Cindy's Reviews > The Longest Autumn

First, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I expected to like this more than I did. That's not to say the book isn't good. I enjoyed it, and was never tempted to stop reading, but I didn't love it. My favorite thing about the story was the world building, as I really like the world Avery has created here, with the mortal and divine worlds connected via a mirror, the worship of seasonal gods, and the customs surrounding multiple religions. I read a lot of fantasy and have never encountered something quite like this. I just wish the main character had been a bit more engaging. Tirne, a Herald of the god Autumn, came off as too passive a character to me. To be fair, that may have been the point, but I found it frustrating at times. She's a pawn in other people's plots so often, and I kept waiting for her to turn the tables or take decisive action, but she never really did. Often she allows herself to be knowingly used by people she is aware are untrustworthy, in some cases even people who directly tell her they cannot be trusted, and then she's surprised when they, predictably, turn on her.

A large portion of the book deals with solving of the mystery of how the mirror broke, but even that mostly amounts to Tirne sneaking into people's rooms, looking for some kind of evidence of something, and not finding much, or not being able to go to anyone about the significance of the one clue she does find. Again, she doesn't manage to accomplish much. She also suffers from debilitating migraines. In some ways, the book is more about someone dealing with a chronic illness than it is the mystery of who broke the mirror or any romantic elements. While I appreciate the representation of chronic illness, another element you don't see much in fantasy, the description of the story made it seem like it was more about solving a mystery (which she doesn't really manage to do) or romance.

Regarding the mention of romance in the book description, I'm actually not that big on romance novels, so I was a little worried that would be too much for me, but while Tirne does have multiple different, let's say relationships (because some are not romantic at all) over the course of the novel, there's very little romantic love to be had in the story. The book description did feel a bit misleading as far as that element - just a heads up for anyone whose interest was caught by the romance element.

Overall, I enjoyed the world-building, and would be interested to read another story set in this world, if given a character that had a little more agency.