Melting in the Middle

This book perfectly captures the reality of just trying to keep your head above water when everything around you seems to be sinking. Stephen is just trying to make it now that his personal life has fallen apart, his kids are teenagers so that feels like a lost cause for the next few years, and now a corporate take over is threatening what little stability he felt he had at work. Howden is an amazing storyteller and humorist and I can't wait to read more of their work.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Troubador Publishing Ltd., Matador for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Stephen works for a British chocolate company that is being swallowed by an American company. He's trying to stay on top of all the unpleasant changes going on, when he meets Rachel. It's kind of a hard book to explain, although nothing too exciting happens. It was decent, a solid 3 stars, but not really engaging enough for more than that.

Set against the backdrop of a modern day "David and Goliath" story, a middle management, middle aged man must come to terms with changes not only in his business life but in his personal life. Will he succeed - only time - and his persistence - will tell, especially when a spanner, in the form of an enigmatic and contradictory young woman, is thrown in for good measure.

This slow moving tale of one man's attempts to keep his life and career afloat makes for interesting read. At times, it almost seemed as though the workplace was being used a metaphor for some sort of dystopian society where it was a case of survival of the fittest (maybe I am reading too much into something that is not there).

I would not have normally picked this up but was offered a complimentary review copy, and I did enjoy reading it.

Melting in the middle was a hilarious concept with some very clear-cut characters from the get-go - right from the first chapter I already had strong feelings about the other directors and knew exactly where I stood.

I did finish this book, however I didn't take a lot of it in and it took me a few tries to finish it - I found the dialouge a bit stiff, it felt like information was being thrown at me without any real character added to it and Stephen just felt a bit flat to me, I couldn't feel a real personality from him and it made it very difficult for me to connect to the story.

That being said, this is my personal opinion of course and the actual storyline itself I thought was witty and very unique - with very clever and hilarious mishaps throughout - I would still reccommend this book to others for this alone.

This book was a long and slow read but it never left me bored. There were details, dialogues and inner rants that the book could have done without, but these ultimately made up this witty and entertaining story.
The main protagonist, Stephen Carreras, is a divorced middle-aged man, who heads the marketing department for a national chocolate company - later to be taken over by a huge American company. Cue the big, bad, crude, loud-mouthed American boss and the huge changes the takeover creates in the work place and work life for Stephen.
The author really brought forth the internal struggle that Stephen faced, not only in his work life, but in his personal life as well; both as a father and whilst trying to pursue a new romantic relationship.

Melting in the Middle by Andy Howden was a great story about a man coming to terms with his past and learning what was most important to him. The book kept my interest from the start, and I found myself really rooting for the main character to succeed.

I loved this book! It was heartwarming and strong. It was exactly what I needed with everything going on in the world! A happy little escape!

Engaging and entertaining. The British humor might not land with all audience, but this is a recommended purchase for collections where quirky litfic is popular.