Thank you for the publishers for sending me this arc!

This was such a sweet story of self-discovery and love, filled with a rich knowledge of piano and music I couldn't get enough of. Miles is an amazing character, and following his journey throughout the book felt incredibly special. He felt so raw and real throughout the entire book, even though my high school days are behind me, and I found myself laughing and crying with him in equal measure. He's not perfect, and maybe that was my favorite part of him—he was flawed, he made mistakes, but he felt perfectly like himself and I loved him for it. The supporting cast was mostly fun—Rachel is my spirit animal, Eric was the absolute best boyfriend in the world, and Stefania was an absolute delight to read. As much as I did enjoy the book, I'll have to knock a star for some of the side characters—the drama surrounding Paige and Rachel felt unnecessary and out of place, and the third act just before the end frustrated me to no end. However, I'd recommend this to anyone, not just teenagers, trying to find themselves.

"I am queer. I am trans. I am full of joy."

Miles is a trans boy who is determined to win this years piano competition and get his ex-boyfriend back. This isn't as easy as he hopes since his ex-boyfriend, Shane, doesn't want to date a guy. Then Miles meets Eric, the new boy in town who is proudly queer and a talented artist. But even as they grow closer, Miles can't stop thinking about Shane and how to change his mind. Will he realize that he is enough as he is? That Eric is the person who truly understands him?

Plot: 3/5
The plot presented follows an arc similar to that of Tchaikovsky. Miles first has to find his joy and then fight for it with everything he has. I truthfully just do not enjoy a love triangle so that whole aspect of the plot was not my cup of tea but Miles definitely learned a lot of lessons because of it.

Characters: 3.5/5
Miles makes for an incredible main character. He starts off extremely self questioning, a bit selfish, and easily knocked down. But his growth by the end is incredible. He learns to support his friends, and fellow competitors, without compromising himself.

Eric wears his heart on his sleeve even though he's been through some really shit bullying. I think he also develops into a really strong character as the book goes on. He's an artist who drained the color from his life but he slowly starts adding it back in. 

I think Shane was actually done pretty dirty in this story. I'm never "rooting" for the straight white man but he was used as a comparison 90% of the time to show how much better Eric was (even when Miles was wondering why he still wanted Shane). We don't learn much about him other than he plays football and he wants a girlfriend not a boyfriend but Miles still wants him. 

Along with Shane a lot of the other side characters fall flat. Even his best friends seem to be largely used as plot devices, going through parallel experiences with their own relationships. Which rather than being taken seriously, gets thrown in Miles face. Writing: 4/5I enjoyed Underhills writing style alot, he really nailed the funny, relatable, and honest narration that does well in YA. He sneaks in a number of parallels that fit perfectly. Like the first time we watch Miles perform, he's pointing out all his flaws. The second time, he is all joy. 

Overall: 3.5/5
I love what this book has to offer. It is about queer joy, about loving yourself and saying screw you to anyone who doesn't accept you. That has so so much value and I can't wait to see this on shelves. It just wasn't quite the book for me because of the love triangle and the side character development.

What a beautiful story of identity, self discovery, and all the queer joy!

Miles has recently come out as trans. His goals for the new year are to beat his nemesis Cameron Hart in the tri-state piano competition, and to win back his ex, Shane McIntyre. Enter Eric Mendez—the new kid in town, a proudly queer cartoonist who immediately sees Miles for who he really is. As they bond over their shared passions for art, butterflies are inevitably stirred up too.

Get ready for a touch of fake dating, cute waffles with faces, lots of Tchaikovsky, your typical high school friend drama, passionate lesbian best friends, and an intimidating but incredible piano teacher.

I loved the supportive and identity affirming conversations modeled for us by Miles’ piano teacher and friends in this story. Eric is also just the most tender-hearted guy, and the way he so naturally makes others feel comfortable and more confident in their own skin is so heartwarming.

Overall, an amazing own-voices YA romance that I’d definitely recommend. The fact that books like this exist for young people today makes my heart so incredibly happy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this arc.

First and foremost, this was a beautiful story about queer and trans joy and Edward was really able to bring that joy to the page in the most honest way! Miles’ story was at times heartbreaking (his parents adjusting to his identity, body dysmorphia, and just the general horrors of being a teenager) but overall it was about finding joy in every part of your life! Miles’ found his joy from his friends, his family, the piano, and most importantly from himself! I also adored the supporting characters (not you, Cameron 🙄) Eric was a cinnamon roll that I just wanted to wrap up in a hug for hours and the way that he understood and accepted Miles for everything about him is so rare but so beautiful and so needed, Nina is adorable and I understand her sneaking cookies in her pockets when everyone tells her she can’t have anymore 😂, Rachel and Paige were complicated and messy but they both have so much love in their hearts and you could tell through their friendship with Miles, and Stefania is that teacher that everyone is afraid of but really has a heart of gold! I just loved them all! 🥰 I also loved how flawed Miles was because all teenagers, no matter their identity, are messy and make mistakes and are self centered but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t deserve love and forgiveness and acceptance and joy! The only reason I couldn’t give it 5 stars is because Miles’ obsession with Shane for 70% of the book got so annoying and I didn’t love how that whole situation played out but overall I loved everything else and highly recommend!!

Huge huge fan of the main character and the writing style, although I wish the side characters and love interest were given more depth in the first half--most of their character depth is reserved for the second half, and its really good once you get there, but comes too late. I think fans of I Wish You All the Best will really like this one, as the writing styles felt quite similar to me along with the general coming of age + romance blend vibes.

As a lover of happily every afters, I thought it was an excellent sign when I opened my eARC and saw an author’s note promising that coveted HEA. Unfortunately, when I finished, I wished more than anything that this wasn’t an HEA.

There is a lot to love about this book. It is a coming of age story about queer and trans joy with a lot of heart. Edward Underhill is an imaginative and emotional writer. The main character—Miles—was fleshed out and felt, for much of the book, like a dear friend.

It is fast-paced and gripping. I picked it up this morning with the intent of reading a few chapters and lost myself in the book. It is not often that a story pulls me in like this one had.

If this were just a coming-of-age contemporary story about a queer trans boy who was entered into a piano championship, it would have been an easy 5 stars.

But it was a romance. And the romance was not only poorly written, but contained so much infidelity that I cannot in good conscience recommend it to teens. (Spoilers ahead) Both Paige and Miles cheat on Rachel and Eric respectively, and handle it terribly. Miles attempts to gaslight Eric (texting him that he didn’t see what he thought he saw) and invalidates Rachel (telling her she should just forgive Paige and move on because everyone makes mistakes). (End spoilers)

In addition, while Miles is still hung-up on his ex-boyfriend, Shane, Miles engages in a relationship with Eric, but continues to be more emotionally invested in his relationship with Shane than his relationship with Eric. I struggled to ship Miles and Eric, and walked away from the book feeling like they should have parted ways.

This wasn’t the main focus of the book—but it also bothered me how absolutely pretentious Miles was about all the other competitors in his piano competition. So what if someone is playing Mozart or Beethoven? Don’t drag them down to feel better about your insecurities.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

...this was not great.

First of all, the amount of cheating in this book is simply disgusting. That's a no ifs, ands, or buts situation for me. And for it to be justified every single time? Yeah, how about we not do that? For that to be the starting point of my review makes me a little upset that this is supposed to be portrayed as a book for its intended audiences. A trans male character and his love story, but let's add cheating to it and target younger audiences still finding themselves? And for both of them to cheat? Seriously, come on. That is unhealthy and definitely not something our younger generations should be reading as normal and it most certainly does not end in a healthy and happy relationship.

I barely want to write more besides after about halfway through, I lost all interest and started reading it only to finish it to write this review. I'm severely disappointed that this is supposed to be a positive LGBTQ+ book.

This is one of those books where I basically thought it was perfect and loved everything about it and I can't think of much else to say about it? Other than yeah, I think you should read it because it was such a delight from start to finish and I loved these flawed, extremely real characters so very much. I'd happily read another book about them just living their lives. I read quite a bit of YA and this is gonna be one of my favorites for this year. It's great. Go read it. I'm definitely looking forward to anything else this author writes.

I received a copy from Netgalley for review.

So overall, I think this is an adorably, cute, YA romance that is super wholesome and worth a read or two. It follows Miles, who is recently broken up with after coming out as transgender and his quest to be more comfortable with himself and his piano playing. I think the story does a pretty decent job of being full of queer joy and doesn't focus too much on things that can be super triggering for someone reading about a trans/gay person. I really appreciate that it allows Miles to deal with all of the emotions of coming out in a super healthy, supportive way. He has the support of his nearest friends, family (dad eventually gets there), and a new kid Eric. I also enjoyed the way that his piano teacher, Stefania, parallels some of her teachings with what's happening in other areas of Miles's life. It really gives the read a lot of digest while reading the piano lessons (which could be boring if done otherwise)

I was 20% in when I knew this was going to be a beautiful, impactful book. This touched my heart.

No epic plot line but an intense story of self discover. I didn’t understand all of the piano/ piano competition references, but I could still follow the storyline.

I didn’t speed through this but I had a fun time with Miles. I cried for him, I was happy for him, I’m just really glad I read this. It gave me a different viewpoint into the queer community that I haven’t seen before.

Coming of age
LGBTQ+ rep (gay, lesbian, transgender, pansexual)

Check content warnings- this had a lot of potential triggers.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books for this digital ARC.

I enjoyed this but I definitely think this is more coming of age than romance. It's about Miles' journey to truly accept himself and know who he is. I did enjoy his romance with Eric but the Shane thing pissed me off. I understood Miles' feelings about it but I think it lasted too long. I also don't think he should've stayed friends with Paige after what she did.

I received an arc through netgalley.

i enjoyed the experience reading this book, but it fell short a bit in the fact that it had a bit too much cheating for me. i understand these characters are teenagers and they are gonna make mistakes and everything feels like the end of the world but honestly having 2 separate situations with characters cheating on each other was just a bit much. this was an important story to tell and it had some important representation of characters and i’m glad it all worked out in the end, it just wasn’t everything i thought it would be! as well as i went into this thinking it was mostly a romance book when in honesty it is just about miles’s life with some romance thrown in, which is not fault of the book/author it was my own expectations ahaha so i feel like i was getting a little bored throughout some of the story when it was focusing a bit too much on piano lessons etc. i feel like someone who enjoys piano and classical music would love it, i just didn’t. overall this was REALLY good for a debut novel like i honestly didn’t even realize it was a debut! i definitely would recommend this book to anyone who might feel represented by it, and i still give it 4 stars, it just didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

I really love reading queer books, especially those written for teens and YA, that allow the readers to understand a bit better what a person might be going through. I really enjoyed watching the main character, Miles, a trans boy who has just recently come out, and is dealing with the reaction of everyone around him and how they are adjusting to his new role in their lives. I loved that in the chaos of his dad who always wanted a daughter, his mom who seems to have always wanted a son, and the gamut his friends ran, he finds Eric, a truly beautiful soul who just loves him because he's him. Absolutely beautiful book and will be handselling to teens looking for queer reads!

I recommend this book without hesitation to every LGBTQ+ youth. I recommend it to parent's of LGBTQ+ youth who are struggling to let go of who they thought their child might be and accept who they really are. I recommend it to anyone who wants to laugh and cry and feel every emotion in between.

Meet Miles, a newly transitioning trans male pianist struggling to find his role in the world. Following a break up from his boyfriend, who "isn't gay," Miles is finding it hard to let go. That is, until he meets Eric. Eric sees Miles for exactly who he is. Maybe Eric even sees him better than he sees himself. And quickly, the two boys are falling head over heels for each other. Except, Miles can't seem to let go of the possibility of Shane changing his mind and realizing that even though Miles' pronouns, clothes, and hair may be different, he is still the same person on the inside who Shane loved.

Will one misguided kiss ruin everything? Will Miles finally be able to accept himself fully and allow his true identity to shine through in his piano playing?

You'll have to read to find out, but I promise you won't regret it. I also promise that you will laugh and you will cry tears of joy AND sadness, and you may even heal a part of yourself you didn't realize needed it. Every page is worth it.


Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an advance copy of Always the Almost in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

This was a very middle-of-the-road book for me. But I do know people I can recommend this book to that will love and enjoy it.

Miles has been through a lot of changes. He’s come out as trans, lost a boyfriend, and is forging his identity.

He’s still hoping to get back together with his pre transition ex, but then he meets the new guy in town and he’s not so focused on the ex anymore.

Miles is also preparing for a huge piano competition and trying to figure out how to make the piece his own.

All whirl balancing school, friendships, and his parents’ adjustment to his newly revealed self.

It’s a lot for any teen to handle.

This is a nice coming of age story with lots of queer representation and huge dash of music.

I love this book! Fans of I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver will love Always the Almost. It’s adorable, it’s queer, it has fantastic representation, and it has characters that you just fall in love with. Rachel and Stefania have my whole heart!

It’s a very easy read, keeping in mind that there are some harder topics addressed. It does have a happy ending, though, which is not a spoiler as it says so in the beginning of the book! It addresses important issues and follows Miles as he discovers who he is and allows himself to believe that he is enough.

The internal dialogue was believable and the characters felt real and were realistically flawed. The whole book just felt like a hug!

It was definitely predictable, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t entertaining and written well. There was a trope included that I really didn’t like (no spoilers) but it did add to the plot which I appreciated. Overall there’s not much negative I can say about this book! I highly recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

The cutest story I’ve read in a while. Miles Jacobson is a trans guy, pianist and recently dumped by his cis boyfriend. Miles is trying to figure out who he is and how he fits in his world. Along the way he meets Eric and together they find joy, belonging and love. So good!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Miles is a queer trans pianist in Wisconsin. His goal for his senior year is to win back his ex-boyfriend and to win the regional piano competition. When he meets and befriends a new student Eric, he must reevaluate if he’s ready to move on.

I love that this is a story about trans joy and love. In this novel, Miles has recently come out as trans, so it does touch on difficult issues like acceptance from his parents and contains some transphobic comments. Overall though, Miles has a strong support network, and the reactions from most people are neutral or positive. There is naturally some angst, as well, but it was interesting to read about Miles processing all the changes he is going through. The romance, while not as central to the plot as I expected, felt very sweet and realistic. The piano competition subplot was really interesting, as well. I enjoyed reading about how Miles interpreted and lost himself in the music.

Always the Almost is a beautiful celebration of identity, confidence and self-expression. If you’re craving a queer teen contemporary, I recommend this joyful own voice story!

This story brought joy to my heart like Miles brought joy to his piano competition. Combining elements of finding yourself and identity in competition AND life, this is a story that everyone should add to their "to be read" piles. Not only did we have main characters to root for, but I also felt myself cheering for Miles' friends.

As a piano player, I thought Edward was able to capture playing the piano beautifully on page.

The world needs more stories like this!

4.75 stars rounded up to 5.