Told from two perspectives, we first meet Mira in an airport having just landed in the UK from India, she is young and newly married to Rajiv, their’s is a marriage built on practicality more than romance, and leaves her feeling untethered, both to her new husband and to the life she thought she was beginning in Leicester. She is intelligent, hopeful and sometimes awkward. She is nervous and unsure, about a lot of things, but she is determined to carve out a place for herself within her new family and her new country, learning skills and making friends, building a real life for herself.

And Tahliil, a Somali asylum seeker navigating the daily uncertainties of complicated paperwork, cash-in-hand jobs, and a traumatic past he would rather forget. He, like Mira, has bravery and determination that have not been dimmed, no matter what struggles he has faced, and continues to face. However, he is not dramatic in the slightest, he is matter-of-fact, soft and calm in nature, which made the bureaucratic hoops we see him have to jump through more frustrating.

They meet on Belgrave Road, the Leicester street bustling with shops and vibrant with culture, which feels almost like a third protagonist, anchoring their individual stories (and those of the various side characters) with its rhythms, its smells and its crowded pavements. Their connection grows in the everyday things, in conversations that jump between small talk and deeply personal experiences.

The story doesn’t just stay tightly focused on these two though… Mira’s mother-in-law and Rajiv’s cousin challenge stereotypes and add richness and depth. Tahliil’s family and Mr Stevens too, show us that life here isn’t neat and tidy, it’s layered and sometimes surprising. I really liked how the story expanded outside of their little bubble.

More than just a ‘love story’, it doesn’t shy away from the loneliness, the anxieties around visa status and what it means to belong somewhere. But these are all written about as lived realities, they are complicated and human. I really cared about ALL of the characters... without any spoilers, I cried my eyes out in the final few chapters!

in-short: A tragic, dizzying love story spanning a millennial with fantastical elements that is so much more than two people yearning for each other: it’s about the appeal and the danger of legends, idolizing what you’ve been told and how easy it is to rewrite history. A story to lose yourself in, a story to re-read, a story to think about long after you finish it.

in-depth: This review will be spoiler free, but I would recommend going into this book knowing as little as possible about it and then reading it in as few sessions as possible for the ultimate reading experience. So proceed at your own risk!

Okay. This book made me cry, blush, stare into the abyss and cry some more.

The writing is flowy and fairytale-esque, full of yearning and aching. I normally don’t read romances, let alone historical romances (which this book only kind of is?), but for some reason I was immediately sold on the love story. I can see why people would find it maybe unsettling at first, with one character being obsessed with the other evoking a feeling of imbalance, but it worked very well for me.

In theory, these characters should feel like reversed stereotypes, but they never do: they feel real, tangible and vulnerable. Their actions feel authentic to who they are and their arcs are therefore convincing and truly earned. This also applies to the side characters, which have strong personalities despite not playing major roles and being in only a few scenes.

The plot is nothing short of breathtaking, the themes are woven in so organically and compellingly; I went “WHAT” multiple times while reading. As I slowly uncovered the truth behind the legend of Una Everlasting, I found myself completely absorbed in the story, unable to put the book away. It’s so layered but not simply confusing for the sole reason of being confusing; there’s sense in the madness. Every time we got a new piece of information, something clicked for me and I felt a rush of accomplishment and adrenalin, as if my own life was on the line to solve the mystery.

It’s the first book I have ever annotated, and it was well worth it. Also, the illustrations by Alice Cao are wonderful and whimsical and I adore every single one of them!!

If Ted Kord told me he'd take care of me, I would fall head over heels in love with him