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Book: “These Immortal Truths” by Rachelle Raeta
Publishing Info: Tor Books, Jun 2026
Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: A shapeshifting god,
an immortality granting peach,
and a woman gifted with forever.
England, 1184: Anna is used to hunger and hardship. Ever since she was seventeen, when the pale shadows of her vitiligo were spotted, she has spent more than a decade struggling to survive alone and in exile. Then a single act of kindness towards a beautiful stranger and the taste of a divine peach changes Anna’s life forever.
Suddenly, her body is as untouched by Time as it by harm. As she watches the world change around her, knowing every human connection is only temporary, there is only one person she trusts to always return no matter the years or distance…
The shapeshifting god who gifted her with immortality.
Review: This had been on my radar for a while as an indie book to get around to checking out. So I was very excited to see that the duology had been picked up by a traditional publisher, giving me the perfect excuse to slot it in for review here on the blog!
Reading through this one, it’s easy to see why it is beloved in the indie romantasy world. For one thing, this book is very different than most of the romantasy titles you see trending currently. For one thing, it almost reads more like a historical fiction novel than it does romantasy at all, as the romance itself is incredibly slow burn and takes a back burner to the rest of the story for much of the book. Instead, much of the focus is on almost brief vignettes of Anna’s experiences throughout history, jumping forward by centuries at a time. Given the nature of her ability to not die, but without any other advantages afforded her, her experiences are of the quiet, more served type, quietly observing history as it happens while also slipping silently away whenever notice snags her way.
The style of writing and Anna’s characterization are also very different from the sort so often seen. This is a very lyrical, beautifully written book, devoting hefty amounts of page time to descriptions and emotional legwork. No high-octane action scenes here or fast-moving plot developments. Anna is also a much more quiet leading character. She’s not snappy or sassy or spunky. Her inner strength is hard-earned and her “super power,” such as it is, is simple kindness and empathy, traits that often break her own heart in the process.
The romance is also incredibly slow burn, so much so that by the middle point of the book I almost wondered if there would be a romance at all. That said, I think the love story was stronger for this cautious approach. Not only does Anna have more pressing concerns in her day-to-day life, but adjusting to living forever is no small thing, and I appreciated the careful consideration the author took with regards to Anna’s sentiments toward this development and the being who foisted it upon her, unasked. Further, the godlike individual behind this all is practically ageless, and I liked the fact that the author only slowly built up the change in the relationship towards romance. No “immortal man immediately falls for first attractive 20-something woman he’s ever seen” here.
That said, I did struggle with a few points. Anna is almost too perfect. While the slower approach to the pacing succeeds in showing the incremental adjustments she makes to now being an immortal, I think an opportunity was lost when dealing with historical societal issues. Anna simply, magically, already has the correct views on all problematic historical events. I don’t need her to be a terrible bigot or anything. But it would have been nice to see her start as a simple peasant woman in the 1100s with the limited views that this would bring and then, through exposure to different people and the long view of history afforded her by living through the cycles of humanity at its worst and best, have her mature into a more nuanced individual. As it stands, the book can come across as a bit preachy, even in its more beautiful moments, simply because Anna starts out in a place of perfection and has nothing to really add other than rather trite statements.
The book also became a bit predictable and repetitive in its format. For all that the writing is beautiful and it’s fun to see these different moments in history through Anna’s eyes, it did quickly fall into a pattern of checking in with Anna every few centuries, watching her witness an important moment in history, and then see her need to move on. Rinse and repeat.
Overall, however, I enjoyed this read. It’s definitely a unique and fresh feeling title, stepping away from much of the overtrodden ground currently making up the romantasy genre. Really, time travel and immortality aside, this is more of a historical romance than anything, and even then, with a heavier dose of history than romance. If you enjoy lyrical writing and slower-paced storytelling, this is definitely one to check out!
Rating 8: Full of lovely writing and some truly heartbreaking moments, this book hit my emotions much harder than I was expecting!
Reader’s Advisory:
“These Immortal Truths” can be found on this Goodreads list: All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in June 2026
The Library Ladies 