The Everlasting

QueenKatieMae

A beautifully written epic tale full of legends that aren't true.

"Sir Una Everlasting is a hero, an inspiration and a legend in the thousand year history of Dominion. It was Sir Una who fought to place Queen Yvanne the First on the throne. It was Sir Una who rid the empire of dragons. It was Sir Una who pulled the mighty sword, Valiance, from the heart of a Yew tree and led the army in the Queen's name. Sir Una was beautiful, even angelic. She was just and good and she died for her Queen. Her likeness graces the currency of Dominion. Posters of her call to citizens to serve their country in battle. Museums are filled with paintings of her with her blue eyes and bright blonde hair. Present day Owen Mallory has studied Sir Una and written about her and taught classes about her. He has also fallen in love with her legend and feels she has saved his life no less than four times. He knows more about Sir Una Everlasting than anyone in Dominion. But when the Minister of Dominion calls upon him because his country needs him, that Sir Una "needs him", it makes no sense. How could a legend "need" a bespeckled history professor with PTSD and shaking hands? How could the great Sir Una Everlasting need a man estranged from his own father? It makes no sense. Why him? Because he knows how her story ends. He knows her death is what made Dominion become the united republic it is now. Then the Minister stabs the back of his hand and sends Owen one thousand years back in time. But when Owen finds Sir Una, she is nothing like the paintings or the legends or the stories. The enormous woman with the large scar across her face is in hiding. She is angry, unwashed and she is tired. Tired of the fighting and the wars and the death and destruction Sir Una herself has wreaked upon Dominion. The Queen has sent her to slay the last dragon and rescue the Holy Grail but Sir Una would rather fall asleep under the mythical Yew and never wake up again. Owen is stunned that the legend he fell in love with is brooding and world weary. She is not an angel, she scares him to death. Also, her eyes are not blue, like in the paintings, they are gold, dark resinous gold. Alix E. Harrow is a strong storyteller and a beautiful writer and a phenomenal world builder. Her characters are human and flawed and memorable and relatable. We fall in love with Owen and Una and all their missteps and fears and flaws and less than legendary selves. We fall in love with their small gestures and wicked thoughts and furtive glances and kickass sword play. We fall in love with how they fall in love. We fall in love with their story and we don't want this story to end the way it is supposed to end. Harrow keeps the reader enthralled and on their toes because this story has more twists than your intestines. Most impressive of all, Harrow is able to tell a story involving multiple timelines without losing or leaving the reader behind. She also uses the two main characters as the storytellers. They are telling the story to one another. We learn the story from their own points of view and each tells a different version of the story. Not once did I get lost or confused. That is some damn good writing. It's a beautifully written story and even though I don't like to play favorites, this is my favorite out of all her books. ["

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November 14, 2025 Verified Purchase

C.Peter Albertson

Epic, Haunting, Beautiful

"Alix Harrow has a way of writing that feels like being wrapped in a story, and The Everlasting is no exception. It’s beautifully written, lyrical, immersive, and quietly devastating in places. This is one of those books where the prose itself is part of the magic. The story of Una Everlasting, Dominion’s legendary knight, the girl who became a hero and died for it, unfolds alongside Owen Mallory, a failed soldier turned scholar who becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind her myth. I loved how their timelines intertwined, how history and story blurred together. There’s something deeply compelling about watching Owen chase Una’s story through archives and battlefields, only to realize he’s not just studying her life, he’s part of it. The time-loop element (light spoilers) adds this aching sense of inevitability, especially as Una is forced to live out the same fate again and again. It makes every moment feel weighted, like you’re holding your breath hoping this time might be different. This is a haunting, thought-provoking read about who gets to tell history, how legends are made, and what it costs to change them. It lingers long after the final page, quiet, powerful, and a little bit heartbreaking. ["

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March 25, 2026 Verified Purchase

Connie

Sad, beautiful, but maybe a happy ending?

"This is one of the very best recent fantasy books. It's beautifully written, with strong, complicated characters, a plot full of twists and turns (you need to pay attention), and a villain who thinks they're acting for the best, not simply getting labeled as the villain because they're (generically) evil. It's also sad. It's about the death of Sir (or Saint) Una the Everlasting and the power of love (not a spoiler, we're told this about 2 pages in). It also raises all sorts of interesting and important points about whether the ends justify the means, the power of story telling, and the nature of political propaganda. You'll want to read it slowly. It also has a hero who's a medieval historian. Gotta approve. ["

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May 2, 2026 Verified Purchase

Sarah

Breathtaking, genre-breaking, devastatingly perfect.

"The Everlasting is unputdownable. I devoured it in under 24hrs in two whirlwind sittings that seemed to defy time itself, they moved so quickly. I was not in a race to finish this book, but I felt breathless the entire time, wanting -- needing -- to know what happened next as each chapter hurtled into the next at a pace that was at first comfortable, then quicker, and then breakneck. I, quite simply, could not stop reading. I laughed out loud, I cried (okay, fine - wept), I dutifully covered whole parts of the book with my hands to prevent my wandering eyes from skimming ahead, which would have cheated me out of one of the most incredible reading experiences I've ever had. I have never read a book quite like this and know, sadly, that I never will again. There's a sweet saddness that touches every page of this book that lingers even after the last page. The journey in these pages will leave you changed. The prose was delicious and so perfect that I found myself highlighting (Kindle) entire pages as often as I found myself highlighting two or three utterly unforgettable words or lines. The way in which Harrow writes is at times so infuriatingly beautiful, so intoxicatingly perfect, I felt like I was watching a movie, everything so vivid and alive. She does not just have a way with words, she has a command of them, and it is pure magic. This is hands down one of the best books I have ever read. Unique in style, in voice, in genre - the story of Owen and Una will stick with me for a while to come. ["

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December 9, 2025 Verified Purchase