A review by cc_shelflove
Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

challenging slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Sooooooooo, yeah. I’m confused, and this book made me feel dumb. Consider this an extremely sophisticated version of All the Bright Places for grown-ups. I mean, EXTREMELY sophisticated. Our main characters are two truly troubled individuals: Aldo, a recovered addict obsessed with defining the mechanics of time travel, and Regan, a counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered treatment for bipolar disorder. They meet in an art museum and agree to meet up again; only with a limit—six times, six conversations. The story is part Aldo and Regan falling in love and part Regan trying to navigate through life without the pills which were prescribed to her. But………..

Aldo is a mathematics PhD candidate. Unfortunately, his studies and obsessions bleed into the book, even though they are not the focus of the story. His ramblings of quantum groups and multiverses were so distracting, at times I felt like I was reading a science textbook. Again, there are SO MANY five star reviews for this book, so maybe I am just dumb! 😂 Idk, man. I wouldn’t recommend it. I am very much not sure what I even spent 262 pages reading. I did not feel any love, heartbreak, anguish, or connection at all.
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