I really enjoyed BUSY AIN'T THE HALF OF IT, and wish I could spend more time with these characters, especially Justin. The plot moves a little too fast at times, but I was totally engrossed in both Justin and Elijah's stories. Well done. Now I need a sequel.

Busy Ain't The Half of It follows Uncle Justin and Nephew Elijah, two black queer men, in a dual POV narrative. Elijah is out and proud with his boyfriend of two years, while recently divorced, father of two, Justin, is finally getting the chance to explore his sexuality. It's a story about family, love and life's purpose.

The first thing to point out is how incredible the representation was in this book. Not just by having two black queer leads, but the full range of LGBTQ+ POC secondary characters as well.

I personally would have liked a longer book that took more time with each scene and showed more of a development of the character's relationships. I felt kind of rushed through the story, especially by the end and didn't really fell satisfied with the time given to each of their journeys.

Some favorite topics for me that were brought up though were the systemic racism behind standardized testing, the lack of "non-traditional" stories in theatre/film, and the availability of POC roles in theatre/film. Having a mom who works in education and my being a performer as well, I often think about these things a lot so it was great to see it discussed in a book.

The novel is incredibly readable and moves very quickly. I would recommend it if you're trying to get out of a reading funk.

Even though this is quite a short story, a "light" novel, the characters are defined better than a lot of trilogies or very huge books, so kudos!
If you are a fan of romance books, surely the plot will seem pretty similar to a lot of other stories, but the main point of this is: it's a queer story, and many known romance plots are yet to be explored in queer literature (or that's what I think), so this novel easily brings fresh air in the contemporary romance group.
So, to sum it up: this book is a very easy and enjoyable read, perfect if you love queer romance!

Busy ain't the Half of it is a short, simple yet thought provoking novel which revolves around the lives of Elijah, his uncle Justin and their close circle including family and friends. Oscillating between the points of view of Elijah and Justin, the book subtly discusses many important issues of the time, embedded in the smooth narration and offers a thorough understanding of the problems faced by people who choose to follow their dreams rather than accepting the standardized roles.

Both Elijah and Justin who are so talented in their respective fields but are not given the place they deserve throws light on the discriminations one has to face based on their colour and sexuality which is prevalent even in areas which claims to be progressive as in entertainment and news.

The novel, with a perfect presentation of the busy lives of both the protagonists, is a beautiful mixture of love, tension and drama.

🏳️‍🌈 Book Tour - Busy Ain’t The Half Of It 🏳️‍🌈

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Busy Ain’t The Half Of It is a compelling read about the lives of Elijah (nephew) & Justin (uncle). Told in dual narrative, this book shows the every day life, struggles and relationships of the pair. We see the injustices, under representation and systemic discrimination that black and brown queer folk face in daily lives and in media. We also see the ins and outs of finding your way in a relationship and finding your way in the world.

Overall, the book had a lot going on and it was all done incredibly well, in my opinion. Busy by name and busy by nature, this was packed full of life, overcoming obstacles, facing your problems and finding your way in relationships. I love following Justin, Elijah and their friends, I loved the LGBTQIA+ representation and I loved the relevancy of the story. We had a section at the end crossing into the pandemic and I feel that was done so well, too!

My only wish is that this book was longer. I would have loved to see Elijah and Justin in their more settled and secure states near the end, as a period of time was glossed over. This was done well and made sense but I could have happily had that period of time extended into a spin off or a second book! ☺️

This is a brill book and I’d recommend it to anybody. It was funny, emotional, poignant and relevant. Thank you to @pridebooktours for allowing me to experience my first ever book tour - I’ve absolutely loved my first read and I feel privileged to have been a part of it. ❣️

⚠️ If you are concerned about TW, feel free to message me.

This was a nice, quick read with lots of diverse representation. Sweet stories with a clear and interesting contrast between the two main characters/narrators and also their connection/relationship. I really liked the way all the friendships and family relationships were portrayed. I love when a book can get people thinking and exposed to social justice themes - this book covered a lot of important issues, sometimes it felt a bit forced into the story though, in a way that would have felt more appropriate in a book of essays or short stories. But the way Elijah and Justin each talks about their concerns in those big moments was really well done. I found the beginning a bit repetitive with more exposition than I prefer, but the pacing, dialogue and flow of the last third of the book was great. Bonus: I loved the the A Different World reference near the end.

Busy Ain’t The Half Of It reminds me of the saying, “make time for what’s important”. Justin is a popular journalist for a News channel and Elijah is his nephew and an actor trying to get his first break. Both characters are so busy with their lives and trying to juggle family, careers, and relationships. It is a fast paced book with a lot of characters but the storyline was really entertaining for me. There were thought provoking parts and things that made me laugh. The authors delved deep into the life of an African American LGBTQ Male. I had never read any storyline like this one so I was really intrigued but also learned as I was reading. I also enjoyed reading both characters point of views. I think with Justin being married for so long then divorced and in the spotlight & having twin sons it had to have been a lot for him to finally get to walk in his truth. I did enjoy the book but I will say the ending kind of felt rushed and I would have liked if there was an update or epilogue on the couples. Either way, I am glad that I took a chance on getting to read this book and be introduced to a different genre.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books INc, in exchange of an honest review.

Elijah Golden and Justin Monroe are uncle and nephew and they have intriguing careers, friends and family in LA and they are trying to navigate their busy lives, looking for love and joy.
Elijah is an actor, doing auditions, working multiple jobs, having a relationship with his recently divorced partner Zaire, while Justin is a single father of teenage twins, a TV journalist recently replaced by a younger one, while trying to live openly his sexuality and maybe finding someone.
While both of them are looking for a happy ending, will they able to see it or will they be too busy?

Busy ain't even the half of it is a story told by two POVs, Elijah's and Justin's and the reader is able to follow them, getting to know their dreams and hopes, their fears, their pasts, while they navigate their complex and busy lives, balacing works and family, friends and love, auditions and travels, games and meetings.

The book covers months of time and sometimes the pacing felt a bit too rushed, but even though it's a very quick read, the book is easy to read and it captured my attention, because I wanted to know what would happen to them.
The story is interesting and I felt connected with Justin and Elijah. Justin is a single father, now finally being able to live his sexuality, no longer in the public eye, after his divorce, struggling with his feelings, balancing his relationship with his twins and his beloved nephew, who, on the other side, is afraid to live fully his relationship with Zaire, hiding secrets and fearing big changes.

It's a story that focuses on their lives, their ups and downs, their everyday lives with family and friends and growing up, new chances, new opportunities and people. I loved the relationship between uncle and nephew, how they rely on one other, trusting, helping, talking to each other, about everything, from their sexual lives to their work problems, from their friends to their family.

It's immersive and through the eyes of two black queer men the authors talk about race and sex, politics and lack of representations in the TV (brilliant and moving Justin's burst), discrimination and ageism, like how Justin was replaced by someone younger, even though more inexperienced and he was forced to change his life. Intriguing is also the presence of Justin's twins and how they underlined the bias and microaggression they, as Black student, experienced in the elite private school and how they needed a education more responsive to their history.

It's a story about love and relationships, new chances and new loves, be brave and proud. I loved reading about Justin and his new love, about Elijah and Zaire understanding, helping, supporting and loving one other, talking and overcoming dramas and insecurities.

I really enjoyed reading this book.

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

I loved the concept and premise behind Busy Ain’t the Half of It. I really enjoy multigenerational stories, and so I appreciated reading one with Black queer characters. It made me want a whole shelf of these kinds of books.

The characters were both funny and messy as they dealt with trying to make the kind of life they wanted for themselves and exploring what that life should even be. It was so cute watching Uncle Justin get his groove back and put himself out there more. And Justin’s hesitancy of real commitment and further entwining your life with someone felt very realistic. His avoidant tactics were hard at work, but I liked seeing his journey. I also loved seeing the contrasts and similarities between Elijah and Justin’s lives, and their bonding and advice giving moments were so nice to witness.

The family aspect in this book was so strong, and it portrayed the Black family holiday dynamic so well. Although I don’t know why Elijah thought he should be experimenting with the food on Thanksgiving. I had to side eye him on that one. But I thought that the silent moment before a meal begins was so beautifully described. This book did a good job of making the little things feel profound.

The things that didn’t work for me in this story though were sometimes it felt like the characters were repeating themselves after they had already introduced information. Also the writing would go from formal to casual a lot and vice versa and didn’t always feel natural, so it wasn’t as smooth a read as I would have liked. Also the pandemic storyline at the end felt a little separate from the rest of the story since time passed so fast, and I don’t feel like it contributed much.

But, I did like the personality of the characters and the heart of the story, so I would still recommend this book as a nice read that touches on so many great topics.

3.75 stars-4 stars

C/W: Cheating, racism, queerphobia, implied fatphobia and ageism

I am not usually a disclaimers person, but I feel it is important to start off with one for this review. I will be the first one to say that I am probably not the target audience for this book. Busy Ain't the Half of It explores the lives of two gay Black men set in LA. I have none of the lived experiences to critique aspects of race, politics or discrimination brought up in this book.

Honestly, I think overall this story is a wonderful backdrop centring an uncle/nephew relationship. We rarely get stories surrounding mentorship in families. I loved how the story presented the family unit as something created by choice or blood (but more importantly the bonds shared).

I actually loved all the characters and the multitude of diverse Queer Black experiences brought to the table in this book, from casual looks to topics that required more in-depth discussion.

Where the story somewhat lost me were the random plotlines and tangents presented. While I do concede that those probably wouldn't have held up as their own fully formed storylines, it gave the story overall a very rushed timeline, which feels somewhat misplaced in a story that is stretched over a couple of months. Either way, whether you pick up "Busy Ain't the Half of It" as a quick weekend read or something to spread out over a couple of weeks the story itself would work for either scenario.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc for providing me with an e-arc of this work.