The Longest Autumn

Avery’s atmospheric if uneven debut imagines the four seasons as deities. As a human herald of the god Autumn, it’s Tirne’s job to escort the personified season through the enchanted mirror that connects the godly and mortal realms at the appropriate time of year. When the mirror mysteriously shatters, however, both Tirne and Autumn are trapped in the human world. While struggling with the debilitating migraines she experiences whenever she’s in the mortal realm, Tirne works with the seasons’ priestesses to reconstruct the mirror, investigates why it broke in the first place, and develops unexpected feelings for the increasingly human Autumn. Meanwhile, humanity struggles through a full year of fall and the religion surrounding the gods begins to unravel. It’s a fascinating premise, but Avery struggles with pacing; the tension in both the romance and the mystery fizzle out in the final third, like a cozy autumn that never quite bites into winter. Despite a lot of early promise, this falls flat. Agent: Jennifer Azantian, Azantian Literary. (Jan.)