I was very lucky to receive an advanced proof copy from the publishers. I'll admit that I went into Infinity Son with very high expectations. Silvera's previous offering, They Both Die At The End, was one of my favourite reads of last year, if not one of my favourite Young Adult novels. Hearing that he was writing a fantasy novel was so exciting, and I was incredibly eager to read this. For the most part, it did not disappoint. I am a massive fan of fantasy, and have encountered nearly every magical creature there is going in reading as much of the genre as I can. This was the first book since Harry Potter that had phoenixes as a main factor and to say I was thrilled would be an understatement. I was also a fan of the pace of the novel; things definitely happened quickly, but for me that just made it all the more exciting. Without revealing any spoilers, the twists and turns of the novel were well executed and there were one or two that I absolutely did not see coming! The shining jewell in Silvera's writing crown has always been his characters, and after reading this novel I don't see this changing any time soon. Emil and Ness were definitely my favourites, and whilst I found Brighton a little grating in places, they were all exceptionally well written. It's also brilliant to see a fantasy novel packed full of so much representation; the group was filled so much diversity that it made my heart very, very happy indeed. The only negative I can think of is that in places the world building a little sparse. Had this not been a fantasy novel, this wouldn't have been that big of a deal. However, in my view and fantasy novel lives and dies by the quality of its world building. You can have a brilliant story, and beautifully crafted characters, but if an author places them in a world that hasn't been built properly then the novel just won't work. Infinity Son is set in an alternate New York, and whilst I wasn't expecting an info-dump, or a sudden deluge of exposition, I was hoping for more of the world to be explained so that I could understand the stakes that were being set. My main gripe was the lack of explanation as to how the magic worked; there were a bunch of different classifications of magical humans, and the differences were never fully explained. I'm hoping this will be explained in further books, but it would have been nice to have some sort of brief history or explanation so I could get my head around it all. All in all, I found this book to be a good read. The cliffhanger made sure that I will be picking up the next one in the series, and let's be honest, I'm always going to be a sucker for an Adam Silvera novel. If you're after some young adult fantasy, I would definitely recommend giving this a try.

(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.) Adam Silvera's first foray into the fantasy arena with 'Infinity Son,' is a gritty thrill ride.. with the fast-paced action of comic book heroes.. in some of the greatest illustrated stories I've ever read. (Infinite Crisis, anyone?) Now, just because I compared it to (arguably one of the greatest comic storylines of all time), doesn't mean this book is lacking in depth or content. Not all comics are either. There's just something about the rhythm of this story that feels familiar. The action starts up relatively early in the story and rarely lets up. From the moment we meet the twins, one of whom desperately wants to be a powerful hero, there are situations piling up all around them. Battles erupt all over the city between the Celestials, those born with powers, and the Specters, those who steal them. And guess what. There are people on both sides.. playing for keeps. "I didn't grow up with powers, but I've been a brother for eighteen years. No fire burns brighter than that." ​I swear, my pulse was speeding half the time I was reading this novel.. purely from the sense of urgency in the way Adam conveyed the story. It's intense from the get-go and I was absolutely caught up from beginning to end. I already have my favorite characters-- Ness and Emil. I've already had my first crying jag. I absolutely signed up for the emotional rollercoaster, and the author delivered, unapologetically. "Phoenixes endure endless cycles of life and death, but I'm done being the Infinity Son." His characters are well developed, they have solid, interesting back stories. There's tons of inner conflict, not just around the brothers, but also within the two warring factions. The powers they wield are not to be trifled with either. Every one of them (well, nearly) is dangerous in their own way.. and there's plenty of corruption and danger to be had from non-magical sources too. "Everyone I touch burns." There's clearly going to be a second book. I mean, it's already listed on Adam's Goodreads page, but at the conclusion of 'Infinity Son,' there's just no other option. It's not a cliffhanger, so don't be put off. It's just a new beginning, clear as day. And I can't wait to see what the next title has in store..

This story had all the elements of a great fantasy: a “chosen one” prophecy, twins, orphans, mythical creatures, and unexpected twists. This is a great start to a new series! The world took a little work to get into. This book is set in an alternate New York where there are magical creatures called celestials and specters. Most people come into their powers naturally, if they will get any power at all. However, people can also use potions made of the blood of mythical creatures like phoenixes and hydras. The potions give people unexpected and dangerous powers. This story had lots of drama and twists that I didn’t expect. It ended on quite a cliffhanger. I don’t know what will happen next but I’m excited for the next book!

everyone knows adam silvera’s lgbtqia+ fiction is considered maybe the best in the ya age bracket, and normally take place in high school or college settings. this book takes place in an alternate, yet just as colourful and mesmerising new york. the magic system used in this book was slightly confusing for me at first, but if you persevere, it all makes sense eventually. The characters have incredible backstories, so good you’d expect to see them in blockbuster movies or cult-favourite video games. the incredible ending, somehow relatable characters, memorable plot, with a dash of harry potter and the empire state of mind, makes this a must for any fans of the YA fantasy genre.

Huge thank you to the publisher for sending me a proof copy of this novel! This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020, and I was so so excited to get my hands on it. Telling the story of two brothers Emil and Brighton, who live in a world where superpowers exist, their lives are forever changed when one of them suddenly develops one of these superpowers. Featuring magic, spectres and an author who is well known for his writing of incredible LGBTQIA relationships, I was very excited! Sadly this novel didn’t quite do it for me. Perhaps I had slightly too high hopes, because although I did enjoy it, it just wasn’t everything I was hoping for. The novel is narrated by a number of characters, who all sounded the same to me. This lack of distinct voices for the characters meant I did spend large chunks of the novel wondering who was speaking, and having to try to puzzle it out from clues in the storyline. Interestingly, the only character who seemed to have a distinct narrative voice was Brighton, who is arguably the most unlikeable of the main characters. He is an arrogant and cocky, dislikable individual, whose narration was perfect for his character, and he was actually well-developed by the author. Despite my general dislike of the narrative style, the characters themselves I did like! I love love a novel with a group of characters have to work together to solve a problem, and this was just what I like. The group of characters with superpowers have to work together, and the banter and general team-bonding of the group was wonderful! Apart from the found-family trope, the characters were also a wonderfully diverse group, with diverse love interests and sexuality, but also different genders and races being represented. This is one of my favourite aspects of Silvera’s writing: the diversity he includes in his novels. I also loved the idea of this novel, the elements of superheroes, the magical powers, the magic of Phoenixes, all this was perfect. Unfortunately I feel that Silvera needed to spend a wee bit more time developing the world and explaining how things work. Perhaps this is just a me thing, but I always appreciate a well-crafted world that makes sense and is developed during the novel. As a result of this lack of description, I found elements of the novel to be confusing, and the details of the powers and how they manifest, and something called the “Blackout” was never described fully enough for me to understand what exactly was happening. So, overall I did enjoy this novel. Perhaps I went in with too high expectations, the novel was fast-paced and kept me reading, and I am intrigued to see where Silvera takes the series, it just didn’t deliver everything I wanted!