It is surprisingly easy to fall in love with a murderer. Step one is to fall in love with him, step two is to get murdered by him. But Evelyn doesn’t need this mini tutorial, because for her, it’s reality.

“Our Infinite Fates” by Laura Steven follows the story of Evelyn and Arden, from Evelyn’s point of view. The two have loved each other in a thousand lifetimes — literally. And Arden has murdered Evelyn in every single one.

The word “soulmates” is one spoken about casually, but no one but Evelyn and Arden deserve the right to use it. The link in their souls is what leads to their tragedy. And by now, she knows it. But in this life, she has a problem — if Arden kills her, chances are that her sister, whom she’s grown very fond of, dies, too. There’s only one way to ensure she’ll live longer than she has before: Evelyn will have to hunt down Arden before he finds her, break their curse, and try not to fall in love all over again. 

But in this story, Evelyn isn’t going to stand for it. Her sister, Gracie, has been diagnosed with cancer, and Evelyn becomes determined to break the cycle to save her sister. This, over everything, is what broke my heart and warmed it simultaneously every single time, in part due to the resemblance between their bond and the one I have with my own sister.

This book is tragic. It’s beautiful. It made me cry multiple times on occasion (and that fact in itself is compelling enough for me to give it five out of five stars automatically, but I will refrain), and rage, and feel all the emotions in between. It’s not just about Arden and Evelyn’s story, it’s about all the complexities involved in the emotions, in Evelyn’s love for both Arden and Gracie. Their story was a truly compelling one that I was rooting for the entire time.

That is, until the end. I was so certain of a happy ending, due to the fact that I’d gone in blind in regards to expectations, that I was honestly shocked by how Steven carried out the resolution, which wasn’t a resolution at all. I’ll keep things free of spoilers, but there is one thing I must say: the conclusion to this wonderfully built-up story had me sobbing in pain. Not only is it awfully anti-climactic, and I mean no disregard to the author when I say this, it feels straight-up lame, unworthy of ending such a brilliantly crafted story. I do understand why the author did so, however; the end does, after all, reflect the harsh reality of life: happy endings are scarce. And I loved the book for that.

But just because the closing of a story I was certain would be my new favorite book was dry, that doesn’t mean the book is not worthy of trying — I’d certainly recommend this to all. Despite being repetitive and an expected plotline, it was crafted wonderfully, nevertheless. This book can be found at most bookstores, notably Barnes and Noble.