scijessreads

At the end of this book, there is a line that at first seems incredibly simple, but really does sum up everything that had transpired in all of the previous pages: “A heart can hold more than one love.”

Tirne is the Herald of Autumn, one of the gods that usher in the changes of seasons. And for each god, during their season, they enter into the human world and, over the months, become more human themselves. But they always return to their world, to return fully to the life of a god. However, on one trip, the mirror that serves as the portal shatters, sending the lives of everyone in the world into turmoil, especially Tirne and those with whom she holds any sort of tie.

In the process of trying to fix the mirror, we find ourselves inside a mystery, a world with magic and gods and very real human stakes, a twisted tale of forbidden love, a myriad of lies and deceit and shifting alliances, of friendships built and broken. We see Tirne struggle with who she is when the one thing she has fought for her entire life to have is gone. We see a god turning mortal, and how feeling the depths of human emotion can bring someone to their knees, and lead them to doing things they never thought possible.

And through everything, the one thing I couldn’t help but feel as we follow Tirne trying to fix things, trying to learn just who she is and what she is willing to do in the quest to undo the damage to the mirror, as we see the world around her slowly chipping away at everything she has known, is a deep ache. An ache for what is lost. An ache for what could never be. An ache for what you hope to change, but know that the deepest parts of your soul will remain the same. In this story, about gods and humans, all behaving somewhat badly, we see just how achingly human everyone truly is. And how life can sometimes leave you with only bittersweet memories instead of fulfilling every wish you thought you wanted.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC. Expected publication date is January 16th.