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sandaledhalo52 's review for:
Alone With You in the Ether
by Olivie Blake
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Right so....this isn't my first rodeo reading a book that kind of shares the same idea of 'two strangers meeting amidst their personal internal conflicts' and letting that dictate the story itself. But what I will say is that this work is much, much harder to judge.
Now for reference, I'll be using 'Normal People' by Sally Rooney. With that book and this one, I do share similar feelings. The feeling of conflict and furthermore, the inability to fathom the work and the mark it leaves on you....but that's where the similarities end. Now, I rated 'Normal People' a solid 4.25, mainly because of the graphic nature holding me back from wanting to push it to a 5. I personally don't find it comforting to actually read content of explicit nature so, it becomes a bit of a challenge for me to really appreciate the book fully. On the other hand, this book was explicit, not remotely close to the aforementioned book, but because of the fact that everything was uneven and at times, unnecessary.
The writing is the biggest flaw in this book by far. At multiple points, I thought about dropping it as it was generally confusing, indistinguishable and despite it only revolving around a select few characters, the inability to separate each individual was a tall task to say the very least. It's all messy and unorganized...and I get some books, especially this one may feel the need for it, but in doing so in such extreme measures made it a hurdle to actually get attached to this book.
The later half of this book pulled itsslf up much better, and hence I changed my initial rating of 0.5 to a 2.5 (yes, this is not hyperbole) because the first half was genuinely pathetic to put it lightly. The writer starts with a style that I'm not familiar with nor did I appreciate it one bit. I firmly believe that a reader should be allowed to paint their picture to actually immerse themselves within the experience, not the other way around. It almost felt disrespectful to actually read that content because it felt like the writer was somehow trying to teach the reader how to read. Following this, it got even worse as somehow the writer abandons that style out of the blue. Perhaps it was to showcase that the whole book is a perfect circle, but if that was the case, the styles should match up too, which they did not. If the ending was to be the same as the beginning in terms of patterns, then atleast put in the effort to showcase it.
The characters themselves seem soo basic, not in their respective nature but within their respective elements. It's the same constantly for a better half of the book. There are a few moments that distinguish them a little bit better, but at the end they all can be easily categorized and compartmentalized.
The only really enjoyable part that I actually attentively read without wanting to stop was the last third of this book (or the last 100 pages). So for a 300 page book, that does not sound good whatsoever. It had it's moments, but those moments were overshadowed by bad writing and bad settings. Where detail would've been appreciated, none was given and vice versa.
In conclusion, a very mediocre and disappointing read.
Now for reference, I'll be using 'Normal People' by Sally Rooney. With that book and this one, I do share similar feelings. The feeling of conflict and furthermore, the inability to fathom the work and the mark it leaves on you....but that's where the similarities end. Now, I rated 'Normal People' a solid 4.25, mainly because of the graphic nature holding me back from wanting to push it to a 5. I personally don't find it comforting to actually read content of explicit nature so, it becomes a bit of a challenge for me to really appreciate the book fully. On the other hand, this book was explicit, not remotely close to the aforementioned book, but because of the fact that everything was uneven and at times, unnecessary.
The writing is the biggest flaw in this book by far. At multiple points, I thought about dropping it as it was generally confusing, indistinguishable and despite it only revolving around a select few characters, the inability to separate each individual was a tall task to say the very least. It's all messy and unorganized...and I get some books, especially this one may feel the need for it, but in doing so in such extreme measures made it a hurdle to actually get attached to this book.
The later half of this book pulled itsslf up much better, and hence I changed my initial rating of 0.5 to a 2.5 (yes, this is not hyperbole) because the first half was genuinely pathetic to put it lightly. The writer starts with a style that I'm not familiar with nor did I appreciate it one bit. I firmly believe that a reader should be allowed to paint their picture to actually immerse themselves within the experience, not the other way around. It almost felt disrespectful to actually read that content because it felt like the writer was somehow trying to teach the reader how to read. Following this, it got even worse as somehow the writer abandons that style out of the blue. Perhaps it was to showcase that the whole book is a perfect circle, but if that was the case, the styles should match up too, which they did not. If the ending was to be the same as the beginning in terms of patterns, then atleast put in the effort to showcase it.
The characters themselves seem soo basic, not in their respective nature but within their respective elements. It's the same constantly for a better half of the book. There are a few moments that distinguish them a little bit better, but at the end they all can be easily categorized and compartmentalized.
The only really enjoyable part that I actually attentively read without wanting to stop was the last third of this book (or the last 100 pages). So for a 300 page book, that does not sound good whatsoever. It had it's moments, but those moments were overshadowed by bad writing and bad settings. Where detail would've been appreciated, none was given and vice versa.
In conclusion, a very mediocre and disappointing read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content