Fans of historical reads, along with m/m fans, will be drawn to Sweetwater by Lisa Henry. Keep reading to get a taste of this book, along with my impressions of it, and learn even more by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour. Make sure to leave a comment here as well as at the other stops to increase your chances of winning a $20 Riptide Publishing GC and one of Ms. Henry's backlist book titles too!
Hi! I’m Lisa Henry, author of Sweetwater! I’m touring the web talking about my inspiration, my writing process, and giving you a behind-the-scenes look at Sweetwater. And of course there’s a giveaway! You could win a title from my back catalogue, as well as a $20 Riptide gift voucher!
Elijah Carter is afflicted. Most of the townsfolk of South Pass City treat him as a simpleton because he’s deaf, but that’s not what shames him the most. Something in Elijah runs contrary to nature and to God. Something that Elijah desperately tries to keep hidden.
Harlan Crane, owner of the Empire saloon, knows Elijah for what he is—and for all the ungodly things he wants. And Crane isn’t the only one. Grady Mullins desires Elijah too, but unlike Crane, he refuses to push or mistreat the young man.
When violence shatters Elijah’s world, he is caught between two very different men and two devastating urges: revenge and despair. In a boomtown teetering on the edge of a bust, Elijah must face what it means to be a man in control of his own destiny, and choose a course that might end his life . . . or truly begin it for the very first time.
Harlan Crane, owner of the Empire saloon, knows Elijah for what he is—and for all the ungodly things he wants. And Crane isn’t the only one. Grady Mullins desires Elijah too, but unlike Crane, he refuses to push or mistreat the young man.
When violence shatters Elijah’s world, he is caught between two very different men and two devastating urges: revenge and despair. In a boomtown teetering on the edge of a bust, Elijah must face what it means to be a man in control of his own destiny, and choose a course that might end his life . . . or truly begin it for the very first time.
*****FIND OUT MORE AT RIPTIDE PUBLISHING*****
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
There's surprising emotional depth in Ms. Henry's latest historical read as a young deaf man struggles to find himself in a town full of lawlessness and hopelessness. In finding himself though he loses his innocence in a journey both heartbreaking and heartwarming. With every step Ms. Henry immerses readers even further into Elijah's life and his dreams for something better which lead to some poor choices early on but ultimately lead him where he was meant to be.
Elijah is an endearing character who lost most of his hearing as a child and was taken in by a kindhearted doctor who treated him as a son with love and respect. Elijah's always felt he was a disappointment though for his unnatural cravings and desire to head West to find something bigger and better. This self-loathing leads him to the powerful Harlan Crane who doesn't hesitate in using Elijah's shame to feed his own dominant needs leaving Elijah even more lost and confused but addicted to the intense feelings their encounters engender. Crane sees him as smart but manipulates him to satisfy his own needs and being Elijah's first makes for a very heady introduction to sex for the young man. Leading to even more confusion is the sweet and caring criminal Grady, who wants to protect Elijah as he sees him as someone who matters. Elijah doesn't believe in love though, the emotion's done nothing but destroy him when it's gone, so his encounters with Grady scare him just as much as they call to him. He simply wants to matter, he wants to be seen as someone worthy and not the idiot that most people see him as. His interactions with Grady are deep and engagingly intimate and didn't make me feel dirty as did the encounters between Crane and Elijah. It's a difficult journey to HEA for Elijah as his past choices, as well as Grady's, come back to haunt them in a gut-wrenching but immensely satisfying conclusion.
The physical and emotional details of this story are vividly depicted to fully immerse me in the story from the very first page. The sexual encounters ranged from sweet and sensual to gritty with bits of bdsm included which were nicely dispersed throughout the story to allow for character development. We get to experience life mostly through Elijah's eyes which brought tears to my eyes as he struggled to find himself in a world keeping him buried. Though there are two men vying for Elijah's attentions it's clear that Grady wants Elijah for love as opposed to Harlan who wants him as a possession and plaything. Grady shows Elijah the bright and sunny side of intimacy whereas it's all darkness with Harlan. The characters are all flawed in some way but utterly engaging and unforgettable. Elijah is someone who didn't always make the right decision but the believable ones which left me rooting for him to find his HEA and highly recommending this compelling historical read.
My rating for this is an A.
*I bought this book with my own money for my personal bookshelf.
AUTHOR INFO:
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.
**********GIVEAWAY**********
Thanks for following the tour! To celebrate the release, I’m giving away an ebook from my back catalogue, as well as a $20 Riptide gift voucher. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for me to contact you, be it your email, your twitter, or a link to your facebook or goodreads account. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because I won’t be able to see it otherwise! On October 8, I’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win the prize!
