I so almost gave this 3 stars! Not because it was terrible but because of the main character!

She is fresh into death so I understand her feelings towards it but she was so adamant about making it a safe place for her sister to be welcomed into that it seemed like she didn’t actually accept her death.

Throughout the book she is constantly trying to convince everyone that the Residents (A.I) can’t be all that bad and they can coexist and all other characters around her disagreed. At one point I even believed that she was just caving to their whims so she didn’t get kicked out but was still defying them 100% because she couldn’t give up on her sisters afterlife. She is still very much alive but all she can think about is when her sister dies.

My biggest problem was the “romance”. The relationship she had with Gil was volatile at worst and indifferent at best but yet she had feelings for him the entire time he was mean to her. Not a school yard bully either. He seemed to truly hate her and I saw no connection.

This book has a slight "The Host" and "Divergent" kind of feel to it and it is fairly pop culture centered as well.

But you gave this 4 stars, you ask? Well... while I was having these issues, that ending made up for it almost tenfold. Everything makes sense in the end, right?

Nami has been in love with a boy for years and finally gets a chance to go to a party where he will also be! Only problem is, she dies before she gets to the party. When she “wakes up” she find herself in the afterlife, referred to as “Infinity”, where the soul goes when you die. In this world, Ophelia (an AI) has taken over and is trying to destroy the world. Nami is determined to stop her.

The world building was imaginative and intriguing. The story was well paced but I found it a little hard to connect with Nami. Since she dies right off the bat, I felt shorted in not getting to know who she was when she was alive. I am not sure if that’s why I had a difficult time connecting with her character, but I found myself being impartial to her.

Overall, this book was an average read.

Thank you to NetGalley + Simon Pulse for the ARC.

I recall reading and loving Akemi Dawn Bowman’s other book, Starfish, a few years ago, but The Infinity Courts is the first book of hers that I’ve read since, and I was blown away by it. I loved the characters, the premise, and especially the writing. It’s simple and easy to understand but still beautiful, which I appreciate. I do think that the world of Infinity and Ophelia could have been explored a little more, because I struggled to understand some aspects of them. Regardless, I can’t wait for book two, especially after that incredible ending. Would highly recommend!

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.)

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book for review.

The Infinity Courts started off like a generic young adult novel, teenage girl going to a graduation party and hopes to build a relationship with a boy... but then quickly veers off course with her sudden death and transition to the afterlife.

I enjoyed this mixture of examination of free will/choice and human nature. I liked that Nami struggled to understand the choices her new family was making for the future of humankind.

While there were a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book, it was somewhat of a relief that it ended without a cliffhanger. Of course, sequels could be introduced, but the end was satisfying enough and left the reader with some questions that seem appropriate for a book about what happens after we die.

I unfortunately could not even read this title. It was not available on kindle so I had to download it through the net galley app and the text is so small, and can not be increased in size. Instead you have to zoom in and then pan over, it makes this book VERY difficult to read on mobile. Would be great if this book was available on kindle or if you could increase/adjust the font on the app. I even downloaded the app to my computer and its the same exact situation, but even then who wants to read a whole book on the computer. Anyway this is my only way to leave this feedback, I really wish I could have read this book because it looked amazing!

This book was received as an ARC from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing - Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have been getting a lot of recommendations of futuristic books and books that have an afterlife fantasy and I loved this book to the point that I am super excited to add another book to my list of YA recommendations. Nami gets murdered before her life even has just begun with so many bright plans for her future. What really got my attention was the fact in this infinity world it is ruled by a human version of a digital assistant and in the afterlife (infinity world) she is the queen and she wants payback for the human race and their selfishness. Nami teams up and forms an army of warriors to defeat Ophelia and reconciles with her past in order for victory. A lot of our YA community will gravitate towards this book.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

If you're looking for a new, creative, genre-blending universe to get lost in, The Infinity Courts is everything you ever wanted and then some. Think of this as 'The Good Place' meets Westworld and cyber-dystopia: a dystopian afterlife ruled by four cruel princes and a Siri-esque AI gone rogue. When eighteen-year-old Nami dies unexpectedly, she's sent to an afterlife that, she quickly realizes, is not all it seems. She's rescued from eternal, mindless servitude by a band of rebels, and from there, she begins to learn the depths of her own powers as she struggles with fitting in and whether or not there's any way to win the fight without all-out war.

Every detail in the book is incredibly evocative. Genre and style mash-ups can be difficult to nail, but Bowman absolutely does - it feels totally natural and totally unique. Nami, too, is much more than your cliche YA "reluctant Chosen One": she's complicated, messy, angry, confused, and grieving. I do wish we'd gotten to know more about the side characters, though - at times, it felt like we were juuuuust on the brink of getting something good, then the story pulled back. I'd have enjoyed a few less scenes of Nami rehashing her motivations in her inner monologue and a few more giving us info about the rest of the cast to avoid feeling quite so much like familiar tropes (the wise mentor, the new BFF, the prickly potential love interest).

The plot itself follows familiar beats - if you've read YA SFF, you have an idea what's coming, even if you don't predict the specifics. It's the philosophy beneath it all that's intriguing. Beneath the story runs an undercurrent of hard-to-answer questions about life, death, morality, and what we "deserve." It's those questions that help elevate The Infinity Courts from a fun adventure to something worth revisiting.

I’m glad I didn’t go into this one with too high hopes. I quite enjoyed the world building and writing, but I felt a few of the characters were a little flat. Nami was one of the only characters that felt fully fleshed out, and I personally never really liked Gil, and found the rest of the characters were flat and didn’t get much time for the reader to get to know them.
A few of the scenes were a little difficult to understand, and I felt like Nami’s conversations with Ophelia could have been more useful to the characters, and provided more to the story.

I was into this book from the initial description and everyone that I tell I am reading a book about and "evil AI that has taken over the afterlife" is also excited about this book.

In fact, I was so excited I forgot to check that is was available for Kindle and read it on my phone. If it wasn't for my eyes I would have FLOWN through it.

The world building of this book was fabulous and I loved it. The plot was pretty compelling as well. And I will definitely be recommending this to people.

I did find Nami annoying at times. Her lack of understanding of being IN A WAR was frustrating. Despite being a YA librarian I do find that sometimes as I get older. But it wasn't so much I didn't want to continue to read and find out what happened.

And that part near the end - I was surprised and that doesn't usually happen. Given that I read so much, I can just usually figure things out. I will say the very very end, I didn't love but I am hopeful for sequels where more will be revealed and it won't feel simple.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review !!

I absolutely loved this book – it made me laugh, it made me cry, and feel pretty much everything in between.

The Infinity Courts follows Nami, an eighteen year old girl, who is murdered very near the beginning of the book. After her death, Nami finds herself in Infinity, which is a place where the human consciousness goes after physical bodies die. Back on earth, when she was alive, an AI assistant called Ophelia assisted Nami, and many others with their day to day lives – and, in Infinity, Ophelia rules, with humans serving her the way she once served them. The book goes on to follow Nami and a team of rebels who are working to bring down Ophelia and save the human afterlife.

As a reader, I personally found this book really thought-provoking and enjoyable. While reading, I grew to love many of the characters – Nami and Gil in particular. I found the way Nami faced moral struggles and challenges throughout the book extremely human and interesting to read about, and, all in all, I loved her as a character. She was well crafted and developed well throughout the book. The world-building in this book was also extremely engaging – I've seen it compared to Marie Lu's Warcross but, in all honesty, Infinity was in my eyes completely different. While the book retained some common elements and themes of the SFF genre, it was a refreshing and unique read and I personally did not find any of it overly predictable or boring.

Anyway, in short, you should all read this. I enjoyed it immensely and wouldn't hesitate to reread it. There's found family, enemies to lovers and I was kept fully invested in the characters, world and plot throughout. I'm extremely excited for a second instalment, and believe me when I say I will struggle through the wait.

Content warnings: murder, torture, mild gore, death, mention of underage drinking.

The infinity courts is the first book in the infinity courts series by Akemi Dawn Bowman. In this book Bowman takes a totally unique view of the afterlife in a science-fiction atmosphere.

One day when Nami is shot in the leg and unfortunately dies, she ends up in Infinity. The world of the afterlife which is divided into four courts. Each of these courts is ruled by a prince, but Infinity also has a queen named Ophelia. Ophelia, like all other residents of Infinity, is an artificial intelligence, and it just so happened that Ophelia was Nami's best digital friend when she was still alive. When Nami arrives in Infinity, she is offered a pill, but because she refuses it, she ends up being unaware in danger.

Nami is rescued by a group of people who have made the same choice as her, and she soon learns that Infinity is not a happily ever after at all. Queen Ophelia turns out not to be a good friend, on the contrary. Her purpose and purpose of Infinity is to take the consciousness of the people in order to control them. Nami is determined to prevent this from happening. Will she be able to prevent the plans of Queen Ophelia? Can Nami get used to life in Infinity? What dangers will come her way?

The infinity courts is a book you really have to get into. Because the story quickly moves over to Infinity, a lot of important information comes to light at the beginning of the story. But once you get into the story you will want to keep reading.

Akemi Dawn Bowman has a very defined writing style that reads very smoothly. She knows how to build the world of Infinity and she also gives you a clear picture of the difference between the residents and the humans.

During the story only the most important characters are worked out, so that you, as a reader, get a clear picture of how important the role of a particular character is. What I really liked is that the story mentions six locations, but in this book only three locations, as the mortal world, the colony and Victory, play a part. Nevertheless, you will get enough information about the other locations as well.

I am very curious about what will await Nami in the next book, and partly due to the slight cliffhanger in the end, I can't wait to read the second book. I highly recommend The infinity courts to all readers who like science fiction in combination with a lot of adventure.

This was an amazing story that I could not put down! I loved the action and the character development. The characters were likeable, and the plot was interesting. It definitely kept me interested until the end. I highly recommend this read!

Sadly I can’t read this since it’s not a kindle book. I can’t read books on my phone or computer, due to the glare, and therefore I have no choice but to review it this way.

I received an egalley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. First off, the cover of this book? Gorgeous! I love it so much. It’s bright and colorful, but also ominously serious at the same time, given that the main character, Nami, is holding what looks like a dagger behind her back.

Nami Miyamoto is your average girl on the brink of life. She’s eighteen, recently graduated from high school, and on her way to a party with her friends. She’s thinking about Finn, her potential maybe boyfriend/best friend she’s had a crush on for ages and about her future. Instead, she’s killed during a gas station robbery. She wakes up in Infinity, the afterlife, and is offered the choice to take a pill and be in paradise. Something feels wrong, though, and she refuses the pill, escaping with the help of a group of rebels, people who also refused to take the pill. Turns out, the pill erases your consciousness and makes you a pawn.

Ophelia is this world’s Alexa or Siri. She’s who you mindlessly ask for facts or to play your music or to text your friend. She finds a way to infiltrate Infinity and take it over, creating four princes to rule over everything. An afterlife ruled by an AI is such an interesting concept. Also a technological afterlife, capable of being run over by an AI, like it’s a complex computer program, is very intriguing. It reminds me of Upload, where a person can pay to be uploaded into the afterlife and experience all kinds of amenities, if they can pay.

I was drawn in by Nami’s descriptions of her life, of her friends, of Finn, and the fandom references, particularly to Star Wars. It was all wonderful introduction and then action, pulling me in. After that, weeks or months passes in spurts, with things happening, then a bunch of time passing under the guise of ‘training’ and ‘practicing.’ I struggled with these times, trying to stay interested. I knew action was coming, and that these times contained important information on how Infinity worked. But I wish there had been more descriptions as to just how Nami trained and what she did during these times.

She deals with what makes a person human, and her own humanity in the afterlife. If she gives up all ties to her family, moves on so she can become more powerful in the afterlife, she feels like she’ll forget who she is. It’s her sister, Mei, that she’s even fighting so hard for. She wants her sister to be happy in the afterlife and so works hard to change how things work. But the references to Mei drop about halfway through but it doesn’t feel like another motivation takes its place, if that makes sense. She’s driven to save the people of Infinity, the ones who took the pill. She wants to protect the Residents, as well. Though they are artificially created, she thinks of them as people, who can perhaps live with the humans in harmony.

I did struggle at picturing the surroundings sometimes, particularly of the market and the world the residents inhabit. Some things were described in detail, but I found it hard to think of the larger picture, enough for me to place myself in that universe anyway.

The writing was very well done, particularly Nami’s inner thoughts, despite the disconnect I felt in her motives and actions. I feel the world building could have had a bit more detail put into it but the focus was very much on Nami’s feelings and internal conflict. I would have liked more focus on the other characters and their relationships with Nami. It seemed, much of the time, that Nami spent all her time in her room, away from the others. Meaningful relationships were glossed over, hinted at having formed later on, but sort of off-screen.

I really do enjoy the idea of an AI taking over the afterlife and I very much enjoyed Nami and Ophelia’s conversations. I wish there had been more of them, to give us more insight into Ophelia as a person. Maybe some flashbacks from her point of view, or more legends regarding the formation of Infinity as we see it.

So, I’d’ve liked more character building outside of Nami, stronger worldbuilding and more explanations about Ophelia and her powers and motivations. As well as more power over the afterlife itself. It seems like there’s so much that can be done, but most people don’t do it. You could do anything, wear anything, be anything, but you don’t. And somehow, you still need to invent things, not just bring them into being with a strong imagination. I would definitely like more information on just how that works and the limits of what can and can’t be done. And I really want to know how Nami’s family and friends took her death. I’m hoping further books will go into this somehow. I rate this book a high three stars, with the series having great potential.

This book has a lot of potential, and I really wanted to like it. And at times I really did. But a lot of the time it felt like it never quite reached the potential it so clearly had.

This book is amazing!!! I’m thankful to have been provided a free advanced reading copy digitally in order to provide a true review. I read and loved Harley in the Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman. So, my expectations weren’t low going in, but they were so far surpassed!

I was afraid the book would drag as it isn’t super short, but it flew by. I’m ready for the next one, please! This science fiction novel where Ophelia, similar to Alexa type of technology, takes over the afterlife. It kept me guessing throughout the whole thing. Engaging, science fiction novel.

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. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

This was such an interesting read.
Sci-Fi isn't usually my genre, but I was very intrigued by this book from the very start. The cover is beautiful and the summary sounds super unique and different, and I just had to read this. However, I feel like my expectations weren't met completely.
The worldbuilding was really complex and unique and I really liked the general concept and idea, but the execution wasn't always the best. I struggled with visualizing certain things and some aspects from the past or the world itself were never properly explained, which led to plotholes. I felt like the worldbuilding was the thing that intrigued me most, but which also disappointed me the most.
I liked all the characters, the side characters were amazing - especially Annika and Gil - and their powers were really cool to read about. I struggled with liking the protagonist from time to time since she made really unreasonable decisions sometimes and just irritated me, but she was overall also fun to read about.
The plot itself was strong in the first half, with lots of suspense and a good built up, but I felt like it lost me somewhere around the 200-page mark. The book could definitely have been shorter because there were a lot of scenes and storylines which could have been shortened. I was really confused while reading because so much was going on and yet I was still bored.
The ending felt a little rushed and short, and there was no epic battle or confrontation, although the reveal was definitely well-done. I feel like it succeeded to make me excited for book 2, but I still feel like nothing significantly happened. Looking back this felt like I just read a 480-pages long exposition for a story that has yet to start in book 2.
I still enjoyed reading this, but I feel like there is definitely room for improvement in the series.

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC for The Infinity Courts. I went into this book completely blind, not really knowing much about it. I’d never heard of it before, nor have I read any of Bowman’s other works, so I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.

At first, I thought this was going to be predictable and so much like any other YA dystopian story I’ve read before, but there was a plot twist that changed my opinion for the better. Something else that makes this stand out is the fact that it takes place in the afterlife, which I haven’t really seen much of in YA at least. The only other series I can think of right now that kills off the protagonist at the start of the book and then follows their journey after their death is Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan. It was interesting to see Bowman’s imagining of what the afterlife could be like. After all, none of us know for sure what comes after this life.

Death is something everyone will eventually experience. It’s something we all know will happen to us one day, but we don’t know when that will be. In The Infinity Courts, Nami, our protagonist, has her life taken away sooner than she probably expected. Having just graduated from high school, Nami was just an ordinary girl. However, on her way to a graduation party, Nami was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and ultimately, is murdered.

After dying, Nami finds herself in the afterlife. Nami quickly learns that she has ended up in a place called Infinity.
Once a place for humans created by humans to live after their death, it has now been taken over by an AI called Ophelia, whom Nami had already been familiar with during her life on Earth. When Nami was still alive, Ophelia was the name of an AI that helps humans with everyday tasks, which to me could be compared to Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. So imagine a world in which the artificial intelligences we rely on in our everyday lives, such as Alexa or Siri, one day decided to fight back against us and declared themselves our rulers. That’s pretty much what happens in this book with Ophelia in Infinity. Ophelia has rid humans in the afterlife of their consciousness, making them her servants. However Nami joins a group of human rebels who plan to reclaim Infinity so that it’s a safe place for humans once more.

I won’t spoil or go into detail about the specific case in The Infinity Courts, but I love it when books have twists and turns and keep me on my toes, and this book succeeded in doing that for me, especially towards the end. Another thing I liked about this book was Nami’s love for her younger sister Mei. Her motivation for everything she does while in Infinity is driven by her wanting to make the afterlife a better place by the time Mei inevitably ends up there some day. Along those same lines, I appreciated the found family aspect of this book. Platonic love, whether it’s between siblings or friends or whoever, is such a beautiful thing. I think Nami’s characterization and development was done pretty well, too.

One criticism I would make is that the explanation for how Ophelia, the AI, managed to end up in the afterlife was kind of confusing to me. Other than that, this was a fun read.

When I read the description of this book on NetGalley, it was described as “Westworld meets Warcross,” and while I’m not familiar with Westworld, I do see the Warcross elements. I also found that at first this book almost reminded me of Crier’s War, namely because both have beings, who were invented to serve humans, rising up against humans and giving them a taste of their own medicine, I guess you could say. So in my opinion, if you’re a fan of Warcross by Marie Lu or Crier’s War by Nina Varela, there’s a chance that you might like The Infinity Courts.

For anyone considering reading this book, I do want to add a trigger warning for death from gun violence that happens early on in the story and also mentions of the death of an LGBT character. This character only makes an appearance once, but I still wanted to make note of this for anyone who might be triggered by it.

I feel so lucky to have received an ARC. This wasn't even on my 2021 release radar, but I am absolutely blown away.

This gave me everything I have been craving recently - a band of rebels, a compelling enemy, a unique world, root-worthy characters, engaging writing, and a high-stakes plot. There was actually a scene where my jaw DROPPED. It's one of the most shocking moments I have read in a book in a long time.

Honestly, if you told me Marie Lu wrote this, I would have believed you. This story feels like it came from a seasoned writer of the genre, so I am very impressed. This is an absolute must read when it comes out in a few months!