I cannot believe it’s taken me so long to read The Everlasting. It’s one of my favorite books of 2026 and I’m so mad I took so long to read it. Talk about a book that is exactly my thing! Keep reading this book review of The Everlasting for my full thoughts.
Summary
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.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Everlasting is everything. It’s this story about our individual choices, about what makes up a person, and about the importance of stories. The idea that someone who controls the past, the legends, controls the future. If we cannot look to the past, to legends and folktales for stories, for inspiration, for hope, what is there to live for? What will inhabit our dreams? The Everlasting begins with this premise. It’s a love letter to stories, to knowing how powerful they can be – especially in the wrong hands – and how when we control the narrative of the past, we control the potential of the future.
At the same time, it’s a story about heroism. About noble hearts, courageous loyalty, which manifests in these heroes. How they are so tired faced with the weight of being known, of never being able to refuse the call of duty, and of knowing that very few endings end happy. The Everlasting examines how we are hero to some, a monster to another, and this eternal choice of the person we love or the entire world. Is the world, our future, the good of the people, worth losing the one who makes up our entire world? For heroes, we have to believe our nation is worth more than our life, to keep sacrificing over and over again in a thankless job. But what happens when we don’t believe that anymore?
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
The Everlasting is tender, epic, and hopeful all at once. I never knew where it was going and every moment was precious. It’s everything I thought it would be and more. Find The Everlasting on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.