🕰️ The Last Hour Between Worlds • Melissa Caruso 🕰️
★★★★★

Read if you enjoy:
🕰️ Urban fantasy
🕰️ Groundhog Day
🕰️ Bizarre alternate realities
🕰️ New mum POV
🕰️ Sapphic romance
🕰️ Rivals team up to save the world

Kembral Thorne celebrates her first night away from her new born baby in style. She attends a party that is rife with politics, rival businesses, and is the source of a tantalizing plot to dominate the world. This is clear when everybody at the party dies after being poisoned, and the strange grandfather clock, recently acquired by the hostess, chimes and sends the party down into a new layer of reality that starts the party all over again. Kembral and her rival, Rika, team up to solve the mystery of who is causing this, as the party sinks into realities that become more bizarre and dangerous as Kembral’s night progresses.

I thought this had an incredible concept with brilliant world building. I eagerly await further stories in this world where the possibilities feel limitless. This was such an exciting book and is one of the best page-turning fantasy books I’ve read all year. It was fun, it was weird, a bit camp, and a lot bad ass. I enjoyed the romance arc at the centre and the individual character arcs too that focused on finding oneself after motherhood for Kembral, and separating oneself from the whims of a mother for Rika.

“Children make you tough. Parents are hard as rock formed in the heart of a volcano.”

“So many people underestimate you if you’re kind. They don’t understand that kindness is a sign of strength. Stars, if I were weak like him, I suppose I couldn’t afford to be so nice!”

I enjoyed reading The Last Hour Between Worlds, but wasn't always drawn to pick it up again - for me, sliding through the different echoes didn't lead to a lot of attachment to the events unfolding. I also felt that the characters could have been further developed, which would have helped with this - even Kembral and Rika felt at times undefined. A bonus for some readers will be that the book leant a lot more heavily into fantasy than I was expected - there's an intriguing blend of genres at play here (sword-wielding sapphics! Steampunk! Characters who are almost god-like in their powers!). I assume the world-building will develop further in future instalments - this initial section of the tale flings us straight into the action, with a lot of plot, and so finer details are often left vague. Nonetheless, a firm sense of place prevails - I could picture the society and the setting, even if I was unaware of or confused by its intricacies. I think the imagery of the world created will stick with me, but I'm unsure if I will continue with the series - it depends on the premise of the second instalment.

Kembral attends a special party when on maternity leave. Everything goes wrong when the whole house gets trapped in a kind of Groundhog Day timeloop, except with each reset they fall down a layer into a deeper Echo and things get weirder and more dangerous as the go.

Fortunately, Kembral is a Hound, she hunts through the different world layers or Echoes to retrieve lost people (or pets). Also in attendance is her frenemy/love interest Rika who is a Cat, which I think is like a sanctioned thief?

I liked the idea, I liked the setting, I didn’t mind the characters even though there isn’t a great deal of development for the secondary characters. The world building was lacking and quite confusing – give me a glossary, an info dump – anything. Explain the different houses? Guilds? Whatever they are. The different moon types, the different Echoes. To start with everything is referred to as an Echo - the different layers of reality, the different creatures, things - it was very confusing.

I didn’t particularly like the first person narration from Kembral and I found her thoughts so repetitive - thinking about her new baby and being tired or not sure of herself because she's a new mother (not a bad thing on it's own, but there was too much of it and it didn't add anything), her blink stepping ability, and especially about Rika. Kembral spends so much time thinking about her relationship (or lack thereof) with Rika and it's often right in the middle of more important things that really should have her whole focus. In fact, reading this made me realise how much of a pet peeve this is for me.

I don't think this was a bad book and I did genuinely like the setting and thought the story had potential but it wasn't my style in the end. I do think this would make a fun movie or tv show, something like Doctor Who crossed with Labyrinth.

2.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really loved this - one of my favourites reads of the year. Hardly any novels featured women who've just given birth, let alone sci-fi/fantasy novels, so this was a refreshing breath of fresh air. The progression through the layers was intriguing and somehow never got boring, and I loved the relationship between Kembral and Rika. For a SFF novel to tackle how women feel about motherhood and returning to work is a brilliant step forward, and I really look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this early.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me. And that’s entirely my problem, because what wasn’t made abundantly clear from the blurb was this is a Groundhog Day plot and I personally despise this trope/ book genre theme. Even with subtle changes I hate reading the same thing over and over so not liking this book is entirely a me problem.

Kembral is still on maternity leave after giving birth, and decides to attend a fancy party because she deserves to have a fun night out. Sadly for her, the new year's eve party in question ends up repeating itself in different layers of reality, with people getting murdered in every layer. Guess who gets to come back from leave for a night to figure it all out?! Jup, it is Kembral.

I've loved Melissa Caruso since I stumbled across The Tethered Mage years ago, and she did not let me down

I honestly don't quite know how to explain this book. It's set in a society reminiscent of medieval Italy, in a inception-y multiverse, with a plot that's got some groundhog day, some murder mystery, and some classic fantasy needing to save the world - all with a healthy dose of witty banter and sapphic pining. If that sounds chaotic, it is! But it's definitely chaotic good :)

Not exactly what I was expecting! Although the book launches straight into action, I wasn't particularly impressed by the pace of the story or its development. I’m sorry to say that the plot didn’t engage me enough to keep reading, so I wasn't able to finish the book.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

Title: The last hour between worlds
Author: Melissa Caruso
Pages: 432
Rating: 5/5

Publish date - 21st November 2024

A new echo archives series book 1 introduces us to kem and rika. Nemesis to pontetials to nemesis again. They are flung together to try and solve the mystery and save their home.

A more macabre version of ground hog day that had me on the edge of the seat. I was so obsessed with how each "echo" was described. The world building from this story was phenomenon.

I also really liked kem as a character. She'd not long had a baby and was on leave. Not many new mums are made into bum kicking characters so it was really refreshing and enjoying. (As a newish mum myself)

It was a great read with a bit of gore but not disgusting. Endearing and just a fun camp escape room vibe.

The pacing was fantastic. Fast. Quick and addictive.

I'm so excited for book 2 already and the first one isn't even out.

You'll love this book if you like
- enemies to lovers
- no spice
- sapphic love story
- adventure fantasy
- lock/escape rooms

This book was very different to what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it all the same!

The FMC is a new mum with new mum problems (lack of sleep 😂) which i could definitely relate to!!

This is definitely a romantasy book as even though it's listed as science fiction and fantasy, there is romance involved!!

The plot explanations were a little bit confusing at times though

3.5 ⭐️

In this fantasy time loop novel, we follow Kem, a Hound (detective) as she attends her first party after giving birth to her daughter. There, things go from odd to strange as every time the clock chimes the ballroom descends into a different layer of reality.

I love a time travel/time loop story and this one did not disappoint. The world building was fantastic and original, and the main character was relatable. Although the story is self contained, there is a sequel in the works, which I very much look forward to reading.

A recommended read for fans of This Is How You Lost the Time War and Groundhog Day.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will say that it took me over two weeks to read but that had more to do with my reading mindset and my energy levels over the past two weeks than anything else. When actually reading it, I struggled to put it down; the characters were so rich in personality, their relationships were oozing with tension, and the world building was utterly fascinating.
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Kembral as a main character is so good - and I mean that in every way. She has such a strong sense of self, she is intelligent and crafty, she is a skilled fighter, and she also has such a beautiful heart. Everything she does is driven by a love of people and a desire to help those around her. She doesn’t back down from a fight when it means protecting others - even if she doesn’t know them. Her dynamic with Rika is *chefs kiss* - especially as Rika’s walls come down and her vulnerabilities begin to show.
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This book was deliciously tense - the stakes kept getting higher and higher, and you could see the impact of that on Kembral and Rika. There were, of course, moments where I do think the storyline became a little repetitive, and the world-building got a little bit muddled (or at least my brain couldn’t quite latch onto the descriptions), but overall, there was so much to admire about this book.
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I enjoyed seeing various characters shine in various realities, and how each of them impacted the narrative both in present and future realities. Kembral is an icon, Rika deserves so much love, The Clockmaker is fascinating, and Blair is an angel who can do no wrong.
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The ending was beautiful, whilst still sending a chill of fear and tension up the spine, and I’m intrigued to see what the sequel will entail.

I really didn’t enjoy this book.

The idea of the world was good. I liked the echoes and the different levels. But what does it all mean?! How exactly do these echoes exist? Why? How do you travel through them? What exactly are Empyreans? What’s all that stuff about moons?
I feel like we simply have to take everything as it is, barely getting any explanations at all. Or, honestly, maybe we do get explanations, and I was simply too zoned out while reading to notice them. Not sure what’s worse.

The characters were kind of flat. Kem basically only wants to survive and care for her daughter. Rika was kind of interesting at first, but in the end her character boiled down to being obsessed with Kem. Their relationship had no sparks, and I simply didn’t get them.
All the other characters – no. We get so many names, but in the end, none of them were important and I simply didn’t care about them. Some of them died. Most of the time that didn’t really matter, as it wasn’t always clear whether the actual character died or only their echoes, or if their deaths were permanent. Anyway. Even if it was permanent, I didn’t really care.

And I still don’t get the guilds. It seemed like the Cats and the Hounds are enemies – but they are both completely official organisations? People know who and what they are. But some of them do illegal things? Are they allowed to do that? If not, why don’t they get shut down? Are they good? Are they evil? Why exactly are they enemies?

And what even was the plot? I did understand it, but I didn’t understand the point behind it. What were the reasons for everything, except for simply creating chaos and killing people? Very strange.
There was also so much action. Don’t get me wrong, action is fine, action is great! But in this case I didn’t even notice when we had arrived at the grand finale, because it was just like all the rest. Maybe tone it down a little bit?

The book lost me even before the first 20% and it didn’t recover. There were a couple of nice scenes and as I said, the overall idea was nice. But it didn’t make sense. It’s basically just vibes. This book could’ve been alright, but it’s in serious need of editing.

Thank you, NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely enjoyed this novel.

Kembral is a new mother who takes a tiny break from motherhood to join and hopefully enjoy an end of the year party. She used to work as retrieval agent, but has been on maternity leave. When the party turns into a "Groundhog Day" scenario Kembral seems to be the only one who recognises that the party/the mansion is slowly sinking into the echoes (parallel worlds that are similar, but not the same as the "prime" world).

I liked Kembral as the main character. She seems fully fleshed out. She knows her strengths, but also her weaknesses, especially after having had a baby only two months before the party. She doesn't shy away from confrontations and has a deep desire to help - or to paraphrase the story: She's the one to get the dog and bring it home when no one else dares to.

The story could have become repetitive, but each repetition of the party has higher stakes. Kembral needs to find allies, who help her puzzle out how to get all of the people attending the party back to their world without any of them dying, but who will believe her and who can she trust?

The ending of the book is written in a way that it could work as a standalone. Yet, it's a bitter-sweet ending and I am curious to see where the sequel takes Kembral.

I had the chance to not only get an eARC for this novel, but also received the audiobook ARC. Moira Quirk narrates the audiobook and she does a wonderful job, I didn't want to take my earbuds out.

What a great read! With magic, dark lords from the underworlds of the Echos, and a race against time to stop darkness taking over the world, Kembral must figure out what is happening before the new year arrives.

I loved the two main characters, Kembral and Rika, and the changes they go through as the story progresses. With plenty of twists and magic, I was enthralled to discover what the next level of the Echos would bring.

A great start to the series! Highly recommended.

I am grateful to Melissa Caruso, Little Brown Book Group UK, and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy. What follows is my own personal and honest review of the novel to help you decide whether or not this could be your next read.

I wanted to love this book more than I actually did. It had a beautifully designed cover, and an intriguing premise to match. I loved the idea of being at a party and this party altering in some way as it plunged into different realities. Based on this alone, there is not another sci-fi fantasy novel I can think of to liken this story to. I was, therefore, extremely interested in reading something fresh and new.

Kembral Thorne is currently on maternity leave having given birth a couple of months ago. She attends a lavish New Year’s party attended by (potential) clients and colleagues with hopes of letting her hair down and having a rest from all things work i.e., motherhood, and the day job. However, when a strange clock chimes, she finds her world reset and a layer away from where she was on the previous chime in a version of her world more dangerous than the last. With different magical guilds, each with their own talents, can Kembral enlist the right team to fight an array of foes before the real world is lost forever? And in doing so, can she ensure that lives aren’t lost along the way?

Starting with what I loved, I loved the world building, and there was a lot of it. The opening party was already a lavish affair, but when the clock chimed transporting the party and all its guests to a new reality, the ball would either become more, or less, opulent depending on how many resets had occurred. Caruso worked hard to create a visual image of everything in a way akin to J. R. R. Tolkien, although she wasn’t always successful and sometimes it just felt like overkill. That said, I appreciated the sentiment and the visuals that made full sense.

Unfortunately, there was a lot to dislike. After the first few clock chimes, the plot became a bit stagnant; find and kill the enemy to save the party guests and get back to the real world. There were so many enemies taking turns that there were as many world resets to accommodate them all. After the 5th reset, I was bored. Bored of the party, bored of the Groundhog Day effect, bored of all the unnecessary secondary characters, and bored of the love hate relationship between the protagonist and her love interest, Rika Nonesuch.

I found a lot of the story became repetitive i.e., the main characters would keep referring back to an incident that saw them fall out, Kembral would repeatedly want to return home to her baby, but then decide that she had to be her true self. Less of the unnecessary repetition would have shaved a great deal from the 400 pages dedicated to this story. However, despite the repetitions, I felt the story was hard to follow. Firstly, the characters didn’t know what to expect from each world shift, so it was hard for the reader to keep up with drastic changes, secondly, the book introduced many characters early on. I understand the need for lots of people given the story is predominantly set in a ball, however, when a reader is introduced to characters, they expect them to do something. Many of the characters were merely names. As a result, I didn’t connect with any of the characters because many failed to have any depth, left me feeling disappointed, and prevented me from forming attachments with others because I was unsure early on whether they were going to be important or not.

After the first few cycles, the book felt drab, thus slowing my reading. There was talk of the different factions people belonged to i.e., hounds, cats, ravens, empyreans, echoes but they weren’t well explained. The reader has their work cut out figuring this out for themselves. I also struggled with gender; characters were either he, she, or they at random. I’m not sure the book called for more than a traditional view of gender or delivered an important message about it so it would throw me to learn that someone was a say, a ‘brother’ after several conversations that used a ‘feminine’ name to describe them. At the 50% mark, I gave up trying to make sense of it all and jumped ahead to the final 2.5 chapters. From what I gather, the story was resolved well.

Having skipped 40% of the novel, I’ll refrain from recommending the book to a specific audience. All I’ll say on this matter is that this is a long, complex story, which is drawn out. It will require a patient, adult reader to deal with the complexities and obscenities (swearing) who also likes a vibrant, intricate world.

This story is set in a complex world where our main character, Kembal, finds herself in a time loop, falling between layers of reality while trying to solve a mystery which impacts all echoes of the world. Her only ally is her greatest rival and as each loop is played out the characters and their history are fleshed out and a second chance romance unfolds alongside the mystery. It's really well done and takes the reader on a wild ride.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. A locked room mystery with a Groundhog Day twist and a sapphic romance sounded like just the fun read I needed right now.

Here’s what I loved:
Our main character is a young mom who is still in the throes of post partum and the mixture of struggle and joy of being a new mom is portrayed very well.
The opening chapters and first few time loops I found very fun and sparked my interest.

Unfortunately there were also quite a few things that made this story not quite work for me.
We’re straight up thrown into a party setting and meet side character after side character that I had a hard time caring about. I didn’t even care about the main character yet!
I understand that the amount of time loops made sense with the clock element but it was just too many.
I also had a hard time being invested in the romance. The dialogue felt campy and more YA than I expected from an adult novel which contributed to the lacking chemistry between the MC and her love interest.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

What a book! I immediatly fell in love with it - with a blend of political intrigue, mystery, sci-fi and fantasy elements, delightful characters and amazing worldbuilding, it was the perfect read for me. Definite 5 stars!!

Thank you, NetGalley and LittleBrownUK, for providing me with an advance audio ARC/eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved it and had an amazing time reading it.
I gave it 4 stars because I didn't understand the magic system and was a little confused,  but that was on me because I didn't pay attention at the beginning.
I loved that the main character was a mom. She was constantly thinking about her baby. I am a mom too, and I felt that we were in the same boat.

Because I also got the audio version, I must say the narrator did an amazing job! I always knew who was who because they did a different voice for every character! Loved it!

P.S. OMG! I JUST FOUND OUT IT ISN'T A STANDALONE. WE GET A SECOND BOOK 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 YEEEYYYYY!!!!!
The story was interesting, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

On paper this book had the ability to be absolutely phenomenal, a unique and fun world, an MC who is a new mother and a sapphic romance. However, I didn’t have a phenomenal time with this book.

The first thing that stood out immediately was the worldbuilding, which honestly I disliked. You are literally thrown into the deep end (which is fine with a degree of context, but none was provided, I would have even take some info-dumps), in order to understand the world-building in this book you need to be able to just go with the flow and understand very quickly (which would make sense with a sequel, but not the first in a series). All of this, without even a glossary (note: one could have been added since, as I had an arc). This book is also so fast paced that along with the worldbuilding I don’t like, I never felt like I properly knew what was happening. Now, this could just be an arc thing but there were whole passages that I had to reread (p57 was the first time I really registered it, but I do think some of it was grammatical which could have been fixed since final publication).

I really like the concept of a new mother being the main protagonist, but honestly that was really the only thing interesting about the MC which was a bit of a  shame, also the sapphic romance was not nearly as prominently featured as I was construed into believing.

Overall I don’t think I will pick up the rest of the books in the series, but considering this is this author’s debut but the concept was so good, that I might pick something up by them later down the line if I like the idea of it.