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Guest Review: AN INFINITE LOVE STORY by Chanel Cleeton
- Christina Boyd
- Jul 6
- 4 min read
ABOUT THE BOOK
When an astronaut is lost in space, his wife relives their epic love as she attempts to unravel what truly happened to him, in this sweeping love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s Space Race, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes.
When Joe Mitchell launches into space, the world is watching. It’s 1968, and the country waits with anticipation and excitement for another successful mission, another celebration as America sets its sights on the Moon. And then comes the knock at the door.
Joe Mitchell’s spacecraft has lost contact. He and his fellow astronauts on board are feared to be dead. It’s his wife Vivian’s worst nightmare come to life, her grief suddenly taking center stage as the nation waits and mourns. In her quiet moments, Vivian relives their memorable story, unable to accept that this is the end of a love that felt as though it was written in the stars.
As the investigation surrounding Joe’s lost spacecraft intensifies, and the mishap is written off as an operator error, Vivian is determined to clear her husband’s name and uncover the mystery of what happened in space. When someone starts sending Vivian messages—messages she believes only Joe could send—she begins to wonder if their love is stronger than space and time, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring her husband back to her.
OPENING LINES
“In the early hours of the morning, astronaut Joe Mitchell’s spacecraft lost contact with Mission Control in Houston at approximately three a.m. Two other astronauts are aboard the spacecraft that was on a mission to the Moon to complete a lunar orbit—”
Vivian Mitchell stared at the TV screen, at the news anchor dressed in a somber dark suit, immaculate white shirt, and subdued tie as though he’d selected the outfit precisely for the severity of the occasion.
GUEST REVIEW by Sophia Rose
Like the author, the movie The Right Stuff was my first dive into the age of “The Space Race,” the fighter pilots who became astronauts, and the women who were the first astronaut wives. Chanel has long been a favorite author for her historical Cuban American fiction, but she returned to what she knew well from her own experience, a military wife’s life. I have been excited for this latest, An Infinite Love Story, since she announced it last year.
An Infinite Love Story is a dual timeline tale set during the Apollo period of American space exploration and the race to put a man on the moon. The protagonist, Vivian Mitchell, learns NASA lost contact with her husband’s spaceship and is just holding herself together before the media circus, dealing with her fear and pain, denial, and potential loss, but also encountering inexplicable phenomena that hint that Joe is still alive out there and somehow finding ways to contact her.
Viv has flashbacks of her first encounter with Joe; in her eyes, their early attraction is doomed because he is a crackerjack fighter pilot who wants to get accepted into the astronaut program. Her parents' tough, broken, and tragic military marriage is her example, and she doesn’t want that for herself; she very much wants to succeed in her difficult chosen career as a woman TV reporter when few chance beyond glorified secretaries. Joe is larger than life, and he doesn’t give up on them, even later, when, as a military couple, he is often away and sometimes emotionally distant. They do struggle.
An Infinite Love Story explores the sacrifices military/astronaut spouses are expected to make and the pressure on them during that period in history. Vivian is an outlier among the wives from the beginning, but especially in the story’s present tense in the late 60’s. The infusion of magical realism is mysterious. Vivian (and the reader) is never sure if what she is experiencing is real or a coping mechanism for her when Joe is missing. I really liked the direction of this element and the hope and new chances it unveiled for Viv.
I also liked how Vivian had agency and didn’t allow pressure from NASA or the general public to dictate how she should feel, act, or think. She wanted answers, and she wanted changes in the way things were done, so she went for it. She had regrets, and as the past was told, she had overcome much (salute to military wives with whom this story will resonate closely, I think), but later, she orchestrated her life the way she needed to go forward.
All in all, An Infinite Love Story was a stellar read, the women’s side of the Space Race told well. That period and the characters were brought to life, and I loved the suspense, plot, a lot of retrospective thought, and a woman finding her way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chanel Cleeton is the Cuban American New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many novels, including Reese's Book Club Pick Next Year in Havana. Originally from Florida, Chanel studied in London, earning degrees in international relations and global politics. In law school, Chanel discovered her passion writing novels and embarked on a new adventure following her lifelong love of books.
ABOUT GUEST REVIEWER, Sophia Rose
Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate. As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer.
Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener, which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby. Connect with Sophia via FACEBOOK GOODREADS TWITTER
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