Into the Blue by Emma Brodie @emma.c.brodie @justjuliawhelan @prhaudio @prhaudio.bsky.social @reesesbookclub #IntoTheBlue

the setup…
It’s the summer of 2000 in Gladstone, Massachusetts and seventeen year old Ashlee Jayde (AJ) Graves is bored working at a video rental store. She’s obsessed with a 1964 cult series called Astronauticals and dreams of writing for SNL. In walks Noah Drew, a member of an acting family dynasty whose Aunt Eudora was a member of the series cast. He’s four years older and was just hired on. The chemistry between these two began to sizzle immediately but later when Eudora decides to be their acting coach, their inexplicable paranormal connection is undeniable. However, at the end of the summer, Noah just disappears and their paths don’t cross again for another seven years when they are both hired onto the improvisational intergalactic TV series, Into the Blue. He’s a Hollywood star and she’s an SNL writer and it is the beginning of their many attempts to deny what started years before.

the heart of the story…
I have a whole new appreciation for improvisation writing and performing as Brodie provides an inside view I’ve not experienced before. AJ becomes that SNL writer, struggling to move past her severed romance with Noah as he does the same. But this truly is a love story, fractured, messy, complicated and heartbreaking. I’ve not experienced much like it in fiction.

the narration…
Julia Whelan is one of a few who could handle this kind of epic saga that trips between the romance and the frenetic pace of the acting scenes. It’s all in AJ’s point of view, which she slays. Truly an outstanding performance.

the bottom line…
I must admit the world of improvisation was over my head at times but it perfectly illustrated the talent of both AJ and Noah and a powerful backdrop for their heartbreaking and heartwarming love story. This will hang around in my head and heart for a long, long time.

Book Info

• Release Date: April 7, 2026
• Narrator: Julia Whelan
• Audio Length: 15 hours, 9 minutes
• Publisher: Random House Audio

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