Many men in Bloomington, Indiana cope with midlife by purchasing flamethrowers. Three outliers, though, are bound together through friendship and circumstance. Harry Erickson, a janitor at a local nursing home, has spent a lifetime working on a Omnicalcumetry, a theory that disproves’s Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Dennis Drysdale, who lives with Harry’s ex-wife, has started messaging his high school crush. He’s convinced if he only was brave enough to talk to her back then, his life would have turned out better. And Timothy Henderson, Harry’s best friend, unhappy in his job and marriage, would rather play video games professionally.

When Harry accidentally burns his house down, he realizes it’s time to introduce the world to Omnicalcumetry, and the first step is reaching out to a professor in Chicago. Coincidentally, Timothy and his virtual team have been asked to attend a video game tournament in Chicago. They need a car from Dennis who agrees to drive them because his long-lost love also lives in the Windy City.

This satiric novel has moments of humor but also very touching scenes when the characters realize that their dreams are meaningless if they don’t honor their authentic selves. Some parts of the story are pretty weird and wild, but the underlying message is the joy of finding acceptance of one’s essential self, the best, the worst, and the weirdness!

The synopsis sounded interesting and I thought this is definitely what I like but unfortunately this book didn't work for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for giving me a chance.

Relativity (contemporary fiction/satire)
Rating: enjoyed

Thank you to @tlcbooktours, @benadamswrites, and @bhc.press for the #gifted digital copy. This book is available now!

Full review on bookstagram to come.

Told in alternating POVs between Harry, Timothy, and Dennis, this satire had a big focus on being a misfit, moving on, and second chances. Harry's character exhausted me as well as intrigued me, because sign me up for any math or science involving water balloon fights and ax throwing (his theory on omnicalcumetry). His friendship with Timothy was sweet, as both are two unique individuals, and it was fun to watch them be joined by Dennis, Harry's nemesis. The lead up to the road trip, with all the characters' backstories, was a bit more than was needed, and the trip portion of the story was so brief it left me wanting more. Also, although this is a satire, I didn't love how the women were portrayed, in particular Amanda and Deborah. That being said, lovers of sci fi and gaming will particularly enjoy this, as this takes up a huge chunk of Timothy's storyline.

Content warnings: bullying, racism, stillbirth, grief, infidelity, alcoholism, and addiction

I enjoyed this read. It was well written and the story was unique. I liked the characters and the over all premise of the book was new and interesting.

The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing, but unfortunately this one didn't work for me. I wasn't able to connect to any of the characters.

This seems to be written by men for men, or women who hate men and this gives them reason. This was billed as a road trip book, which I love, however the road trip is at the very end of the book and is only about 5% of the story. Mostly it seems to be about these 3 adult, dysfunctional and delusional men who are reaching for unattainable dreams. I know some people have enjoyed this book. While I usually love flawed characters, there was no one in the book I liked at all.

If you’re in the mood for a little something different, check out Relativity by Ben Adams. Mixing sci fi with road tripping, Relativity follows the journey of three men, each on their own journey.

A wild ride, this road trip occurs after Harry Erickson accidentally burns his house down. So he and three of his friends set out on a road of discovery, both literally and figuratively.

Quirky is what comes to mind when I think
of this book. It’s also a refreshing read as I find road trips in stories often involve women, not men. A different perspective is good from time to time. So if you’re looking for something outside the box, Relativity might be the book for you.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I couldn’t get into any of the storylines or relate to the characters.

I liked the concept of this story, but I think you need to have an interest in sci-fi in order to get more out of this book and I did not quite meet the intended audience qualities.

I appreciate the opportunity that I was given to read this book, and I’m sure many people will enjoy it!

I can honestly say I’ve never read a book quite like this one before. It’s about three sort of friends whose lives are interconnected. Harry Erickson dropped out of college and works as a janitor, but he believes his 2,000+ page tome disproving Einstein’s theory of Relativity will change the world as we know it. His wife left him—probably because he was spending so much time working on the theory he calls Omnicalcumetry—and is now living with her boyfriend Dennis Drysdale, a car dealership mogul and alcoholic who’s certain his life would be better if he’d just had the courage to talk to his high school crush. Naturally he looks her up on Facebook and starts a DM relationship. And Timothy Henderson, who met Harry in grade school after Timothy was forced to move because of an unfortunate incident at school involving a very specific sexual kink of his becoming public, is a professor in an unhappy marriage who wants to be a professional video game player. He’s certain he’s in love with a member of his gaming team even though he’s never met her in real life and only knows her avatar.

There were a lot of funny things in Relativity, and I enjoyed how over-the-top it was. At times I thought I was reading a satire, but then a smaller, more tender moment would happen and I wasn’t so sure. I don’t know that it matters that I couldn’t pin down the genre/tone, but I wasn’t always clear if I was supposed to feel sympathy for the characters or be laughing at them. By the end, I think I ended up pretty sympathetic towards all of them, but because of the amount of emotional cheating they did, I don’t think any of them are people I’d want as friends in real life.

In our discussion of the book, it was clear that many of us, myself included, mainly read books by female authors, and it was really interesting to get this male perspective in a book where the theme was kind of a shared mid-life crisis.

One of my favorite things about #bookstagram is being introduced to Different books. Without it I would probably be over here reading beach romances all day. This one is not a beach Romance!
.
What do you get when you mix a house fire (caused by chicken Kiev) a road trip and a video game tournament? You get a book that reminds me a bit of Big Bang Theory and Mythic Quest. This is different than what I usually read but enjoyable just the same.
.
Thank you
Huge thank you to Bhc @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks and @dg_reads for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
.

It took me a while to get into this book but once i did it's a pretty interesting read.
This book is written from the perspective of 3 men who are unhappy with their lives and long for something better. We always see this for women so it was amazing reading a male's point of view

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I couldn’t get into any of the storylines and the characters were frustrating.

I loved the concept of this story, but I think you need to have a very deep interest in sci-fi in order to get everything out of this one. The focus on that just wasn’t for me.

I appreciate the opportunity that I was given to read this book, and I’m sure many people would enjoy this one. I just wasn’t the right audience for it.

I will be doing a promo post (not a review) on my Bookstagram account!

Short synopsis: Harry believes he can disprove Einstein’s theory of Relativity with a 2,000+ page paper, Dennis is wanting to meet up with an old high school fling, and Timothy is hoping to win big at a gaming convention. Three old college friends go on a road trip to Chicago to try and achieve all their long ago dreams.

My thoughts: I don’t read many books written by men, not sure why, and many of them don’t have men as the main characters. I enjoyed getting into their brains a little bit and seeing how their minds work.

The writing flowed really nicely and this ended up being a quick read. There were definitely topics far outside my wheelhouse (Gaming, science etc) but it was fun to learn a little about it as I read.

My only other drawback was I was expecting quite an adventure when I saw this book described as a road trip between friends. Really, that doesn’t even happen until the last 15% of the book.

Read this if you’re a sucker for:
* Nostalgia
* Gaming and Comic Con
* Scientific discoveries
* College friends

Thank you so much @tlcbooktours @benadamswrites @bhc.press & @bentadams11 for the eArc!

If you also love a good quest book (the modern kind in a car vs on a horse) & appreciate found family adventures- pick this one up. This was such a unique book!

Harry, Timothy, and Dennis are all from Bloomington Indiana. Born(except for Timothy and how he wound up here is part of his story) and raised here, they see no reason to ever leave. Until a road trip to Chicago leads each of them to the one thing that is alluding them, the chance to live a larger life by finally facing the ‘what if dilemma’. At first glance, I thought this was about three men each having a midlife crisis, but the more I thought about it, it was more like a whole lifetime crisis.

The story opens with Harry's house on fire. He escapes and has managed to save only one thing, the paper he has been working on for the last eight years. His revolutionary theory, Omnicalcumetry, which if he can ever finish it and get someone else to read it, will change the world (in his opinion). While part of me respected the fact that Harry let nothing get in the way of his belief, another bigger part of me was so sad because he neglected everything and everyone around him to do it. While I guess all his scientific blabber was supposed to be funny, I didn't get the joke( might just be me). To me, he was just someone I couldn’t relate to at all. He wound up being my least favorite character.

Timothy was in grade school when he was expelled for drawing extremely inappropriate pictures. Even though his parents moved to Bloomington so he could have a fresh start, he has suppressed his inner nature ever since. He is a college professor whose marriage is in shambles and a gamer determined to tell a woman on his team his true feelings for her. While his love for an old TV show, Captain Canaveral, and his role-playing gaming fantasies was a bit over the top for me, I could relate to how it was the only part of his world that he felt in control. He was neck and neck for being my favorite character, but ultimately it was Dennis.

Dennis comes from a wealthy family, and he has taken over his father's car dealership. Despite expanding it and being a born salesman, his life revolves around his next drink. He is unhappy in his relationship with Amanda, Harry’s ex-wife, and reaches out to his high school crush Jennifer. He imagines how much better his life would be without Amanda and with Jennifer. He may just learn that the grass isn’t always greener over the fence.

This leads the three men to head to Chicago together. Do things go exactly as planned? Nope. I felt Dennis grew the most as a character. All I can say is there were quite a few passages where I was lost (the science and the gaming) but still overall this was a quirky, compelling and engaging story. I have a habit of continuing stories in my mind, and this time I am pretty sure Dennis and Timothy were going to be better men. As for Harry, I still have hope.

The synopsis of this book sounds interesting, but it doesn't feel like an accurate representation of what the book is really about. This focuses on 3 characters dealing with what appears to be mid life crises. Potentially, if I went into this book with no expectation I may have had a different experience. Yes, it is quirky; the characters are unique in that way. Pick this one up if you want a more male dominated character focused book.

I didn't like anything about this book-the characters were one dimensional, the storyline was weak and the ending was unsatisfying. Don't waste your time or your money.

Thank you NetGalley and BHC Press for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was interesting and filled with some eccentric characters. I enjoyed each of the main characters backstories from their POVs. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Harry and his daughter, Sarah. I found each of their stories quite hilarious. The most entertaining was Dennis.

Three middle-aged men on a quest to fulfill their dreams...

Harry - is an aloof character who has escaped his current reality to finish his over 2,000 page on his theory Omnicalcumetry, trying to disprove Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Timothy - Harry's best friend and Chemistry Professor at the University of Indiana who is unhappy in his marriage and turns to his love of sci-fi video games as an escape from his current life.

Dennis - his girlfriend is Amanda (Harry's ex-wife), owns a bunch of car dealerships in Bloomington, and loves to drink in his man cave. Desperate to discover some meaning in his life, he finds his high school crush on Facebook and decides to reconnect with her.

Harry, Timothy, and Dennis embark on a road trip to Chicago. Will this road trip live up to their hopes and dreams?

Out June 7, 2022 [Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!]

Rating: 3/5 stars

Three middle-aged men, each seeking a different kind of personal and professional fulfillment (including one who hopes to disprove Einstein’s theory of relativity) set off on a road trip to Chicago.

I went into this book with absolutely no expectations whatsoever, as it’s a bit outside my normal genre and I hadn’t heard of it until the author reached out to me. That’s not at all a bad thing—sometimes it’s fun to go into a book pretty much blind, and that was the case here.

RELATIVITY is unique, memorable, and ultimately pretty fun. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but the character development is very strong, and I found myself rooting for the characters even when I was simultaneously annoyed by them. I also really enjoyed the direction each of the character arcs ultimately went, which, without spoiling anything, wasn’t necessarily what I expected! Finally, I’m a big fan of anything that’s a bit bizarre, absurd, and/or over the top, and RELATIVITY offered moments of all three, which I deeply appreciated!

Recommended if you like: buddy dramedies; quirky fiction; quick reads.

CW: Pregnancy loss; alcoholism; misogyny/sexual harassment; fire (no injury).

There’s only one word to describe this book: QUIRKY! Unfortunately, the quirkiness doesn’t fall under adorable/funny. It’s more on the uhm-what-did-I-just-read type of quirkiness.

Add to that 3 middle-age men trying to pursue their own dreams without much regard for their families. 3 POVs that went on and on and on…. Harry had delusions of grandeur about changing the world through his Omnicalcumetry theory. Timothy had Extraterrestrialphilia and is obsessed with his gaming world, leaving his wife to her drunken state. Dennis is bored with his partner Amanda and is cheating with another woman thru text. To be honest, I struggled reading this book and had difficulty making sense of the whole novel. Although it ended on a positive note, it didn’t really resolve a lot of important issues tackled in the book. I guess this really wasn’t my cup of tea. 🤷🏻‍♀️