Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author Daniel Mulligan is tough, snarky, and tattooed, hiding his self-consciousness behind sarcasm. Daniel has never fit in—not at home in Philadelphia with his auto mechanic father and brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates looked down on him. Now, Daniel’s relieved to have a job at a small college in Holiday, Northern … Northern Michigan, but he’s a city boy through and through, and it’s clear that this small town is one more place he won’t fit in.
Rex Vale clings to routine to keep loneliness at bay: honing his muscular body, perfecting his recipes, and making custom furniture. Rex has lived in Holiday for years, but his shyness and imposing size have kept him from connecting with people.
When the two men meet, their chemistry is explosive, but Rex fears Daniel will be another in a long line of people to leave him, and Daniel has learned that letting anyone in can be a fatal weakness. Just as they begin to break down the walls keeping them apart, Daniel is called home to Philadelphia, where he discovers a secret that changes the way he understands everything.
In the Middle of Somewhere is the first book in an emotional M/M romance series!
In the Middle of Somewhere
Out of Nowhere
Where We Left Off
It is followed by the spinoff SMALL CHANGE series, which contains M/F and M/M romance.
Small Change
Invitation to the Blues
Here’s what readers are saying:
“Hands down one of the best books I have read in romance. The MCs are compelling and richly nuanced, the plot is twisty and unexpected, and the writing is simply amazing.” —A reader
“This is exactly what I look for in a contemporary romance.” —A reader
“One of the best, most intense, slow, amazing relationships I have had the pleasure of reading.” —A reader
“A truly mesmerizing study of two deeply touching characters finding love” —A reader
“This book grabbed me by the gut and wrapped itself around my heart.” —A reader
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Loved the depth of the characters and watching them slowly open themselves up to each other.
I’ve read this author before. This is a contemporary mm romance story about Daniel and Rex. Told from Daniel’s POV. Both characters have a terrible past to over come to be together. Great side character in Ginger. A wonderful story with less than perfect characters.
I LOVED this book. In fact, I loved the whole series but since this review is for In the Middle of Somewhere, let’s stick with the original. I loved this book. The characters were so deeply relatable. A little lost, a little vulnerable and a little scared to open themselves up. The story is so much deeper than I thought it would be going in and I fell into the world that Parrish created so much so that I didn’t want to climb back out when the book was over. A fabulous read and a great start to this series.
I enjoyed this book the first time I read it, and I enjoyed the narration just as much. The main characters are both sweet and they each have some interesting quirks. I also appreciated the secondary cast of characters. Each one had a nicely developed personality even if their role was small.
Roan Parrish has a talent for showing the reader different perspectives on the behavior of each character. Daniel’s perceptions of Rex’s actions are constantly being challenged as Daniel gets to know him better. I particularly appreciated how Parrish approaches the issue of having challenges with reading and general learning.
This was a lovely story that holds both heartbreak and joy. The narration was nicely performed, and I will be rereading the rest of the series again.
You guys know I love a story that is set in my home state of Michigan. Over the last year I have discovered Roan Parrish and found that I also love her stories. Put the two together and it’s magic for me. But I think it will be magic for anyone who enjoys a heartfelt love story about two people finding happiness and acceptance.
For anyone who has ever been on a road at night in the middle of nowhere Michigan, you know how right the author got the atmosphere at the beginning of this story. I will admit that Daniel was not endearing himself to me with his thoughts on my dear state. Being the city boy that he is, it’s to be expected. Just as the small up north Michigan town growing on him is to be expected.
Rex is all that I love about a Roan Parrish main character. Quiet, prickly, gruff, hard to read…with a soft and mushy inside. Rex is so darn romantic. And Daniel, having not ever had a relationship where someone actually takes care of him and gives of themselves to him, doesn’t even realize that’s what is happening at first. We eventually find out that Rex has been through the ringer himself, so he doesn’t know how to act when Daniel veers outside what he expects. Both of these characters need a heaping load of unconditional love. Daniel’s self-esteem is so low, it never occurs to him that the take-charge guy that is Rex could have doubts about himself.
Although I don’t have the same baggage as Daniel, I found myself really connecting with him. I highlighted so many of his inner thoughts as I was reading this book. Which made his screw-ups and heartaches all the more visceral for me. I wanted to protect him from his family and from himself when he let the ingrown family stuff sway his actions and attitudes.
Rex and Daniel set the page on fire with just a look, just a glancing touch. Their chemistry is amazing and beautiful. The way they fit together and compliment each other is breathtaking. As has been the case with every book I’ve read by this author, when I was finished I just had to sit and let it all sink in, all the while wondering how I can pick up another book after the amazing journey I just had in its pages.
Before I go into this review, I must give a huge shoutout to the author Roan Parrish because there is something so remarkable about reading a story about two people falling in love where neither one of the characters was overly rich or ended up getting a huge sum of money in the end by some dead relative where they could live life with no troubles because they had all this money. I don’t mind that in stories honestly, I don’t but I want REAL stories that can still leave you with hope for a beautiful future without being a billionaire. OK, sorry just had to get that out.
In the Middle of Somewhere was a beautiful story about two slightly broken people who met at a time in their lives where neither expected it, but both needed it. Daniel and Rex complimented each other so well. Rex said “The other night, you said that we mean different things when we say I love you. That you don’t know what it means to have someone love you……” and it is true. You don’t have to love someone the way they love you because people need different things out of love. Some people just need to have someone be there for them and believe that they are not going to leave while others need that constant physical or emotional support and that was conveyed so beautifully from their first encounter.
“Don’t you know? Don’t you know how crazy I am about you?” My hands fist in his shirt and I stare into his eyes, blinking slowly. I guess I did know, but I never imagined he might say it. He cradles my neck in his hand, thumb stroking my nape. “I—I love you so much.” He says it quietly, but it’s like a bomb going off.”
Rex was this giant of a man, but he wasn’t your typical Alpha male where he was take charge, and would fight anyone that came close to Daniel. He was soft around the edges, especially when he cared for you. Rex was this forced to be reckoned with from page one and he didn’t have to beat someone bloody to show that. He did it in the way he cared for Daniel, making sure he ate when Daniel’s mind would space, he made sure Daniel felt like he was important even on the days when Daniel felt like he was never going fit in or be worth something to anyone.
Daniel, a tatted English professor who never had someone care for him in the way a partner should take care of their significant other. The minute he meets Rex he knows that this guy has the protentional to break down all the walls that he has built up, but it isn’t long before Rex does exactly that. It takes Daniel longer to appreciate the things that Rex does for him and for him to learn that Rex doesn’t do it because he has to but because he cares for Daniel in a way that just doesn’t seem to be real.
Rex and Daniel’s story is one I will ever forget. There was no big grand gesture of love, no riding off into the sunset with no troubles. They both still had issues ahead of them that they had to face but they found something in one another that neither has had for a long time, a HOME. To me, that is probably the most beautiful thing. To find a home in someone, not a place or a job but in someone.
The strength of this book is its engaging characters. Well done!
Kept me up way past my bedtime two nights in a row and broke my reading funk. I love the characters. Everyone needs a Rex. And a Ginger.
This was such a good book… I totally got lost in the story. The characters are so well writen and I loved their story. Many books are fun but not all books teach you something, this one does!
I’ve discovered that there is nothing that Roan Parrish writes that I won’t enjoy reading, and IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMEWHERE is a perfect example. I’ve already bought the next two in the series. Daniel and Rex seem like two of the most mismatched men possible, but it doesn’t take long to fall into the spell that Parish weaves with her beautiful storytelling. Cannot wait to start the next in the series. I highly recommend anything this talented author writes!
Well done story of two men with personal walls trying to deal with a developing friendship and more. Spots can be difficult but in general it is a ‘hard-to-stop-reading’ book. I recommend the book.
In the Middle of Somewhere – Roan Parrish – Kindle Unlimited is a completely underrated magical hoard of things I would never normally read but can because I paid a subscription so it feels like a gym membership that I should use to its full extent. So this is me telling you that I like this book so much! Roan Parrish’s characters all make my heart hurt, and I want to send the whole cast of characters and this writer to therapy. But this was so good I suspended my only read books that are light and fluffy and will never make me want to cry empathetically rule! Happy Reading!
Holy crap. I fell deep into this book. Rex and Daniel are just the most beautifully broken and perfect couple. OMG! Major book hangover here. Already cracking open book number two!
I wanted to like this book so much. And it was just meh to me. It felt so long and I really just did not fall in love with Rex or Daniel. I liked both the characters, but I just didn’t get the connection I was looking. Also it felt really long and honestly Ginger was super annoying. She did not seem like a young woman but rather a grandma and yeah it just didn’t work for me. Also, like I cannot stand Colin and not sure if I want to read about him. He does seem interesting and it would be nice to figure out why he thought it was right to treat Daniel so poorly. But I am really looking forward to Leo’s story!! Leo totally stole my heart!!
A story so beautiful it makes you think a little differently about life,love and family!
Those three things can all mean something differently to each person just like how they handle their childhoods and how they turn out due to them as well.
Patience, learning and understanding are also big components of what makes this story so good.
Loved this book! All the words all the feels!
This is the second Roan Parrish book that I have read. She is awesome! This book was amazing!
In the Middle of Somewhere was such a pleasure to read that I didn’t want it to end. I wish I could continue to see what Rex and Daniel are up to on a daily basis—just to check in, just to make sure they’re okay.
I love these two beautiful, flawed, vulnerable, lost, and insecure men. If ever there are any two more deserving of finding love and companionship, Rex and Daniel should be handed the winning ticket—which makes me think of that expression: when something good comes out of something bad.
On a dark road, in an unfamiliar town and an unfamiliar state, completely broke and at a crossroads in his life, Daniel is the luckiest guy in the world. In the middle of Michigan, after interviewing for a job at the local college, he has the good fortune of hitting a dog, crashing his rental car into a tree, and getting himself pretty banged up. The whole series of events leads him right to where he never knew he belonged—in Rex’s life.
Rex is just as fortunate. He lives alone in his cabin, deep in the woods, has maybe one friend, no family—no one to even talk to—until there is a car crash, an injured dog, and a banged up lost soul who needs his help, leading him to where he never knew he belonged—in Daniel’s life.
Sounds kinda perfect, right? Not so fast! Daniel has had a crap life. If it wasn’t for his best friend, Ginger, (whom I adored) I can’t imagine what his life would have been like. Living with his father and three rough and tumble older brothers in a run down place in Philadelphia was brutal—especially when you’re gay, and smart enough to be working on your PhD. His whole life has been spent not fitting in, getting beat up, or fighting just to stay alive.
Rex is an only child who moved around constantly with his mother—who had stars in her eyes. He never knew his dad and never put down roots anywhere long enough to call home. He has suffered more than his share of tragedy just from being gay—his huge physical presence is the only asset that has kept him alive.
As much as the physical attraction between the two is pretty palpable, the lack of confidence and hesitation to trust is stronger, especially for Daniel. I think as much as Rex is shy and vulnerable, maybe his need to fix, to help, and to nurture, along with his age (we don’t know exactly how old he is, but from the author’s description we know he’s older than Daniel—more of a bear/daddy figure) makes it easier for him when it came to Daniel. Rex is perfect. I could cry every time I think of him and his selflessness towards everything. He is all that is good in this world. I felt that when Rex helped Daniel navigate through his own insecurities, he helped himself. Daniel, on the other hand, kinda comes through and grows up during the course of the story. Again, Ginger, hands down, has everything to do with Daniel making the right decisions.
Every chapter brings along either a new adventure, a hard decision, an unfamiliar feeling, or an acceptance for this new-found relationship that’s growing before our eyes. It is just beautiful. It is imperfectly perfect. More importantly, Rex, and especially Daniel, reach a point where the future means them being together.
The message loud and clear: to fight for who you love, and love with everything that you are. The rest will fall into place because home is where they both are—together. I will read this book again—that I am sure of.
Beautiful attention to detail, phenomenal editing, along with characters whom I adored, made this easily, a five—state-of-Michigan-key-ring—star read for me. I am really looking forward to the next in the series ~ Daniel’s brother, Colin, should have thought twice before handing out all those homophobic barbs!
Touching, heartfelt, beautifully romantic
It is books like this that just make my heart burst and make me so incredibly glad when I’ve found a new author whose books I just want to devour!! In the Middle of Somewhere was Roan Parrish’s debut novel and I swear you cannot tell. She is another one of those authors who just has incredible talent and a knack for telling beautiful stories.
I was blown away by the authenticity and realism of Daniel and Rex in this book. They are both beautiful men but with very sad pasts and a lot of things to work through. But together they complement each other and the chemistry between these two is hot hot hot The sex scenes are sensual, steamy and absolutely beautiful and I love these two together. Furthermore, as the story is told entirely from Daniel’s perspective, we spend a lot of time in his head and I found myself feeling like the type of inner critic in Daniel’s head is one I could identify with. He struggles with the thought that everything will turn out ok and is a pessimist first … and I could identify with this so very much! Sure our backgrounds are polar opposites (let alone our gender and sexual orientation), but there was something about his inner voice that I just understood completely.
Roan is a phenomenal author and one I’m so very glad to have found. She writes absolutely beautiful mm romance stories that are so character driven and that I always manage to relate to. A definite one click forever author for me and I cannot wait to read her next release as well as her through her back catalogue as well.
nicandbooks rating
Amazon/Goodreads rating
4.5 Stars
Oh my goodness, this book was sooo goood.
This was a very interesting contemporary M/M romance novel. Daniel and Rex are perfection. They complemented each other beautifully. I mean, seriously, Rex is the perfect guy in every way. His flaws and experiences just added to the beautiful, strong, and caring man that he is. Daniel was the main character and the story was told from his POV. At first I thought he was annoying because he was never sure of himself when he talked, but I got used to it because it helped to shape the character that I envisioned him to be. While he is very smart with a PhD, he still has this insecurity and has a hard time expressing what it is that he’s feeling and thinking. It made him seem like more of a real person.
Both Rex and Daniel have such a heartbreaking history. It fit perfectly into the people that they became. Roan created two beautiful characters and I loved learning about who they were and their relationship progressed throughout the story. Not to mention the extra steamy sex scenes(not for everyone).
This was a beautifully written debut novel by Roan Parrish with characters fighting through their own insecurities and pain to find their happiness.
Warning: This book is not for everyone. It deals with M/M romance and the hardship that comes with that lifestyle. There are also some intense and explicit sex scenes.