I tried a couple of times to read this one but just didn't feel pulled in enough to continue reading. I may give it another chance at reading it in the future. Not sure whether it was the book not pulling me in or perhaps even just me in a "reading funk/rut".

In “Evergreens,” Liam Brown explores the tantalizing possibility of eternal youth. What if you could stay young forever? Ben eagerly signs up for the Evergreens project—a controversial new trial that promises life without aging. But as Sophie, another participant, discovers, the price of immortality might be too high.

The novel unfolds across two timelines: the present day and 2070. Ben, unresponsive and aging rapidly, lies in a hospital bed. Sophie races against time to uncover the dark secret at the heart of the Evergreens project and save Ben’s life. Their relationship strains under the weight of Ben’s physical youth and Sophie’s normal, natural aging.

The novel alternates between their past and present experiences, revealing the consequences of the anti-aging experiment.
"Evergreens” is a thought-provoking exploration of privilege, love, and the human experience.

A Intresting read. It reminded me of a black mirror episode. I enjoyed the concept of the book and was intrested on how it would turn out, good or bad. Would recommend.

I really enjoyed reading Evergreens. And a couple of months after reading it, I continue to reflect on it occasionally; it has lasting impact.

The theme is fascinating: immortality. What would it feel like, really feel like, to be immortal? Ben signs up for a medical trial and finds out.

I had the opportunity to read two novels on immortality at around the same time - Evergreens and A Life Eternal by Richard Ayres - and I read them both almost back to back. They are of course different, with different protagonists and stories, but they share similarities too (both include a strong love story, for example).

But to stick with this one... Evergreens is a reflection on whether immortality is or a holy grail or a tainted cup. And much as most people hate the idea of dying, would living forever while those around you age and die really be better? And is it possible to really savour life if the world keeps changing while you remain stuck, always the same?

Recommended.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. My reviews are always honest and unbiased, no matter how I acquire the book.

I find the theme of this book intriguing. With medicine and AI moving so quickly today this seems possible. Sophia and Ben have the chance to live forever or so the project designers say. Ben decides to undergo the treatment while Sophia says no. Now 65 years later Sophie is visisting Ben in the hospital watching him age rapidly. Sophie starts investigating to find a cure while she reminisces about their lives.

This was the first book I have read of Liam Brown. I found this book to be really interesting. The book starts off a little slow but the pace picks pretty quick. I found this to be a very thought provoking story that I will be thinking about for a long time. I will be recommending this book to my friends and family

Thank you NetGalley and Legend Press for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

I wanted to like this one so badly, so I kept reading long after I felt something was lacking. It wasn't as original as I had hoped it would be. And it seemed more character driven than I had anticipated... with characters that I didn't feel connected to. I'm sorry! I hope others can find the positives that I couldn't. Thanks for the ARC!

Ben and Sophie meet and fall in love as teenagers - Ben decides to take part in a controversial trial which stops the aging process, but Sophie doesn’t want to be involved.

70 years in the future Ben is still 20-something but is in a hospital bed unresponsive and a now elderly Sophie faces a race against time to save his life.

This book felt like the early episodes of Black Mirror, I really enjoyed the dystopian setting as it seemed like something that really could happen in our future. Despite the sci-fi(ish) elements this was very much a book about what is it to be human.

It’s a really interesting look at grief and how decisions you can make when you’re not thinking straight can affect your whole life, it was sad in parts and made me tear up a bit and the end but it still felt hopeful. A great book.

I like Liam Brown’s work. I’ve been reading all of his books and grabbed this one off Netgalley on name recognition alone. Would have gotten it based on plot alone, too, because, you know, immortality. Or a version thereof.
Although, technically this is a love story with immortality thrown in as opposed to a vice versa version of it. Think Age of Adaline, only instead of Blake Lively’s immensely likeable character who is struck with immortality you get a total waster like the protagonist of Evergreens who chooses it.
And that’s the main detractor of the otherwise perfectly good novel—a profoundly crappy protagonist. Nothing as pedestrian as likable or unlikable, moral or not, etc. but he’s just fundamentally crap: neither interesting nor particularly compelling. All he does is waste his time and waste his gift.
Although, of course, the novel doesn’t present immortality as a gift. Quite the opposite. The moral of this tale, a rather heavy-handed moral, one might add, is that one mustn’t mess with the natural rhythms of existence, take life as it comes, etc.
Which honestly, again, isn’t as interesting as a lot of things one can do with immortality, but okay, there you have it.
The thing is, though, the protagonist is so grrrr-stupid that he’d llkely end up wasting his life either way, immortality just sort of enables him to do it. As opposed to his beloved who lives her life naturally and manages to have a great one.
So yeah, I didn’t care for him or the overall moral, but the thing is—and this is a major testament to Liam Brown’s talent as a writer— I was still completely engaged with the book. Didn’t want to put it down. I just really like the way he writes. And objectively speaking, this was an interesting take on immortality, and such things always make one think. Books should make you think.
So, something of a mixed bag, but overall, enjoyable. Enough to round up my rating of it. Thanks Netgalley.

I loved the concept of this story. Sophie and Ben are wonderful foils to each other while exploring the desire to live forever and the choice to use the time we have as best as possible.

I really enjoyed reading a near-future story that doesn’t have earth careening toward the end with war or disease. A hopeful backdrop was a nice change.

I liked this much more than I thought I would while reading the first few chapters.

A stunning original story that was poignant and captivating. I adored it.

Ben and Sophie's love for each other was heartbreakingly beautiful and I was fully invested in their story.

A fascinating exploration of time and growing older told in a mesmerising way.

It's a well written story but it didn't keep my attention and the story fell flat
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I received a digital ARC from Legend Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I connected with this story right away. It is thought-provoking. If you were given the chance to avoid aging, would you take it? What would it mean?

I don't have much to say about this book. It was not what I was expecting and I had a hard time getting into the story. The writing was good and had great storytelling. This was just not for me and I ended up DNFing this book.

This was an interesting and original idea ,and it is worth a read .I didn't really connect with it though., but hopefully others will enjoy it more .,I wouldn't put anyone off reading it.

i devoured this book! who wants to live forever that is the question. this starts as a romantic story that then flips to the future that none of us could comprehend.
it’s heartwarming, thought provoking but also very sad.
this book would make a great film.

This had the opportunity to be a phenomenal sci-fi book but drowned itself in too much backstory.

Everyone would like to live forever, to be able to be with someone that you love...but when one person participates in this study and the other doesn't, it's a heartbreaking story.

This is a sci-fi Benjamin Buttons.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Legend Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Evergreens releases June 15, 2023

This was not what I expected.
The premise is definitely there, but I don’t think the right structural layout was used to showcase its full potential.
If you’re going into this story blind, it takes a while for you to fully understand what exactly is going on.
I wasn’t expecting for so much backstory and history from Ben and Sophie, and would have hoped for the experimental trials and time at the hospital to be at the forefront.
This is a then/now timeline with the entire sections during 2070 written in italics. The issue for me is that we’re never told what year the other timeline is in, so it’s hard to account for the exact gaps between when Ben and Sophie first met abroad, versus their time at the hospital in 2070 (I know it’s somewhere in the 65 year range, but it’s not that hard to just mention the year).
This is also written in dual pov, but there are never any indications of when the narrations switch which stunts the flow of reading.

Basically though, Ben and Sophie both attended a lecture together when they were younger that discussed living forever and the ethics of eternal life. As time passes, Ben ends up becoming one of the participants for the Evergreens Programme trials.
Sophie aging but Ben staying physically young really puts a strain on their relationship.
I wanted that notebook-esque feeling of two people in love growing old together with palpable chemistry, but I didn’t get that here. In fact, Ben and Sophie were hardly even together for the majority of this story.
For someone who was given the opportunity to live forever, Ben was such a lifeless character and it felt like a wasted opportunity… though, I do understand the sentiments of how even though his appearance and overall physical health never aged, his mind definitely took a toll.

cw: cheating, mentions covid lockdown

This was a quick read. I was hooked pretty much from the beginning. Would you give up everything to stay young? I did enjoy this book and would recommend.

Evergreens pulled me in pretty immediately - we open in a hospital, in 2070, where you’re not sure if all the nurses are real, and there’s an old woman sitting beside a young man, who’s lying unconscious in his hospital bed. The expectation would be that it’s a grandmother looking over her grandson - but no - it’s a wife looking over her husband.

Evergreens centres around two young people, called Sophie and Ben, who meet on a gap year in Australia. Sophie is more privileged, has a safety net, and can move through the world a bit more freely. Ben has two elderly relatives, less privilege, and no back ups.

Their relationship takes many twists and turns through the years, but one of the largest ones is probably when Sophie finds out Ben has signed up for the Evergreens medical experiment - a trial which will mean Ben will never age, staying at twenty-one forever, with the intentions of using that time to ‘catch up’ to people who have been born into more wealth and standing.

The real question of this book, I think, is that it’s not about how much time you have - it’s about how you use it, and I found that such an interesting topic to explore. Ben is, simply put, completely stuck. He’s languishing in kitchen roles, without a real set idea of what he wants to do, who he wants to be. But he has time. Sophie isn’t much better at the start, but eventually wakes up, and starts to set about making a proper life for herself - and hers is the one that has a more set expiration date.

Overall, this is a very fascinating book, looking into the future, privilege, and the human experience of what it means to grow up.

Thank you to Netgalley, and Legend Press, for the early copy to review.