This was rough. Like, I can’t lie. I ended up rating it 1 star. I think the story could’ve been cool if more effort had been put into it, but as it currently stands it honestly feels like the author used AI to help him write it. And I don’t feel comfortable supporting that. So…I think can safely say that I won’t be reading anything else by this author.

This started off really well, there's a new boy and his mum moving to a new town but we find out very quickly that his grandparents disappeared without a trace many years ago and it's still a mystery. He has moments where reality seems to change and he doesn't know what's happening. none of this is a spoiler as it's right at the start of the book. We follow him as he settles in, makes friends, meets a cute boy and finds out his teacher is like him. A Realmwalker.

This was a fun read, I actually enjoyed it quite a lot and was interested to see where it would all go. The part that got me was, unfortunately, near the end. It was going really well and then there were a couple of chapters which I feel could have been a bit more interesting from the perspective of the two boys. It makes sense why it was done this way and it was good but I would have preferred that.

The ending leaves it open for sequels or potentially as a stand alone. Would I read another book in the series? Probably, yeah. I'd be happy to see where the characters go from here.

2.5

On paper, I should have loved this queer, YA multiverse novel, but this was unfortunately not for me. Firstly, the writing style. A simple writing style for YA is common, but it felt very clunky and repetitive. The dialogue didn't read like believable conversations and more like something someone wrote in high school. I also didn't have any attachment to the characters, nor were they distinctive in any way. Their romantic relationship also developed so fast without much interaction. Lastly, the plot also felt a bit predictable and was overall not engaging enough.

Thank you, NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book kept me reading and I really wanted to like it. But there was something missing…basically the whole plot. The characters were interesting. The small town feel was effective. The developing relationship between Ethan and Jamie was a little too convenient but worked. You just wanted more out of the multiverse. Actually, I wanted something related to the multiverse. The book was set up to have a sequel but this one felt like the introduction where you just don’t know what’s happening. The whole book felt like exposition but I still don’t know where Ethan and Jamie go.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

Nothing really grabbed me, and constant minor inconsistencies in the plot made for a halting reading experience. Then at the most climactic moment, the POV switched away from the main character, and the main plot ended up being related as a flashback, which destroyed all the tension.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

When I came across this book I thought the premise of the story was super interesting: A fantasy story focused on moving between different realms/realities. That sounds super fun! Sadly, besides the initially interesting sounding plot (and the promise of queer romance) the book falls flat in pretty much everything it tries to do.

- The romance was rushed and underdeveloped, there was just no chemistry between the leads. They meet, they fall in love in 30 pages? and that's it.
- The story is frankly inexistent. Having read the entire book I still can't say what was the plot. The author failed in coming up with a plot and whatever plot there "was" failed to instill any kind of sense of urgency or danger. I couldn't tell you what was so bad about the thing that the characters were worried about because nothing happened previously either to make us worry or to signify change or an advancing status.
- The narration is super repetitive, filled with telling instead of showing and filled with phrases like "nothing would be the same again", "things were about to change", etc. Not lying, every chapter has like five or ten of this phrases. It gets tyring really fast.
- New characters that serve no purpose appear from nothing all the time? I don't need you to bring a new named character just so they can ask a random question and never appear again.
- Some characters kept certain events secret but sometimes other characters would pop up and talk about the secret without on page explanation of why they know about the secret or when were they told about it. And this happened more than once.
- Whenever the character is supposed to practice his powers the only practice was
"You have to do this"
*character does it first try, without sweating. One line of description*
"Good, you did excellent, keep practicing"

I could seriously go on and on but I'm gonna stop here.
The book doesn't even feel like a first draft, more like a fanfiction. It needs a LOT of editing. Worse, it demands the author sits and takes more time to plot the book, the plot, the relationship between the characters, the mysteries. Everything.

I really wanted to like 'Between the Lines' by Zachary Steele. I love scifi & genre-blurring themes, and I'm always on the lookout for more LGBTQI+ representation in literature.

Unfortunately the writing doesn't seem to have benefitted from being reviewed by a really confident editor. There are tons of occasions where the author drops clunky terms like "he felt nothing would be the same again" or "something told him" or "felt things were about to get more complicated" or "feeling something important had just happened". So very 'tell, don't show'. It pulls you out of the story. Unless you're going with one of the characters having some sort of clairvoyant abilities, it just ends up awkward when it's so pervasive. There are lots of ways to create a sense of tension, unease, dread, etc without resorting to this type of phrasing.

Repetition in phrases in general is pretty rampant here; like another reviewer mentioned, you can't go more than a couple paragraphs without “couldn’t help but” and "something told him".

I think younger (middle grade) readers might enjoy this, but it comes across as 'younger' than YA based on the repetition and simplicity.

I think this book was self-published, as the 'publisher' is listed as Steele Design Studio; this could explain the lack of editing?

Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for allowing access to the eARC for my unbiased review.

Between the Lines has a very intriguing premise and the story is interesting. I loved the idea of multiple dimensions and a realmwalker main character.

I feel like this book had all the right components to be a book I would love, but for me those pieces didn't quite come together. Some of the book felt repetitive to me in ways that didn't advance the story in ways I would have liked. I do think this book has an audience out there, but maybe it wasn't quite me.

I did enjoy the main character and seeing things from his perspective as well as his mom, I felt like that piece was unique and added dimension to the story. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

If I never read some form of "He had a feeling..." "He couldn't help feeling..." "Couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen..." again for the rest of my life I will die a happy man.

Unfortunately, this was not the book for me. It was all there on paper to be something I could enjoy, but the sum of its parts just was not an enjoyable experience. The world building wasn't strong enough, the narration and writing felt a little too clunky, and barely any time was spent on developing the characters before they started kissing and falling in love.

The bones of a good story are there and the concept is interesting, it just didn't work for me. It's just my opinion though, and I always say that everyone should form their own before writing something off completely.

I was able to get an ARC for Between the lines; it is a sci fi, mystery, MM, small town romance novel that had an interesting premise. I really wanted to like this more than I did but the writing was very clunky. I lost count out how many times a character would state “..couldn’t shake the feeling something was about to change..” or “…things are about to get more complicated..” this happened so frequently it got rather annoying. I have no issues with an insta love but these MC had very little chemistry and I was far more interested in the side character. The overall world/background to realm walkers is glossed over; there was no build up or suspense. I read this through completion with a genuine interest in how this would turn out, but feel there is more fine tuning to be done.

Thanks Netgalley and Steele Design Studio for this ARC and honest review.

Short, sweet, and mysterious, Between the Lines is a story about two boys who can walk between realms.

The pacing is quite fast, which worked in the book’s favor. It definitely felt more novella length, but I didn’t mind it too much.

The characters are realistic and charming. Their relationships are complex yet intriguing, and the found family vibes can be found in the background.

Tailored towards younger audiences, but still a decent read for fans of sci-fi from all ages.

I unfortunately had a real tough time with the pacing and narration of this book. Each scene felt like an incomplete puzzle, pieces missing. The writing swapped from point to point with almost no fluid transition. It felt like everything I read needed MORE. This left the reading process feeling really clunky.

Between The Lines By Zachary Steele is a genre-bending sci-fi mystery set in a picturesque town where nothing is as it seems, danger lurks behind every corner and secrets unravel around Ethan Morris, a seventeen-year-old Realmwalker who can travel between dimensions.

Multiversal mystery. Interdimensional travel. LGBTQIA+ small town romance. All very much my cup of tea. The concept was intriguing, but overall, I found the world-building a little too jejune for my tastes. I never absolutely need clever and unique world-building to enjoy a story. I'm entirely satisfied when super compelling characters take precedence, but it's an either/or situation, and unfortunately, I was disheartened by the fact that I thought the characters were one-dimensional. I simply lost count of the amount of times the protagonist stated that he "couldn't shake the feeling something significant had just occurred," or that he "knew nothing would be normal again," thus, making writing the clunky. The dialogue felt stilted in parts, so it had the unfortunate tendency to pull me out of the narrative.
I struggled to fully invest in the romance. The relationship between Ethan and Jamie blossomed so quickly, without much chemistry or build-up, which was disappointing.

Thank you, NetGalley and Steele Design Studio, for giving me the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this one!

It’s a short story very fast paced and easy to follow. I loved the small town stars hollow vibes mixed with the syfy aspects

The characters and plot development moved along nicely and definitely leaves you wanting more

this was a strong start to the Realmwalker and thought the feel worked in the genre. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and their world. It had a strong plot going on and was engaged with what was happening. It left me wanting to read more in this world and was glad I got to read this.

Between the Lines is the story of teenaged Ethan and his mother, who move back to her hometown, hoping to learn more about his missing grandparents. It’s also a story about the friendships Ethan makes in the mysterious town of Havenwood, and his growing romance with Jamie, a young and talented musician. It’s finally the story of Ethan learning that he is a Realmwalker, capable of seeing and sliding into alternate realities and time periods.

The story was very engaging, with a good mix of plot and character-driven arcs. I felt that the strong connections between Ethan, Jamie, and their friends were created fluidly, even in such a short book. I empathized with all the characters, and am excited to see where the next books take them.

I think there is work that needs to be done with editing the prose. It was quite passive at times (“couldn’t help but …” appeared every few pages) and relied on telling rather than showing (“something told him …” appeared every more frequently, at times in subsequent scenes). A lot of the internal thoughts could be edited down to remove repeating themes. At the same time, I felt that the story could have been developed further to show character depth and to emphasize how much time passes within the narrative. There was some POV switching towards the latter third, and I felt it would have been nice to see those POVs earlier on.

A fun blend of small-town mystery and sci-fi twists, Between the Lines follows Ethan as he discovers his Realmwalker abilities and navigates new realities with Jamie by his side. The pacing felt a bit rushed, but the novella-length story kept things engaging. A quick, enjoyable read with a touch of romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Steele Design Studio for approving my request to read an arc of this book

After moving from New York to the small town his mother grew up in, Ethan learns that there’s more to this place than meets the eye, and secrets and mysteries are hidden behind every corner.
As Ethan starts to discover these strange happenings, including his birthmark beginning to tingle and even glow, he learns that he and his family, among certain other towns folk, are what is know as Realmwalkers, and he and new crush, Jamie, must uncover what this means for them and their town.

Between The Lines was a fun and interesting take on small town mystery, with sci-fy twists and a cute romance. At times it felt a little rushed, but as the book was more of a novella length, the fast pacing was to be expected and didn’t take away from my enjoyment.