More Than Words by T. T. Kove

More Than Words by T. T. Kove


Review by Lauren


Source: copy from Netgalley; all opinions are my own


Official Summary: Alex has had about all he can take. He doesn’t want to keep enduring one
misery after another. All he has to do is clean out his locker, take
his stuff home, and then he can bring it all to an end.

But then a random jerk crashes into him, sends his belongings
scattering across the floor, and Alex is helped unexpectedly by Andreas.
Unexpected because Andreas is friends with the school bullies, who are
no small part of the misery that has driven Alex to the breaking point.

Andreas, however, seems nothing like his friends. He’s kind and
doesn’t seem to mind all the things about Alex that drive so many others
away. When he also turns out to be bisexual, it seems far too good to
be true, and Alex is torn between trusting that good things can happen
and the certainty it only exists to be torn away.

Review: Oh, I really loved Alex and Andreas. Alex has been having a rough time lately. His parents are abusive toward each other and him, when he gets in the way, and he wishes they would just get divorced. His two older siblings have long left home and he has nobody to turn too except the razor he uses to try and control his inner pain. It’s heartbreaking when you hear about anyone who self-harms, but at the same time, it happens in real life and it’s great that authors are showing awareness of this in novels. The day Alex decides he’s going to go home and kill himself, Andreas literally runs into him at school and they start an immediate relationship.

Alex is used to being used for sex, and he doesn’t mind. He likes it and it gives him something else to focus on. When Andreas invites him to hang out and they end up having sex, Alex assumes that’s all he wants. It’s not long before he realizes that maybe Andreas actually likes him and wants to hang out with him away from his bedroom. The problem with that is that Alex is sure when Andreas is done hanging around him, he’ll go back to being depressed and will eventually kill himself. Also, being with Andreas means being with his friends, and Andreas’ best mate, Glenn, has always been cruel to Alex. It’s nice to see that Andreas won’t take this though and he goes up against Glenn in order to make Alex feel better about himself within their group.

Apart from Glenn, who has a story of his own, there is Peter and his girlfriend, Sarah, within the group. They are nice people, especially Sarah, who is happy to take Alex under her wing as another “partner” in the group. Sarah hangs out with the boys because of Peter, just like Alex does because of Andreas. Alex is uncomfortable around everyone but Andreas for awhile, but he soon starts to fit in and feel like he belongs and that maybe his depression will stay away for awhile.

It’s not that easy though, and Alex does realize he needs help beyond Andreas and physical relationships. It’s an important revelation, and I think Kove does a good job dealing with mental illness and how people sometimes need therapy, medicine, or even both. Alex and Andreas are really good for each other and More Than Words was a really quick read. There are graphic sex scenes, but it’s nothing that overtakes the story and it fits, which is always my main criteria.