Author Adelaide Green

Wow, I nearly DNFed The Everlasting. I know, right? But now that I’ve finished, I truly understand why it’s so impactful. As someone who studied literature—focusing on Renaissance and British works—I approached this with a critical eye. I’ve read The Faerie Queene by Spenser and wasn’t exactly mesmerized. It has its place as an allegorical celebration of monarchy, filled with knights and epic battles. The beginning of The Everlasting felt familiar and didn’t seem to pay homage to its source material in a way that felt fresh or new.

But then I reached the third “death” part—and everything changed. (Stop reading here if you want to avoid spoilers!) Suddenly, I ate my words. This section was so new, so beautiful, and hauntingly devastating. The twists and turns caught me completely off guard. When she kills Una and he leaves his kids, I shattered. The pain was real and tangible, just as the love was. The ending was epic—beautiful and unexpected.

I’m so glad I stuck with it. The payoff was more than worth it. I’ll be thinking about Meet Me Under the Yew Tree for a long time to come. And a random thought—Brianne of Tarth is Una.