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novelty_reads 's review for:
Always the Almost
by Edward Underhill
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
TW: Cheating, Transphobia, Homophobia
I’ve been seeing Always the Almost everywhere recently.
Ever since I saw that pretty, orange cover I knew that this was a book I’d definitely be interested in reading. I was very fortunate to have gotten an ARC from NetGalley recently in addition to all the recent buzz I’ve been hearing.
From the start I genuinely thought this would be my favourite read of 2023 (and yes, I know it’s only the start of the year and pretty early to make a call on favourites, but anyway). It had a fantastic start and I was immediately drawn to the main character, Miles, but overtime there were definitely parts I enjoyed and others that fell flat for me.
We start the book off with Miles Jacobson, newly out as trans and recently heartbroken. His ex boyfriend, the popular jock, Shane, broke up with him following his coming out and Miles has been holding onto hope that Shane would come back to him. On New Years Eve, Miles creates a plan for the new year: get Shane back and beat arch-nemesis Cameron at the big piano competition. On his quest to meet these goals, Miles is met with a handsome and charming boy named Eric, who asks Miles for his pronouns upon meeting and dreams of creating his own graphic novel one day. Miles can’t seem to get him out of his head as he grapples between what his heart truly desires.
Miles really stood out to me from the start. He was a very likeable character and I liked his narration. This book was very focused on Miles’ exploration of his identity and his recent coming out as trans. His relationships between the different people he interacted with, online and in person were very interesting to read about.
Eric was also a likeable character but for some reason it took me a while to like him. I reckon this might’ve been because we got to understand him and some of the other side characters more around the half-way mark.
Paige and Rachel were the side characters who were quite prominent throughout the novel. Even though they were dating and close friends with Miles, I was never too invested with them. When something happened towards the end, that semblance of liking dwindled a lot more but that’s also because I’m not a big fan of said thing in books and I don’t really like reading books with that sort of stuff in it and while yes, I agree that sometimes people make huge mistakes, I felt like everyone forgiven each other way too easily.
Overall, for me, this book had a good start but things ended up falling a little flat for me especially with the above drama. I liked the characters but I feel like maybe more layers or backstory would’ve been beneficial especially toward the start of the novel with the side characters.
ACTUAL RATING: 3.4 STARS
TW: Cheating, Transphobia, Homophobia
I’ve been seeing Always the Almost everywhere recently.
Ever since I saw that pretty, orange cover I knew that this was a book I’d definitely be interested in reading. I was very fortunate to have gotten an ARC from NetGalley recently in addition to all the recent buzz I’ve been hearing.
From the start I genuinely thought this would be my favourite read of 2023 (and yes, I know it’s only the start of the year and pretty early to make a call on favourites, but anyway). It had a fantastic start and I was immediately drawn to the main character, Miles, but overtime there were definitely parts I enjoyed and others that fell flat for me.
We start the book off with Miles Jacobson, newly out as trans and recently heartbroken. His ex boyfriend, the popular jock, Shane, broke up with him following his coming out and Miles has been holding onto hope that Shane would come back to him. On New Years Eve, Miles creates a plan for the new year: get Shane back and beat arch-nemesis Cameron at the big piano competition. On his quest to meet these goals, Miles is met with a handsome and charming boy named Eric, who asks Miles for his pronouns upon meeting and dreams of creating his own graphic novel one day. Miles can’t seem to get him out of his head as he grapples between what his heart truly desires.
Miles really stood out to me from the start. He was a very likeable character and I liked his narration. This book was very focused on Miles’ exploration of his identity and his recent coming out as trans. His relationships between the different people he interacted with, online and in person were very interesting to read about.
Eric was also a likeable character but for some reason it took me a while to like him. I reckon this might’ve been because we got to understand him and some of the other side characters more around the half-way mark.
Paige and Rachel were the side characters who were quite prominent throughout the novel. Even though they were dating and close friends with Miles, I was never too invested with them. When something happened towards the end, that semblance of liking dwindled a lot more but that’s also because I’m not a big fan of said thing in books and I don’t really like reading books with that sort of stuff in it and while yes, I agree that sometimes people make huge mistakes, I felt like everyone forgiven each other way too easily.
Overall, for me, this book had a good start but things ended up falling a little flat for me especially with the above drama. I liked the characters but I feel like maybe more layers or backstory would’ve been beneficial especially toward the start of the novel with the side characters.
ACTUAL RATING: 3.4 STARS
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia
Minor: Racism