Book Review: Into the Blue
Into the Blue by Emma Brodie is one of those books I will be thinking about for a long time. I already know it will be one of my Top 10 Books of 2026.I am not surprised I fell in love with this book, because I loved Songs in Ursa Major, also by Brodie. I love when people are falling in love with their artform while falling in love with each other at the same time. It is so fascinating.
Into the Blue is full of the nostalgia of early 2000s. Noah Drew and AJ Graves first meet while working at a video store. AJ is finishing high school and Noah is around two years older. They become close friends and bond over their love of a cult-classic improv show, which Noah’s grandparents worked on back in the day. That’s right—Noah is from a famous acting family or dynasty. He tried to rebel against it, but acting is in his blood and in his soul. They spend a lot of time working together in the video store, just co-existing at first--AJ is writing her fan fiction and Noah is hanging out being extremely handsome. They also bond over their family situations. Noah’s mom is ill and AJ’s family is complex, with the dysfunction partly caused by her father’s alcoholism. Even with some heavy themes, the book didn’t feel depressing to me. The novel was driven by the joy and pain of being young and discovering something you love and finding kinship with another person.
Noah and AJ connect on a deeper level outside of the work. During that early-aughts summer, they learn acting and improv together. While AJ aspires to be more of a writer or a comedian (Saturday Night Live is her dream), rather than an actor, she can’t turn down the offer of her idol, Noah’s grandmother, to train her in acting. They find themselves following her acting exercises, from reciting Shakespearean monologues to dancing to improv exercises, and along the way, they fall in love.
Seven years later, they are brought together again to star in an unconventional TV show together. They have to work through what happened in the past and how they feel about it. Although what keeps them apart is sad and frustrating at times, the novel is deeply romantic in an almost epic way. I also liked that the book wasn’t afraid to fully nerd out on the philosophy and existentialism of improv comedy. AJ is a comedy nerd, fan-fiction writer, and they spend time together at fan conventions. As someone who loves sketch comedy and stand-up, I enjoyed this aspect of the book.
Overall, Into the Blue feels like an epic love story and a passionate love letter to the creative process.
Even though the subject matter is completely different, I was reminded of when I read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, because the two main characters are falling in love and they are both intensely in love with the field of work they share.
For some readers, you may want to check the content warnings due to grief and illness being significant themes throughout the book.
Thank you to Thousand Voices imprint, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Into the Blue will be released in the United States on Apr 7, 2026.
