What do readers think of An Infinite Love Story by Chanel Cleeton? Write your own review.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It won't be the last. The love and marriage of Vivian and Joe is one that exceeds all limits including space. Although Vivian (Viv) didn't think she was a good match for Joe, she slowly becomes aware that he is the man she truly loves. When Joe becomes an astronaut and is assigned to a space mission Vivian's life becomes her worst fears realized? Still grappling with the death of their baby, Vivian is faced with the hardest mission in her life. The characters were well portrayed and believable, as if close friends you know. The friendship between Viv and Polly emphasized how women friendships are so vital in the ups and downs of life. I was excitedly anticipating the end of the book to see if Joe would come back. Although the ending was not what I anticipated, it was very satisfying and I enjoyed the book immensely!

Thank you Bookbrowse and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I loved this novel! An Infinite Love Story is very different from Chanel Cleeton's other books, many set in Cuba. This one takes place in the 1960's and concerns America's early space program launching men into orbit and preparing them to go to the moon. Television journalist Vivian is an independent woman determined to guard her settled, well-ordered life. She hero worships star TV broadcaster, Graham Carlson, but finds herself surprisingly captivated by Joe Mitchell, a fighter pilot and wannabe astronaut. When Vivian and Joe become a couple, and he gets tapped for astronaut training, her life is upended.

Rather than providing lots of technical details about space flight or astronaut training, Cleeton's novel focuses on the astronaut's wives. Expected to be ever devoted to and supportive of their spouses and mini celebrities in their own right, the pressure on these women to perform, to be perfect, and to be always available to the media is intense. Add to this the stress of living with the risks of space travel and the possibility that one day your man might not return. Cleeton's novel takes some intriguing and unexpected twists and turns and is a fast-paced, totally absorbing read!

I loved this book. I grew up and became a woman during the space race and this book brought back vivid memories of the times and events. It gave me a perspective on the role wives were forced to play, essentially being asked, no told, to present a picture of family bliss no matter the toll the space race was taking on their marriage and family, also. The author did a very good job of showing the challenges women faced in a world where marriage, family and a dutiful wife was all that was expected of young women, juxtaposed against the testosterone of the space race and even broadcast news. The author did a beautiful job of making that struggle come alive while at the same time exploring so elegantly an "infinite" space and an "infinite" love! I would recommend this book wholeheartedly!

It's the 1960's and the American space race is beginning. Test pilots are dedicated and passionate to be involve. Their wives not so much. The astronauts are enjoying the notoriety and glamour. The wives have long lonely days and even longer fearful nights.

This novel highlights the struggle and courage of these women who did not expect to be in the limelight or having to live up to NASA expectations.. The faced the dangers their husbands disregarded. The women's courage was in supporting their husbands' dreams while wishing space would go away..

What happens when tragedy takes place in training or in space? These brave women gather and go on.

This is a romance in its purest form - a story about how people connect and endure through joy and sorrow because of the depth and sincerity of their love that transcends sex, time and space. I didn't need Kleenex when I finished (I was close) but I was filled with such intense feelings that I just experienced a love story for the ages.

It's the 1960s and the Space Race is on. Vivian is a budding journalist when she meets Joe, a fighter pilot, who has dreams of being an astronaut. The story alternates at times between the fateful space mission where Joe is lost to Vivian's and Joe's love story. After the mission is called, Vivian keeps believing in Joe coming back and seeks to call attention to some of the failings of the space program. No spoilers - you must read this wonderful story to find out its ending.

Cleeton has created the most intense atmospheric romance sans steam I've ever read - confirming that love can be more than steam in a book. Vivian and Joe reverberate on the pages with their resilience and passion for each other and the things that giving in their lives. I really liked these two, especially Joe. I also liked how Cleeton included the expectations os astronaut wives in the 1960s. Vivian didn't want to fit the mold, which was another thing I liked about her..

This is a book for all lovers of historical romances with realistic characters.
I'd like to thank NetGalley/BookBrowse and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me to read this beautiful love story (ARC).

"Come back to me," she whispered to the sky.

Vivian is practical, with no patience for egos or nonsense — a woman carving out her place in the male-dominated world of 1960s television news. A few months after Viv begins sharing an apartment with Polly in Arlington, VA, the two women meet Joe and Frank, fighter jet pilots with astronaut ambitions. Joe is romantic and impassioned, focused and driven — an adrenaline junkie who loves motorcycles and jets and burns with the dream of reaching space.

"I've never felt more at peace, more in awe of the world around me, of life, than when I'm in the air. There's a poetry about it, a simplicity and beauty to how very small you feel when confronted with the vastness of the universe and your place inside it. It humbles you, I suppose. Or makes you feel like anything is possible. Maybe that's the humbling part. I can never decide."

Polly and Frank fall in love quickly and marry. Viv and Joe are more deliberate — the sparks are immediate, but complications keep them at arm's length for a time. Eventually they find their way to each other. Joe achieves his dream of becoming an astronaut, while Viv quietly sets aside her own dream of becoming a news anchor to support his. Then comes that fateful day when mission control loses contact with Joe's spacecraft, and Viv is left suspended in time, reliving their life together.

"She'd known when he went up that the chance of him coming back to her alive was as good as a coin toss. Now those odds seemed decidedly worse and stacked against her.

How could they lose a spacecraft?"

The portrayal of astronaut families and the politics of space exploration feels richly familiar — very much in the spirit of The Right Stuff, which the author apparently read in preparation.

"Astronaut wives had long been subjected to public fascination and consumption, and considering the army of reporters camped out on her front lawn waiting for a glimpse of her, they didn't care that this was one of the absolute worst moments of her life."

Around 70 in, the story takes a turn that carries a distinct Interstellar quality — though told from a wife's perspective rather than a daughter's. It's a clever blend of romance, sci-fi, and emotional depth that keeps the story feeling fresh: Interstellar meets The Time Traveler's Wife.

But at its heart, this is a love story — many love stories, really. There is love between people, love for dreams, love for life itself. Yet threading through all of it is Viv's story, and it is hers above all else.

My final thoughts: This is ultimately about Viv and Joe — a love that transcends time, a meditation on loss and the quiet rebirth of love. The story moves slowly and tenderly, and while the sci-fi elements raise questions that remain unresolved, I still found myself deeply absorbed in their journey. For fans of emotionally resonant sci-fi like The Time Traveler's Wife, I'd recommend this one if you're looking for a gentle read that stirs your heart, nudges you to contemplate the vastness of the universe, and leaves you comfortable sitting with more questions than you started with.

This is another good novel from Chanel Cleeton. It weaves together the Space Race of the 1960s and a never ending love story between Joe and Vivian. I wasn’t crazy about the ending but overall, a good read. Much better than Atmosphere.

I have read virtually all of Chanel Cleeton's books. This is the first one I've read that didn't focus on Cuban main characters. My first clue was the statistics about the 1998 divorce rate of 2.9 per 1000. She stated that this equated to .0029. It would actually be .29. She compared it to the actual number in the space programs of 20 in 34 marriages. The number is an indicator of the high level of stress on families where one parent is in the program.

From the first chapter, I was into the story. How could it happen? What was to be done? Would everything get solved at the book's end, either successfully or not? Are there real incidences of paranormal activity in situations like these? I liked the characters and kept hoping they would return safely.

Love is such a powerful emotion it can influence our thoughts and dreams. Some of the scenarios stretch the imagination, especially for the timeframe of the novel.