In the Middle of Somewhere, Roan Parrish

In the Middle of SomewhereRating: 5 Stars

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Genre: Gay Romance

Tags: Opposites attract, Small Town,  Contemporary, Family Probs 

Length: 369 Pages

Reviewer: Jay

Purchase At: amazon.com, Dreamspinner Press


Blurb:

DANIEL MULLIGAN is tough, snarky, and tattooed, hiding his self-consciousness behind sarcasm. Daniel has never fit in—not at home with his auto mechanic father and brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates look down on him. Now, Daniel’s relieved to have a job at a small college in Northern Michigan, but, a city boy through and through, when Daniel arrives in Holiday, Michigan, it’s clear that this small town is one more place he just won’t fit in.

REX VALE clings to routine to keep loneliness at bay: honing his large, muscular body until it can handle anything, 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. Though he loves the quiet and solitude of his little cabin in the woods, Rex can’t help but want someone to share it with.

When Daniel arrives in Holiday, they are smitten with each other, but though the sex is intense and explosive, Rex fears that Daniel will be one more in a long line of people to leave him, and Daniel has learned that letting anyone in could be a fatal weakness. Just as they begin to break down the walls that have been keeping them apart, Daniel is called home to Philadelphia where a secret is revealed that changes the way he understands everything.

 

Review:

Daniel is interviewing for a job as an English professor in northern Michigan at Sleeping Bear College. The college is in Holiday. It starts out crappy because he has a lot of issues leaving Philly and going to the middle of nowhere. He hits a puppy, a big guy with a gun comes out to help him or maybe shoot him. So Daniel thinks a lot about Midwestern serial killers because according to him that’s where they seem to hang out and, I guess, serial kill. 🙂 This guy is the anti serial killer. He’s big and strong and kind and knows how to patch up a puppy. They share a kiss but that’s it. It’s a romance.

Tattooed Daniel comes back to Holiday 6 months after his interview because he gets Tattoos and sexy arsethe gig at the college. He and Rex bump in to one another because it’s a small town. They bump into a tree as well with Daniel’s ass and back as a buffer. Hot rough sex follows with ass play and cocks spurting and it had my attention. I’m gonna say now that I rate the sex in this book.  Yeap.

He spreads the globes of my ass and runs a thick finger down the crevice between them, circling my opening and making me shiver and clench up. He brings his finger up to my mouth and I suck on it. Then there’s wetness at my opening, wringing tiny shudders from me. He leans in to kiss me hard, sucks on my lower lip, and strokes me open. I cry out into Rex’s mouth as his finger slides inside. “Oh god.”
“Is this okay?” he asks. I nod enthusiastically, my head falling back against the tree. “Tell me,” he whispers. “Fuck, it’s good,” I say, my eyes clenched tight. “The night I met Two guys fucking outdoors passionate sexy straddling lap tattoosyou,” Rex says against my mouth, “all I could think about was getting inside you.” He strokes inside of me with his thick finger, thrusting against me as he speaks. His voice is low, smoke curling around me. “Your mouth.” He kisses me. “Your gorgeous ass.” He flexes his wrist and fucks me with his finger. My arms fall against his shoulders, curl around his neck. I clench around his finger and he growls, rutting harder against me.

The book is from Feb to Dec but the guys are together in town from Aug to Dec. Daniel has problems because of his family. His dad and brothers treat him badly. They are all mechanics and watch sport. Daniel is gay and goes to community college and then grad school. One of his brothers, Colin, is an absolute asshole. I have a personal beef with the kind of guy he is.   

Daniel is not kind about Michigan or small towns or some student’s attitudes. He’s all about Philly but apart from his gal pal Ginger, there is no reason for him to love Philly.  

Sleeping Bear is the only college where I got an interview and it is in the middle of fucking nowhere—near some place called Traverse City (which is definitely not a city, based on anything I’ve ever seen).

 

Still, I love Philly; I’ve lived there all my life. Moving—especially to the middle of nowhere—well, even the thought is freaking me out.

I was pissed with Daniel for a while but he grew on me. It takes balls to keep in touch with a family that makes you feel like you’re crap. It takes balls to be open with someone when you’ve been kicked around like him.  He’s all about the smell of Rex and I liked that too. Nothing like man smell!

GIF Undoing jeans“You smell amazing everywhere,” he says. I laugh, but then Rex unbuttons my jeans and nuzzles my crotch and my laugh turns breathless. He kisses my belly and then lower, taking me in his mouth. His mouth is hot and slick and his tongue wraps around my shaft, cradling me.

 

Rex is a top guy. He’s a big bear of a guy. Works out and his work keeps him buff. He’s the local handyman and while he seems easy and open he has some things that haunt him. He cooks and when things get to him he goes to the kitchen and makes something. Or he fixes things. Makes things. That he can do and it’s his biz and no one else’s. Loving someone and protecting someone he also wants to do but that requires someone who’ll stay. He sees things in Daniel that need taking care of and he just does it, but he’s scared shitless of losing him. He’ll give it a chance for Daniel. That’s the deal taking a chance on someone. There’s risks and both guys have seen that up close.  

The Verdict:

I just wanna add this, don’t judge Daniel until you get to know him. If you go the distance with him maybe you’ll be glad you did. The book is not perfect but neither am I, so there you go we go together. 🙂 I  just liked the really good characters who made the book interesting and the story about both of them. The book is a bit sad at times, and Daniel can be a downer of a narrator, but it’s real in lots of ways which felt right to me. The guys take a bit to fall but really it’s Daniel who takes a while to buy a clue. Ginger is a good best friend for Daniel and she’s funny and keeps him more grounded. Leo and Will are upbeat side characters. Even though I said there’s sadness it’s also funny. I know I review mostly shorter bloke strokes but I was sucked into this story, so even though it’s 300+ pages it didn’t seem that long to me. I liked it so much I’m hoping to get to read the next books in the series. 

Book supplied by the publisher in return for an honest review.



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Cindi
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What a great review, Jay. I second what Kazza said – welcome back and wow! on the pics and GIF. 😉

This looks like a really good book.

Jay
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You def have to read it Miz C. The Gifs and pix are my thanks for having me on. 😀

Lisa H
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Lisa H

I really enjoyed this story. I’m definitely looking forward to the next two books in this series. Jay, I agree with Kazza and Cindi… great pics. 🙂

Jay
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Thanks a lot Lisa H. I’ll be looking out for those next books too! 😀

mitchelll
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mitchelll

I know this is late, but I only recently read, or listened, to the book. I have to say that the narrator for the audio version is perfect; I don’t think I would have enjoyed the book nearly as much reading it.