The Longest Autumn

October 15, 2023
A servant of the god of autumn tries desperately to figure out who stranded her master in the land of the living. Tirne holds a coveted position within a religious sect that worships the four seasons, each personified by a different deity. As Autumn's Herald, she is responsible for escorting the god from the divine realm to the human world every fall and back again via an ancient portal called the Mirror that Heralds alone can manipulate. During their annual three-month sojourn abroad, Autumn sleeps with a mortal Consort to produce magical demigods known as Scions, and Tirne catches up with friends, takes part in earthly life, and enjoys rendezvous with her own lovers. Since she was appointed Herald five years ago, Tirne has excelled in the role--until, that is, the Mirror inexplicably shatters after she and Autumn cross over for the sixth time, severing the connection between the two domains and spelling bad news for mortals. With the Mirror broken, autumn will stretch out indefinitely, food reserves will run out, and many will starve--not to mention that the trapped souls of the dead will begin feeding on the living. It's a premise that recalls the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, but with plenty of twists and additions. Horrified and shaken, members of the sect and even skilled civilians immediately set to work trying both to repair the Mirror and find the person or people responsible for its destruction. Suspicion immediately falls on Tirne, the last person to touch the Mirror before it broke, and she is demoted to common acolyte. Devastated by the loss of her title, status, and sense of self, Tirne begins to conduct her own research into the Mirror's destruction. Some plot points feel disconnected from the larger narrative, and the ending comes abruptly, but the mystery is compelling and Tirne's world is richly drawn. A whodunit in fantasy form makes for a complex, original tale.

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October 30, 2023
Avery’s atmospheric if uneven debut imagines the four seasons as deities. As a human herald of the god Autumn, it’s Tirne’s job to escort the personified season through the enchanted mirror that connects the godly and mortal realms at the appropriate time of year. When the mirror mysteriously shatters, however, both Tirne and Autumn are trapped in the human world. While struggling with the debilitating migraines she experiences whenever she’s in the mortal realm, Tirne works with the seasons’ priestesses to reconstruct the mirror, investigates why it broke in the first place, and develops unexpected feelings for the increasingly human Autumn. Meanwhile, humanity struggles through a full year of fall and the religion surrounding the gods begins to unravel. It’s a fascinating premise, but Avery struggles with pacing; the tension in both the romance and the mystery fizzle out in the final third, like a cozy autumn that never quite bites into winter. Despite a lot of early promise, this falls flat. Agent: Jennifer Azantian, Azantian Literary.

November 1, 2023

DEBUT Avery makes her debut with a new adult romantic fantasy. A god must be present to change the seasons, but when herald Tirne and her god Autumn come through a mirror from the gods' world to the mortal one, it shatters. Tirne, dealing secretly with chronic migraines, is already on edge; being blamed for dwindling food and a new plague is unbearable. Sentenced to manual labor in the temple, she obsessively searches for the real mirror-breaker. But unpicking the mystery means she risks losing her heart. This melancholy tale flirts with romance--Tirne is pursued by both Autumn and a magic user--but the strongest emotions come through when Tirne deals with family and friends. Growing up in a cloister means that ties are complex and layered, and moving to different areas of religious life means changing existing relationships. Avery is at her best when exploring this claustrophobic environment of tension and secrecy. The pacing is slow, mirroring the drag of the yearlong season, and the description is lush. The resolution feels a bit rushed and flattens some interesting concepts, but these may just be debut-novel growing pains. VERDICT An ambitious debut into romantic godpunk.--Katherine Sleyko

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December 1, 2023
Tirne is the herald of Autumn. Each night, she escorts souls into the spirit realm; at the end of every summer, she opens the portal to welcome Autumn into the human realm, with his gloomy expression and cloak of rustling leaves. The world depends on the turning of the seasons, so when the portal between the two realms shatters, everyone panics. Especially Tirne, who's stripped of her post and forced, through her intense migraines, to try and find the perpetrator of the plot before mortality and famine catch up to them all. Just about every character develops feelings for Tirne, and the emotional drama can feel immature. Still, many fantasy readers will enjoy the satisfying personification of the seasons and their heralds, the blossoming romances and attractions, and the slow unspooling of the mystery of the shattered portal. Tirne's desperation to be allowed in the spirit realm and to keep her position as herald is a convincing motivation that keeps the narrative compelling.

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