WOW! Just…wow! This story left me speechless!! This was hands down my favorite book of the month (read in September 2023). I think it may also be one of my all-time favorites, and it’s now vying for book of the year for me.

This was also my very first audiobook, and I was blown away. It has made me a fan of audiobooks now. I really think it comes down to the narrator. If you have a good one, then they are easy to listen to. Julia Whelan was AMAZING. Her voice was soft and silky yet sultry and alluring. I heard her voice in my head whenever I read anything long after I had listened to this audiobook (lol), which was pretty long, around 17 hours, but it was SO worth it.

The writing style is absolutely beautiful. If you enjoy lush, lyrical prose, you will fall in love with the author’s writing style. She knows how to immerse you into this world. There are a lot of descriptions and it immediately hooks you into her world. It’s so compelling and engaging. It was just a beautiful experience.

This story is incredible. It’s clever and thought-provoking. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming. It’s depressing yet hopeful. It’s creative and captivating. It’s part fantasy, part historical fiction, and part love story. It’s such a fascinating journey of this woman spanning over 300 years and the things she had to endure because of this curse. We get inside her head and her heart and become connected to the character as she struggles through this immortal life.

I really liked Addie and felt so much compassion and empathy for how she was feeling and what she was thinking. Many times, I just wanted to reach through the pages and give her a big hug. There were definitely some tears shed during this story because it is very emotional at times. It also made me more introspective, thinking about my own life and what I would do if I were in her situation.

It is a long book and felt a tiny bit tedious at times, but I was never bored and it flowed very well. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next and kept wondering how this could possibly end in a satisfying way, which it absolutely did. It shows a very human experience and is very relatable. I think there are many lessons you can learn from this story.

I would love to see this adapted into a series or movie one day. Though I don’t think the screen could capture as much of the emotions, thoughts, and feelings as the book, I still think it could be an interesting watch.

I see now why this is a popular book and why many people are still talking about it, years after its release. If you haven’t read it, I highly, highly recommend it, especially via audio. It’s not just a story, it’s an experience!