Book Tour for Bliss by Lisa Henry & Heidi Belleau (Review & GIVEAWAY)

I'm honored to bring back the dynamic duo of Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau today with their futuristic thought-provoking m/m read, Bliss.  Keep reading to get a glimpse of this book, along with my impressions of it, and learn even more about it by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour.  Make sure to leave a comment about why you read m/m-themed books for the chance to win a copy of their previous collaboration, King of Dublin, too!

Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau, authors of Bliss.  We’re touring the web talking about our influences, our writing process, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at our book, and even a sneak peek or two! And what would a blog tour be without a contest? We’re giving away a copy of the first novel we wrote together: King of Dublin!

They're always happy.
Rory James has worked hard all his life to become a citizen of the idyllic city-state of Beulah. Like every other kid born in the neighboring country of Tophet, he’s heard the stories: No crime or pollution. A house and food for everyone. It’s perfect, and Rory is finally getting a piece of it.
So is Tate Patterson. He’s from Tophet, too, but he’s not a legal immigrant; he snuck in as a thief. A city without crime seems like an easy score, until he crashes into Rory during a getaway and is arrested for assaulting a citizen. Instead of jail, Tate is enrolled in Beulah’s Rehabilitation through Restitution program. By living with and serving his victim for seven years, Tate will learn the human face of his crimes.
If it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is. Tate is fitted with a behavior-modifying chip that leaves him unable to disobey orders—any orders, no matter how dehumanizing. Worse, the chip prevents him from telling Rory, the one man in all of Beulah who might care about him, the truth: in a country without prisons, Tate is locked inside his own mind.

***You can read an excerpt and purchase Bliss here.***

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Who wouldn't want to live in a town where there's no crime and everyone seems happy all the time.  I know I would, but unfortunately beyond this apparent Eden lies Hell.....at least for some.  It's this intriguing juxtaposition presented to us that drives Bliss and kept me riveted as we descended into some very dark thoughts and actions.

Everyone wants to live in the city of Beulah as it's safe, clean, and full of joy.  Not everyone gets invited though which leaves some desperate to find a way in.  For Rory and Tate, the two male leads in the story who show us the truths behind the curtain, both are looking for a better life than what they had in the dark and dangerous Tophet.  Rory comes to work as a law clerk and Tate comes to steal to make money for his daughter so they can escape Tophet.  Things don't go as planned for either of them once they enter town though and they soon find themselves bound to each other with a burgeoning relationship that gets put through the wringer and brings out the dark side within everyone.  For his crime Tate has a chip put in his head that leaves him completely at the mercy of others for the next seven years.  He's to perform any acts that his guardian wants which immediately set me on edge and was the first sign that all is not as it seems in Beulah.  From there things took an even darker turn as moral corruption reared its ugly head as those in power felt justified in committing any acts against their rehabilitating criminals.  All the while these individuals were left with a smile on their face as all their control was taken from them.  Having to endure any and all acts seemed like a worse penalty than jail could ever be and I felt sympathetic towards Tate the entire story despite his criminal past.  Rory was a fairly kind keeper who took awhile to wake up to the truth of Beulah but once he did it made for an exciting race to reform.  I felt I got to know Rory well from the start with his idyllic ideas and dreams and was sad for him as suspicion and doubt slowly overtook him, his dream of a better life shattered.  Because of his chip it took awhile to discover the real Tate but once he emerged I found a strong-willed man who cares deeply for his daughter and would sacrifice all for a better life for her.  I liked both of them together but am left wondering about their true feelings for each other due to the chip's influences early on.

This isn't an easy read with its dark thoughts and thought-provoking ideas.  There are clear-cut good guys and bad guys and readers are left wondering just how much they'd sacrifice for Eden.  Freedom is never free though but as humans there has to be justice tempered with compassion and in Beulah that's what's missing.  It's easy to get immersed in this story with its vivid worldbuilding and intense emotions.  The romance is on the lighter side but the HEA is immensely satisfying as Rory and Tate went through great struggles to get there.  I'm once again impressed by the talent and creativity of these two authors and look forward to their next collaboration.

My rating for this is a B.

*I got this book from the authors for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Lisa Henry lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.
She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.
She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.
You can visit Lisa at her website, at Goodreads, and on Facebook or Twitter.
------------------
Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, Canada. She now lives in the rugged oil-patch frontier of Northern BC with her husband, an Irish ex-pat whose long work hours in the trades leave her plenty of quiet time to write.
Her writing reflects everything she loves: diverse casts of characters, a sense of history and place, equal parts witty and filthy dialogue, the occasional mythological twist, and most of all, love—in all its weird and wonderful forms.
When not writing, you might catch her trying to explain British television to her daughter or sipping a drink at her favourite coffee shop.
She also writes queer-flavoured M/F as Heloise Belleau.
Chat with her on Twitter using the handle @HeidiBelleau.
Browse her website at HeidiBelleau.com or HeloiseBelleau.com.
Check out her books on Goodreads.
Follow her Facebook and Tumblr accounts.
Or contact her using good old-fashioned email: heidi.heloise.belleau@gmail.com

**********GIVEAWAY**********

Thanks for following our tour!  To celebrate our release, we’re giving away a copy of our first joint release -- King of Dublin. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post about why you read m/m-themed books along with your email addy (NO EMAIL ADDY=NO ENTRY)!  On September 1, we’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments made throughout the tour.  Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the greater your chances of winning the prize!