I was lucky enough to be a part of Celadon’s Read Together Program for this novel which was a fun opportunity to connect with other readers and share our thoughts as we read the book!

I love a story about a woman in STEM, so I was instantly drawn to this book and was intrigued by Zoe’s curiosity. While this book was not a romance, it did have romantic aspects that kept me invested in their very complicated world. I really enjoyed the addition of Jack’s perspective as it provided a lot of background and helped further my understanding of his behaviors. I would definitely read more from this author!

Thank you Celadon for the ARC!

Rating: 4⭐️ | Spice: 2🌶️ | Audio: 4.5🎙️
What to Expect:
Literary/Science Fiction
Women in Stem
Academia Setting
Found Family
Dual POV

Thank you @celadonbooks for the gifted hardback and @macmillan.audio ALC!

Shout out to Celadon Read Together Program who connected me with these awesome bookstagrammers:
@BookBimbo
@Booked.With.Julia
@bookedwithmel
@bookeshh

Review Title & Vibes:   
{PLEASE TAKE NOTE} I am slightly nerdy and couldn’t put this story down. I may not be a true STEMist in real life, but I highly enjoy a cross between litfic and romance.

This was a story with complex character dynamics, fascinating scientific theory, and shocking plot twists. I was hooked even though the “science” technical jargon was way over my head. The tension was undeniable and one of the slowest burns.

The ending had me wiping tears from my eyes - hello redemption and rediscovery of purpose.

Audio Notes:
Helen and Shahjehan performed wonderfully. I would highly recommend the audiobook specifically to increase the easy of pronouncing the science terminology.

Recommended to...  
All you nerdy book girls - take note and add this to your TBR

Narrated by @hlaserwolf @shahjistan
Produced by @macmillan.audio

This book centers on two college Harvard students, Jack and Zoe. They share a passion for science, working in the same lab with a common vision to develop an anti-aging drug. While Zoe is more outgoing, Jack is more driven to the science. They become successful, drop out of Harvard and build a start-up company.

We follow our main characters Zoe and Jack through a soul mate like friendship to lovers, into betrayal, hope and tragedy. The biotech elements are well written so that anyone can understand the science. Austin Taylor does an amazing job showcasing the world of start-ups, women in a male oriented business and how fragile dreams are along with the secrets that can break them.

I loved this book and happy that Celadon paired me with amazing readers.

Two Harvard students, Zoe and Jack, become inevitable intellectual partners as they connect through their progressive, innovative ideas on anti-aging, which begin their whirlwind journey through the allure and promise of scientific discovery and the rise and fall of celebrity and success. I really enjoyed the structure of the novel and while most of the story is told through Zoe’s POV, we get Jack’s towards the end, which really provided the emotional punch, ultimately revealing how the characters experienced their shared journey very differently and the complexity of their relationship. This was a very emotional read about ambition and acceptance, and I could not put it down once I started reading and would recommend for those who enjoy character-driven stories.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started great, but by page 46, I missed the direct dialogues between the characters. This is why I am DNFing, as I cannot relate to the female main character.

I’m not sure whether the comparison to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow helped this book or did it a disservice. I guess that may depend on what you thought of Tx3. I absolutely loved Tomorrow and rated it 5 stars. This one just…didn’t do what I hoped it would/expected it would.

Yes, they both center students building a startup, and there's an undercurrent of a love story - but that was where the similarities ended for me. I didn’t expect this to be Tx3, but I did hope for some solid characters and captivating plotline, both of which landed in the middle for me. I flew through the audiobook, but some of the formatting choices made listening difficult.

I saw this book described as “A cautionary tale of venture capital culture” and if that doesn't hit the nail on the head.

Reviews on this book are all over the place, so take mine with a grain of salt. I still think it's an impressive debut from a young author, and I'll be very interested to see what she does next.

🎧 The audio was narrated by Helen Laser and Shahjehan Khan, both did a fabulous job, but this story may have made a bigger impact (personally) had I read with my eyes.

A powerful story of intellectualism, hubris, and the undeniable connection between two people. This is a tragedy, set in the scientific start-up world, powered by love and intelligence.

When Harvard sophomores Zoe and Jack meet, their intellectual connection sparks an explosion that they quickly lose control of. They have a theory to cure aging, and it feels like nothing can stop them, but the higher they rise the farther than can falls. The fallout from the way they crash into each other is fascinating and heartbreaking.

If you loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, don't hesitate to pick this one up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the eARC.

Notes on Infinity was a book that reminded me so much of the real life company, Theranos, that I couldn't look away. Did parts of it feel uber pretentious? Yes. Did I love it regardless? Yes.

I loved this heartbreaking book about twenty-something 2020s ambition, success and love set in Cambridge. It's a little bit Love Story, a little bit Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, part cautionary tale (the book invokes Icarus) and a very Gen Z-centered view of making it in the world.

Set in the science labs of Harvard University and centered around a nepo baby in the world of science and a brilliant but troubled boy from a poor background, this book looks at friendship, obsession and more!

Thanks to Celadon books for the e-ARC and for including me in their read along for this book!

Thanks Celadon and Netgalley for gifting me a copy of Notes On Infinity and creating a buddy read. I had such a good time and met some great readers!

I definitely got a lot of Tomorrow x 3 vibes so if you liked that book you might wanna check Notes On Infinity. There is a lot of discussion about science but you don’t need to understand the science to enjoy the story.

I haven’t read a book like Notes On Infinity but it does bring up some interesting topics such as longevity and business ethics.

I don’t want to spoil anything but I would recommend researching possible triggers for this one!

I did not expect a book about a biotech startup to make me feel so many things! This wasn't a business drama, it was a coming of age story in a world that only cares about money and success. (Relatable because that's the world we're all in. #capitalism)

Coming of age too in that the characters are learning to navigate both fabricated and genuine connections with one another. The book spans a long enough time period we really get to see the different relationships/friendships evolve.

Dual POV with a twist: We don't get Jack's POV till near the end and then we get a recap of all of the book's events since the first day he met Zoe. The recap provides Jack's motivations, his thoughts we hadn't seen before, and really illustrates the difference between how men and women stereotypically approach the world and relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an eARC of this book! This is my honest review.

Notes on Infinity follows Zoe and Jack, two undergrad students at Harvard who start a biotech company with the goal of “curing” aging.

The first 60% of this novel was incredible. I was completely enamored by Zoe, her theory on aging, and her relationship with Jack. My science knowledge is minimal, so a lot of the details went over my head, but the language was very readable & approachable.

However, a little over halfway through the book there is a reveal and narrative shift that I really didn’t enjoy. I found that this twist completely changed my perspective on certain characters and the entire story in a way that really hurt my reading experience. To be fair - this was the definitely the author’s point! It just didn’t work for me personally.

Though the narrative direction this novel took was not my favorite, I do think this was a really strong debut from Austin Taylor. Taylor has a unique writing style that I really enjoyed - almost dreamlike in a way that felt like we were floating through scenes. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her future releases.

Thank you to @celadonbooks for sending me a copy and allowing me to participate in the Read Together Initiative for the first time 🫶

This one was a wild ride through Harvard’s labs. Zoe’s a total brainiac obsessed with cracking the anti-aging code. She teams up with Jack, another science whiz who’s just as intense. Together, they dive deep into the world of test tubes and tech startups, launching their own company, Manna, with big dreams and even bigger hype. But of course, not everything in the world of miracle drugs goes smoothly.

I liked the duo along with Carter and Zoe. The science was over my head, but the story had me hooked. And whew, those final chapters? Total gut punch. Sad, emotional, and beautifully done. If you like brainy drama with heart, this one’s worth checking out.

This was the best book I have read all year. It smacked me in the face with it's emotional impact. I fell in love with Zoe and Jack and felt conflicted just as they did through each mistake they made. They were phenomenally well-rounded characters and were flawed in the best way. The writing was impeccable, and I am so impressed by this being Austin Taylor's debut. I will read anything she writes in the future.

I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this one—which maybe says something about the book itself. I was definitely drawn in from the start. There’s a clear Elizabeth Holmes vibe that hooked me immediately, and I was curious to see how far the parallels would go. That kind of unraveling of ambition, ego, and the blurred lines between innovation and deception always gets me.

The audiobook was well done—strong narrators and a structure that worked in audio. I appreciated the perspectives given; seeing the same events unfold through different eyes gave the narrative a sharper edge.

This seems like one of those books readers either really connect with or really don’t—and I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I didn’t hate it. I didn’t love it. I was interested the whole way through, but I’m not totally sure what I’m left with. Maybe that’s thought-provoking in its own way.

If you like stories about ambition, tech, and the gray space between truth and spin, this might be worth checking out.
Thank you to the publisher for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

Notes on Infinity is an impressive debut from Austin Taylor. The characters are richly developed, and the storyline pulled me in with its intriguing premise. While I found the pacing a bit uneven at times, the scientific detail throughout added a strong sense of authenticity to the narrative. This isn’t my usual genre, but I’m glad I took a chance on it—I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this promising new author.

'Notes on Infinity' is a sharp, emotionally intelligent debut that balances the thrill of scientific discovery with the fallout of unchecked ambition. Set against the pressure-cooker environment of an elite university, the novel follows Zoe and Jack - two brilliant, mismatched students whose partnership in the lab soon becomes something far more complicated.

What begins as a shared research breakthrough quickly snowballs into a biotech start-up with world-changing potential. But as their company gains traction, so do the cracks in their relationship, and the novel turns from academic drama to something darker - an excavation of ego, grief, and betrayal.

Taylor's writing is smart without being pretentious. The scientific detail is immersive but never alienating - more about mood and momentum than jargon. The pacing is deft, with a compelling shift halfway through that recontextualizes much of what came before. Zoe's perspective is especially well-drawn: focused, ambitious, emotionally guarded. When the narrative later pivots, it doesn't lose steam - it adds nuance.

What struck me most was the emotional honesty beneath the glossy exterior. This isn't just a story about a start-up; it's about what we sacrifice for success, how women are subtly (and not-so-subtly) sidelined in environments that claim to be meritocratic, and what it means to build something with someone - only to realize you never really saw them clearly.

There's a chilly precision to the prose that fits the material perfectly, but Taylor also knows when to let the emotions breathe. Some of the later turns may feel abrupt, but the ending lands with both clarity and ache.

Recommended for readers who love: campus novels, introspective character studies, stories that weave science into narrative without losing the heart.

A confident, compelling debut. I'll be watching to see what Taylor writes next.

This isn't my normal read but I thought it was enjoyable. Can see some similarities to another book. But, all in all, it was good.

Thank you Celadon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Notes on Infinity follows two Harvard students who are abruptly launched into a life of fame and success in the glittering world of tech startups. Zoe and Jack are forced to quickly navigate not only the halls of scientific research that spurred their anti-aging discovery, but also the board rooms and conferences of investors and the pages and stages of media outlets, as well as their own quickly changing personal relationships.

Read if you like:
“Will they or won’t they” vibes
Flawed/unlikeable characters
Unconventional relationships of all kinds
Dual POV but with a little twist
A little taste of academia in your reading

My personal thoughts:
This is an ambitious debut and has a very clear mission and point of view, which I always like to see. Personally I had a few hang-ups that I just couldn’t quite get past throughout the book, but I did think that the final conclusion had some interesting layers and a certain poetry to it — and if you haven’t read much about biotech startups in the past, you may have a very different experience!

Mostly, my challenge was that the storyline was clearly based on a real-life startup that I’ve read about before (see below for the spoiler version), and the fictionalized elements of the story just didn’t provide enough to sink my teeth into and allow me to read this as a new or fresh take. The characters themselves and their relationships with one another felt a bit two-dimensional and caricatural — almost YA-esque — so my heart wasn’t quite in it, and the plotline itself and the ethical questions it raises I felt like I had already read in a lot of ways, so my head wasn’t either.

‼️ SPOILER BELOW - STOP HERE IF YOU DON’T WANT ANY IDEA WHERE THIS STORY GOES!

The author drew on the story and coverage of Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes as well as her own experiences, and has said that this book is meant to remind the reader that for every splashy scandal we see on the front page, there’s years of backstory that led to that point. That objective came through loud and clear — the majority of the book explores the “lead-up” to the fall from grace, and all the personal motivations, internal and external pressures, and trusts built and broken that come along with that. But it’s many of the same themes and questions that were laid bare in the actual accounts of Theranos — i.e. if you’ve read Bad Blood and/or watched The Dropout — and without a different and compelling cast of characters to carry a fictionalized version, it just fell a bit flat for me.

This is the story of Zoe and Jack. It combines their quest for a profound scientific discovery combined with their developing relationship. Although I thought the plot idea was interesting, it felt like I was reading something similar to Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. I wanted more complexity to the characters. Throughout the book I never felt like I was invested in the story/characters. The book also felt more YA - which isn't my preferred genre. I am grateful to Celadon for the advanced copy.