Meet You in the Middle

July 1, 2020

DEBUT When liberal Senate staffer Kate Adams tries to get bipartisan support for a childcare bill, she is shot down by conservative Ben Mackenzie, her counterpart in an opposing senator's office. After an unproductive meeting, a rivalry develops and their continual attempts to one-up each other take a flirty edge as opposites attract and their relationship grows into something more. Debut author Daniels includes an author's note about trying to find common ground after the 2016 presidential election, but she fails in this book. Aside from taxes, she side-steps every hot-button issue except gun control, but Ben's stance is quickly explained away by his need to protect everyone around him after his sister was date-raped. He continually dismisses Kate's valid fears over their political differences and their "witty banter" is often immature and unprofessional. Kate's first-person narration is a disservice to readers--her words and actions are often at odds. Her insecurity leaves readers wondering what Ben sees in her, while she views him through rose-colored glasses. While Ben reveals depth and nuance, Kate is the only character to show any growth, as she bends to meet him. VERDICT Noble intentions can't save this opposites-attract romance from its inability to examine the differences at play.--Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington Cty. P.L., VA

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 7, 2020
Daniels misfires in her tone-deaf rom-com debut. When Kate Adams, a liberal congressional staffer, pitches her conservative colleague Ben Mackenzie on a child care bill, he dismisses her out of hand, sparking a heated exchange. Their mutual ire leads to an immature prank war, but as they come to enjoy debating each another, their animosity evolves into grudging respect. Daniels hits all the expected beats of the enemies-to-lovers arc, but treating Ben and Kate’s arguments as foreplay strikes a sour note given that their differing opinions have nationwide consequences, and though they’re presented as equal sparring partners, Kate compromises her ideals far more frequently than Ben. Ben, meanwhile, treats Kate’s emotional response to politics as irrational, as when he takes a horrified Kate to a shooting range to try to change her stance on gun control, an outing that improbably ends in a steamy hookup. The result is that Ben reads like a condescending bully and Kate comes across as spineless rather than the “ballbuster” she’s repeatedly described as. The politics themselves are hazily sketched, and actual policy is kept conveniently vague. Readers will be unconvinced by this lopsided romance and its weak argument for separating the personal from the political. Agent: Kim Lionetti, Bookends Literary.