The Last Hour Between Worlds, Melissa Caruso
The Last Hour Between Worlds, Melissa Caruso
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

The Last Hour Between Worlds

Author: Melissa Caruso

Narrator: Moira Quirk

Unabridged: 14 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 11/19/2024

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

A whip-smart adventure fantasy packed with reality-bending magic, and sapphic romance, The Last Hour Between Worlds is the brilliant launch of a new series from David Gemmell Award-nominated author, Melissa Caruso.

In the Deep Echoes, no one can save you.

Kembral Thorne has a few hours away from her newborn, and she’s determined to enjoy herself at the year-turning ball. But when guests start dropping dead, she can’t help sniffing out trouble—she’s a Hound, after all. Especially when her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is also on the prowl.

Everyone knows you shouldn’t get involved with Echo games. Let alone one involving ancient Echo lords who can turn layers of reality into a gameboard with human lives for pieces. But as the ballroom grows stranger and more otherworldly with each strike of the hour, it’s clearly too late.

Kem knows the rules: One Echo down is no big deal. Stay alert for trouble. 

Four Echoes down, there are things with eyes in their teeth, and walls that drip blood. Four is the limit. 

As the party plunges through increasingly deadly realities, the rules can’t help Kem anymore. She’ll have to rely on her wits—and Rika—to unravel the most dangerous game of the century before it unleashes catastrophe on their world.

For more from Melissa Caruso, check out:

Swords and Fire
The Tethered Mage
The Defiant Heir
​The Unbound Empire

Rooks and Ruin
The Obsidian Tower
The Quicksilver Court
The Ivory Tomb
 

About Melissa Caruso

Melissa Caruso was born on the summer solstice and went to school in an old mansion with a secret door, but despite this auspicious beginning has yet to develop any known superpowers. She has spent her whole life creating imaginary worlds, and in addition to writing is also an avid larper and tabletop gamer. Melissa graduated with honours in creative writing from Brown University and has an MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her first novel, The Tethered Mage, was shortlisted for a Gemmell Morningstar award for best fantasy debut. Melissa lives in Massachusetts with her video game designer husband, two magical daughters and assorted pets. You can find her on Twitter, where she posts about writing, tea and sword-fighting in ballgowns.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Clace on November 26, 2024

2.04! I wanted to love this book so so so much!!! I just couldn't really connect to the writing style and I was so excited for this because the premise and the cover were was so interesting and Orbit always releases books that I end up liking so this one not being up to that level hurt. I just fe......more

Goodreads review by Robin on November 07, 2024

a campy, sinister locked room murder mystery that takes place in different layers of reality on the brink of the new year. and an agent/new mother tries to stop the murders which grow increasingly violent the further they wade into the planes of reality. + a sapphic cat and mouse game between two riv......more

Goodreads review by Billie's Not So Secret Diary on November 14, 2024

The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso The Echo Archives #1 Science Fiction Fantasy NetGalley eARC Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2024 Orbit Books Ages: 18+ After caring for her newborn alone over the last couple of months Kembral Throne takes a night off to attend a party, but within the first few hours, peopl......more

Goodreads review by Em on March 07, 2025

This is one of the most original, brilliant, colorful fantasy storylines I have read in ages. I am so impressed! I have tried very hard to avoid any obvious plot spoilers, but I did need to explain a few concepts just to be able to discuss the plot. First and foremost, The Last Hour Between Worlds t......more

Goodreads review by Samantha on March 13, 2025

3.5 stars Fun and a great audiobook read. I really liked the multidimensional locked room mystery vibe. Started to drag on for me in the second half because I didn’t care as much about the characters. Also found some of the plot resolutions overly convenient.......more


Quotes

"A charming fantasy mystery that kept me guessing until the very last page—I completely adored this book and would read a dozen more of Kembral's adventures." —Shannon Chakraborty, New York Times bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

“This book has everything you've been craving: sword fights, time loops, complicated feelings about parenthood, and banter with your sworn enemy. What an absolute delight!"—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author

The Last Hour Between Worlds is a masterpiece—filled with excitement, romance, and characters you would protect with your life. The wobbly time effects in this book reach past its pages, making hours of reading blink by in a moment. Unmissable!”—Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter

“To say The Last Hour Between Worlds hits the ground running would be an understatement: This book starts at a sprint and never slows down. It’s funny, and scary, and weird in the very best way. Melissa Caruso’s writing is razor-sharp and this book is one heck of a page-turner.”—Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

"Equal parts sheer adventurous fun and creepy, dimension-bending tension, featuring a relatable and instantly engaging protagonist. This is totally unlike anything I've read before; Caruso has pulled off a wonderfully creative premise with skill and panache." —Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

"An addictive read with an incredibly sympathetic heroine and a delightful relationship. I loved it and can't wait for more in this world." —Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library

"This twisty, locked-room mystery spans alternate dimensions, braiding romance and adventure into brilliant, time-looping fun. Perfect for fans of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle!"—Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters

"Twisty, breakneck, and full of delightful surprises, The Last Hour Between Worlds is a book guaranteed to pull you out of a reading slump. Equal parts hilarious and poignant, this is Caruso's best work yet—a time-loop, murder mystery party like you've never read before. I dare you to put it down."—Kritika H. Rao, author of The Surviving Sky

"A witty, tense and imaginative triumph of a book! I lost many an unplanned hour inhaling The Last Hour Between Worlds. With its compelling magic, reluctant hero trying (and failing) to be on leave, and one increasingly surreal party, this tightly paced story will be a lasting favorite!" —Sam Hawke, author of City of Lies

"A fantastical locked-room mystery where every peal of the clock peels away another layer of reality . . . The Last Hour Between Worlds is an absolute adventure, with a queer lead, a snarky rival and breath-takingly poignant moments. Reader, I inhaled it." —K. A. Doore, author of The Perfect Assassin