Spoilerfree review. Its a beautiful story. What shines about it is how you can clearly perceive the growth that is the maturing of its protagonist Acer. Developing from whats roughly an elven teen 150 years oldstill a bit childish andslightly brashto a mature adult. And ultimately a wise elder. His essence remains the same however. The story is about Acers journey growth and relationships with the people around him. Its about life.About the passage of time andthose we meet along the way. Its a story about the choices we make and the consequences of those choices. Its a story about love of many kinds friendship family and loss. Its a story about the human condition or should I saytheelven condition both in fact. There are many touching moments most of them bittersweet. The story is not afraid to show the darker side of life and its not afraid to make you tear up. There are frequent musings by the MC. When I startedreading I didnt know what to expect tonally. Initial volumes are a bit more lighthearted roughly until volume 3.But as timepasses and the centuries pile up arcs become more reflective and solemn. The difference isnt that significant however. The first books are a slow burn comparatively. The worldbuilding is good and has plenty of original andintriguing elements. It has its faults though. An issue I had is that the story is almost entirely told from Acers perspective in the first person. Sometimes you desperately want to know what certain characters think or feel. Its very sparse on the dialogue and that doesnt help characterization.Luckily thecharacters were wellthoughtout andlikable so the issue is softened. You canalso infer what theyre thinking or feeling from their interactions with Acer theres also how Acer himself is rather insightful and will tell you whathe thinkstheythink or feel.Youllseldom get to read direct perspectives of other characters the side stories. I wont say romance isutterly nonexistent but itsdefinitely not the storys focus. Dont expect anything satisfying in that regard at least not in the traditional sense. Some things are hard to accept and frustrating but thats part of Acers nature. Its presented subtly and unconventionally reflecting the unique personalities of those involved. Essentially its sort of there. The pacing is a bit off something I keenly felt in the storys final stretch. Some readers might be dissatisfied with this final section.It doesnt help that by the later books time goes by absurdly fast and youre left with some questions. You dont get to see many things youd like to see. At least I felt that way. Personally I was a bit upset yes. But YMMV. As an idea the story spans roughly 850 years out of 1000 years of Acers life. The first 6 volumes of 8cover the first 106 years or approximately that. The last 2 volumes cover the remaining 744 years. Thats a bit of a problem. This pacing isntentirelyunjustified considering the nature of things. It makes sense in the story but its still a bit unsatisfying. There was certainly room for certain events to be described. Overall I believe fans of works with similar premises like Frieren: Beyond Journeys End might enjoy this novel especially if they were interested in exploring the passage of time. Other fantasy readers as well if they think any of this sounds interesting should try it.