DNF at 8%.

I'm incredibly sorry but this is so pretentious and nonsensical that you would have to pay me to suffer through the rest of it. I rarely give up on a book so soon but it's the right and only choice for my sanity.

I tried to get into this story, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Even though the audio was entertaining with a cast of narrators, the story and characters didn’t keep my interest beyond the first few parts.

Such a beautiful story. I loved Atlas Six and Olivie Blake has done it again. I loved how complex the characters are and the description of mental health. This book is a cerebral love story that will stay with you long after finishing.

This was such a unique book. I felt I was listening to the story of someone with bipolar from the mind of someone with bipolar - turns out that this is true.

The author writes so accurately about how someone who suffers with mental illness such as bipolar can have these incredibly disjointed thoughts and feelings. The incredible highs and lows of happiness and pain. In this case the heroine Regan suffers from bipolar. She suffers from fractured thoughts and a fractured mind. She's not yet broken however, not if Aldo can be there with her to save her from herself.

This is a unique love story where the conflict is mental illness and it's Regan's own mind that can break Regan and Aldo.

I thought about this book constantly after listening to it. I just wish the narration wasn't as fractured as Regan. The narrators that didn't portray Regan and Aldo were like a play within a book. They were very confusing and had me rewinding too many times for clarification of their role in the story.

Luckily I was able to get pass them and focus in the incredible love story of Regan & Aldo.
I loved how Aldo loved Regan - wholly, completely without reservations even with all of her fissures. He thought he could mend her if he could learn her. If only love had that kind of power to heal...

Overall this book was a moving portrait of a love story of a woman who was not well but fiercely loved anyway.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for my ALC.

Overall Alone With You In The Ether was a beautifully written look into a

This is probably the most raw and also relatable story I have read. I read the physical copy while also listening to the audio book and it was everything. The dual narration and POV made the story. The portrayal of the complications of love left me feeling so understood and captivated. I connected very much with Aldo and Regan and found the mental health representation beautifully and tenderly expressed. This is a book that will leave you thinking and Blake’s writing will fill any holes you may have in your heart. I highly recommend and one of my favorites of the year.

So many things appealed to me about this book. I loved The Atlas Six and Olivie Blake's writing, I had read several rave reviews, and as an art history major, Regan seemed like a main character I would love. But at the end of the day, it was just okay. There are some good elements, and there are some unique qualities. If you enjoy genuinely pretty unlikeable characters in romance-oriented literary fiction, this might be the book for you. Otherwise, I'd stick with The Atlas Six.

This book is pitched as a romance, and while it was certainly a central focus of the book, I don't think there's any way it can fit as a genre romance. I think there may have been about 5 pages when Regan and Aldo first met that I rooted for them, but otherwise, I genuinely didn't want them to be together and at times actively wished I didn't have to read about them anymore. The moments where they're first having their six conversations, and some of the discussion of bees and the universe are interesting, but otherwise it just made me enjoy the book less.

As a whole, I think that the audiobook of ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER is probably more enjoyable than visually reading it. At the very beginning, I was really confused with the frequent switching of narrators, though that thankfully became less frequent as the book continued. And I have to admit, the Olivie Blake cameo definitely added something a little special to the experience.

My least favourite part of the book, though, had to be Regan. I had such high hopes for an art historian that works at the Art Institute of Chicago, but like many books who have art historians, the art history is just a sad backup for their true love of creating art. That's not necessarily a flaw, and was the least of my worries. Regan really just isn't unlikeable, to the point that I didn't want to read about her. She feels like a cliche who's trying to be unique in the worst possible ways. I understand the elements of her bipolar disorder in her character, and in no way am I trying to police how she acted. There were some glimpses of interesting moments involving mental illness, but I couldn't appreciate them with how much I didn't want to keep reading about her.

This is definitely a book that some people will enjoy, and I hope that they find it. But it wasn't the book for me. If you're unsure about it, I'd definitely recommend reading via audiobook if that's your thing as it's the most enjoyable, if temporarily confusing, experience of this book.

This was a masterpiece.

What makes it so? The writing style. The almost stream of consciousness prose that draws you straight into the MCs' minds. It is absolutely captivating!

I listened to this as an audiobook, which I would really recommend, because they get creative with different narrators. In the beginning, we have random people jumping in to give input into the MCs' lives. A teenage girl makes a snarky comment, a straight laced old woman gives her piece, and an old Chicago guy calls the main dude skinny. The only problem is, the author only used this awesome and sometimes hilarious narrative technique in the beginning of the story! Sure there was one other instance where characters lines are overlapping and speaking all at once, but that was it!

I think most would describe this as a more character driven story, but that doesn't come at a detriment to the plot. Because you can always feel the progression of the relationship between the two MCs as the story moves forward.

Overall a beautifully written story about what it's like to fall in love.

Well, this was unexpected and I am so glad I listened to it. It was so honest and I just love that it cast a light on serious mental health issues but in such a positive and uplifting way. An absolutely beautiful story of love and joy.
This story will be one that I think many will remember and enjoy.

Please check CW/TW
My rating is a solid 3 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook for an honest review.

It was a rough start. It took me a little bit to really get into this unique book. However, I really enjoyed the narration of this book and thought they did a great job. This was full of angst, romance, banter of two. This book makes you think and it talks about what a person goes through with mental health disorders and how they and others are affected by it.

Alone with You in the Ether is one of my favorite books. I was thrilled to get the audiobook and it did not disappoint. It really bought the story off the page and I could truly visualize the characters and the scenes. I absolutely loved it.

This audiobook is superb, we get amazing narrators including the author, and she did a terrific job doing it. Narrated by Olivie Blake, Robb Moreira, Sura Siu, Tim Campbell, Eliza Foss, John Pirhalla, Steve Wagner, Emma Paige West, and Dion Alexander. This multicast of brilliant narrators gave voice to a fantastic story. The book itself is original and refreshing, it talks about mental illness in a way that will impact you. The beginning of the book is a bit confusing, but as you read through you it will click, and then going forward you will fall in love with it. The way it was structured is like no other, so many things to say, and yet I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so just click on it and start reading or hearing it, the audiobook is definitely the way I would go if you are undecided. Brilliant 5 stars and a top read for 2022.

Well I think I preferred reading this than listening to it be read, some books are just that way. This audiobook is amazing though and our narrators are perfect. I just preferred reading to myself. I will say that it took me longer to get into the audiobook version about 30% in and I fell kinda out again near the end. I think this book at times feels a little too I’m not sure the correct word for it but it goes from charmingly intelligent to a bit over inflated. The characters are some of my favorites. I would say if you liked any of the author’s other books you’d love this and probably more so. Or if you enjoyed If We Were Villains or Ninth House think this would be up your alley ((It is not a dark academic book but the vibe is there)) always check for content warnings

ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER is a romance novel unlike any you have read before, pinky promise. It centers the lives of our two main characters, Regan and Aldo, but not in your typical contemporary romance way. You will find yourself fighting for these two characters from the very beginning. Their connection is undeniable from the start, which is refreshing in a story like this. Olivie Blake brings a caliber of writing to the romance genre that is desperately needed.
Grabs some tissues, you may need them!

So beautifully written. Reading and listening to it is not enough. I need to inject the words into my veins and have them live with me forever. This book was art in its purest form - it made me FEEL. Pretentiousness in the best way.

The audiobook was fantastic and was the perfect addition to my reading experience.

4.5 stars

A few favorite quotes:

“I want you to say everything, anything. I want to have your thoughts, I want to bottle them, I want to put them in my drawer for safekeeping.”

“Yes, it is perilously wonderful to suffer so sweetly with you.”

“Whatever you are made of, Charlotte Regan, I am made of it, too.”

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of Alone with You in the Ether by Olivia Blake.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. First off, the audio was great! Lots of narrators, which I love. It required a lot of narrators because of the way the book was presented, each narrator was an onlooker of our main characters, which was SO unique and fresh.

This is where I'm conflicted. The book is good! The reviews clearly back that up. It's modern, it's full of angst, romance, and sex, and as I mentioned, has a cool take on the presentation. It's a well written book that I can tell was clearly handled with time and care.

My hang up is how tired I am of the two beautiful, broken, mentally ill people finding each other. Their love is deep, deeper than the darkest abyss of the largest ocean. But it's also full of torment, and cruelty, because they just love each other too much, and they're so broken, and no one on earth understands them like they understand each other. It's been done. And I just don't buy it. But that could be my age and crotchety cynicism shining loud and bright, so take that however you want.

My feelings towards this book are very complicated.

I did not enjoy the reading experience. Aldo and Regan are both very complicated and troubled people who are difficult to root for. Aldo eventually grew on me but Regan continued to stress me out. I was never really invested in their relationship because I knew it would end badly. But it is hard to critique the book for being what it was designed to be.

However, Alone with You in the Ether is beautifully written and unique. I was both caught off guard and hooked by the strange writing style in the first part of the book. I was a bit disappointed when those interjections stopped because they were fun and different. I love how Olivie Blake captures fascinating contemplations of the nature of the universe in flowery writing. The writing did start to feel a bit self-indulgent toward the end though and I found the ending a little unsatisfying after the constant tension.

Olivie Blake's writing and characters are not for me but I recognize the talent and creativity in her work.

Really enjoyed this one! As always gorgeous writing and storytelling from Olive Blake. Thank you so much for an ALC!

I struggled with this one. This is my first book of Olivie Blake. I got an ARC of the audiobook. Not sure if it would’ve been different if I read the book rather than listen to the audiobook, but I was lost in the ether 😅. The dialogues seemed childish to me. I didn’t feel the chemistry between Aldo and Regan. It was hard to keep up with the flow of storytelling. It felt like it was a screenplay. There is the POV of the 2 characters, a narrator and other narrators and such. I got where Aldo was coming from, but I couldn’t connect with Regan.

Wow! What a story. This book was fantastic. I already have planned a friend to give this book to. This felt like an indie move in book form. There was so much depth to the story and the characters and the narrators make the story even more interesting!

I cannot recommend this book enough. It was so different from what I normally read. Although it was a love story, much like I typically read, the way that it was written and the types of characters that I would not have seen myself gravitating toward otherwise. The main characters are different and neurodivergent and their fall for each other is gradual but all at once as well. To say that I did not know how this story would end is an understatement. This kept me guessing throughout the whole thing.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story!

Book Review

Alone With You in The Ether
By: Olivie Blake
Published November 29th, 2022- NEW BOOK ALERT!

This was my first book of Olivia Blake and it blew me away. I feel like I’m still trying to wrap my head around the story as some aspects of the characters really resonated with me, while others made me want to reach into the audiobook and help them.

There was a constant yearning to know what would happen next and some parts felt like the writing of someone going through a manic episode. The descriptions of emotions and the different scenarios felt like art. I absolutely loved it. One thing I loved most was that Regan discussed how she felt when she was one medication and how she felt off medication. As someone who has experienced this, it felt so deeply close and personal to my own life.

Each of their addictions ebb and flow to create this tumultuous, passionate love affair that has them entwined so deeply with one another that it quickly catches fire, only to completely engulf them both. While the book was so beautiful, my one remark is that at the end I felt like the final act happened and I was left waiting for more. It was almost as if the build up came and came and came and a small drip of an ending just dropped and that was all.

I loved it nonetheless. It left me asking questions. It made me think.

Thank you @netgalley & @macmillianaudio for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.