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nikogatts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I would characterize this book like I characterize Wuthering Heights (a famous line from which is paraphrased in Part 6 of Ether): not as a romance, but as a love story between two mentally unwell, deeply insufferable people. Alone With You in the Ether is the story of Regan and Aldo and the process through which they fall into an all-consuming love. The author does not shy away from the main characters' insecurities, unhealthy fixations, challenging family dynamics, or cycles of toxicity; instead, these behaviors and relationships are portrayed with the type of honesty that more people should utilize in real life. As their relationship solidifies, Aldo and Regan's bad habits interact -- not being amplified, not disappearing, but coexisting in a way that seems to suit both parties. It would be almost romantic if I didn't find the people involved just so exhausting and their mutual love a bit scary in its obsessiveness. Like with Cathy and Heathcliff, I don't like either of these characters, but their story was compelling.
The one theme that irked me was Regan's relationship to (and avoidance of) psychiatric help. I understand that the author of this book has a similar mood disorder and, like Regan, chooses to live without medication, and she states in the afterword that she's not advocating for others to make the same choice. But I went down a path similar to Regan's when I was younger, believing that it was more "authentic" and creatively freeing to not take medication, that medicating my anxiety and depression was somehow suppressing and stifling me. Eventually, I realized that emotions being "authentic" doesn't make them healthy, and I was able to function much better once I found a medication that worked for me. So while I acknowledge where this part of the story originated, it still rubbed me the wrong way and I'm glad that (without spoiling anything) Regan's approach to her treatment kind of evens out by the end of the book.
I gave this a 3 (point 25-ish) for the above reasons, and because the writing, while good from sentence to sentence, dragged on in some places. The conversations in third person were the worst -- while it's an interesting play on back-and-forth dialogue, it got irritating when the "talking" went on for pages.
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness
Minor: Infidelity and Abandonment
e_riahh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Cursing
nineinchnails's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this story probably won’t work for people who can’t stand a “no plot just vibes” situation but i was loving it!! even if it is SLIGHTLY pretentious, i would rather a book tries too hard than doesn’t try at all. also i loved all the math stuff despite hating math most of my life. it feels like the phenomenon where someone u care about is obsessed with something super boring but it makes them happy so u love hearing them talk about it. i will definitely reread this when i get the chance because i don’t think i was in the mindset to enjoy it to the fullest this time
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Addiction, Suicide attempt, and Drug abuse
Bipolar disorderbiobeetle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Drug use, and Alcohol
alysereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Addiction
writerres27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Because the story is heavily character-driven, I will not be writing separate review sections for the plot and the characters, but instead will write one comprehensive entry.
This story explores the journey of two individuals, floating through life in their own troubled and often conflicting ways. Yet, when their paths cross, everything suddenly seems to make sense, and the things that don't make sense are now something to admire rather than something to...fix. Or avoid. Or destroy. No, these two unlock hidden portions of each other, Aldo finding an element of humanity he otherwise programmed out of himself and Regan discovering the safety necessary to be herself without pretense. Both find something to live for, to die for, something they did not previously realize was possible for themselves. They need it, and yet they are afraid of it. They want it, and yet neither truly has faith in it. Their journey takes twists and turns (pun intended), ultimately circling one central truth: through prosperity or destruction, they will always return Here. It may look different, the route may change, but Here, alone together in the Ether, they will always gravitate back.
Love can be ugly. It can be terrifying. It can be obsessive, compulsive, hyperfixating, addicting, earth-shattering, uplifting, revealing. Blake conveys all of this in its purest form, no sugarcoating or romanticizing (well...maybe a little. it is a romance, after all), just demonstrating. Feeling and understanding and allowing you to feel and understand it, too. This book shows the good, the bad, the ups, the downs, the challenges and rewards of seeking out a companion in the tumultuous, turbulent course of life, especially for those of us who are mentally ill. But in the end, regardless of what it took to get there, the characters are still better for it, and you close the book with a soft smile.
Graphic: Addiction and Mental illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Cursing, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
joensign's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual content, Mental illness, Drug use, and Addiction
Minor: Abandonment
stellahadz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A beautifully written story about two people who connect on an intellectual level and love each other intensely and passionately but destructively. I loved getting to know the characters, even the aspects of them that weren't likable, and I was rooting for them both to heal. I can't say enough about how brilliant Blake's prose is, right down to the acknowledgments at the end of the book; some might find it pretentious, but I love the way she captures the characters' thoughts and emotions. If you liked Normal People, you'll probably like Alone with You in the Ether.
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse and Abandonment
gtutu5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Addiction
Minor: Suicide attempt
saoreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Abandonment, Addiction, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship