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A review by ryanpfw
More Than Him by Jay McLean
3.0
In anticipation of more books in this series, I’m re-reading from five years ago. I’ve always been a fan, despite the angst levels being a bit higher than my comfort zone. My memory of the original read was that More Than This was the fish-out-of-water hook that went on 50 pages too long, More Than Him and Her was a two-part angst fest, that More Than Forever was my favorite and More Than Enough was my least favorite. The Preston spinoff has hits (Leo) and misses (Lucas) but I’m more comfortable with that family dynamic, and also with the acknowledgement from the characters that some of them can be terrible, awful people at times.
This is on me. I’m not the target reader. Parts I love and parts I don’t. Operation Mayhem? Love it. Finding out your friend who was terrorized and beaten to a pulp who you haven’t seen in a year is back, so you bang on his door, terrorize him yourself, and then with a big grin on your face high-five him in front of everyone when you find out he’s got a woman in his bedroom? Don’t love it. Sometimes it’s too sappy and sometimes it’s eyeroll cringe material.
More Than Her went from 4 stars in 2016 to 2.5 now, and I’ll do the same with this book. Alan gets all the points. He’s a huge bright spot for me. Logan spends chunks too perfect, then too much of a jerk, while Amanda spends chunks as a doormat. She never stands up to Ethan, Ethan never apologizes for his behavior, and Lexi should run for her life. I understand their motivations, but how they behave is inexcusable and not commented upon. Ethan had a great followup moment, but never took responsibility for what he did. It’s even commented on by Amanda. I get that’s real life. It would be a dealbreaker for me, especially given how the plot there proceeds.
At one point, after leaving Amanda 19 times at the most delicate times in her life, Logan makes a comment that if her brother didn’t approve of their relationship, he would leave her immediately out of respect for Ethan. Excuse me? After literally everything we just read, Ethan has veto authority over Amanda’s life in Logan’s eyes, with no consideration of Amanda’s feelings? Thank God we never got there as a plot line, because it’s right up this book’s alley. Logan’s often right, as is Amanda, as was Ethan. Their feelings and frustrations were valid, but in the end, they were all assholes a big chunk of the time, and that got grating to read this time around. The Heidi stuff was solid, because she actually took responsibility for her actions.
The issue for me may be the women. Mikayla had plot motivated reasons for vulnerabilities in More Than This. Lucy has a band of men taking care of her but in my memory before the next reread, is strong herself. I feel like Mikayla, then Amanda, and those that follow, especially in More than Enough and at least two of the women in the Preston series never stand up for themselves sustainably and are doormats more often than not.
This is on me. I’m not the target reader. Parts I love and parts I don’t. Operation Mayhem? Love it. Finding out your friend who was terrorized and beaten to a pulp who you haven’t seen in a year is back, so you bang on his door, terrorize him yourself, and then with a big grin on your face high-five him in front of everyone when you find out he’s got a woman in his bedroom? Don’t love it. Sometimes it’s too sappy and sometimes it’s eyeroll cringe material.
More Than Her went from 4 stars in 2016 to 2.5 now, and I’ll do the same with this book. Alan gets all the points. He’s a huge bright spot for me. Logan spends chunks too perfect, then too much of a jerk, while Amanda spends chunks as a doormat. She never stands up to Ethan, Ethan never apologizes for his behavior, and Lexi should run for her life. I understand their motivations, but how they behave is inexcusable and not commented upon. Ethan had a great followup moment, but never took responsibility for what he did. It’s even commented on by Amanda. I get that’s real life. It would be a dealbreaker for me, especially given how the plot there proceeds.
At one point, after leaving Amanda 19 times at the most delicate times in her life, Logan makes a comment that if her brother didn’t approve of their relationship, he would leave her immediately out of respect for Ethan. Excuse me? After literally everything we just read, Ethan has veto authority over Amanda’s life in Logan’s eyes, with no consideration of Amanda’s feelings? Thank God we never got there as a plot line, because it’s right up this book’s alley. Logan’s often right, as is Amanda, as was Ethan. Their feelings and frustrations were valid, but in the end, they were all assholes a big chunk of the time, and that got grating to read this time around. The Heidi stuff was solid, because she actually took responsibility for her actions.
The issue for me may be the women. Mikayla had plot motivated reasons for vulnerabilities in More Than This. Lucy has a band of men taking care of her but in my memory before the next reread, is strong herself. I feel like Mikayla, then Amanda, and those that follow, especially in More than Enough and at least two of the women in the Preston series never stand up for themselves sustainably and are doormats more often than not.