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thebooknerdscorner 's review for:
Beneath the Indigo Sky
by D.W. Michaels, Rayne Hawthorne
A touching MM romance set in a small town in the Alaskan wilderness that touches on grief, finding your people, and discovering love in the most unlikely of places.
Namid is an outcast. Not only did he show up unannounced one day as an adult with amnesia, but he also feels people's emotions. Oh, and he's one of the only gay men in a small Alaskan town. Jayce has just lost his twin brother, Jordyn, to a terrible accident. He loved his brother more than anything else and now feels utterly lost in the world. When the two bump into each other at the funeral home that Namid works at, the two begin to form an unlikely friendship. The more the men hang out with one another, the more they start to fall. Most importantly, the two begin to heal from all the turmoil that they have experienced in their lives as they grow closer together.
This series has been on my TBR for over a year now, and I'm so glad that I finally got around to starting this one! The writing in this book is filled with emotion, and it's so easy to fall in love with all the main characters. Namid, Jayce, and Ken are all so sweet and I'm already looking forward to seeing them cameo in the future installments of this series.
This book focuses a ton on Jayce's emotional journey that he experiences after the death of his twin brother, Jordyn. I couldn't imagine losing someone that I am so close to; I love my older sibling so much, and I would be just as devastated as Jayce was if I suddenly lost them. It isn't every day that one's entire world gets shattered, and I feel that the authors did such a stellar job at capturing such intense feelings. Pair this with the fact that Namid is an empath and you have a very interesting situation on your hands.
Another important thing that this one talks about is how small, rural towns are usually rather homophobic. I'm not going to spoil any major events, but I can definitely share that the townspeople who live in a remote part of Alaska are certainly not very openminded and are generally not cool with people that are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Queer people struggle so immensely when they are stuck in small towns such as this and it broke my heart to see Namid treated so horribly just for being himself.
Luckily, Namid doesn't have to go it alone. Despite having amnesia, being gay, and an empath, Ken was more than happy to welcome Namid with open arms. Finding your people is another integral part of this book. Everyone has a perfect place where they belong, sometimes you just have to search for it for a while. Namid, Jayce, and Ken all found family in one another, which is really the goal in life, I feel. It doesn't matter what kind of love you find as long as you find love. Whether it's a sibling, a kindly old man, a lover, or a group of best friends, keep searching until you find your people that complete you, just like these three did. This book also emphasizes that it's okay if your group changes as you age, just keep searching for the love you deserve in every stage of your life.
This may have been the first book that I've ever read that takes place in Alaska. I feel like Alaskans have an entirely different way of living due to it being so cold all the time. As a Minnesotan, I understand some of this, but I was intrigued to read about how life goes on in Alaska, no matter how blistery the weather is outside. The ways that this changed common romantic activities was also interesting to me. Simple things such as having a picnic or stargazing seem so much more complicated, but also more magical at the same time. Seeing the northern lights while lying under the stars with the boy you're gradually falling for sounds truly magnificent.
Overall, I was enthralled by the simple beauty that "Beneath the Indigo Sky" presented me with. At its heart, it's a romance novel about two young men trying to find the people that make them feel complete. Witnessing the natural beauty of the Alaskan landscape around them was pretty cool, too. I adored following Namid and Jayce through all their struggles with grief, harassment, falling for one another, and so much more. The writing was exquisite, and the authors captured emotion so well. I look forward to reading the remaining two books in this series very soon!
Audiobook Note: Overall, I enjoyed Michael Lesley's narration of "Beneath the Indigo Sky." However, he spoke so slow that I had to speed it up a bit, but that wasn't much of a problem. The difference between Namid and Jayce's PoV's was very distinct which made it, so I never had a problem remembering whose perspective I was in (even if I stopped in the middle of a chapter). I have the option of listening to the second one on audio, too, but since I own the physical book, I think I'm going to read it by my lonesome. It was a good performance; I just wasn't captured by it.
Namid is an outcast. Not only did he show up unannounced one day as an adult with amnesia, but he also feels people's emotions. Oh, and he's one of the only gay men in a small Alaskan town. Jayce has just lost his twin brother, Jordyn, to a terrible accident. He loved his brother more than anything else and now feels utterly lost in the world. When the two bump into each other at the funeral home that Namid works at, the two begin to form an unlikely friendship. The more the men hang out with one another, the more they start to fall. Most importantly, the two begin to heal from all the turmoil that they have experienced in their lives as they grow closer together.
This series has been on my TBR for over a year now, and I'm so glad that I finally got around to starting this one! The writing in this book is filled with emotion, and it's so easy to fall in love with all the main characters. Namid, Jayce, and Ken are all so sweet and I'm already looking forward to seeing them cameo in the future installments of this series.
This book focuses a ton on Jayce's emotional journey that he experiences after the death of his twin brother, Jordyn. I couldn't imagine losing someone that I am so close to; I love my older sibling so much, and I would be just as devastated as Jayce was if I suddenly lost them. It isn't every day that one's entire world gets shattered, and I feel that the authors did such a stellar job at capturing such intense feelings. Pair this with the fact that Namid is an empath and you have a very interesting situation on your hands.
Another important thing that this one talks about is how small, rural towns are usually rather homophobic. I'm not going to spoil any major events, but I can definitely share that the townspeople who live in a remote part of Alaska are certainly not very openminded and are generally not cool with people that are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Queer people struggle so immensely when they are stuck in small towns such as this and it broke my heart to see Namid treated so horribly just for being himself.
Luckily, Namid doesn't have to go it alone. Despite having amnesia, being gay, and an empath, Ken was more than happy to welcome Namid with open arms. Finding your people is another integral part of this book. Everyone has a perfect place where they belong, sometimes you just have to search for it for a while. Namid, Jayce, and Ken all found family in one another, which is really the goal in life, I feel. It doesn't matter what kind of love you find as long as you find love. Whether it's a sibling, a kindly old man, a lover, or a group of best friends, keep searching until you find your people that complete you, just like these three did. This book also emphasizes that it's okay if your group changes as you age, just keep searching for the love you deserve in every stage of your life.
This may have been the first book that I've ever read that takes place in Alaska. I feel like Alaskans have an entirely different way of living due to it being so cold all the time. As a Minnesotan, I understand some of this, but I was intrigued to read about how life goes on in Alaska, no matter how blistery the weather is outside. The ways that this changed common romantic activities was also interesting to me. Simple things such as having a picnic or stargazing seem so much more complicated, but also more magical at the same time. Seeing the northern lights while lying under the stars with the boy you're gradually falling for sounds truly magnificent.
Overall, I was enthralled by the simple beauty that "Beneath the Indigo Sky" presented me with. At its heart, it's a romance novel about two young men trying to find the people that make them feel complete. Witnessing the natural beauty of the Alaskan landscape around them was pretty cool, too. I adored following Namid and Jayce through all their struggles with grief, harassment, falling for one another, and so much more. The writing was exquisite, and the authors captured emotion so well. I look forward to reading the remaining two books in this series very soon!
Audiobook Note: Overall, I enjoyed Michael Lesley's narration of "Beneath the Indigo Sky." However, he spoke so slow that I had to speed it up a bit, but that wasn't much of a problem. The difference between Namid and Jayce's PoV's was very distinct which made it, so I never had a problem remembering whose perspective I was in (even if I stopped in the middle of a chapter). I have the option of listening to the second one on audio, too, but since I own the physical book, I think I'm going to read it by my lonesome. It was a good performance; I just wasn't captured by it.