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clairew97's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, and Sexual content
greatestheights's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Ooof. Yeah, this was not for me, although I really thought it might be for a hot second! Part of the problem might be that I chose audio, but by the last third of the book, I knew it was also the lack of plot. I agree with another review noting that this was clearly a labor of love for the author, and I appreciate her explicitly stating that pills are not bad in her author's note — because the whole book basically seems to be trying to say the opposite of that. I have complex feelings about meds and treatment, but Regan truly needed them, and the book seems to argue that she was better off without them. Pretty tired of that trope, which feels a bit 2007 for me to be reading in 2023.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Addiction
itsheyfay's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, and Addiction
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Drug use, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
Minor: Death
ericageorge91's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So…my thoughts:
Character study - This story was very character-focused with very little plot. I felt like we really got to know Regan and Aldo intimately. However, I wasn’t particularly in love with either of them. I mostly felt ambivalent towards Aldo and then I outright disliked Regan a few times in the book because she baffled me.
I’m sure it was the point of the story, but she seemed to have no fucking idea what she wanted and it frustrated me to no end. First, she wanted low stakes in a relationship, which she had with Marc. Then, she resented the lack of jealousy from him (you know…a factor of the low stakes relationship 🙄). Then, when Marc does get jealous, Regan gets defensive and is upset that he figured out that she wanted to fuck Aldo before she was ready for Marc to find that out?? Like…WHAT?!? And then, she laments how easy and predictable men were and Aldo did the unpredictable thing and she was mad about it?? Huh?? Regan is the dizziest bitch I have ever read, omg. But, in the end, I disliked the people around Regan (Marc and her mother) even more than I did her, so it bumped my feelings towards her back up to ambivalent.
Storytelling - There was unique storytelling and story structure. I appreciate that the story is divided into six parts like the hexagon theme. That was cute. The first part read like a play. It set the scene with fourth wall breaks with narration and scene descriptions. I did enjoy that aspect. The later parts had a lot of spoken dialogue without quotations and long meandering paragraphs that, I think were meant to depict Regan and Aldo’s racing thoughts? It was kind of confusing, but if that was the point, mission accomplished!
The Romance - I know this was meant to be a love story because I was told so. Do I actually believe in this love story? No. Did I did root for this love story? Also no. I know part of it has to do with me not clicking with the main characters, but part of it was the relationship itself. By the end of the book, I wasn’t completely convinced that Aldo’s interest in Regan wasn’t an extension of him trying to solve an unsolvable problem to keep his interest and keep him away from drugs. Nor was I persuaded that Regan’s continued interest in Aldo wasn’t just her convincing herself that she wasn’t the impulsive person Marc believed her to be and that this thing with Aldo was built to last.
Light academia? - An ungodly amount of time was devoted to talk of math and bees. Both of which, I care not. This book had the pretentiousness of dark academia with Shakespearan levels of drama. For example, the way that Aldo repeatedly walked around with unsmoked joints, I felt like he had crawled out of the pages of The Fault in Our Stars to tell Regan, “It’s a metaphor” 😂
Also, I was CRINGING at the moment when he finds her artwork and some couple said it was pretty and we got this lovely internal monologue:
And so on and so forth.
I don’t know, man. I’m sure it was supposed to be super deep, but I was just squirming on my couch with second-hand embarrassment 🥴
I don’t know, man. I’m sure it was supposed to be super deep, but I was just squirming on my couch with second-hand embarrassment 🥴
Bipolar Representation - From the acknowledgments, I can appreciate how personal this story was to the author who went through her own Regan-like journey. I heard that this book has one of the truest portrayals of bipolar disorder. I am not bipolar myself, so I cannot speak to that, but if you’re looking for a book with good mental health rep, this might be it! Just be sure to read the author’s disclaimer because the main character made choices about her treatment that might not be the right choice for others.
Final Thoughts - If you love romance, maybe you can view this story as some modern day, Romeo and Juliet-like shit (without the insta-love), because Aldo and Regan seemed to love each other veryintensely. Why? I don’t know. Maybe I wasn’t meant to know. And that’s perfectly okay.
I think my opinion of the book definitely suffered due to the hype on BookTok. I was expecting to be emotionally ripped apart and gently put back together and for me, this story did not deliver. I think it was an okay book that if you’re bored, you should give it a try 🤷🏾♀️
TW: Drugs, addiction (mention), infidelity (emotional, some physical touching and kissing), overdose, toxic mother relationship
Rep: BIPOC characters, bipolar disorder
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Drug use and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction and Infidelity
karina_dreamsinwords's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
“I love your brain, even when I fear it.”
This may have taken me a while to get into, but once I was in it— I was utterly consumed by every word. A love story between two souls wandering this earth who happen to cross paths at the precise moment they needed the other. This one touched my soul in a way I can’t explain but d a m n this was beautiful✨
”If this is what it is to burn, then I will be worth more as scattered ash than any of my unscathed pieces.”
I know this won’t be for everyone, but wow did this live up to the hype for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content and Infidelity
lainiereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Mental illness
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
azrah786's review against another edition
3.5
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: mental illness, suicidal ideation, drug use/abuse, alcohol, addiction, toxic relationship, panic attacks, emotional abuse, infidelity, sexual content, abandonment
--
Olive Blake is an expert at writing messy, chaotic characters that you can’t help but be engrossed by and highly introspective narratives that really get you thinking.
Alone With You in the Ether is not your conventional love story. It’s about two people whose lives colliding sets them both on a journey of finding love and acceptance of themselves, of each other and of their place in the world. As made evident in the author’s note/acknowledgements it is a deeply personal book and after reading that part and seeing the idea at the core of the story it really enhanced the meaning behind everything.
However, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have issues with it and this for the most part comes down to the writing. Sporadic and inconsistent is probably the best way to describe it which I guess sort of reflected the protagonists themselves but it did also get confusing at times. At first you’d have random cut off where external narrators would jump in and say their piece in between the main story. Eventually I thought this was pretty cool, I mean characters breaking the fourth wall to add a detail every now and again gave the story a film like feel. Bu then this then stopped happening midway and diverged into chunky monologues from the leading characters. Now I’ve personally come to realise that I don’t exactly vibe with the rambling monologue narrative style which is probably why I didn’t wholly enjoy it.
Though I will say that I really enjoyed the “conversations” section of the book, it was the part that hooked me onto the characters the most. Blake has shaped two beautifully realistic and flawed characters through her words and I found that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the deep bond that formed between them despite elements of their relationship coming across as a little toxic.
If you pick this one up it is without a doubt going to stick in your mind for a long while.
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
CW: mental illness, suicidal ideation, drug use/abuse, alcohol, addiction, toxic relationship, panic attacks, emotional abuse, infidelity, sexual content, abandonment
--
Olive Blake is an expert at writing messy, chaotic characters that you can’t help but be engrossed by and highly introspective narratives that really get you thinking.
Alone With You in the Ether is not your conventional love story. It’s about two people whose lives colliding sets them both on a journey of finding love and acceptance of themselves, of each other and of their place in the world. As made evident in the author’s note/acknowledgements it is a deeply personal book and after reading that part and seeing the idea at the core of the story it really enhanced the meaning behind everything.
However, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have issues with it and this for the most part comes down to the writing. Sporadic and inconsistent is probably the best way to describe it which I guess sort of reflected the protagonists themselves but it did also get confusing at times. At first you’d have random cut off where external narrators would jump in and say their piece in between the main story. Eventually I thought this was pretty cool, I mean characters breaking the fourth wall to add a detail every now and again gave the story a film like feel. Bu then this then stopped happening midway and diverged into chunky monologues from the leading characters. Now I’ve personally come to realise that I don’t exactly vibe with the rambling monologue narrative style which is probably why I didn’t wholly enjoy it.
Though I will say that I really enjoyed the “conversations” section of the book, it was the part that hooked me onto the characters the most. Blake has shaped two beautifully realistic and flawed characters through her words and I found that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the deep bond that formed between them despite elements of their relationship coming across as a little toxic.
If you pick this one up it is without a doubt going to stick in your mind for a long while.
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Alcohol, Addiction, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse
kenziewol's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Addiction, and Drug use
Moderate: Drug abuse and Infidelity
klor's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was one of the most enthralling and intimate read I've had of this year. While I don'y usually read romance, this is one of the books that made me understand why people like falling in love. The book was beautifully written and the characters were really fleshed out that their actions often don't need a lengthy explanation, it just makes sense. I must say the writing style of this book is such a fascinating addition to it, from the random narrators to the artfully addition and subtraction of punctuations. There's this soft hum of intimacy all throughout the book that just keeps pulling you in it, even when you sometimes have to stop and just take it in. I already wish i could read it for the first time again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Infidelity
jessicaludden's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
“Bees are for you.”
I don’t even know how to describe how much I love this book. It’s definitely one of my favorite books of all time. I usually do a favorite quotes section in my review, but I won’t be able to do that for this one because it would basically be the entire book. I loved everything about this. I loved all the theoretical thinking and existentialism. I loved Olivie Blake’s writing style. It’s very on brand for her with the pretentious writing. I loved the characters and all their flaws. There wasn’t much plot in this, but I barely even noticed because I was so focused on the characters. I loved hearing their thoughts and getting their different point of views. It was so interesting to see how Aldo and Reagan live their lives with their respective mental illnesses. I loved their love story and I loved how the author made a place for mental illness in their love story.
I don’t even know how to describe how much I love this book. It’s definitely one of my favorite books of all time. I usually do a favorite quotes section in my review, but I won’t be able to do that for this one because it would basically be the entire book. I loved everything about this. I loved all the theoretical thinking and existentialism. I loved Olivie Blake’s writing style. It’s very on brand for her with the pretentious writing. I loved the characters and all their flaws. There wasn’t much plot in this, but I barely even noticed because I was so focused on the characters. I loved hearing their thoughts and getting their different point of views. It was so interesting to see how Aldo and Reagan live their lives with their respective mental illnesses. I loved their love story and I loved how the author made a place for mental illness in their love story.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship