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lalexvp's review against another edition
4.0
I really deeply enjoyed this book. It gave me SO many feels, both good and uncomfortable, and I related to a lot of the conversations happening in it. There were a few plot devices that I think were poorly done and some things that would have been stronger if they’d have been done differently. But I still enjoyed myself, couldn’t put it down.
kovost's review against another edition
1.0
*NOT SPOILER FREE*
This book put me in a coma, and I don’t mean in the “oh my god this book was SO GOOD that I’m dying” kind of way. I mean in the “my blood pressure skyrocketed to Saturn while I was reading it and when I finished this book I was in such a state of anger that I temporarily became the Hulk” kind of coma. I mean it like, if I could sigh any harder, I’m legitimately afraid I would black out from oxygen deprivation.
Here’s a little secret and trick of the trade when it comes to frolicking through the literature field.
Sometimes, occasionally, once in a while, you run into this little voice in your head that has no regard for logic or reasoning, and sometimes it especially jumps out when you see potentially pretty books. Not only is that your inner superficial dumbass talking, but it’s Satan. It’s a form of Satan named Janet with yet another bad idea that involves reading YET ANOTHER book about an LGBT+ character that was very, painfully clearly written by a near to middle-aged straight woman that is so off the pulse, she’s with the cadavers both when it comes to actual representation and any idea of what young people are “like nowadays”.
This all meaning:
When you look at this book with its pretty cover plastered in bi pride colors, Shakespearean title, and read the summary that sounds like it promises the misadventures of a chaotic disaster having a great Bi Epiphany that you feel in your soul, and then think that it sounds like a fantastically fun thing to pick up and commit hours to: that’s Janet talking.
This book was so infuriating that it makes me hate the bi pride colors, my FAVORITE colors, one of my OWN PRIDE FLAGS, for this irrationally livid moment whenever I look at it because it’s an absolute insult to it. This book is an insult. And I don’t care how much the author did or did not intend for this book to be problematic or fetishizing, it is and no desperate grasping of straws and crying “well my couple of queer friends said it was okay so it must be!” will excuse the absolute fuckery I am now frantically trying to bleach out of my brain.
Allow me to demonstrate.
Sinter Blackwell is a twenty-something actor living in England, working whatever job he can get. While he’s working a shift at a bar, a woman named Fiona walks in and she changes Sinter’s world. Because of her, he ends up filming a movie. During the duration of this movie, Sinter develops a flirtation with Fiona whilst maintaining a “that’s not very straight of you, my dude, but to acknowledge that, I would also have to acknowledge that I may have feelings for you” flirtation with his very out and gay best friend back home in Seattle.
This, in theory, is all fine and dandy except Sinter has a brief closet romp with Fiona at a party, realizes it’s not at all what he wants, and decides to go back home to Seattle to see what comes of his curious friendship going on friends-with-benefits with Andy.
That, too, is all hunky fuckin’ dory—except Fiona tells Sinter that she’s pregnant and she doesn’t want the baby, but she wants to carry to full term so someone can adopt the baby. This, in turn, leads to Sinter having a complex about it and throwing his relationship with Andy up in the air, which—of course—leads to turmoil between the two. Which is also fine for the drama except (and here comes my fucking favorite), instead of being patient and understanding of the situation as a whole (putting aside the fuckery of it anyway) because Sinter isn’t as open as Andy wants him to be, Andy gives Sinter an ultimatum.
And honestly, suck a fucking cactus if you really think LGBT+ people force each other out of the closet by giving our significant other’s ultimatums when they’re scared and just learning to explore their sexuality after growing up in a homophobic family that forced them to compartmentalize any chance of figuring it out sooner. Like honestly. Fuck off.
Everything about this book really tested my limits and I’m so extremely done with this. I try really hard to be neutral even when I don’t like a book because I understand the whole “to each their own” and just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for someone else and blah blah blah, but this book is problematic and damaging and quite honestly, disgusting and I don’t adhere to it and to be frank with you, I think only straight people that read Wattpad fanfiction and think they have any clue what it’s like to be queer would actually enjoy this book, so. I said what I said and I’ll stand by it and I would throw this book in a bonfire if I owned a physical copy of it but it lucked out, I happen to like my Kindle (and also lack the money to replace it in a fit of rage).
This book put me in a coma, and I don’t mean in the “oh my god this book was SO GOOD that I’m dying” kind of way. I mean in the “my blood pressure skyrocketed to Saturn while I was reading it and when I finished this book I was in such a state of anger that I temporarily became the Hulk” kind of coma. I mean it like, if I could sigh any harder, I’m legitimately afraid I would black out from oxygen deprivation.
Here’s a little secret and trick of the trade when it comes to frolicking through the literature field.
Sometimes, occasionally, once in a while, you run into this little voice in your head that has no regard for logic or reasoning, and sometimes it especially jumps out when you see potentially pretty books. Not only is that your inner superficial dumbass talking, but it’s Satan. It’s a form of Satan named Janet with yet another bad idea that involves reading YET ANOTHER book about an LGBT+ character that was very, painfully clearly written by a near to middle-aged straight woman that is so off the pulse, she’s with the cadavers both when it comes to actual representation and any idea of what young people are “like nowadays”.
This all meaning:
When you look at this book with its pretty cover plastered in bi pride colors, Shakespearean title, and read the summary that sounds like it promises the misadventures of a chaotic disaster having a great Bi Epiphany that you feel in your soul, and then think that it sounds like a fantastically fun thing to pick up and commit hours to: that’s Janet talking.
This book was so infuriating that it makes me hate the bi pride colors, my FAVORITE colors, one of my OWN PRIDE FLAGS, for this irrationally livid moment whenever I look at it because it’s an absolute insult to it. This book is an insult. And I don’t care how much the author did or did not intend for this book to be problematic or fetishizing, it is and no desperate grasping of straws and crying “well my couple of queer friends said it was okay so it must be!” will excuse the absolute fuckery I am now frantically trying to bleach out of my brain.
Allow me to demonstrate.
Sinter Blackwell is a twenty-something actor living in England, working whatever job he can get. While he’s working a shift at a bar, a woman named Fiona walks in and she changes Sinter’s world. Because of her, he ends up filming a movie. During the duration of this movie, Sinter develops a flirtation with Fiona whilst maintaining a “that’s not very straight of you, my dude, but to acknowledge that, I would also have to acknowledge that I may have feelings for you” flirtation with his very out and gay best friend back home in Seattle.
This, in theory, is all fine and dandy except Sinter has a brief closet romp with Fiona at a party, realizes it’s not at all what he wants, and decides to go back home to Seattle to see what comes of his curious friendship going on friends-with-benefits with Andy.
That, too, is all hunky fuckin’ dory—except Fiona tells Sinter that she’s pregnant and she doesn’t want the baby, but she wants to carry to full term so someone can adopt the baby. This, in turn, leads to Sinter having a complex about it and throwing his relationship with Andy up in the air, which—of course—leads to turmoil between the two. Which is also fine for the drama except (and here comes my fucking favorite), instead of being patient and understanding of the situation as a whole (putting aside the fuckery of it anyway) because Sinter isn’t as open as Andy wants him to be, Andy gives Sinter an ultimatum.
And honestly, suck a fucking cactus if you really think LGBT+ people force each other out of the closet by giving our significant other’s ultimatums when they’re scared and just learning to explore their sexuality after growing up in a homophobic family that forced them to compartmentalize any chance of figuring it out sooner. Like honestly. Fuck off.
Everything about this book really tested my limits and I’m so extremely done with this. I try really hard to be neutral even when I don’t like a book because I understand the whole “to each their own” and just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for someone else and blah blah blah, but this book is problematic and damaging and quite honestly, disgusting and I don’t adhere to it and to be frank with you, I think only straight people that read Wattpad fanfiction and think they have any clue what it’s like to be queer would actually enjoy this book, so. I said what I said and I’ll stand by it and I would throw this book in a bonfire if I owned a physical copy of it but it lucked out, I happen to like my Kindle (and also lack the money to replace it in a fit of rage).
scorpiemm's review against another edition
2.0
this book is not good but its cute so it gets 2 stars
briannareadsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I don't want to say this book sucked because it didn't suck. There were a few things I liked about it. I liked Sinter and Andy as characters. I liked the family dynamic of a woman, a bi disaster who accidentally got her pregnant, and his gay boyfriend helping to raise his baby. I liked how quick and easy this book was to fly through.
Nothing else was really special for me. The book sort of seemed like it started midway through a story. I know the purpose of this story was that it's such an inconvenient time for Sinter to figure out he's bisexual, but still, the timing and pacing of this story just seemed so weird. Also, I know this book is advertised as a story about Sinter discovering his bisexuality, but he seemed to have figured it out way before the book started.
The writing just seemed weird and sort of cheesy at parts. The author doesn't seem to know how to write from a 25-year-old LGBT guy's voice because they sounded like teenage girls to me. It seemed like a bunch of tropes were thrown in just for drama: Instead, I skipped like 20% and read the end. It seemed like so much was drawn out for no reason. And also, it was boring. I still don't quite understand the point of the story now that I'm writing about it.
BTW is it weird that I pictured Sinter as emo Dan Howell a bit?
I don't want to say this book sucked because it didn't suck. There were a few things I liked about it. I liked Sinter and Andy as characters. I liked the family dynamic of a woman, a bi disaster who accidentally got her pregnant, and his gay boyfriend helping to raise his baby. I liked how quick and easy this book was to fly through.
Nothing else was really special for me. The book sort of seemed like it started midway through a story. I know the purpose of this story was that it's such an inconvenient time for Sinter to figure out he's bisexual, but still, the timing and pacing of this story just seemed so weird. Also, I know this book is advertised as a story about Sinter discovering his bisexuality, but he seemed to have figured it out way before the book started.
The writing just seemed weird and sort of cheesy at parts. The author doesn't seem to know how to write from a 25-year-old LGBT guy's voice because they sounded like teenage girls to me. It seemed like a bunch of tropes were thrown in just for drama:
Spoiler
the pregnancy, the loved-one in a coma. When Fiona revealed her pregnancy, I actually got so mad that I thought about stopping reading the book. I forgot these characters were adults and not teenagers and the pregnancy threw me off.BTW is it weird that I pictured Sinter as emo Dan Howell a bit?
novaturientexplorer's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the whole fatherhood thing quite a lot. It's a cute story and I think I almost cried at one point. Absolutely loved it.
craftychelc's review against another edition
3.0
All the Better Part of Me follows Sinter Blackwell, a 25 year old aspiring actor temporarily living in London who, at the start of the book, is beginning to question his sexuality and his feelings for his childhood best friend, Andy. The book follows Sinter as he struggles to define his identity, both to himself and those around him, alongside his burgeoning career and personal relationships.
If this book had just been about Sinter exploring his sexuality and coming to terms with it, I think I could have loved it. Sinter was an engaging main character with a great voice, and his relationship with Andy was sweet and one you could easily root for. His antagonistic relationship with his parents was tough to read, but very much an unfortunate reflection of what many LGBT+ kids have to go through, so felt like an honest portrayal, albeit with a happy ending. And explicitly defining bicurious AND bisexual in a book, especially with regards to a male character, is so rarely seen that this book should definitely be celebrated for doing so.
I just.. didn’t gel with the unnecessary drama in what could have been a really poignant identity story. Yes, it was good to show Sinter hooking up with men and women (after all, the whole definition of bisexuality) but the pregnancy added an entire new layer onto this story that I felt it could do without. I felt at points like I was reading two separate stories: one about Sinter exploring his sexuality, and one about Sinter stepping up as a father.
I’m also not ever really a fan of using trauma to advance a romance plot, and especially not when it is your gay character suffering. There are so many instances of this in queer literature that it feels old, and the almost ‘bury your gays’ trope isn’t ever fun to read. There are so many ways to move around a problem (healthy communication!!!!!) that including an almost-fatal car crash for shock value and to kickstart a character into action feels cheap.
So while I enjoyed the characters I have to say I’m a little dismayed that I didn’t totally love this book, especially considering there are barely any queer new adult books out there with a bisexual MC. And, whilst I do appreciate the rep, it is always easy to see when a queer book has been written by someone who is not really part of the community – just the little things, like the idea that you have to figure out your sexuality as a teenager, or the sex scenes – but it is encouraging that these books are written, and will hopefully carve a little niche in the market for openly queer authors to write openly queer characters.
If this book had just been about Sinter exploring his sexuality and coming to terms with it, I think I could have loved it. Sinter was an engaging main character with a great voice, and his relationship with Andy was sweet and one you could easily root for. His antagonistic relationship with his parents was tough to read, but very much an unfortunate reflection of what many LGBT+ kids have to go through, so felt like an honest portrayal, albeit with a happy ending. And explicitly defining bicurious AND bisexual in a book, especially with regards to a male character, is so rarely seen that this book should definitely be celebrated for doing so.
I just.. didn’t gel with the unnecessary drama in what could have been a really poignant identity story. Yes, it was good to show Sinter hooking up with men and women (after all, the whole definition of bisexuality) but the pregnancy added an entire new layer onto this story that I felt it could do without. I felt at points like I was reading two separate stories: one about Sinter exploring his sexuality, and one about Sinter stepping up as a father.
I’m also not ever really a fan of using trauma to advance a romance plot, and especially not when it is your gay character suffering. There are so many instances of this in queer literature that it feels old, and the almost ‘bury your gays’ trope isn’t ever fun to read. There are so many ways to move around a problem (healthy communication!!!!!) that including an almost-fatal car crash for shock value and to kickstart a character into action feels cheap.
So while I enjoyed the characters I have to say I’m a little dismayed that I didn’t totally love this book, especially considering there are barely any queer new adult books out there with a bisexual MC. And, whilst I do appreciate the rep, it is always easy to see when a queer book has been written by someone who is not really part of the community – just the little things, like the idea that you have to figure out your sexuality as a teenager, or the sex scenes – but it is encouraging that these books are written, and will hopefully carve a little niche in the market for openly queer authors to write openly queer characters.
cnewby927's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks netgalley for a free arc for an honest opinion.
This was an easy read but unfortunately there wasn't much depth in my opinion. I think there will be a lot of people that do like this book more than me but I feel like it fell a little flat. I just wanted more from the characters.
This was an easy read but unfortunately there wasn't much depth in my opinion. I think there will be a lot of people that do like this book more than me but I feel like it fell a little flat. I just wanted more from the characters.
louandlife's review against another edition
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
DNF @ 61%
I really wanted to like this book... I did in the beginning. I liked it up until the London section of the book ended. I feel like the London section added depths of the book which were removed when the book shifted to America. In addition, I didn't like or agree with a plot point which happens at the end of the London section which has an impact on the American section. On top of that it seems like there was a bunch of things which keep the characters apart which I didn't like. It was a lot of unnecessary drama. I wish the book focused more on the characters their feelings and their goals in life, as opposed to throwing things at them to keep them apart.
It's such a shame that I ended up DNFing this book because I really liked the representation of a bisexual south Asian-American (I think he's Indian-American but I don't want to say that for sure). I loved the Hollywood aspects of the book but I didn't like how that fades when the London sections ends. It becomes less of a focus.
I started reading this book in July 2019, and when I was enjoying the book I read like 40% of it in a few days, but then when a plot twist occurred that I didn't like, I probably read 9% of the book in three months. I felt like I gave the book a strong chance, but unfortunately I didn't like the way it turned out, and it was stressing me out not finishing this book.
I personally wouldn't recommend this book.
DNF @ 61%
I really wanted to like this book... I did in the beginning. I liked it up until the London section of the book ended. I feel like the London section added depths of the book which were removed when the book shifted to America. In addition, I didn't like or agree with a plot point which happens at the end of the London section which has an impact on the American section. On top of that it seems like there was a bunch of things which keep the characters apart which I didn't like. It was a lot of unnecessary drama. I wish the book focused more on the characters their feelings and their goals in life, as opposed to throwing things at them to keep them apart.
It's such a shame that I ended up DNFing this book because I really liked the representation of a bisexual south Asian-American (I think he's Indian-American but I don't want to say that for sure). I loved the Hollywood aspects of the book but I didn't like how that fades when the London sections ends. It becomes less of a focus.
I started reading this book in July 2019, and when I was enjoying the book I read like 40% of it in a few days, but then when a plot twist occurred that I didn't like, I probably read 9% of the book in three months. I felt like I gave the book a strong chance, but unfortunately I didn't like the way it turned out, and it was stressing me out not finishing this book.
I personally wouldn't recommend this book.
theoverflowingbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Molly Ringle’s novel, All the Better Part of Me, follows a young actor living in England as he grapples with his sexuality and the obstacles life throws at him. While this novel hosts a cool cast of characters, it’s premise is lackluster upon actually reading the book.
It's an inconvenient time for Sinter Blackwell to realize he's bisexual. He's a 25-year-old American actor working in London, living far away from his disapproving parents in the Pacific Northwest, and enjoying a flirtation with his director, Fiona. But he can't deny that his favorite parts of each day are the messages from his gay best friend, Andy, in Seattle—whom Sinter once kissed when they were 15. Finally, he decides to return to America to visit Andy and discover what's between them, if anything. He isn't seeking love, and definitely doesn't want drama. But both love and drama seem determined to find him. Family complications soon force him into the most consequential decisions of his life, threatening all his most important relationships: with Andy, Fiona, his parents, and everyone else who's counting on him.
It was a good book. I thought the characters were interesting and the friends-to-lovers trope would make for an interesting read. However, this novel fell flat for me.
I wasn’t a fan of some of the turns the plot took, including an unplanned pregnancy, disapproving parents, and car crash. It felt a bit too dramatic, yet also really predictable. However despite the drama, the story was also a bit bland at times. It wasn’t super fluffy and it wasn’t super steamy either. It just kind of toed the line of romance without crossing over said line, which might’ve been the thing to take the novel up a notch.
While this is a love story, there is also a lot dealing with family and personal issues and accepting one’s sexuality. That being said, I did find Sinter’s realization about his sexuality to be a bit rushed. The pacing of the novel and the way the story jumped time periods so quickly made it hard to keep track of what time of year it was and what the characters were going through.
It’s not that Ringle’s book was bad; it just was not as fluffy or steamy as I had hoped for. This novel just didn’t have anything to really hook me in and keep me engaged in the story and lacked the depth that you can normally find in a romance or self-discovery story. It could have been dubbed “really good” but lacked that one (or few) thing(s) to push it over the edge.
First published on www.theoverflowingbookshelf.com
It's an inconvenient time for Sinter Blackwell to realize he's bisexual. He's a 25-year-old American actor working in London, living far away from his disapproving parents in the Pacific Northwest, and enjoying a flirtation with his director, Fiona. But he can't deny that his favorite parts of each day are the messages from his gay best friend, Andy, in Seattle—whom Sinter once kissed when they were 15. Finally, he decides to return to America to visit Andy and discover what's between them, if anything. He isn't seeking love, and definitely doesn't want drama. But both love and drama seem determined to find him. Family complications soon force him into the most consequential decisions of his life, threatening all his most important relationships: with Andy, Fiona, his parents, and everyone else who's counting on him.
It was a good book. I thought the characters were interesting and the friends-to-lovers trope would make for an interesting read. However, this novel fell flat for me.
I wasn’t a fan of some of the turns the plot took, including an unplanned pregnancy, disapproving parents, and car crash. It felt a bit too dramatic, yet also really predictable. However despite the drama, the story was also a bit bland at times. It wasn’t super fluffy and it wasn’t super steamy either. It just kind of toed the line of romance without crossing over said line, which might’ve been the thing to take the novel up a notch.
While this is a love story, there is also a lot dealing with family and personal issues and accepting one’s sexuality. That being said, I did find Sinter’s realization about his sexuality to be a bit rushed. The pacing of the novel and the way the story jumped time periods so quickly made it hard to keep track of what time of year it was and what the characters were going through.
It’s not that Ringle’s book was bad; it just was not as fluffy or steamy as I had hoped for. This novel just didn’t have anything to really hook me in and keep me engaged in the story and lacked the depth that you can normally find in a romance or self-discovery story. It could have been dubbed “really good” but lacked that one (or few) thing(s) to push it over the edge.
First published on www.theoverflowingbookshelf.com
emilyrpf's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25