Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy,

I'm a big fan of magical elements within contemporary fiction, so this was a win for me. I will be checking out more from this author duo.

This was a quick little contemporary sprinkled with some magic realism aspects. I enjoyed it for what it was and really liked the incorporation of water and ocean elements. I liked the ending and the way it worked out for Ash and Clayton. I found some of the writing off putting eg. When talking about a certain character they kept referring to her as “fat Beryl”, which was a bit uncomfortable. I thought the characters were a little flat and the only one I had emotion towards was Blythe and that was because I hated her, which was the aurhor’s intention. Overall it was a fast paced, enjoyable read.

A very different short novel about a professional teenage athlete, her loving boyfriend, devoted coach and crazy, obsessed with winning, mother; and finally a real odd outcome. Infinite Blue is the perfect read for any teenage athlete that needs to gain some perspective or has injured themselves. It deals with a girl who is a world-class swimmer and her artist boyfriend.

Moments
Darren Groth has really given us a story about life changing moments and how we cannot anticipate them; nor can we be prepared for how we might respond afterwards. Infinite Blue addresses the highest and lowest of those moments. Both from athletics and teen love perspectives. One of my favourite things about this book is that it shows why teenage love rarely survives. When jobs, money and life goals are on the line you gotta go for them... and not for random awkward boy. Whether we like it or not this is the reality of how opportunities tend to fall out at that age. Choosing a boy or girl over a once in a lifetime opportunity is rarely the right choice when you are 16. That may seem sad but it's reality. Groth does a good job of showing this and handles it well by finding alternate ways our characters cope and make decisions in order to come to the end of his story.

The Pusher
We've all had this person in our life at some point (or will if you haven't yet). The person, be it family, friend or lover, that pushes you to be more than you might otherwise strive to be. This can go one of two ways of course, it can be the push you need to truly succeed and you'll appreciate that person forever because of it. Or it can be too much and you'll collapse under the pressure of that person's expectations. In Infinite Blue it's our athlete's Mother that is the pusher. And like so many parents she is living vicariously through her daughter's success. These are dangerous parents and Groth does an excellent job of showing why parents (in particular) need to be aware of when they've pushed too hard and how they may actually be contributing to the poor mental health of their child. Infinite Blue does a good job of showing that we all need to be aware of how our expectations are affecting others and be prepared to pull back when needed and ensure we keep communication on-going with the person we are mentoring or trying to help. They are still their own person and ultimately need to feel like they have the control and power to direct their lives in the way they wish to.

Overall
Infinite Blue has some really great messages and meanings. However it didn't rank higher than 3 stars for me because it felt a little too set-up. There wasn't enough of the struggle in-between the big moments for me. It focused a bit too much on the large moments in life (kind of like a Hollywood movie) and not enough on the feelings, emotions and struggles that come between those times. Perhaps it's because it's fairly a shorter novel. Or maybe it's just that I wanted more from our characters. I especially felt like our lead character (the tortured artist boyfriend) was just there to tell the female athlete's story and not really to tell his story. I'd have liked a lot more of his emotions, dreams and feelings to round out the overall story and feel like he was as important of a character as our engaging female.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was a very odd novel about a girl transitioning into something...other. It was a quick, easy read, but overall I didn't really take much from this and mostly just felt a bit shit for the boy left behind in the real world while his girlfriend turns into the sea essentially.

I really enjoyed reading Infinite Blue. However I did find it to be a bit short and found myself wanting more of the story. It was interesting getting to know the characters and what they faced from start to finish. Ashley as a character I found more interesting and felt connected to her. Such a strong and passionate young lady set out to conquer her dream as a professional swimmer and dealing with what people and life threw at her is a real eye opener.

I loved the realness of this novel.
The Australian culture of swimming and the poshness of the upper class that is witnessed in Australia. I also loved the supernatural elements that were briefly exposed through Ash.
I feel like it could’ve been more in-depth, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the storyline.

**RECEIVED FROM NETGALLEY

I am currently in one of my history classes, I just finished this book and I am so close to tears. Clay's love for Ash is unconditional and I love that about him. I need a Clay in my life. I ABSOLUTELY HATED Ash's mom and loved Clay's grandma.

Infinite Love. This book starts with a near drowning in a rip tide that brings together a talented swimmer and an excellent artist, and proceeds to tell the tale of their love... and the artist's Finnish grandmother nearly steals the show. Excellent drama with some mild fantasy/ scifi elements built in almost from the beginning that proceeds to a stunning conclusion. A very quick and easy read, though hardly light - this is a deep look at eternal love, even when the couple is young.

Obligatory Summary

This is a difficult book to summarize because, honestly, I don't really know what happened.

Basically, take that one movie about a girl who loves surfing but gets bitten by a shark and losses an arm but learns to surf again, and merge it with a fever dream version of Aqua Marine, and you'll still not have what happened. This book makes no sense. I'll give you what I did understand, though.

So, Ash saves Clayton from dying in the prologue and in the first chapter they're suddenly casually declaring their love. Ash is a hardcore swimmer who breaks a world record and gets swept up in her mother's dream of stardom. Then she suffers a devastating accident that changes her life forever. Clayton...draws, I guess? He has a sassy chain-smoking Finnish grandma and that's about all I can really say.

The Writing (and Worldbuilding?)

So, is this an urban fantasy or a magical realism fever dream? I honestly don't know.

The book felt like two distinct coherent stories chopped up and smashed together: 1) Ash, the swimmer, and her power hungry, emotionally deprived mother, facing the aftermath of a terrible accident; 2) Clayton and his grandma chill and she regales him with stories about his grandfather who was a soldier in Korea. And then suddenly, there's mystical drawings (because you can ~accidentally~ draw things) and water-lover mermaids and Cuba. All in less than 200 pages. It was a mess, honestly. The grandma was the only interesting character, and her love story told entirely in anecdotes was more real, passionate, and believable than the forced mess between two wooden planks I was supposed to be invested in for no discernable reason.

The Characters

Ash: Between the two of them, she definitely had more personality, but honestly, she was so unrelatable. She was always talking about her ~training~ and her mystical ~connection~ to the water, and as someone who has literally never swam in my life (I'm a wimp and not standing on solid surfaces freaks me out, okay?) I couldn't relate whatsoever.

Clayton: You'd think I related to him because he draws and so do I but, but he was so boring. He spends the whole book in Ash's shadow being vaguely confused. And honestly, same. (I guess we do relate lol)

Blythe: Excuse me while I look for character arcs for any of these characters. Oh wait, there aren't any. Blythe is just as mean and stubborn and unreasonably villainous as she is at the beginning by the end.

Coach Dwyer: How do you pronounce that? D-why-er? D-w-ear? Who knows?

Tuula: Heck yeah, give more sassy chain-smoking Finnish grandma!

Conclusion

I kinda hated this book. It sucks. Don't read it when it comes out. Except maybe if you want Tuula in your life, which is a good reason. Read it for her. She's totally worth it.

Infinite Blue is a quick but odd little read. I'm really not even sure how to rate it, because while I have quite a few issues with the book, overall I really did enjoy it. I think most of my complaints are actually more out of frustration because this good book could have been really great.

The story opens with Clayton, a talented artist, caught in a current that's about to sweep him out to the ocean. Just as as he realizes all is lost, Ashley, a world-class competitive swimmer, shows up and helps him get back to shore safely. From there, love blooms and the two become an item along with the typical first love drama when Ashley's overbearing "tiger-mom" mother does her best to break things up.

I really wanted to love this book. I *do* love the character of Clayton's grandmother, Mummu -- she's one of my favourite characters I've met this year (she'd be right at home in a Backman book)! There is a lot of potential both for the plot and the characters, but for me everything is too shallow. We never really got to know any the characters as well as I would like, and while stuff happens, we never really get to see enough of any of the pivotal moments to allow for really deep feelings.

The magical realism elements in this book were so sparse that I was looking for signs of it in parts that had nothing to do with the magic at all, and that just left me feeling deflated when I realized there was no magic there. In the end, I wish either that the magical aspects of the book had been left out, so that the authors could have spent those pages adding more depth to the rest of the story, or that the book (which was really rather short at just 192 pages) had an extra 50 or 100 pages to allow for more of a deep dive into these characters.

Final verdict: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Badass Female Character score: also 3.5/5 -- Mummu isn't taking any nonsense, and Ashley is a pretty hardcore athlete.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for providing me with a DRC of this book.

Infinite Blue

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC in the kindle format from the authors, Netgalley and Orca Publishers.

I must say, what drove me to read this book was the gorgeous cover. I’m a sucker for watercolours and the cover is just beautiful.

Plot (May contain spoilers)
We first meet Ash and Clayton when Ash saves Clayton’s life in a rip in Brisbane, Australia. We are shown straight away how talented Ash is at swimming. The second chapter quickly jumps into Ash and Clayton being in a relationship but I was unaware of how it had been in since they first met each other.

The story really begins when Ash competes in a swim race and Clayton is on his tablet drawing. What he draws, scares him but Ash finds it curious. This moment we are introduced to the magical realism in this book. When Clayton draws (with his eyes closed), he sees what is happening to Ash or what is about to happen to her. Ash and her swimming contain some ethereal moments, which I found interesting.
My interest in swimming is pretty low, but this book has piqued my interest a little more.

Thoughts
We are shown Ash and Clayton’s family and Ash’s support system for her swimming. I found Clayton’s relationship with his Finnish grandmother to be quite charming and unique. But Ash’s parents I struggled with. Her mother was overbearing and selfish and I’m glad we got to know wha happened to her at the end. I felt like her father was barely there. He was constantly praying and I think even Ash thought him useless.

I thought the time elements were done mostly well. I believe that this book could be better. We could learn more about the Ash’s mother’s life story and what happened to Clayton’s parents. I wanted to know the reason as to why Ash’s mother was hostile to Clayton. Was it because she just didn’t like Clay? Or because she’s selfish and blind-sighted as to what her daughter actually wants. I feel like the target audience is more 14-15years and up as 12 years and up might not understand connections that were not clear.

I think the romance was well done. But, I felt like I didn’t actually get to see Ash and Clay spend much quality time together. Ash’s swimming was a major obstacle in their quality time together <spoiler>even her healing time</spoiler>.

This was a short and mostly enjoyable read. I do actually recommend this book to be read but don’t expect it to be more than 4 stars. I would have given it four stars if we had some more details in the book.

3.75 stars

This review is based on an ARC of Infinite Blue which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Orca Book Publishers).

Wow. This story swept me up from the first pages and has left me dazzled. Although short, Infinite Blue fills its pages with an aching tender love and a splash of mythical magic. I was not expecting Magical Realism from this YA Contemporary, but, though it surprised me (and weirded me out a little before I realized what was happening) it did so in the most wonderful, etherial way!

The relationship between Ash and Clayton is definitely the strongest point of the story for me. Nothing feels forced, unrealistic, or really even fictional for that matter. This love story is so strong and so real that, although I only got a small taste, every "bad thing" left me longing for their wellbeing as a couple. I am so sappy right now, almost crying writing this; I want a love like Clay and Ash!

My one real criticism here is that the book felt a little short to stand up against most other YA Contemporaries (those being 250-400+ pages long). On the other hand, I also really like that this story is a bit shorter than would be considered average, because it packs more of an emotional punch without all the boring buildup.

Overall, Infinite Blue is a spectacular, quick read that I am looking forward to reading again in the future!

This book revolves around the life and struggles of a young athlete, family issues and being in a relationship at the same time.

First of all, I really liked the cover and it was what attracted me to request for this book.

It was easy to connect and relate to the characters' emotions.

The ending unexpected and interesting but I don't think I was ready for that.


Thanks to Orca Book Publishers, NetGalley and the Groth brothers for allowing me to give my review!

This book wasn't long enough. I just generally needed more of everything, but other than that, it was absolutely incredible!

This book was for the most part just a really cute contemporary, but it also had some magical realism thrown in there, which I thought was a cool concept and fit well with the storyline, but was also a bit underdeveloped.

There was plenty of foreshadowing, but it still felt underdeveloped, and I wish that the fantasy element had been incorporated more into the earlier events of the novel.

The characters were so perfect though! I loved them both so much, and they felt so real. However, they also were underdeveloped, and I just really wish that I had more time to get to know their personalities. But even with the limited information I had on both of them, I still thought that they were excellent characters.

The romance though was so well done. I shipped it even from the first meeting, these two are absolutely adorable together!

And the other thing I really loved about the romance in this book was that it didn't centre around relationship drama. It was all about Ash & Clay going through their problems together, rather than having problems with each other.

These two were so perfect together, and there wasn't a page where I was bored. If only it was longer, and the characters & magical realism had more time to be fleshed out, it would have been perfect.

Beautifully written and easy to read!

I felt no connection with either of the main characters, for a book that had some emotional things I should of care what happened to them, but I didn’t. The “fantastical” element was random and undeveloped.

Just like it’s cover, Infinite Blue is beautiful, ethereal and just a little bit magic. Mixing fantasy with realism, Infinite Blue is an epic love story about accepting your destiny and letting go.

The day Ashley and Clayton meet seems fated. Ashley appears almost out of nowhere to save Clayton’s life. As Ashley’s swimming career progresses to new heights, Clayton is her steadfast support. Yet as they face the challenges of time and distance they promise each other forever. Yet, neither could predict the impact that a terrible accident will have or the ways in which they will both have to let go.

I have enjoyed Darren Groth’s previous novels and was intrigued with how a co-authorship and transition to magical realism would impact his grounded writing style. I really enjoyed Infinite Blue. The pairing with Simon Groth was obviously an excellent partnership, as the writing is seamless. Infinite Blue was a very quick book to read, and while I was aware that it would leave the boundaries of reality and venture into the fantastical, I was unsure how much it would impact the plot line. The answer? Just enough to make this a unique and beautiful story, clever, creative and otherworldly without becoming a fantasy. At its heart, this book is an epic love story - a love story for the ages and a modern-day fairytale.

The story jumps time in spaces, which adds credibility to the romance. And while the plot does centre around the love story, it’s not a romance in the traditional sense. There is no doubting Ash and Clay’s connection or commitment. Rather, it‘s the two of them against the world. And while I wouldn’t call the ending ‘happy’ in a traditional ‘happily ever after’ sense, it perfectly fits the tone of the novel. Centred around Clay and Ash’s romance is a story of family, art, stories and destiny.

Beautifully written and easy to read, Infinite Blue is a unique and magical book.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.