evybird's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. Liked this one even more than Small Change! That cover is particularly bad though...
breadedbookpages's review against another edition
5.0
i received an electronic copy from a novel take pr in exchange for an honest review.
this book deals with a character with depression so a lot of the topics in the book deal with that too.
it's very difficult for me to try and talk about this when it comes to the depression representation but i'll try.
i felt jude's ache. the bits and pieces of how the world kind of closed up on him. how he couldn't even do what he loved anymore. how those feelings came out of nowhere and he felt so bad for having them. i loved that he had good days and bad days and he couldn't separate between them at times and had to be helped. i think what truly affected me was christopher's treatment of jude and how it showed such a big side of christopher's love for jude in this book. i personally have not had a very good experience telling my own family of my depression. and the past months have been so difficult with so many dangerous thoughts going around in my head. but to read about jude and christopher and how this profound balance of how far christopher can and should go to help jude was so heartbreakingly good for me.
i also like that we see so much from faron although jude is the sole narrator in the book. he's the type of person who's difficult to get a read on but he is quite generous with his words, his thoughts, his emotions. i loved the scenes in which they got to know each other, where they were intimate because they felt like they melded into each other in such a perfect way that didn't take from one another. they were separate people but together they became something extraordinary. i was so jealous tbh of jude for having someone like faron but i knew it stemmed from my own wish of wanting that kind of partnership of understanding. they're also quite sweet on each other, they know how to have a good quiet time. i loved the parts where they'd just do things separately but in the same space. it was like sharing comfort together.
the friendships were a big part here as they were in small change too and i loved that daniel and ginger were a key to jude going out more and having friends who aren't kaspar's friends.
sigh i don't want to talk about kaspar. he reminds me too much of my family and how they talked to me about my own depression. it breaks my heart that jude was abused emotionally for so long and how much he internalized it and how it broke him inside even more.
this book reads as a very personal representation and i'm quite honored i got to read it.
this book deals with a character with depression so a lot of the topics in the book deal with that too.
it's very difficult for me to try and talk about this when it comes to the depression representation but i'll try.
i felt jude's ache. the bits and pieces of how the world kind of closed up on him. how he couldn't even do what he loved anymore. how those feelings came out of nowhere and he felt so bad for having them. i loved that he had good days and bad days and he couldn't separate between them at times and had to be helped. i think what truly affected me was christopher's treatment of jude and how it showed such a big side of christopher's love for jude in this book. i personally have not had a very good experience telling my own family of my depression. and the past months have been so difficult with so many dangerous thoughts going around in my head. but to read about jude and christopher and how this profound balance of how far christopher can and should go to help jude was so heartbreakingly good for me.
i also like that we see so much from faron although jude is the sole narrator in the book. he's the type of person who's difficult to get a read on but he is quite generous with his words, his thoughts, his emotions. i loved the scenes in which they got to know each other, where they were intimate because they felt like they melded into each other in such a perfect way that didn't take from one another. they were separate people but together they became something extraordinary. i was so jealous tbh of jude for having someone like faron but i knew it stemmed from my own wish of wanting that kind of partnership of understanding. they're also quite sweet on each other, they know how to have a good quiet time. i loved the parts where they'd just do things separately but in the same space. it was like sharing comfort together.
the friendships were a big part here as they were in small change too and i loved that daniel and ginger were a key to jude going out more and having friends who aren't kaspar's friends.
sigh i don't want to talk about kaspar. he reminds me too much of my family and how they talked to me about my own depression. it breaks my heart that jude was abused emotionally for so long and how much he internalized it and how it broke him inside even more.
this book reads as a very personal representation and i'm quite honored i got to read it.
littlebit2991's review
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Eating disorder
whatjanereads's review against another edition
5.0
Actual rating 4,5
Rep: gay MC, depression, anxiety, Black loveinterest, interracial relationship, trans SC, adoption
TW: depression, anxiety, attempted suicide (before the events of the book; only mentioned, not seen), sibling in the army, gaslighting/ toxic relationship (before the events of the book)
[I appreciate that I never have to put homophobia in the TWs of her books. It’s nice to read queer books like that sometimes.]
Look, I don’t know how Roan Parrish does it, but she always creates characters that I feel so deeply connected to I want to cry. I can just see myself a little in all of her characters, even though none of them are even remotely the same and none of her stories are similar either.
She has a way of writing characters that show such a deep insight into the human brain and feels, I really want to know what it looks like in her head.
For this story it was no different.
I was a little afraid to start this book to be honest, mainly because of the MC Jude. Jude has depression and anxiety and is now living in Philadelphia with his family, after leaving Boston and his boyfriend of 5 years after an attempted suicide.
And honestly, I wished I read this book way earlier. I felt so seen reading about Judes feelings and thoughts. I wished someone said the things Judes family and friends told him years ago.
His friends who care about him, the love interest Faron included, are all so amazing. They don’t treat him any differently, there is no judgment at all. They just want to be with him, their love doesn’t come with any conditions. I loved to see that.
I imagined it to be a rather dark and sad book, but it isn’t. It’s about healing and coming back from a dark place and a hard time in your life and I loved to read about that.
I also love the way Roan Parrish talks about sex in her books. There is always open communication and consent is a big theme. Also it’s never a thing that is just DONE, nothing that simply HAS to happen. It is always implied or even said outright that it’s an OPTION, not a must. Nothing a partner can feel entitled to have from you.
I love that every single one of her relationships is so different. The couples in every book have very different expectations and ideas of what a perfect relationship looks like. Of what sex is. What they want out of a relationship.
Jude for example (sometimes) has erectile distinction due to the medication he takes. Sometimes he doesn’t like being touched. Sometimes he doesn’t want to talk, but not be alone either. But with the right person it just works. And that person is Faron, they just work so perfectly together.
I loved this book, I loved the side characters (if you read the Middle of somewhere books and the first book in this series: you already know most of them).
I wished there would have been a little more discussion and more of a conclusion to his relationship with his ex boyfriend.
I would have also wished for his friend from the clinic to be involved more (And I would have loved to read a bit more about therapy, but I don’t really know how it works or what it is like to live with depression for over 15 years. So maybe therapy isn’t even a thing then.).
Other than that I can only recommend reading or listening to this (the audio is amazing)!
Rep: gay MC, depression, anxiety, Black loveinterest, interracial relationship, trans SC, adoption
TW: depression, anxiety, attempted suicide (before the events of the book; only mentioned, not seen), sibling in the army, gaslighting/ toxic relationship (before the events of the book)
[I appreciate that I never have to put homophobia in the TWs of her books. It’s nice to read queer books like that sometimes.]
Look, I don’t know how Roan Parrish does it, but she always creates characters that I feel so deeply connected to I want to cry. I can just see myself a little in all of her characters, even though none of them are even remotely the same and none of her stories are similar either.
She has a way of writing characters that show such a deep insight into the human brain and feels, I really want to know what it looks like in her head.
For this story it was no different.
I was a little afraid to start this book to be honest, mainly because of the MC Jude. Jude has depression and anxiety and is now living in Philadelphia with his family, after leaving Boston and his boyfriend of 5 years after an attempted suicide.
And honestly, I wished I read this book way earlier. I felt so seen reading about Judes feelings and thoughts. I wished someone said the things Judes family and friends told him years ago.
His friends who care about him, the love interest Faron included, are all so amazing. They don’t treat him any differently, there is no judgment at all. They just want to be with him, their love doesn’t come with any conditions. I loved to see that.
I imagined it to be a rather dark and sad book, but it isn’t. It’s about healing and coming back from a dark place and a hard time in your life and I loved to read about that.
I also love the way Roan Parrish talks about sex in her books. There is always open communication and consent is a big theme. Also it’s never a thing that is just DONE, nothing that simply HAS to happen. It is always implied or even said outright that it’s an OPTION, not a must. Nothing a partner can feel entitled to have from you.
I love that every single one of her relationships is so different. The couples in every book have very different expectations and ideas of what a perfect relationship looks like. Of what sex is. What they want out of a relationship.
Jude for example (sometimes) has erectile distinction due to the medication he takes. Sometimes he doesn’t like being touched. Sometimes he doesn’t want to talk, but not be alone either. But with the right person it just works. And that person is Faron, they just work so perfectly together.
I loved this book, I loved the side characters (if you read the Middle of somewhere books and the first book in this series: you already know most of them).
I wished there would have been a little more discussion and more of a conclusion to his relationship with his ex boyfriend.
I would have also wished for his friend from the clinic to be involved more (And I would have loved to read a bit more about therapy, but I don’t really know how it works or what it is like to live with depression for over 15 years. So maybe therapy isn’t even a thing then.).
Other than that I can only recommend reading or listening to this (the audio is amazing)!
rachelini's review
4.0
A great read. There was some beautiful writing - I loved the descriptions of experiencing music and art. I wouldn't say I *enjoyed* reading it, though. I found I was incredibly tense and stressed out the whole time I was reading.
cleo_reads's review
3.0
I enjoyed this. I think a reader’s enjoyment will come down to whether or not they can stand being in the narrator’s head for the entire book. (Much like Small Change, book one in the series.) This is the 2nd book in a spin off series. I think it’s pretty stand alone, although I enjoyed seeing characters from both Small Change and The Middle of Somewhere.
The story is told from Jude’s 1st person perspective. Because he’s dealing with some serious depression and anxiety, it’s not always pleasant to be in his head. He’s also recovering from the end of a 5 year relationship with a manipulative, emotionally abusive jerk. Jude’s been managing his condition for a long time and there are multiple references to therapists and medications.
Because we only get Jude’s perspective, I didn’t feel that connected to the romance. I also felt like Faron suffered from perfect boyfriend syndrome - much like Christopher in Small Change.
The story is told from Jude’s 1st person perspective. Because he’s dealing with some serious depression and anxiety, it’s not always pleasant to be in his head. He’s also recovering from the end of a 5 year relationship with a manipulative, emotionally abusive jerk. Jude’s been managing his condition for a long time and there are multiple references to therapists and medications.
Because we only get Jude’s perspective, I didn’t feel that connected to the romance. I also felt like Faron suffered from perfect boyfriend syndrome - much like Christopher in Small Change.
kiki124's review against another edition
3.0
Cover bothers me.
Too young, hair's too short. Faron's
also too perfect.
Too young, hair's too short. Faron's
also too perfect.
jennyoli96's review
4.0
I had 1 major issue with this one. But first...
The plot is great. Really, it's a beautiful story. And Roan Parrish is probably my favorite author when it comes to sexual scenes - they're never boring, they're super creative/unusual and they always leave my cheeks on fire. It's not just in this book, I'd already noticed Roan's gift for writing smut in The Remaking of Corbin Wale. So, that coupled with an amazing story makes for a very good book.
That said, I can't give it 5 stars. I would have, if the characters were all aged down. They are older characters but the way in which they're written does not make them act their age. At all. The main character is (is his age a spoiler? probably not but I'm gonna say it so be warned) thirty-six. We don't figure that out right away, and I had not ever painted him a year over twenty-five. And it is not because of his mental health, or his peculiar habits, or because he is just someone who acts younger.No, I felt that about the other characters as well. That was just the biggest example.(Ive read other reviews and no one really seems to have mentioned this so, maybe it's just me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
That's it, though. It's still a very good book.
The plot is great. Really, it's a beautiful story. And Roan Parrish is probably my favorite author when it comes to sexual scenes - they're never boring, they're super creative/unusual and they always leave my cheeks on fire. It's not just in this book, I'd already noticed Roan's gift for writing smut in The Remaking of Corbin Wale. So, that coupled with an amazing story makes for a very good book.
That said, I can't give it 5 stars. I would have, if the characters were all aged down. They are older characters but the way in which they're written does not make them act their age. At all. The main character is (is his age a spoiler? probably not but I'm gonna say it so be warned) thirty-six. We don't figure that out right away, and I had not ever painted him a year over twenty-five. And it is not because of his mental health, or his peculiar habits, or because he is just someone who acts younger.No, I felt that about the other characters as well. That was just the biggest example.(Ive read other reviews and no one really seems to have mentioned this so, maybe it's just me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
That's it, though. It's still a very good book.
lost_windsock's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.5
I enjoyed this book a great deal. Reading about Jude's struggles with depression and self acceptance was important. A few echos of what he felt resonated with me, and made the story feel deeper. His relationship with Faron was difficult, and perfect. I loved the way Faron was written. He was a solid, loving presence. Having read all of the Middle of Somewhere books now, I can say I highly recommend all of them. Roan Parrish's writing is beautiful, and I could not put these books down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship