Name: Alone With You in the Ether
ISBN: 9798655480407

Olivie Blake

CHICAGO, SOMETIME-Two people meet in the armory of the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. After their meeting, those things do not change. Everything else, however, is slightly different. Both obsessive, eccentric personalities, Aldo Damiani and Charlotte Regan struggle to be without each other from the moment they meet. The truth-that he is a clinically depressed, anti-social theoretician and she is a manipulative liar with a history of self-sabotage-means the deeper they fall in love, the more troubling their reliance on each other becomes. An intimate study of time and space, ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER is a fantasy writer's magicless glimpse into the nature of love, what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you're not broken.

Alone With You in the Ether

Emilia Vulliamy

sadie

Ashlyn Barrett

raia – inactive

Emma Hak-Kovacs

Alina

“You should see her work,” he would say the same way someone else might have said: Come outside, come look at the stars.

Maisha Prather

Your future self will always see what your present self is blind to. This is the problem with mortality, which is in fact a problem of time.

Jennifer Woo

He wasn't just unconventionally handsome, she realized. 

That old reflex never died; the little pang of Don't go, just stay. Settle over me like the tide, cover me like a blanket, wrap around me like the sun.

People thought addiction was a craving, but the difference was this: Cravings were wishes that could be satisfied, but compulsions were needs that must be met.

“What did you learn?” he asked neutrally. 

That I could study you for a lifetime, carrying all of your peculiarities and discretions in the webs of my spidery palms, and still feel empty-handed.

Art, a voice buzzed in her ear, was creation. It was dissecting a piece of herself and leaving it out for consumption, for speculation. For the possibility of misinterpretation and the inevitability of judgment. For the abandonment of fear the reward would have to be the possibility of ruin, and that was the inherent sacrifice. That, her mind whispered, was art, and she slid her finger along the edge of the storage room key, the jagged edges like teeth scraping over her skin.

ayoni

Elli Barnette

There was nothing worse than being predictable. Nothing smaller than feeling ordinary.

Nothing more disappointing than being reminded she was both.

jean

Leann!

He was definitely doing math, and she reveled in her possession of it; in being the instrument to channel his thoughts.

There was a single moment responsible for every sequence thereafter.

This feeling, this flutter in my chest and this lightness in my bones and this flicker in my blood, this must be happiness. This must be what it feels like to be happy.

cee 

Without the volatility of her extremes, what was she?

Chloe Heisserer

zee ✨️

i have read and reread this book again and again. i love it dearly and i think about it all the time. a gorgeous exploration of two people, and a slow steady shift from being an outsider in their lives to being inside their minds and understanding who they are. a book about knowing and being known and having conversations. spectacular. 

Bailey Gilbert

It broke me apart, it told me that we can love a person with flaws, be with them, support them, even if we cannot fix them with our love. It was an extraordinary mix of both science and art.

bees, 6 conversations, time travel, hexagons, babylonians & utterly romantic 💗

Kaarthik sekar 

It broke me apart, it told me that we can love a person with flaws, be with them, support them, even if we cannot fix them with our love. It was an extraordinary mix of both science and art.

bees, 6 conversations, time travel, hexagons, babylonians & utterly romantic 💗

To be loved even when your mind is in chaos, to be understood so thoroughly it will be forever engraved into their system.

A glimpse into a joining of hearts and minds as Aldo and Charlotte meet and fall ever deeper into love. They'll need to face their fears and the fractures within themselves - and still love as if they've not broken.

Alone with You in the Ether

without getting too personal: many things clicked into place this time, my third go-round with the audiobook, fourth overall read. the narrative structure and the general narration will not work for everyone, but i think if you know what it's like to hear yourself and not like yourself and feel listless and desperate for something to spark a fire in you, then let this be an offered match. 

previously was rated 3.5 stars. 

without getting too personal: many things clicked into place this time, my third go-round with the audiobook, fourth overall read. the narrative structure and the general narration will not work for everyone, but i think if you know what it's like to hear yourself and not like yourself and feel listless and desperate for something to spark a fire in you, then let this be an offered match. 

i used to burn out, but now i just burn.

i don't even know how to put into words how this book altered my brain chemistry. it's one of those books that doesn't feel like just a 'story' — it was an experience. it's messy, gut wrenching, but so fucking beautiful. oddly comforting how i see myself in these two characters. literally everything everywhere all at once. and hexagons. 

The book was written beautifully, as was the story behind it. I wouldn't recommend it to those who get bored easily or don't like to overthink. While reading, I experienced a mix of emotions—at times I felt joy, butterflies in my stomach, sadness, concern, and moments where I just wanted to scream and cry.

gitsa

read this at the peak of covid in 2020. bawled at the end, mental illness shrouds one’s executive functioning but the love, will always be felt. very meaningful story, will not forget the rollercoaster of emotions i felt reading this

From Olivie Blake, the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six, comes an intimate and contemporary study of time, space, and the nature of love. Alone with You in the Ether explores what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you're not broken. CHICAGO, SOMETIME— Two people meet in the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist, undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. By the end of the story, these things will still be true. But this is not a story about endings. For Regan, people are predictable and tedious, including and perhaps especially herself. She copes with the dreariness of existence by living impulsively, imagining a new, alternate timeline being created in the wake of every rash decision. To Aldo, the world feels disturbingly chaotic. He gets through his days by erecting a wall of routine: a backbeat of rules and formulas that keep him going. Without them, the entire framework of his existence would collapse. For Regan and Aldo, life has been a matter of resigning themselves to the blueprints of inevitability—until the two meet. Could six conversations with a stranger be the variable that shakes up the entire simulation?

A Love Story

I am so remarkably changed by this book i had to read it twice 

Stella 💫

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes an intimate and contemporary study of time, space, and the nature of love. Alone with You in the Ether explores what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you're not broken. CHICAGO, SOMETIME-- Two people meet in the armory of the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. By the end of the story, these things will still be true. But this is not a story about endings. For Regan, life is a finish line of mutually assured disappointment. Her method of coping with the dreariness of existence is to project herself into imagined multipotency, spinning new threads of destiny with every impulsive decision she makes. For Aldo, life is a plague of constancy--a structure of rules and formulas that keep him going, without which the entire frame of his existence would collapse. For both of them, life is a matter of resigning themselves to the blueprints of inevitability, until six conversations with a stranger form the variable that glitches the entire simulation.

Kirsten Kim

I cannot explain the ways in which this altered my brain chemistry as I was reading it. Tortured artist & tortured mathematician fall in love and the world, time and parallel universes are all nothing, everything and also hexagons.

For plot driven people, this is not for you,  unfortunately. If you are looking for a book to help you feel a little deranged this is it. Do with that information what you will. 

Kate B-L

I cannot explain the ways in which this altered my brain chemistry as I was reading it. Tortured artist & tortured mathematician fall in love and the world, time and parallel universes are all nothing, everything and also hexagons.

For plot driven people, this is not for you,  unfortunately. If you are looking for a book to help you feel a little deranged this is it. Do with that information what you will. 

Yes, this is one of my favorite books that I reread every year. Yes, this is a 3-star read. I've found that whoever I find the most annoying during my read is who I relate to at the moment, and this time it was Regan and all of her impulses. Regan and her insatiable needs. Regan and her mania, and her desire to create, her struggling and trying to find equilibrium. 

When I recommend this book, I always say that this is not a love story, but it is about romance. It's about finding love in the mundanity, about what ties us together. Regan's human fears of people leaving her when the shine wears off, and Aldo's passiveness of letting life pass him is what causes their conflict. It's what makes their love story—their mutual obsession—explosive, and when it does fizzle out... it pieces itself back together. Time cycles. People are creatures of habit. Love is not easy and clear cut and we keep moving. And things are the same, but shifted slightly to the left. 

Yes, this is one of my favorite books that I reread every year. Yes, this is a 3-star read. I've found that whoever I find the most annoying during my read is who I relate to at the moment, and this time it was Regan and all of her impulses. Regan and her insatiable needs. Regan and her mania, and her desire to create, her struggling and trying to find equilibrium. 

When I recommend this book, I always say that this is not a love story, but it is about romance. It's about finding love in the mundanity, about what ties us together. Regan's human fears of people leaving her when the shine wears off, and Aldo's passiveness of letting life pass him is what causes their conflict. It's what makes their love story—their mutual obsession—explosive, and when it does fizzle out... it pieces itself back together. Time cycles. People are creatures of habit. Love is not easy and clear cut and we keep moving. And things are the same, but shifted slightly to the left. 

Heather Margaret

My new favorite book. I am so in love with this story and the writing and everything.

Anjorin Molayo 

I can’t believe i stalled this book. I can’t believe i didn’t finish it when i picked it up at first, only to find out that’s it’s actually really good. I went through an emotional roller coaster while reading this book. I cried a bit because it’s was sad. Mental illness is real, and it could end something so beautiful, but they scaled through. 
I loved the fact that Charlotte and Rinaldo understood each other, they cared for each other and they were there for each other. Their love and the way they treated each other made me feel soft. sigh. 
My favorite part was when she decided to paint him; the way the author writes makes the imagination easier because you could almost feel every single thing she’s writing about. Here, she writes about Charlotte painting Rinaldo; it was as if one was actually there, it was so real. 
The other part I loved so much was “firsts”; the first time they had sex, the first time they argued, their first time for everything. 
I love this book so much. The writing style is different, different from any book i’ve ever read and I’m so invested in it. the author writes like she’s writing poetry omg. I really wish i could read this book for the first time again. 
A solid 5/5.

Elisavet Rozaki 

I need someone to wipe my memory so I can read this book again for the first time!!! Olivie Blake's writing is so unique and introspective for the characters!!! Most beautifully written story I've read this year <3

From the no.1 international bestselling author of The Atlas Six 'Olivie Blake is a mind-blowing talent' - Chloe Gong Chicago, sometime. Two people meet in the armory of the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. After their meeting, those things do not change. Everything else, however, is slightly different. Both obsessive, eccentric personalities, Aldo Damiani and Charlotte Regan struggle to be without each other from the moment they meet. The truth - that he is a clinically depressed, anti-social theoretician and she is a manipulative liar with a history of self-sabotage - means the deeper they fall in love, the more troubling their reliance on each other becomes. Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake is a glimpse into the nature of love, what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you're not broken. Reader reviews for The Atlas Six: ‘The most brilliant, immersive, magic-made-real book I've ever read!’ ‘Deftly woven plot and amazing ensemble cast’ ‘Believe the hype! Absolutely fantastic!’

This book took me on a journey through the minds of the characters, but also through my own. Painfully beautiful prose.

sani

what if i say this is actually one of the best books i have ever read? it shattered my heart, changed the trajectory of my brain, made me feel sick and what not. 

“i love him, and for a moment it doesn’t matter whether he loves her back. it is enough to have known that the inside of her chest is more than a place for storage.”

i relate to regan so much that it scares me. her moodiness, her obsession with change, her repulsion for emptiness. so on point. “without the volatility of her extremes, what was she?” exactly. what am i without my extremes? Regan's monologues tore me apart because how can i unhealthily relate to a character that much? Aldo is so precious. now, i cannot help but see bees and time in a wholly different light because of them. 

AldoRegan were so realistic, complex and layered, just like us normal people. wish i could read it again for the first time!

arwen

found myself getting so distracted throughout the entire book. Although there is a lot of beautiful quotes throughout and made me think a lot. 

Lex Forbes

aileeeeeeen

I have no idea about this. was this good? yes, a little perplexing? yes. but I know that this one is beautifully written. the characters, moments, personas, they were all exciting and well-made. but one thing that I know that this book is dedicated for pretty girls, boys and they who are hopeless romantic.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Krys C.

Beautiful writing, realistic depiction of mental health, lots of meaningful quotes and passages, and highly character-driven. It takes us deep into the characters' brains and thought process and motivations. Unfortunately, it did not personally appeal to me and I found myself bored half the time I was reading.

Not for me but I can really understand why people love this book so much. First 35 pages and I was feeling uncomfortable and bored; so close to DNFing which says alot since I rarely do that. Once Aldo and Regan met, I really started to love it, the beginning of the middle if you really understand what I mean was what I loved, it felt so fresh and new and real and authentic: the 6 conversations was my favourite part. Now, as we went further and futher into the "middle" of the book and even closer to the end, everything became really blended and just muddled up, where alot of the time the author was just assuming we'd understand what was going on, and I'm guessing people did, but I really didn't. Didn't really understand what was going on last 15 pages because something very big and theatrical and melodramatic happened but I didn't have a clue about what was going on. I love the characters though; Regan's mental issues which she used to fix with pills which she tries to ditch, and neurodivergant Aldo, who's confusing in terms of his obsessions with maths and theories with time. 

Didn't understand anything, but in theory this book is great. Wouldn't really recommend. 

surtified™

Not for me but I can really understand why people love this book so much. First 35 pages and I was feeling uncomfortable and bored; so close to DNFing which says alot since I rarely do that. Once Aldo and Regan met, I really started to love it, the beginning of the middle if you really understand what I mean was what I loved, it felt so fresh and new and real and authentic: the 6 conversations was my favourite part. Now, as we went further and futher into the "middle" of the book and even closer to the end, everything became really blended and just muddled up, where alot of the time the author was just assuming we'd understand what was going on, and I'm guessing people did, but I really didn't. Didn't really understand what was going on last 15 pages because something very big and theatrical and melodramatic happened but I didn't have a clue about what was going on. I love the characters though; Regan's mental issues which she used to fix with pills which she tries to ditch, and neurodivergant Aldo, who's confusing in terms of his obsessions with maths and theories with time. 

Didn't understand anything, but in theory this book is great. Wouldn't really recommend. 

this is a pleasant surprise for me. i went in blind and now i came out speechless. wow

Laura Rodrigues de Pina

Íntimo, sensível e reflexivo. Tenho pra mim que esse é um livro pra ser lido com a maior atenção possível e digerido aos poucos, mas eu não consegui, a leitura me prendeu do início ao fim ao passo em que Aldo e Regan entravam na vida um do outro como um furacão, eu me afundava na leitura cada vez mais. 

As emoções ou falta delas, transmitidas de forma que eu sentia junto deles. Nos momentos de intimidade física ou não era como se eu estivesse interrompendo algo, presenciando momentos que não deveriam pertencer a ninguém além dos dois. E quando ouvia os pensamentos de Charlotte me vi um pouco naquelas páginas de maneira que não esperava me ver. 

Bem, o dia que comecei a ler disse que esse seria um livro que eu sentia que iria mudar minha vida e assim como o casal protagonista, que sabem que nunca mais seriam os mesmo após tudo, acho difícil eu ser a mesma também.

Infinite stars. There just aren't enough words. Read it