I really like the setting of the book, however I couldn’t connect with the characters. The dialogue that the author used in the story wasn’t working for me. Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me.

This book was fine but not really my cup of tea. I didn't really prefer the characters. The plot was also a bit convoluted and I felt the science could have been fleshed out a bit more. I will watch for more books from the author.

Fascinating take on time travel through dreams….this story caught me up and kept be absorbed throughout…though I skimmed some of the theoretical stuff the lead was postulating. And I am definitely interested in reading the next installment that was teased at the end.

One man having peculiar dreams about a young woman that feel strangely real becomes involved in her life in a unique way in Joseph A. White Jr.’s The Between State.
Jeff begins having strange, vivid, and realistic dreams that include a young woman named Mindi as she goes about her day with Jeff riding along and seeing from her perspective as he sleeps. Mindi feels as if she’s being watched at times and brings up the feeling with her therapist, along with discussing traumatic issues from her past, all of which Jeff observes and his inquisitive mind questions why he’d be dreaming something like this. Curious, Jeff looks up some observed details online and learns that Mindi is real, and he tries to find a logical explanation for how he can be experiencing the life of a woman two years in his past in his dreams, making detailed notes in a journal since talking about it with his casual girlfriend Charlene seems a questionable option. When Jeff and Mindi interact with one another in their dreams they begin to theorize about what this unique experience might mean and what they could or should do while forming a strong friendship. As their divergent timelines start to converge, an opportunity places them together at the same time and in person, offering a new way for Jeff and Mindi to interact.
The narrative presents an intriguing premise that features complexities of the psychological, metaphysical, and surreal as explored through “time travel dreams”, raising a discussion about free will versus fate and paradoxes. The relationship dynamic presented between Jeff and Mindi, as well as between Jeff and others, such as Charlene, are well-depicted and written in a supportive and well-meaning light, though their interactions and dialogue are a bit too ideal to come across as believable instead of clearly scripted. Though the story isn’t too lengthy it does feel rather drawn out as it’s filled with unnecessary, repeated descriptions of details, such as Jeff’s analytical mind as he applies it to both his job and figuring out the dreams amid more mundane commentary on the routine of his daily life, that slows down development and progression of Jeff and Mindi’s dream to waking life connection that’s the primary driver of fascination to the story and concept.
Overall, I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this and was pleased to be on holiday so I could devour it in a couple of days. Interested in dreams, TM, remote viewing? - if yes, this is one for you. I enjoyed how the main characters developed and evolved. 5 stars from me. Thanks NetGalley

"The Between State" has a fascinating premise that caught my attention while browsing through available ARCs, especially since I love reading about dreams and the science and mysticism behind them. However, while the concept is engaging, the characters and plot leave a lot to be desired.

I generally don't like leaving one-star reviews for first-time authors; but for the sake of honesty, I must do so with Joseph A. White, Jr.'s debut. The story absolutely has promise: Protagonist Jeff lives an average life, with a good job, a charming fiancé, and no financial/personal troubles to speak of. Soon, though, he begins dreaming from the point of view of someone else, a young woman named Mindi. Throughout the course of the novel, Jeff discovers that Mindi is in fact real, and everything he experiences through her eyes did in fact happen...two years ago. How is Jeff connected to Mindi, and how can he reach out to her when she doesn't know that he's riding shot-gun in her head? What is the significance of the time skip? How will all of this affect Jeff's relationships in the current day, both at work and with his wife-to-be, Charlene? The plotline interweaves dream science with time travel, and since it focuses on a very small cast of characters, I figured that it would be a character-driven narrative as well, giving insight into Jeff and Mindi as complex and multi-faceted individuals that I could relate to. It just...didn't work out like that.

Every character is one-note, one-dimensional, and almost interchangeable with how they speak and react to situations, especially Jeff himself. He's an incredibly boring protagonist who spends the first half of the book doing the same thing, day in and day out, and describing his mundane actions in excruciating detail. His dreams start and end the exact same each time, making me incredibly weary by the time I read about the fifth or sixth description of falling and floating in "the gray." These dreams have absolutely no impact on the life he leads upon awaking, during which he gets ready for work, goes to work, talks to Charlene, goes home, eats a frozen dinner, lather, rinse, repeat. Jeff's life is a listicle: He did this, then he did that, then he felt this. It's like I'm watching him from afar rather than experiencing events WITH him. No insight, no inner voice (one that states anything but the obvious or reiterates something the reader already knows). I was pulled out of the story on multiple occasions because I couldn't stop thinking about how I felt like an unwilling participant in a stranger's day-to-day, and it wasn't dynamic enough to make me care. I would have much rather spent time with Mindi (she isn't much better than Jeff in terms of personality, but at least interesting things happened in her waking life). There's nothing wrong with slice-of-life narratives, of course. But they only work if the reader feels like they're along for the ride and included in the character's emotional responses. This never happened with Jeff and I.

Also, The other characters feel like stock pieces: the witchy bookstore owner, the good-natured best friend with a family that drives him a little crazy sometimes, the kind and loving fiancé. Charlie in particular feels like a missed opportunity. She doesn't really exist in her own right, but rather, she's there to provide something for Jeff. She's treated more like a symbol and testament to how great his life is. Yes, there is conflict later in the novel and she and Jeff split up, but they do so amicably. There's no real tension between them, no reason to be invested in their relationship. Charlie is just there to serve the plot.

On top of lackluster characterization, the prose itself was oddly paced. Dialogue and the presentation of information just didn't flow naturally, information is repeated constantly, and it reads as if the author had a list of points he wanted to address each chapter but he didn't know how to present those points cohesively. One minute, Jeff will be performing a task, and in the middle of that task, he will start thinking about something completely unrelated with no prompting. Additionally, information will be dropped for pages on end out of nowhere (like the information Jeff gleans from reading scientific dream books) and these segments end just as abruptly with no tie back to whatever Jeff is presently doing. Chapters also end in the middle of actions or Jeff's thoughts, reading as if the author made a mental note to come back later and just never did.

One particular thing that bothered me throughout was the fact that Jeff's dreams seemed incredibly superficial. They're mentioned here and there during the humdrum events of Jeff's life, but they don't actually impact anything he does until much too late in the book. They don't affect his sleep cycle or cause relationship disruptions or even make him lose his sanity. Jeff just sort of...regards them from time to time. Maybe he'll read a book here and there. Aside from that, you could remove the dreams entirely Jeff's life would not be affected in any way. What's more, when these dreams ARE touched on while Jeff is awake, we're told that he analyzes them deeply and tries to make connections because he has a calculated, logical personality. But he doesn't do much beyond think, "Why is this happening?" and make a few very contrived connections (for instance, the date of a baseball game stands out in his dream, and his coworker just happens to talk about one of the teams mentioned later in the day, which leads to Jeff connecting threads). Jeff doesn't have to delve into any deep investigation; the surface-level research he does conduct doesn't take a toll on him. He even mentions himself that his problem-solving skills involve waiting for things to happen to him!

Jeff's dreams are sold as the book's primary hook, but since they don't link back to anything going on when he's awake, it's hard to understand why he's so fascinated with them, and why I as the reader should find them interesting. Why does Jeff NEED to know about Mindi, whose actions in his dreams do no impact his waking life in any way? There are no stakes at all. I'm told constantly that Jeff feels crazy (key word: told — emotions are rarely ever expounded on) but these concerns don't feel founded.

With all that said, I will admit that there are certainly hints of good writing and characterization here and there, but it feels like anything interesting is neutered in the name of sticking to an outline and writing bland character archetypes for the sole purpose of enacting plot points. I think White will improve in time and I do look forward to checking out some of his future works because, again, I think his concepts are good. The execution of those concepts just isn't up to par in this novel.

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I received an ARC of "The Between State" from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I also want to thank Joseph A. White, Jr. for allowing early access and thoughtful critique of his novel.

The Between State is an interesting sci-fi story about a guy who wakes up inside realistic dreams in which he’s inside the mind of a young woman, I really love time travel stories but this one did not quite hit the mark for me at all. I thought the premise was really cool but the characters and the dialogue did not work for me.

Thank you Joseph A White Jr., Netgalley, and BooksGoSocial for this free ARC in exchange for a review.

While I could see where this was going (as far as who would end up with who), I was still interested to see how it would get there.

I wasn't disappointed. I couldn't put this book down. It ends with one question still unanswered (Will it last?), yet ends satisfyingly. Maybe there will be a sequel, but even if there isn't, I would consider buying other subsequent books by this author.

A riveting take on a genre that needs fresh life like this. Instead of the big epic series, nice little books like this are needed to bring this genre into a new era of reading and writing. An exceptional book. Truly Incredible.
Other than that, I thought the book was about a dystopian world. and it is not. But other than that tiny hurdle, everything else was incredible. The writing was pinpoint. The characters flowing through the pages and the world spilling out of the book. I am so happy that the genre has gotten such an exciting new talent. I am definitely picking up his next book, whenever it comes out.