This was such a mixed bag for me. I loved the premise and couldn't wait to read it , but I struggled with it in parts. I found it really slow at times and there is a lot of world building which I enjoyed but overall something just didn't work for me and I'm not sure why.

All Detective Kembral Thorne wants is to get some time away from her two-month-old baby and go to a party. Unfortunately for her, the party turns out to be the setting for murderous-entities-that-exist-across realities' version of a fight for dominance, and she's the only one who can put an end to it - with some help from a woman she used to kind of have a thing with, but it's complicated. They work together to solve the mystery, save the day, and figure out what exactly happened between them. There's secrets, there's plot twists, and there's some very delicious prose paired with incredible imagery.

Kembral is a refreshing character in a fantasy setting, given her status as the mother of a newborn, even if she's stellar at her job. Melissa Caruso created a character who is relatable, convincingly good at what she does, and she's far from perfect in the best way possible. It's written in first person, which usually isn't my forte, but Kembral's personality shines through every word and it's a delight to read. The supporting characters, particularly Rika Nonesuch, are just as believable and realistic as Kembral herself, and so is the relationship between the two. Filled with untold truth and secrets, it's a rollercoaster of emotions for the reader as much as for Kembral. Character development was one of my favourite things about this novel and I won't shut up about it. (Even if Blair sounds like an NPC, though that was, for the record, kind of funny.)

Actually, I lied. my favourite thing was the world-building. Caruso doesn't info dump, not even one, instead feeds you just the right amount of information you need to understand what's going on and get an inkling of what's going to happen next. There's a lot of magic involved, jumping between realities, and for a narrative set in the span of about 14 hours (give or take), you get to learn a lot about the world and the people in it, including the politics, without ever feeling like you're being drowned in it. The imagery adds to it, as it's vivid enough to show you what you need to see but leaves just enough for your imagination to finish it off and, undoubtedly, make it even scarier. Every moment was like a movie playing out in my head.

As I said earlier, there are quite a few secrets, twists, and revelations. All of them are a masterpiece on how these things should be done. Some of them I guessed, others I didn't, but they were equally satisfying, made sense, and felt like what you'd been reading about for the past few hours all clicked into place. Of course, this is a series, so not everything was resolved - but it was just enough.

Everything about this novel feels like it was just the perfect measure, and came out great.

Can't wait for the sequel!

The Last Hour Between Worlds, the first book in The Echo Archives series, was such a unique and captivating story, featuring amazing characters and a setting that felt very modern and realistic but with a few fantasy elements that made it particularly delightful. It stands well as an individual book but also acts as the perfect bridge to the next one, solving the main story in a way that feels satisfying and yet leaves enough questions left answered to make you eager to pick up The Last Song Among Wolves.

It took me a while to get into this book, as I felt a bit lost for the first few chapters trying to understand the point of the story and catch the key elements of the world-building, but as soon as the plot got a bit more intriguing with new information about the “game” and a stronger focus on Rika and Kembral, it became absolutely addictive, with a constant sense of tension and brilliant twists.

Loop narratives can be a bit boring, but the fact that in this instance each time the story loops again there are tiny changes, due to the world itself getting creepier and the characters actions changing to adapt to new variables and information, truly made the difference. And the world-building itself was absolutely fascinating, from the possibilities of jumping between realities (which felt like the perfect mix between the magic of fantasy and the futuristic technology of sci-fi) to the very unique “deities”, even if it was a bit superficial – it reminded me a bit of the style of This Is How You Lose The Time War, valuing more the opportunity of giving the reader an immersive and atmospheric experience of the world and the story than instantly providing up too many details about the society and culture, and honestly it worked perfectly.

The characters were beautifully written, even the minor ones. I especially adored Kembral: she is such a true-to-life main character, and it's lovely how it is shown that even if motherhood changed her, even if she is still in the process of rediscovering who she is other than a mom, she keeps doing everything she can to live up to her moral values and ideals, just in a different and (in theory) safer ways.
On the other hand, Rika is such a sassy badass but also in desperate need of a hug, and I feel like that’s the most perfect combination for a character, hands down.

Their relationship was also so beautifully developed: there was angst, there was yearning, and it was extremely clear that they care deeply about each other even when they *allegedly* hate each other. And a certain discovery about their past made everything between them much more special, and had me giggling and screaming into my pillow… I’m so damn excited to see how their relationship will evolve in the next book.

A locked room murder mystery but the room is falling down layers of reality and the protagonist is surrounded by enemies. Clever worldbuilding, strong characters and fast pacing, with a nice rivals-to-lovers woven in. Will definitely be reading more from this author.

What a refreshing concept! Taking place in a single night at a luxurious New Year's Eve party, Kembral Thorne, a new mother wanting some time to herself, encounters trouble when guests drop dead and the place descends into another plane of reality...and she seems to be the only one aware of it.

New moms are not protagonists I see too often (at least in literature) but I'm loving it here! Kembral isn't reduced to "the mom" character. She still retains her individuality and identity outside of being a mom, with her interiority explicitly touching on maintaining some separation between her Selves. New mom-growing pains (in all senses of the word) are present and add tension, pinching the plot throughout, so it's nice to see some consistency. Her stubbornness and big heart rule her character, from her backstory to her skillsets to her actions.

Rika is a mysterious, cautious deuteragonist who added some nice quipping to lighten scenes and has the brains (and secrets) to unpack the plot. The worldbuilding is fascinating, with
The romance and atmosphere are both slow burns with the latter being deliciously and increasingly menacing as the story progresses. The villains masterminding the conflict enhance the affair, with their willingness to do whatever they can and their supernaturalness adding much thrill and colour.

An enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for providing me with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

The Last Hour Between Worlds is a sapphic time loop fantasy following a reality-jumping agent as she attempts to save a room full of people trapped in a murderous game. Kembral Thorne is a Hound Guild investigator who can travel down alternate realities called Echoes in which each layer is increasingly unreal, grotesque, and deadly. On maternity leave from her job, she attends a high society party which becomes the unwitting setting of a deadly contest by god-like Echo beings called Empyreans. As the party resets and they fall deeper into each Echo layer, Kem recruits the aid of her Cat Guild rival Rika Nonesuch who recently betrayed her to foil the plot of the Empyreans.

This book takes the concept of Groundhog Day and puts it in a story that’s more This is How You Lose the Time War meets The Glass Onion. That sounds better than the book actually ends up being though. The book reads more science fiction than fantasy to me with its high concept setting, time loop, and alternate realities. It’s just a particularly fantastical science fiction with powers framed as magic instead. I thought the worldbuilding and magic system were not adequately explained enough to make any of the investigating, the revelations, or the implications feel significant. We don’t know enough to figure anything out ourselves, and we are just taken along on this looping story. There is no “aha!” moment; it’s more “oh, ok…” One thing it did do well was making the time-looping not feel tedious nor repetitive as each reset is varied and constantly progresses the story forwards.

Kem is a new single mother (2 months postpartum) and she will not let you forget it—her body isn’t the same because of her new baby, she is tired after having to take care of her new baby, she misses her new baby, she can’t put herself at risk because of her new baby. It gets annoying. And if she isn’t reminding us about her new baby, she is pining after Rika who she previously had a friendly rivalry with professional courtesy that was bordering on flirtation. While I did appreciate the history given to them, I never felt Kem and Rika’s sapphic relationship to be all that romantic on-page. I think that’s just down to me never being engaged enough with either of them to get me to care all that much.

The Last Hour Between Worlds has an intriguing concept but doesn’t realize its full potential.

*Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK for the eARC via NetGalley

Murder mystery ✅
Set in different layers of reality ✅
Sapphic romance between 2 rivals ✅
Solve the mystery and save the world ✅
Odd mix of Loki and Groundhog Day ✅
Fun and engaging story throughout ✅

3.5 stars.
This book is smarter than me. I'm not quite sure how to review this.
The Last Hour Between Worlds is a locked-room mystery, combined with Groundhog Day to make everything even more confusing. At the center of this mystery is a big clock, ticking away until New Year's Day.
A party, a ball, falling and drifting down into echoes of reality, getting weirder and more unpredictable the deeper it goes.

One thing I loved was that the main character is a recent (and single) mom, because it added a lot of stakes to the story, with Kembral wanting to return home to her newborn daughter. I also really liked the relationship bulding between Kembral and Rika (even though I had a hard time reading about a love interest who has the same name as my little sister).

I have to admit though, I'm not quite sure what actually happened. The different realities clashing made for some very confused reading. Furthermore, I had a hard time keeping up with the character names and how they related to the main character. I think a dramatis personae would have done a lot to clear up some of the confusion.

Set in a world where our reality is known as "Prime" and there are 11 other sub-realities under this one, each weirder and more dangerous than the last, a New Year's Eve house party is dragged into a game between immortals and mischief makers. Kem is a hound, basically a detective who investigates missing people (or dogs) that sometimes fall, or are pulled into other worlds, she goes and retrieves them. The setup for each hour of the story is the same, Kem arrives at a party, various outside forces try and enter the party and kill somebody, chaos ensues. Then the clock resets and the whole things starts again but with influences from the new world they are situated in as the entire party is dropped through layers as the clock strikes.

I loved the slow unfolding of the background of the characters and general world building that occurred over the course of a very protracted party. Although the general setup was the same, there was so much nuance and intrigue and breadcrumbs being sprinkled that made me want to keep reading to try and get to the bottom of what was going on and why.

I thought Kembral was a fantastic protagonist, it made a really nice change to see somebody over 25 being the main character and as well as being a total bad-ass at work and having rare abilities and skills, she had real life worries she was constantly dealing with. The other characters felt well fleshed out and how they interacted with each other and their various back stories being revealed was excellent.

All in all, I cannot wait for book two!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for my digital review copy.

3 stars.

I did enjoy this book, but I finished it wishing there was slightly more. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to read the sequel.

We follow Kem, a new mother, who is struggling to adapt to motherhood and the changes from being a workaholic, finally have some time to herself at a New Year's Eve party.

I found the overall premise of the book to be intreguing - the same party, but it gets progressively weirder and weirder as the night goes on as we go through different Echos.

This is definitely a book I'd want to see adapted into something- maybe an animated thing for how rich the different echoes were. But I found myself wishing there was some concrete explaination to the different guilds and what moons mean. We have a lot of promise from all the different guilds, but I felt like I needed more information to be immersed.

The main relationship between Rika and Kem left me feeling like I wanted more from it. It wasn't bad, I just felt like it could be developed more.

I am looking forward to seeing where this tale goes in the next book, though and will be picking the sequel up.

I was really excited about this book, but unfortunately, I couldn't finish it. The first half felt like a massive info dump, making it hard to understand the world-building and the system in place and I also struggled to connect with the FMC's perspective on motherhood. I hope this book finds its right audience, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

A very clever and exciting fantasy adventure, full of humour, some violence, uncertain romantic feelings, all together bringing multi-layered deep enjoyment for the reader. Kembrel Thorne, Hound, super competent in a crisis. but right now single new mother on maternity leave. She’s let herself out for a one night respite from the joy of looking after her daughter. But this is not a fairytale story and the stroke of midnight means the party will be lived again and again. A party to be remembered if she can work out what’s going on, a life strategy for the future, and most especially if she and the other guests actually live to see the start of a new year. Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group Uk and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Hours Between Worlds is a compelling read, filled with dangers lurking around every corner, mysterious creatures playing a deadly game and adventurous protagonists trying to save the world. When the first social outing Kembral Thorne partakes in since having a child turns into a blood murder scene, she can't help but follow the trail and try to hold back impending soon. On her side, despite everything, is her long term rival, and professional burglar, Rika Nonesuch. The gong of a mysterious, powerful clock seems to be related to what's going on... but what's with all these figures that keep appearing to kill someone in every reality they find themselves in? And can Kem and Rika stop them in time, before it's too late?

The author created a fantastically detailed world, with complex layers of reality built "under" one another as Echos of the reality we know. I found this such a fascinating idea and loved getting to know more about the system chapter after chapter! The protagonists, Kembral and Rika, were also great - very different and yet so good as partners in crime (or partners in trying to save the world?). It was interesting having the MC being a new mother, away from her baby for the first time, as it's a perspective I've not seen before in fantasy. And Rika... her story made my heart clench and want to give her the longest hug!

One downside of this story was that at some point it felt a little repetitive - possibly inevitable due to the nature of the game being played, but still. It slowed down the pace for some parts. This said, the pace definitely picked up again, because I could barely put down the book long enough to drink by the time I was in the final quarter of it!

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy with high stakes, time-warping, multi-layered realities and a sprinkle of sapphic romance.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Last Hour Between Worlds has a very clever worldbuilding, good pacing, and a delightful sapphic second-chance romance. Overall, it was entertaining, but for some reason, I didn't really get invested. Of course, I wanted Kembral to succeed, save people, and find her HEA, but nothing more than that. I don't really know why, and I think it's a "it's me, not you" kind of situation.

Kembral is a top investigator, a Hound that travels through Echoes (layers of realities or simply realities) to save people who fell into another reality. She has a unique and powerful skillset. She is also a new mother with a baby she loves very much. However, she is exhausted and torn about her future, go back to her dangerous job or get a desk job in order to be safe for the sake of her baby. The father is a no show, no caring man, and while pregnant, she was betrayed by Rika, a woman she had feelings for. (There is no love triangle!)

Rika is a top burglar, a Cat who uses her stealth for operations that involve well thievery. She has plenty of secrets of her own and her own baggage of traumas that she keeps hidden and buried from everyone.

There's banter and yearning, and their romance felt real, but at some point, it did feel a little that some things were easily forgiven.

Overall, I do believe that this is an inventive, well-written, and clever book, but it just didn't resonate with me much. I'll probably not read the sequels, either. Perhaps, it was the theme of motherhood that had me feeling "disconnected", or perhaps it was a simple "This is objective good but just not for me" situation, and that's also fine!

It's the monthly pick for a November monthly book box, and I have already skipped mine.

There was a lot about this book that I really enjoyed: the character and relationship development, the multi-layered mystery, the weird and wonderful world building and the main character.

However, I also found it incredibly tedious at points. The Groundhog Day vibes started to grate on me, even though each reset was slightly different. It started to feel like a lot of the resets were just fillers as the author had decided there were 12 echoes.

This book definitely could have been at least 50 pages shorter to stop the second half dragging so horribly. Even though there was action in each chapter, by the end I'd felt like I'd waded through treacle to reach the conclusion, so I'd largely stopped caring about what was going to happen.

It's also worth noting that this could 100% be read as a standalone. I'm not sure why a series is needed or where the sequel will go. I'm also probably not going to find out.

I received a copy of the book for a free and unbiased opinion
We’ve all been to one haven’t we- the party or dinner that you can’t escape from, the one that goes on and on with no end of sight. The Last Hour Between Worlds is a gripping fantasy that is set in a party which goes on from one world to the next.
I loved that the main female character,Kembral, is a new mum on maternity leave trying to enjoy her first night out but gets dragged into trying to save her city. Her boss's constant attempts to get her back to work even though she was on leave felt so familiar and any mother will empathise.
The world-building is interesting. The guilds will be familiar to most fantasy readers, but the descriptions of alternate worlds with Echoes of Kem’s world, scary fae-like creatures, murderous gangs, and complicated politics are also interesting.
The action moves quickly, with plenty of twists which could be a little confusing at times and a hint of romance between Kem and Rika, Kem’s nemesis with her own mystery,
The main plot wraps by the end of the book but this does appear to be the start of a new series and I look forward to reading more.

I had this book on my list of "books I want to buy" that I have on my phone, and so was thrilled when I received an early digital copy.

This is the first of Melissa's books I have read, but it looks as if she's a proficient fantasy writer, which will give me plenty to read in the future.

There is no map in the early digital copy I had, but there was a space for one to come, which I love. I'm a great lover of a map in a book. I am also a great lover of chapter titles instead of Chapter One, Chapter Two etc. So that was a good start.

It's a mixture of sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, adventure, magical, mystical - at times it's almost like a locked room, escape room, murder mystery type book.

It didn't quite live up to what I was expecting, but it did have it's plus points.

It is mainly set in the fantasy versions of our reality, which means creating environments that are recognisable, but a bit blurry in places. And that can be hard to do. Keep on foot in reality, but the rest of you in who-knows-where, but Melissa has done it so well. You can understand that there is this everyday setting, but you can also see all of these fantasy locations just as clearly. She's created such an atmosphere, for good and bad, that gives you a little spark when you're reading it.

There is so much depth and layers to this book, literally within the plot, but also within the themes and storytellings and emotions.

One negative I had though is that whilst I felt the plot and scene building and settings was developed really well, I can't say the same for the characters. They all felt a bit one-dimensional, which isn't an instant problem, but I would have liked a bit more. And the dialogue between these characters felt a bit ropey in places. It's not like I can give any advice on it, it's just that in some books, you feel as if you're listening to a real conversation, but with this it definitely felt like Melissa was trying just a bit too hard to make it flow naturally, and so it stood out a bit.

I do wish there was a character list at the start of the book, but that's only because I struggle to remember a large cast and how they relate to each other, so it would have been nice to be able to flick back for reminders if needed.

Another issue I had - and it's the same when I watched Groundhog Day, which I believe this echoed, is that there was a bit too much repetition. I know, I know, that's the whole point of it, I get it. But for me, there's a fine line between it being an interesting story device and you being fully invested in trying to stop these repeats, and going on for too long that it starts to frustrate and bore, and this was verging on that. If it had less repeats, or if each repeat was slightly shorter it might have been better, but I felt the pacing was off and it dragged slightly.

Overall I would say it's a 5 star premise, but with 3-3.5 star execution. I would still recommend it to fantasy fans as it is very interesting, and I believe it's the first in a series so there's scope for more development. The settings and environment are the stars of the show, beautiful and with so much depth, really visual and just explodes off the page. The characters weren't developed enough for me and the pacing was slightly off. It did have a very strong ending I'll give it that; it was worth it to get to the ending. But overall, a strong start to what I imagine will be a very popular series - and one I could see translated very well to screen.

I enjoyed this book, the plot is interesting, world very cool, pacing good and characters are nice.

I like this version of different realities. I greatly enjoy many realities stories and this one has a very cool spin of it. We learn plenty about the world and I look forward to learning more in the next book.

The book is creepy at times, but I wouldn't call it horror. It's light on romanticy and a bit more focused on it in last ~20%.

I am curious about the plot of the next one, as this one ends very nicely and can be read as a single book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC.
This book was really engaging and I'm so glad that I read it. I enjoyed all the different layers of realities, the Echoes, that Kem had to ventured in. Each Echo was creepier and weirder than the previous one. The worldbuilding is really interesting albeit a bit complex to understand at first, but as you go on it becomes more clear. The story is really good and captivating and I wanted to know more about what was happening and who was behind it all. I have to say, though, that if you are uncomfortable reading about motherhood themes, then maybe this book is not for you, because there's a fair bit dose of that. But if you like a good mystery story that keeps you questioning what the heck is going on, than give it a try, you're not be disappointed.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one. I really enjoyed the premise and thought it was very well written. The main idea of this book surrounding a multilevel reality was very cool and I really enjoyed the way that the clock tied into it and was looking forward to seeing how things progressed, however for some reason I just couldn't get into it. I am hoping to give this book another go in the future.