More than Words

Kove’s second More than Anything novel is relentlessly depressing, focusing closely on gay male misery that’s hardly balanced by a few unrealistic scenes of passion. After bullied, self-hating teen Alex Eknes decides to kill himself, his plans are interrupted by the handsome, athletic Andreas Lister. Even though Andreas’s best friend is Alex’s most relentless tormentor, Andreas and Alex’s relationship is swiftly consummated. From there, the narrative loses steam. By the midway point, Kove stops including romantic or erotic interactions between the protagonists. Instead, what transpires is a rote recital of the worst-case-scenario tropes of homosexuality. The overall mood is miserable, with few characters showing any sign of hope or pleasure in life. The ending is ambiguous, with little conclusion for a story that has no arc. A series of events and a collection of characters are presented, rendered irrelevant, and disappear or are ignored—or else they are raised again and again within the story, with no meaning to be found. Even the most undemanding romance fan will be dissatisfied by this predictable, melancholy, and shallow novel. (Aug.)