Infinte & Nebulae by Charlie Godwyne

Infinite- Charlie Godwyne - 4 stars

This was my first book by this author and it was very different from what I’m used to. I’m not really sure how to explain this story.

Blurb:

I'm on the run, on a blessed path that leads me straight into their arms.

In 2026, Oliver Smith emigrates from the United States to Austria, to start a job as an editor for Boutique Press. Anxious, tired and broken, he hallucinates an angel comforting him on the plane. Ollie assumes it was a dream, but the Catholic contract lawyer Moritz who picks him up at the airport assures him that angels are real.

As Ollie builds a new life on the other side of the world, working his job while trying to keep himself together and hold his shadows at bay, he meets Bryn, a young man who practices a secret magic and sings gentle prayers to the sunset. Bryn is married to Moritz, the same contract lawyer who helped Ollie settle in and who keeps showing up and cooking for him in the evenings. But things have gone wrong: Bryn and Moritz are separated, pending divorce.

Ollie and Bryn fall fast together, becoming best friends, and as Ollie gets to know Moritz's caring heart he realizes he has feelings for this beautiful man, too. It’s clear that Bryn and Moritz still love each other. As Ollie works to bring them back together, he finds himself being healed in return and drawn into their loving embrace.

Infinite is the first book in the Sky Nymph series and is a 50,000-word MMM romance with magical realism, patient angels, typewriters on bicycles, and lots of espresso. Although Infinite takes place in the magical Vienna of the Augarten series, it can be read as a standalone.I would not call it fantasy, nor paranormal, nor magical. It’s more religious than any of that. The author has a talent for bringing religion and religious elements into a contemporary storyline.

My Review:

The story of Ollie’s journey to Austria from the United States in order to take a job as an editor for a boutique printing company is a good introduction to him and sets up an easy path into Moritz and Byrn’s life.

I loved seeing the relationship unfold with Ollie as the missing piece between Moritz and Byrn. Their marriage had been strained and they were separated so Ollie meets them each independently. The relationship develops between the three and is beautifully written.

The religious/spiritual aspect of the story was obviously written from a strong understanding of these ideas. I’m not religious myself, so I skimmed most of these parts.

Overall, Infinite is a  beautiful book told in a way that immerses the reader in the story.

Heat: 5/10 (it takes them a while to get to it, but it’s tastefully written when they do)

Writing: 8/10 (easy to picture, very descriptive)

Plot/pacing: 8/10 (it’s a little drawn out in places. The religious/spiritual explanations take up quite a bit of space)

Overall: 8/10 (would recommend)

Nebulae - Charlie Godwyne - 4 stars

Blurb:

I pray, Angel, please keep my lovers safe...

In 2027, one year since emigrating from the United States to Austria, Ollie has settled into a happy life in Vienna with his two boyfriends, Moritz and Bryn. He has handled nearly all of his lingering debt, and is excited to embark on the next stage of life with his partners.

But on the eve of Fasching, Vienna shuts down. The Schöner Himmel coffee shop is forced to close, and with the mandatory ambulance service and the military deployed, Bryn and Moritz are called up. As his loved ones fall to illness and injury, Ollie works himself to the bone, helping his friends keep the Schöner Himmel, the Buchinger book bindery, and the tailoring shop running. With nowhere else to turn, he prays to his guardian angel, eager to seek spiritual refuge in dark times.

Instead of giving comfort, the angel challenges him to face what he is running from. Alone, without the support of his lovers, Ollie can no longer deny his greatest fears and must accept the test his angel has set for him. To awaken to the mystery and the forest of a myriad ways, Ollie must stand and fight what chases him.

He has found his home. Now, he must find the way forward.

"The path lies open before you," the angel says. "Will you take it?"

Nebulae is a 37,500-word MMM romance featuring magical realism and endurance through hard times. Itis the sequel to Infinite and is thus best read in order. Although the Sky Nymph series takes place in the same magical Vienna as the Augarten pentalogy, this series can be read as a standalone.

My Review:

I definitely liked the first book better. This one seems to revolve mostly around Ollie’s spiritual journey versus the relationship between the three partners.

The forced separation due to a flu pandemic seemed unnecessary. It only served to isolate Ollie and thus required a lot of inner monologuing to show the reader what was happening.

I did enjoy the conclusion of Ollie’s quest to become a citizen as well as the solution of permanence of the triad’s relationship.

Nebulae was about a 3.5 star for pacing but rounded to four because of the authors skill painting a visual picture.

Tammy

Aspen Tree E.A.S.