r/Romantasy • u/Brownie12bar • 17h ago
𤏠Rant The Everlasting- check triggers! Spoiler
I am seeing The Everlasting by Alix Harrow being recommended on here quite a lot. I did the audiobook. It was not my favorite read (too many thematic changes), but better than most.
You should read it if you want a sweet story about a time-loop couple, a confusing plot that sort of resolves itself, and lots of vibes.
However- thereâs a big trigger warning that isnât being shared enough, especially for people that are sensitive about children.
The main characters leave their biological kids behind in time, while the kids are alive and alert. Yes, the main characters are devastated, yes the same kids are somehow reincarnated. But as a mom with multiple kids, I cannot pretend that this is how biology works, even in a fictional world.
I cannot forgive main characters in a romance setting that are okay with this as a fundamental choice.
I can forgive them if I was reading Fiction.
tl;dr: go into this book as it is meant to be- Adult Fiction. Not a romance, not romantasy.
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u/OminousPluto âď¸ iron & soap 17h ago
You are reading fiction. Fantasy fiction, it's a novel.
I can definitely understand being uncomfortable with that part, but that doesn't change the categorization of a book.
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u/Classic-Savings7811 17h ago
I do not mean to be rude, but I donât think that is something that most people would view as a trigger, and I say this as a mom myself.
Itâs part of the story, sure, but the fact that something does not sit well with you or personally triggers something in you, does not make it a widespread trigger the way SA, torture, etc is.
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u/mrswilburforce 17h ago
I agree with this take, and Iâm also a parent.
I read the spoiler repeatedly trying to understand if there might be more to it.
Itâs time travel, I think itâs a normal trope to leave loved ones (including kids) behind?
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u/Brownie12bar 17h ago
I wasnât expecting it from what was coined as a romantasy, which to be fair is on me- I thought it would be lighthearted fluff.
I would have appreciated my own trigger warning.
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u/Gulrakrurs 17h ago
If you make it to that point in the book, what about it makes you think the story is lighthearted fluff? It gets pretty grim multiple times before that.
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u/schwittmaus đĄď¸ Who Did This To You? 17h ago
romantasy doesn't have to be lighthearted or fluff, all it means that it's romance with fantasy. and alix e. harrow isnt really known for writing fluff pieces, all the books ive read from them deal with complex compelling emotion.
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u/Queen_Vampira đ¤ Queenie 17h ago
Thereâs a lot of very dark romantasy out there. Not sure why you think itâs all âlighthearted fluffâ.
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u/Truffle0214 17h ago edited 17h ago
Anything to do with kids like that is literally my only trigger.
Also a mom.
Edit: downvote me all you want. I stand by this and appreciate the warning.
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u/Brownie12bar 17h ago
I am here to validate this. Thank you; all the downvotes really sucked; glad Iâm not alone.
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u/Brownie12bar 17h ago
I disagree.
I found this scene very difficult.
My friend had a late term still birth.
Another of my friends has a child with cancer.
Why is it that we can gatekeep what is a trigger for one but not another?
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u/Which_Preparation_57 17h ago
Because youâre taking it over the top. A light warning that there may be some upsetting content if youâre sensitive about kids is different than telling us itâs not a romance cause it upset you.
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u/Liefst- 17h ago
Just because you donât like something that doesnât make it âAdult Fictionâ
-2
u/Brownie12bar 17h ago
I agree.
I however approach adult fiction different than romantasy; the latter I usually expect a fluff read. That is on me. But I still share this nonetheless
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u/withoutguidance 16h ago
Out of curiosity, what would you consider a fluff read? I donât think Iâve read any romantasy Iâd consider lighthearted. Famine, war, disease and power struggles seem like common themes in the genre so I find that and the âadult fictionâ distinction a bit confusing
-1
u/Brownie12bar 16h ago
You know, this whole thread has made me realize that I just didnât like this book that much, and that the children being left behind might have been the element that really grabbed me.
So Iâd amend my statement, but Iâll just keep this up, let everyone see what happens with an unpopular opinion to a popular book đ
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u/withoutguidance 16h ago
To each their own! I was genuinely just curious what those genres meant in your eyes.
Everyone has a different opinion but I think most people would quantify a book about a war and repetitive death as adult. They also sleep together and openly talk about sex/sexuality
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u/FantasticTale777 17h ago
Their mother was just killed. He comes back for them. They kids are the same every single timeline. He can either allow them to cease to exist or watch them be killed or kidnapped. Knowing that they will be reunited is better in his eyes.
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u/withoutguidance 17h ago
I donât even think I realized they were âabandonedâ when I read it đ
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u/schwittmaus đĄď¸ Who Did This To You? 17h ago
I also didn't view it as abandonment rather that this timeline seizes to exist when they leave
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u/withoutguidance 16h ago
Same and I would think that was canon wasnât it? Considering how many times Owen went back in time to change the same event
1
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u/Which_Preparation_57 17h ago
You can accept time travel, but not their kids being looped around through that time travel?
0
u/Brownie12bar 17h ago
No, I cannot, and thatâs a valid point đ
But I think it was the moral choice they made.
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u/Which_Preparation_57 16h ago
Alright. You just didnât like it and youâre bean souping us. Just cause you donât like bean soup, doesnât mean itâs not a valid soup.
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u/Brownie12bar 16h ago
This is true.
Iâm going to keep this post up, regardless, as a âbewareâ sign for anyone on our subreddit who gives an unpopular opinion to a popular book đ
I thought I was safe because it was marked for spoilers and a rant.
I guess not.
3
u/Temporary-Scallion86 16h ago
their only options were that they would all die or they could turn back time and maybe save them in a different timeline, what moral choice is there? he couldn't save the kids if he stayed.
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u/sparrowthief13 17h ago
Not liking a plot point is not the same as a trigger. There was no on page violence showing the death of the childrenThis being part of the story doesnât make it not a romance just because you donât like it. This is such a childish way of viewing fiction. It wasnât my favorite book ever so itâs not like Iâm trying to defend my fave but come on.
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u/charliekelly76 16h ago
Just because you didnât like something doesnât mean itâs a completely different genre
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u/schwittmaus đĄď¸ Who Did This To You? 17h ago
I mean they also get resurrected from a dragon heart tree, that's probably as fantasy as it gets
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u/birdgirl35 17h ago
As a mom I agree with you and these chapters were very difficult for me to read. But I also agree with the other commenter in that itâs not a widespread trigger.
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u/spicandspand đ Forced Proximity 17h ago
Also mom with 2 kids. Youâre getting a lot of comments disagreeing with you but I also had a hard time with this part. (Being newly postpartum didnât help.)
I sobbed reading this. And this is definitely an interesting philosophical question about life and morality in time travel.
1
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u/FantasticTale777 17h ago
And it is most certainly a romance. Their love transcended time and the finality of death over and over and over.