Reviews

In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish

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futsch's review against another edition

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emotional

4.0

charms1976's review against another edition

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3.0

Eh...just ok

I think I was expecting so much more from this book after hearing a few people talk about it. The plot was mundane and it could have some things cut out to where it wouldn't drag so much. I also had a hard time with the chemistry between the couple because of the emotional flip flopping. Just an okay read for me.

zachzakku's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There's almost no plot to this book, but it's exceptionally sweet. Rex is obviously the most perfect human. Meanwhile, there's a whole cast of lovable side characters (I'm really hoping there's a book starring Will) and Daniel's internal monologues are full of hilarious ramblings.

Content Warnings

midnightsharkist's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

ntdan's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

piffledan's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

rhiandroid_'s review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

hanlikefawn's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Pretty much a perfect romance novel. Tugs on your heartstrings in all the right ways.

lezreadalot's review against another edition

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4.0

Can it really be this easy? Can you really just love someone and go about your daily business? How do you hold it all inside?

This book frequently made me feel like my heart was being squeezed with a giant fist. It's just... so much of what I want out of romance. A tattooed professor coming from a family of mechanics that never really understood him, and a sweet, loner of a gentle giant come together in a quiet romance.

And I mean, it's pretty quiet. A lot of this book is talking, feelings, and talking about feelings, which works for me, but I get how it wouldn't work for everybody. Daniel has a whole mess of insecurities linked back to his family and class and homophobia that he has to work through, while confronting his own prejudices about school and learning and relationships. I loved how the book talked about anxiety and depression, and how hard it can be to let down your walls, how hard it can be in a relationship when you're fighting against yourself. I think my favourite POV for romances is dual POV 3rd person, but I really enjoyed the 1st person here through Daniel. I think we still got a perfect sense how who Rex was as a character, and the slow unravelling of his background was just really really good. I love him so much. <3

While slow, and definitely character focused, the book did have a plot. It was just a very... idk, interior one, that emphasised character growth. I loved the examination of the relationships. I loved the found family aspect of Daniel and Ginger's friendship, and how close they were. I loved Rex and Daniel together so freaking much; their chemistry was fantastic and the evolution of the relationship had me clutching at my heart. It's a slow unravelling of what it is to be loved and how to be loved. There's also like, a fair amount of sex scenes in this; almost but not quite to the point of being too much. Idk, it just worked, because they were often so emotional? Ahhhh.

Also GOD I love pet names in romances, they make me so happy! T_T

This wasn't perfect. The author has a tendency for repetition, which wasn't my favourite thing. Repetition of words is fine; repetition of ideas and emotional beats is a little less so, at least for me. There were a few personal squicks. Also, there was no biphobia, it's just that in certain situations where you'd think the idea of bisexuality would be obvious, it wasn't mentioned? Idk, it was a bit annoying. And there was a moment where Daniel and Ginger were talking about another gay character and speculating about their sex life and it was just. Really weird and uncomfortable.

If you like action and drama and prefer your conflicts big and messy, you might not like this one. The pacing isn't the best, and I almost dnf'd this at 10% because I wasn't connecting to Daniel very well. But I'm so glad I pushed through. This was quiet, soft, very much interpersonal, and a really good love story. Definitely won't be my last from this author.

Content warnings:

Spoiler

homophobic language, homophobic violence, death of family members (past and off-screen).

piperclover's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This isreally intense and emotional and reminds me of Raze by this author a lot. Both Daniel and Rex in this book and Huey and Felix in Raze are all emotionally stunted with incredibly thick exteriors to avoid being hurt again. Both couples in both books have very halted emotional actions and reaction. It's incredibly difficult for any of them to be emotionally vulnerable so the progression of their emotional intimacy is done in fits, continuous stopping and starting again.

Both Daniel and Rex are used to being unwanted but in slightly different ways. Daniel is used to being neglected both physically and emotionally so he has very little idea how to communicate emotions or even have them because he's so used to being hurt and scared. He uses academia as validation and out of spite but doesn't know how to be real in any kind of relationship. Rex on the other hand is isolated both physically and emotionally. He steers clear of emotion altogether to avoid being left behind.

They make such a precious but painful couple. The amount of angst in this book is heartbreaking. I adored the scenes of cuddling, domestic bliss, and pure happiness from both characters. Watching them both settle into this relationship and into themselves was utterly delightful.

I am concerned though about Will and Leo as a couple happening in the future. While I enjoy age gap romances, I don't enjoy the younger person being barely legal so it makes me really nervous. Also because Leo is 18 I find it weird that Rex and Daniel both beat around the bush when talking to him about Will. He's plenty old enough to have a real conversation about dating people much older than you when you're so young and it bothered me that no one did that.

Content Warnings

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