out!