The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
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.
Review: This was absolutely beautifully written and such a unique premise that truly was unlike anything I have read before. Sir Una Everlasting was an orphaned girl who becomes a knight and dies for her queen. Her legend lives on in songs. Centuries later, Owen Mallory is a failed soldier and stumbling scholar who falls in love with the tales of Una. Ultimately, his obsession with her takes him back in time. Over and over, they are forced to retell the same story. Eventually the two realize that to rewrite the tale, they must rewrite history itself.
This was such a beautifully haunting love story. I loved how Una and Owen are bound to each other across time and in every version of their lives. I loved the time loop part of the story and felt like it used this device in a really unique way.
This is one of the only books I have read that is written largely in second person and yet it works so well. In different sections, Owen and Una tell each other their version of their own story. They are writing it for each other, in their own words, so that they can hold the truth behind the legends and tales sent down through history themselves.
Beyond a beautiful love story, this was such an interesting commentary on history, the truth behind epic figures and tales, and how much is distorted and altered with time. I also liked the sort of swapped gender roles in this, where Una is the hardened and infamous warrior and Owen is the meek and cowardly scholar.
This was beautiful on audio and very well done with dual narration. However, I am sad in some ways I didn't eyeball read it because I missed being able to flag beautiful quotes in the text! Also, it did drag a bit for me in the middle and the time loop stuff got just a tad repetitive in the middle, which had me hesitating to pick it up for a while. (Maybe I would have felt differently with eyeball reading?) I'm glad I stuck it out because this was beautiful but just felt like a slower read for me and thus not a full five stars.
Stars: 4
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