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The Last Labyrinth
Not yet published
Expected 1 Apr 26From
USA Today
bestselling author Gwendolyn Womack comes a thrilling and romantic science fiction adventure about a musician who travels back to the 1800s on the currents of sound and falls for an earl as the two must decode the secrets of time and music to save both of their futures.
Magellan Brighton may be a musical prodigy with limitless talent, but her soul yearns for something more than playing in concert halls or at weddings. As the world is on the brink of a catastrophic polar shift, she mysteriously vanishes while playing an ancient organ and awakens in 1829. The answers to why lie in a lost diary belonging to Gwynedd, Merlin’s forgotten twin sister.
Rhys Sherwood, the dashing and brooding Earl of Liron, is still haunted by the memory of his father, a scientist and historian who was killed in an experiment gone wrong. When Rhys stumbles upon a strange woman at the center of his estate’s labyrinth, her arrival couldn’t have come at a worse time, interrupting an important house party he’d planned to select his future wife.
Yet the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other, and when they discover that the diary and Magellan’s musical gifts are connected, they are thrust into a perilous journey through the centuries, from candlelit medieval abbeys to opulent Renaissance courts. Magellan and Rhys must uncover the secrets of the diary and its connection to the key to saving the world as their love, the future, and the planet are at stake amid sinister forces who want the key for themselves.
Magellan Brighton may be a musical prodigy with limitless talent, but her soul yearns for something more than playing in concert halls or at weddings. As the world is on the brink of a catastrophic polar shift, she mysteriously vanishes while playing an ancient organ and awakens in 1829. The answers to why lie in a lost diary belonging to Gwynedd, Merlin’s forgotten twin sister.
Rhys Sherwood, the dashing and brooding Earl of Liron, is still haunted by the memory of his father, a scientist and historian who was killed in an experiment gone wrong. When Rhys stumbles upon a strange woman at the center of his estate’s labyrinth, her arrival couldn’t have come at a worse time, interrupting an important house party he’d planned to select his future wife.
Yet the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other, and when they discover that the diary and Magellan’s musical gifts are connected, they are thrust into a perilous journey through the centuries, from candlelit medieval abbeys to opulent Renaissance courts. Magellan and Rhys must uncover the secrets of the diary and its connection to the key to saving the world as their love, the future, and the planet are at stake amid sinister forces who want the key for themselves.
347 pages, Paperback
Expected publication April 1, 2026
2 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Gwendolyn Womack
5 books939 followersGwendolyn Womack is the USA Today and Los Angeles Times bestselling author of The Fortune Teller, The Time Collector, The Memory Painter, and her YA debut The Premonitions Club. Up next is The Last Labyrinth, a scifi romantic adventure coming 3/24/26 with 47North.
Gwendolyn went to college in Fairbanks, Alaska to study theatre and received an MFA in Directing for theatre and film from California Institute of the Arts. She lives in Houston, Texas with her family, is an adjunct faculty member at HCC, collects and photographs kaleidoscopes, and can usually be found either immersed in a book or dreaming up a new story. Visit her at www.gwendolynwomack.com.
Gwendolyn went to college in Fairbanks, Alaska to study theatre and received an MFA in Directing for theatre and film from California Institute of the Arts. She lives in Houston, Texas with her family, is an adjunct faculty member at HCC, collects and photographs kaleidoscopes, and can usually be found either immersed in a book or dreaming up a new story. Visit her at www.gwendolynwomack.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 23, 2025
Thanks NetGalley and 47North for the eARC!
(11/28/25) The Last Labyrinth is a beautiful time travel adventure about Magellan, a music prodigy from our time who saves the world by gathering four symphony movements from woman composers in four different periods of human history. It’s overall a very cute story, but I’m surprised that it’s categorized as General Fiction for Adults rather than Middle Grade/YA, because it reads like a slightly more convoluted version of a Magic Tree House book.
What I liked:
- We get to meet woman composers who never got to step into the spotlight due to gender inequality throughout history.
- Time travel, and the journey comes full circle at the end.
- The love interest Rhys, who is also the Earl of Liron, randomly thinks about words in other languages that don’t exist in English as they have a very unique meaning that English cannot convey.
- The author did her research on history, myths, and music, and all of it was very informational to read about.
What could be stronger:
- No obstacles besides Magellan getting kidnapped for a couple of hours before her journey set out to look for the women composers. She just knew who to look for and always succeeded. This doesn’t seem like it’s for a more mature audience.
- The romance was bland and a lot of telling/no showing. They both thought each other looked good and decided to love each other, especially Magellan to Rhys. At least Rhys liked Magellan playing music.
- No closure. There’s nothing about how Magellan actually gathered people to play the symphony, unless it’s metaphorical and I missed something? I was so surprised to see the Acknowledgment Chapter like that's it? All we get is a mutual dream between Rhys and Magellan about being in modern day New York and the symphony playing, but nothing about Rhys figuring out his life back in 1829. What about Garesh? And the poles?
-
In the end, I believe this book has a very promising concept but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would- I think someone much younger would enjoy it more.
-
Easy to read 5/5
Plot 4/5
World-building: 3.5/5
Romance 2.5/5
Spiciness 0/5
Overall 3/5
(11/28/25) The Last Labyrinth is a beautiful time travel adventure about Magellan, a music prodigy from our time who saves the world by gathering four symphony movements from woman composers in four different periods of human history. It’s overall a very cute story, but I’m surprised that it’s categorized as General Fiction for Adults rather than Middle Grade/YA, because it reads like a slightly more convoluted version of a Magic Tree House book.
What I liked:
- We get to meet woman composers who never got to step into the spotlight due to gender inequality throughout history.
- Time travel, and the journey comes full circle at the end.
- The love interest Rhys, who is also the Earl of Liron, randomly thinks about words in other languages that don’t exist in English as they have a very unique meaning that English cannot convey.
- The author did her research on history, myths, and music, and all of it was very informational to read about.
What could be stronger:
- No obstacles besides Magellan getting kidnapped for a couple of hours before her journey set out to look for the women composers. She just knew who to look for and always succeeded. This doesn’t seem like it’s for a more mature audience.
- The romance was bland and a lot of telling/no showing. They both thought each other looked good and decided to love each other, especially Magellan to Rhys. At least Rhys liked Magellan playing music.
- No closure. There’s nothing about how Magellan actually gathered people to play the symphony, unless it’s metaphorical and I missed something? I was so surprised to see the Acknowledgment Chapter like that's it? All we get is a mutual dream between Rhys and Magellan about being in modern day New York and the symphony playing, but nothing about Rhys figuring out his life back in 1829. What about Garesh? And the poles?
-
In the end, I believe this book has a very promising concept but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would- I think someone much younger would enjoy it more.
-
Easy to read 5/5
Plot 4/5
World-building: 3.5/5
Romance 2.5/5
Spiciness 0/5
Overall 3/5
November 3, 2025
The Last Labyrinth by Gwendolyn Womack is a time slip novel about the music of the spheres and how the power of love, time, and life creates a perfect harmony that can last for an eternity.
Magellan Brighton is a gifted musician who is haunted by a song that is both strange and familiar. A mysterious diary belonging to Merlin's sister Gwynedd is given to her on the same day a catastrophic world event causes the planet to shift its magnetic poles. As Magellan plays an organ for a wedding service, she is transported to 1829 England in the middle of a labyrinth where everything begins to converge in puzzling ways. Rhys Sherwood, the dashing son of the Earl of Liron, discovers Magellan in his labyrinth, and they find themselves connecting Gwynedd's diary, music, and the labyrinth to a magical destiny that has been playing an ancient tune as old as time to save the earth from destruction.
Gwendolyn Womack is back with another brilliant metaphysical mystery. I think this may be her best book to date. I have never read a story before about the music of the spheres and how celestial harmonies can be used to time travel. All of the inclusions in this story from ley lines, to Druidic magic, and the time-space continuum among others composed an intricate plot, with as many twists and turns as a labyrinth. From the very first page, I was transported into the story, wanting to learn about the strange diary and its connection to Magellan. As the story went on, and the mystery deepened, it took on a more mystical style, with grand metaphysical concepts such as the harmonics of the universe and primordial beings who used music to both create and protect the world from the shadows seeking to destroy it. I loved the science fiction elements as they hit the right note with all of the other parts of the plot that combined to tell a powerful story about the key of life.
The concept of this book really struck a chord with me as I have been especially moved by music this year and have developed a passion for its storytelling magic and time-slip power, where I can listen to a song and feel transported to another time and place I have never been before.
This was a beautiful story about creation, feminine power, and the infinite sound of the heartbeat of the universe.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Magellan Brighton is a gifted musician who is haunted by a song that is both strange and familiar. A mysterious diary belonging to Merlin's sister Gwynedd is given to her on the same day a catastrophic world event causes the planet to shift its magnetic poles. As Magellan plays an organ for a wedding service, she is transported to 1829 England in the middle of a labyrinth where everything begins to converge in puzzling ways. Rhys Sherwood, the dashing son of the Earl of Liron, discovers Magellan in his labyrinth, and they find themselves connecting Gwynedd's diary, music, and the labyrinth to a magical destiny that has been playing an ancient tune as old as time to save the earth from destruction.
Gwendolyn Womack is back with another brilliant metaphysical mystery. I think this may be her best book to date. I have never read a story before about the music of the spheres and how celestial harmonies can be used to time travel. All of the inclusions in this story from ley lines, to Druidic magic, and the time-space continuum among others composed an intricate plot, with as many twists and turns as a labyrinth. From the very first page, I was transported into the story, wanting to learn about the strange diary and its connection to Magellan. As the story went on, and the mystery deepened, it took on a more mystical style, with grand metaphysical concepts such as the harmonics of the universe and primordial beings who used music to both create and protect the world from the shadows seeking to destroy it. I loved the science fiction elements as they hit the right note with all of the other parts of the plot that combined to tell a powerful story about the key of life.
The concept of this book really struck a chord with me as I have been especially moved by music this year and have developed a passion for its storytelling magic and time-slip power, where I can listen to a song and feel transported to another time and place I have never been before.
This was a beautiful story about creation, feminine power, and the infinite sound of the heartbeat of the universe.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Womack for this digital ARC. I loved the premise and theme of this book. The connection of music to time travel was a lovely spin on the overall theme. Sprinkle in a MMC with a love of words that lose their significance in translation, and you have two of my favorite things—music and lexicography. The book was solid, but it left me wanting more. I believe I would have connected to the book better if it had been written from dual POVs (as opposed to 3rd person). The ending felt abrupt, I went to turn the page thinking there was one final chapter to tie everything together, but instead it ended on a final sentence of hope. This book has a lot of promise. I look forward to seeing it when it is published.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews