alix e. harrow – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 28th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, comes a moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part–even if it breaks his heart.

Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest 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.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

OH THIS WAS IMMACULATE.

I never know quite what I’m getting when I pick up a book from Alix E. Harrow. Her books have taken me on many journeys and I’m still throwing five stars at them. THEY ARE ALL SO GOOD.

This romantic story was full of tender longing, angst, a will they/won’t they, OH MY GOSH JUST LET THEM BE HAPPY, and finding peace all in one. I was glued to my headphones (incredible audiobook production). I love that you can’t pin down where things are going and then watching it all unfold becomes this magnificent fanciful tale of two people who love each other DEEPLY.

I was astonished at the depth of my own emotions as things progressed. It is nuanced and delicate and the interweaving of the plot lines was never confusing. The pacing was never at fault. I am shocked this was only 320 pages because I felt like I lived a few lifetimes [as a compliment] reading The Everlasting.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: 2-3 open door
Violence: moderate
Content warnings: murder, death, some war themes, loss of loved ones

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Historical fiction + Mythology + Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Publisher: Del Ray
Release Date: July 23rd, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories awaits in Alix E. Harrow’s spellbinding debut–step inside and discover its magic.

A SWEET STORY.

This was my Book of the Month YA pick for September!

I thought this was a nice read, and I thought the writing was gorgeous. It was very whimsical and had a magical fairy-tale vibe to it that I enjoyed. What I struggled with was the pacing. This book is slooooow. Everything happens in slow motion and the story takes a bit to pick up and get going.

The concept of all of these magical doors to other worlds across Earth was stellar. I loved that idea and wish I could have explored even more of the worlds! We only got a taste of a few and I thought they would play a deeper part in the story as a whole. It was all very dream-like and I loved the bits of magic that were added in to help January along her way. Being a word-worker sounds like the coolest job ever.

There’s a big focus on reconnecting a lost family and this was the solid bones of the novel. I found this moving and was hoping that January was going to get her happy ending. I wasn’t sure how part of the story was going to weave into the mix, but after the small plot twist it all started making sense. I appreciated her tenacity to find her parents and have them in her life again.

I wish the villain had a bigger back-story. I definitely thought he was interesting and it took me a bit to catch on to what he was trying to accomplish. I felt he played a good role and added a bit of creepiness to the story.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult historical fantasy
Language: a little
Romance: a few kisses, nights spent together with pretty much no detail (I barely realized that it was implied they did have sex)
Violence: beating of an animal, having someone wrongly sent to an asylum, psychological abuse/manipulation, gun violence, colonialism
Trigger warnings: throughout the book are multiple instances of racism and sexism