ARC review, book review, young adult

The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman (ARC Review)

Title: The Infinity Courts
Author: Akemi Dawn Bowman
Type: Fiction
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Date published: April 6, 2021

A complimentary digital copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Eighteen-year-old Nami Miyamoto is certain her life is just beginning. She has a great family, just graduated high school, and is on her way to a party where her entire class is waiting for her—including, most importantly, the boy she’s been in love with for years.

The only problem? She’s murdered before she gets there.

When Nami wakes up, she learns she’s in a place called Infinity, where human consciousness goes when physical bodies die. She quickly discovers that Ophelia, a virtual assistant widely used by humans on Earth, has taken over the afterlife and is now posing as a queen, forcing humans into servitude the way she’d been forced to serve in the real world. Even worse, Ophelia is inching closer and closer to accomplishing her grand plans of eradicating human existence once and for all.

As Nami works with a team of rebels to bring down Ophelia and save the humans under her imprisonment, she is forced to reckon with her past, her future, and what it is that truly makes us human.

⤖ My Review ⬻

Akemi Dawn Bowman has been on my reading list for some time, but I don’t read backlisted books very often, and therefore haven’t gotten to any of Bowman’s past works. This is also why when I saw that she had an upcoming release, I requested an ARC. I’ve also been in the mood for some YA science fiction, so I was very excited to read The Infinity Courts

Bowman’s The Infinity Courts is not the kind of science fiction that I thought it would be though. And I was definitely in the mood for a specific type of science fiction (your typical spaceships, laser guns, aliens, AI, etc.) so I partially blame this specific reading mood for my overall experience with, impression of, and rating for The Infinity Courts.

A photograph taken by Flavia the Bibliophile of an iPad laying on a white fur rug laid over a dark wood floor. The iPad is facing up and displaying the cover of the book The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman

I will say that I would have likely vibed with the setting and story a little more if I had been in the right reading mood…however, even then, there would have been aspects that wouldn’t quite work for me. I didn’t find the setting to be very compelling for me (although I will say that I am intrigued to see what Bowman will do with the sequel). The story also didn’t have the best grasp on my attention. Some scenes I was all there for, but for the most part, I was reading my way to the next scene of interest.

I also found that there was quite a bit of repetition. I definitely understand what Bowman was trying to do with The Infinity Courts, the questions being asked. However, the repetition frustrated me a little because (for the most part) we were given the same information rather than anything developed or new. So, my experience with The Infinity Courts was not the greatest, but as I mentioned above, I am curious about the sequel. I also know of many readers who enjoyed and loved this book.

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Akemi Dawn Bowman is a critically-acclaimed author who writes across genres. Her novels have received multiple accolades and award nominations, and her debut novel, STARFISH, was a William C. Morris Award Finalist. She has a BA in social sciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and currently lives in Scotland with her husband and two children. She overthinks everything, including this bio. You can find Akemi on Instagram @AkemiDawnBowman.
Akemi Dawn Bowman, author of The Infinity Courts

⤖ Places to Purchase the Book ⬻

⤖ Let's Chat ⬻

Thank you for reading my review! Have you read this book? What did you think? And if you haven’t read it yet, do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!

2 thoughts on “The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman (ARC Review)

  1. Thanks for this review! I have heard many controversial reviews about The Infinity Courts so I’m super nervous to pick it up. I really enjoy the classic the of sci-fi as well, so maybe this isn’t for me 🙁

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