4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this advanced copy! You can pick up The Last Hour Between Worlds on November 19, 2024.

This book might have the most unique world and magic system I've read all year. The concept of the Echoes, Emperyans, the Moon and Void, blink-stepping -- I could go on about all the cool and badass ways Melissa Caruso wielded magic and science in this story. There was a fantastic blend of politicking, high-stakes, murder mystery, and sapphic yearning between Kembral, our MC, and her nemesis/ex Rika.

The slow-burn second-chance romance between Kembral and Rika was expertly done. I was fully invested in their history, and the way they grew closer once again while battling deadly beings was immaculate. This book goes right for the feels, and I'll eat it up every single time.

The action scenes in this story are also some of the best I've ever read. Kembral was CONSTANTLY putting that sword to use, and her years training to blink-step clearly paid off. I've never been so impressed yet found a protagonist so relatable -- her feats weren't inhuman, but were in fact flawed, and though a recent pregnancy changed Kembral's body and her relationship with it, she grew to see it as an adjustment rather than a weakness.

All in all, a super solid fantasy with incredible time-traveling, world-hopping magic and intense character work.