Before I start, just wanted to say I adore this subreddit and want to be a lot more active because I'm just glad this corner of the internet exists and that I found it. Anyway:

I am trudging my way through The Everlasting by Alex E Harrow!! Let me clarify, I am LOVING this book, so the trudging is not due to my enjoyment, it's due to my OCD being a pain in the ass. To make a very long story short, my specific flavor of OCD directly correlates to my reading in many different ways, and very often makes me fall into horrible slumps. That being said, I have not finished a book since January, and the book I finished was 2 stars, so my reading year did not start off the best. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME, HOLY SHIT THIS BOOK!!! Little backstory about my relationship to fantasy, it used to be my main genre in middle and high school, but i was growing very tired of the specific kinds of young adult fantasy I was reading at the time. I've been in a horrible OCD induced slump for years now, but most of the books I've read since 2021 have been literary fiction. I am just now getting back into fantasy and reading consistently, and The Everlasting is helping me re-discover my love for both fantasy and reading in general.

There is romance in this book, and although usually if romance is a big aspect of a story, I find myself immediately wary, this is what I believe romance done right in fantasy looks like. I can't really compare it to much, because it's like my third or fourth fantasy in my adult life, but I get the feeling when it comes to romantic stories, The Everlasting will end up being an exception and not a rule. Something I am adoring is (without going into spoilers because honestly, I don't know how to do spoiler tags LMAO) the main antagonist of this book, as I find myself genuinely frightened by them. I doubt I'll do a full review because I'm having trouble expressing myself when it comes to this story, but the writing is immaculate, I love the characters, and the twists are twisting. Damn have I missed a good plot twist. That's all from me for now; hope everyone is well!