The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

About the only genre I avoid is romance. Judging by the number of romance books out now, I seem to be in the minority here. This book, tagged as folklore and fantasy, is primarily a romance novel. An otherwise remarkable story, beautifully written, lost a star rating from me because of this.

Historian Owen Mallory, a former soldier dubbed a coward, is enthralled with the story of Una Everlasting, a knight and dragon slayer who dies for her queen and country. During his scholarly research into the tale, he receives a mysterious book about her, which a war minister then steals. When Mallory tries to retrieve it, his blood spills onto the book, and he is transported back in time, meets Una, and accompanies her on her last quest: to slay the last dragon and retrieve the grail for the dying queen. What he doesn't anticipate is that the two will fall in love, and Mallory is forced to recount and relive Una's death over and over again.

I'm a sucker for time-travel books, and The Everlasting is a good one. As I stated, the writing is exquisite, and I loved the way Mallory and Una tried to change history. The characters are well-developed, and I especially liked Una's horse. I wouldn't have read the book had I known about the romance element, but I skimmed the sex scenes and some of the overwrought narrative, and enjoyed a well-told tale. 

4/5 stars.

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Atmosphhere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I cannot believe this is a TJR book. It is so unlike her other fantastic books that I couldn't finish it. Granted, much of this is my fault. I don't like the romance genre, and this was tagged as a romance novel, but since I love all things space-related, I thought I could skim the romance parts. Wrong. The central theme was Joan coming to terms with her sexual identity; the NASA parts were a backdrop. 

Joan Goodwin, a physics and astronomy professor, was accepted as an astronaut candidate at the start of the space shuttle era. Pitted against her fellow candidates, Joan is the glue holding the fragile relationships together. She is especially drawn to the enigmatic Vanessa. As their relationship moves beyond friendship, they risk jeopardizing their careers for love. 

Switching back and forth in time between a shuttle mission that goes awry and the newly formed bonds among the candidates, we get to know the individuals grouped with Joan. What was particularly annoying was Joan's relationship with her sister. Joan was a doormat, bearing the burden of caring for her niece while also facing the pressures of being an astronaut candidate. This, plus her deepening relationship with Vanessa and the related politics, would have been too much for a lesser person. Not so for Joan. 

I'm sorry to say I couldn't handle the drama between Joan, Vanessa, and Joan's sister. I finally gave up at the 50% mark. I rarely DNF a book, especially by an author I like, so admitting defeat was difficult. On the positive side, the insights into NASA and the astronaut training were good. The book was fast-paced, and the shuttle situation was engrossing, but overall, it wasn't for me. My opinion is in the minority, but I couldn't take any more. 

2/5 stars. 

For more information: 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble