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rayarriz's review against another edition
5.0
so apparently I read this before. but I don't remember doing so. anyways, you know when you've been reading a bunch of books but nothing is really blowing your mind or putting you in your feels? but then you get that one book that absolutely demolishes you and reminds you all over again why you love to read?
yep. this book was that for me. I felt so much for the main character, Elijah. He is so well developed and his feelings and fears and anger and all of his emotions make so much sense. I love angst and his angst was so very understandable. My second fav character -- it has to be a battle between Crane and Dr. Carter.
But I think I'll go with Crane. Lol. Crane is the perfect villian. yk, older, dark eyed, wealthy, powerful. And selfish and cruel but also not a cariacature or overly evil. His evil makes sense and honestly, he's just the right amount of hot but questionable. And he's abusive but it's shown as just the confusing thing it is. I EAT THIS STUFF UP. It's so real and I know all too well how it is.
okay so Dr. Carter. probably the most important minor character, but he's rated so high because he's so kind and genuine.
Grady is awesome. He's cool and kind and such a savior. He's perfect. I was so so so glad he was there and how he believed in Elijah and helped him. and it wasn't sappy either.
so the characters were all excellent, even the minor ones. The relationship between Elijah and Crane was like a fever dream it was just so well written and touched all those emotional notes for me. and the writing here was awesome and I was so deeply drawn into this world. the resolution was excellent.
I love historical fiction and even more when you have this kind of setup with main characters like this. I hope Lisa Henry does more time periods with the same kind of dark fiction.
yep. this book was that for me. I felt so much for the main character, Elijah. He is so well developed and his feelings and fears and anger and all of his emotions make so much sense. I love angst and his angst was so very understandable. My second fav character -- it has to be a battle between Crane and Dr. Carter.
But I think I'll go with Crane. Lol. Crane is the perfect villian. yk, older, dark eyed, wealthy, powerful. And selfish and cruel but also not a cariacature or overly evil. His evil makes sense and honestly, he's just the right amount of hot but questionable. And he's abusive but it's shown as just the confusing thing it is. I EAT THIS STUFF UP. It's so real and I know all too well how it is.
okay so Dr. Carter. probably the most important minor character, but he's rated so high because he's so kind and genuine.
Grady is awesome. He's cool and kind and such a savior. He's perfect. I was so so so glad he was there and how he believed in Elijah and helped him. and it wasn't sappy either.
so the characters were all excellent, even the minor ones. The relationship between Elijah and Crane was like a fever dream it was just so well written and touched all those emotional notes for me. and the writing here was awesome and I was so deeply drawn into this world. the resolution was excellent.
I love historical fiction and even more when you have this kind of setup with main characters like this. I hope Lisa Henry does more time periods with the same kind of dark fiction.
teresab78's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars - There were elements that I really liked, I can always rely on Lisa Henry to push my boundaries of what I think I can accept. Elijah with Crane did that. I wanted Elijah to hate Crane but I respected him for recognizing that Crane offered a little of what he wanted. I really liked Grady for being able to give Elijah what he needed.
The whole book was slightly depressing in a way though. I felt so bad for Elijah. I also got a little tired of the use of the C word. It just grated on me, though I did appreciate that Ms Henry took the time to address her usage of the word a bit. Perhaps it was more common in that era among the crasser men? I don't know.
The whole book was slightly depressing in a way though. I felt so bad for Elijah. I also got a little tired of the use of the C word. It just grated on me, though I did appreciate that Ms Henry took the time to address her usage of the word a bit. Perhaps it was more common in that era among the crasser men? I don't know.
liza5326's review against another edition
4.0
This book just hits all the right notes. I felt so damn bad for Elijah. He just couldn't catch a break. But Grady comes along and shows him how to really live and love.
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
Set in the Wyoming territory, Sweetwater by Lisa Henry poignant historical gay romance that takes place in 1870.
Elijah Carter lives with his adopted father, Dr. Carter. Despite Dr. Carter's obvious love for his adopted son, Elijah does not feel worthy of his love. He has very low self-worth and feels great shame because his is deaf. Due to his deafness, many of the townspeople believe Elijah is stupid and he is often bullied.
Needless to say when saloon owner Harlan Crane takes an interest in him, Elijah is receptive to his attention. Elijah feels "seen" for the first time and Harlan easily manipulates the young man into an abusive relationship. Elijah's believes he deserves punishment and rough treatment so he does not fight Harlan's increasingly violent acts.
Just as Elijah becomes involved with Harlan, cowboy Grady Mullins takes notice of the young man. He is a gentle and caring man who is initially reluctant to become involved with Elijah. But as he notices Harlan's ill-treatment of Elijah, Grady cannot resist approaching him. After violence tears Elijah's safe world apart, Grady steps in and helps him begin to heal from his tragic loss. But with Elijah bent on revenge, will there be any chance of a future for them?
Sweetwater is a bit of a dark romance with a vibrant setting. The storyline is interesting but the pacing is a little slow. Elijah is a wonderful drawn young man whose pain and lack of self-esteem radiate throughout the novel. Grady is patient and understanding as he shows Elijah nothing but caring and tenderness. Harlan is absolutely despicable with few redeeming qualities. He takes advantage of Elijah and his abuse is absolutely heartrending. Lisa Henry brings this non-traditional romance to a surprisingly upbeat and completely satisfying conclusion. A thought-provoking novel that will linger in readers minds long after the last page is turned.
Elijah Carter lives with his adopted father, Dr. Carter. Despite Dr. Carter's obvious love for his adopted son, Elijah does not feel worthy of his love. He has very low self-worth and feels great shame because his is deaf. Due to his deafness, many of the townspeople believe Elijah is stupid and he is often bullied.
Needless to say when saloon owner Harlan Crane takes an interest in him, Elijah is receptive to his attention. Elijah feels "seen" for the first time and Harlan easily manipulates the young man into an abusive relationship. Elijah's believes he deserves punishment and rough treatment so he does not fight Harlan's increasingly violent acts.
Just as Elijah becomes involved with Harlan, cowboy Grady Mullins takes notice of the young man. He is a gentle and caring man who is initially reluctant to become involved with Elijah. But as he notices Harlan's ill-treatment of Elijah, Grady cannot resist approaching him. After violence tears Elijah's safe world apart, Grady steps in and helps him begin to heal from his tragic loss. But with Elijah bent on revenge, will there be any chance of a future for them?
Sweetwater is a bit of a dark romance with a vibrant setting. The storyline is interesting but the pacing is a little slow. Elijah is a wonderful drawn young man whose pain and lack of self-esteem radiate throughout the novel. Grady is patient and understanding as he shows Elijah nothing but caring and tenderness. Harlan is absolutely despicable with few redeeming qualities. He takes advantage of Elijah and his abuse is absolutely heartrending. Lisa Henry brings this non-traditional romance to a surprisingly upbeat and completely satisfying conclusion. A thought-provoking novel that will linger in readers minds long after the last page is turned.
hpstrangelove's review against another edition
5.0
Audio book review. Narrator: Dorian Bane
This book had just the right amount of plot and sex, with the sex playing a major part in the plot. The narrator did a decent job although his voice came across as a bit too old for the Elijah. It wasn't enough to distract from the story.
The author did a great job of developing the characters and showing the conflict within Elijah for enjoying the way Harlan Crane treated him. Just be aware that the story is on the dark side and will not be for everyone.
This book had just the right amount of plot and sex, with the sex playing a major part in the plot. The narrator did a decent job although his voice came across as a bit too old for the Elijah. It wasn't enough to distract from the story.
The author did a great job of developing the characters and showing the conflict within Elijah for enjoying the way Harlan Crane treated him. Just be aware that the story is on the dark side and will not be for everyone.
ezichinny's review against another edition
4.0
This book was definitely in the vein of the others I have read by this author.
It featured a young man with some hearing impairments, Elijah Carter, and his need to punish himself or be punished for not deserving the love of his adoptive father.
Of course, the town bad guy, Harlan Crane takes it upon himself to engage with the young Elijah and debase him as often as he can. That is until a drifter Grady Mullins notices Elijah and decides that what Elijah needs is someone to care for him.
Harlan and Grady engage each other and of course there was collateral damage
This book was dark, but like most Lisa Henry books, she always cracks a window to let in some rays of hope. Harlan made my skin crawl and Grady made me feel relaxed. Poor Elijah had to fight and dig deep to find strength and survive.
If you are looking for a romance with flowers and dinner, this isn't it. It is about pain and a struggle to will oneself to survive in a dog-eat-dog world. But I was satisfied with the ending.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the reading copy.
It featured a young man with some hearing impairments, Elijah Carter, and his need to punish himself or be punished for not deserving the love of his adoptive father.
Of course, the town bad guy, Harlan Crane takes it upon himself to engage with the young Elijah and debase him as often as he can. That is until a drifter Grady Mullins notices Elijah and decides that what Elijah needs is someone to care for him.
Harlan and Grady engage each other and of course there was collateral damage
This book was dark, but like most Lisa Henry books, she always cracks a window to let in some rays of hope. Harlan made my skin crawl and Grady made me feel relaxed. Poor Elijah had to fight and dig deep to find strength and survive.
If you are looking for a romance with flowers and dinner, this isn't it. It is about pain and a struggle to will oneself to survive in a dog-eat-dog world. But I was satisfied with the ending.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the reading copy.
tiggers_hate_acorns's review against another edition
4.0
Not the Lisa Henry book that I'm used to but I still enjoyed it. Couldn't quite connect with the characters but the grittiness and harshness of that time certainly came through.
A 3.5 star read , to 4 for GR purposes.
A 3.5 star read , to 4 for GR purposes.
kaje_harper's review against another edition
4.0
The nuances of this 1870's historical romance are unusual in the M/M I've read so far - Elijah Carter is a troubled young man, haunted by both his losses and by the "unnatural" desires he finds it harder and harder to fight. He's an orphan, partially deafened by the scarlet fever that killed the rest of his family. The doctor who adopted him is a good man, but also a sad man, still grieving the loss of his own wife and daughter years ago. Elijah is painfully certain that his own deafness and the disdain the townsfolk feel for him due to his garbled speech make him damaged goods. He's not fit to replace Dr. Carter's lost family, not worthy of being a good man's son.
And even worse than his failings in speech and hearing is the growing awareness that he desires men in ways he can't quite define. Not just for sex but for pain, for clarity, for someone who will see every part of him and treat him as he deserves, as he craves to be handled. Saloon and brothel owner Harlan Crane sees something in Elijah - the dark desire in Crane speaks to the dark need in Elijah. Even after meeting Grady, a cowboy with a gentler interest in him, there's something about Crane that pulls Elijah back. And then there is one more disaster for Elijah to face.
This book moves slowly, pulling the reader through the confusion of self-doubt and need that is Elijah's awakening. There is dubious consent, and uncertainty, and the emotional pain of a young man who is very lost in his own head. Elijah knows he needs something, that he can't continue on as Dr. Carter's good boy, attending services on Sunday, helping in the surgery, and bringing in extra money working for the local butcher. He's drowning in that life.
He needs something to pull him from the floodwaters that are dragging him under. But both Crane and Grady are risky saviors; Crane is solid but sharp, like a lava rock that Elijah can cling to but only if he wants to cut his hands to shreds; Grady's like smooth floating driftwood, gentle to the touch but uncertain support. When Elijah's world is shaken, he has to make choices about how to become his own man. They're not always the right choices.
I was intrigued by this story, unwilling to put it down. It's not a comfortable read, and the end is just a beginning, but it made me think and feel in a different way from most books I've read recently. Well worth the time.
And even worse than his failings in speech and hearing is the growing awareness that he desires men in ways he can't quite define. Not just for sex but for pain, for clarity, for someone who will see every part of him and treat him as he deserves, as he craves to be handled. Saloon and brothel owner Harlan Crane sees something in Elijah - the dark desire in Crane speaks to the dark need in Elijah. Even after meeting Grady, a cowboy with a gentler interest in him, there's something about Crane that pulls Elijah back. And then there is one more disaster for Elijah to face.
This book moves slowly, pulling the reader through the confusion of self-doubt and need that is Elijah's awakening. There is dubious consent, and uncertainty, and the emotional pain of a young man who is very lost in his own head. Elijah knows he needs something, that he can't continue on as Dr. Carter's good boy, attending services on Sunday, helping in the surgery, and bringing in extra money working for the local butcher. He's drowning in that life.
He needs something to pull him from the floodwaters that are dragging him under. But both Crane and Grady are risky saviors; Crane is solid but sharp, like a lava rock that Elijah can cling to but only if he wants to cut his hands to shreds; Grady's like smooth floating driftwood, gentle to the touch but uncertain support. When Elijah's world is shaken, he has to make choices about how to become his own man. They're not always the right choices.
I was intrigued by this story, unwilling to put it down. It's not a comfortable read, and the end is just a beginning, but it made me think and feel in a different way from most books I've read recently. Well worth the time.
evil_jj's review against another edition
3.0
Wow. I just typed up a long review then hit some key that made me lose it all. I want to cry. I just know it's not as good as what I had, but here's my best effort at recalling what I wrote:
Sweetwater is written with the skill I've come to expect from Henry, the kind that transports you to the time and place of the story, makes you feel like you're experiencing the events right along with the characters. Most of the book was from Elijah's perspective, and I loved how well developed a character he was as a result. I particularly enjoyed some of the descriptions of how things sounded to his mostly deaf ears:
Song was water, tipped from a ewer into a hollow basin. Song swelled, reverberated, and he couldn't distinguish the words from the echo.
Getting to know Elijah so well allowed me to experience his emotions with him, and let's just say he was put through the wringer! Unfortunately, in getting such depth with Elijah, I feel like I had to give up that depth elsewhere, especially in the relationship development between him and Grady. I was only given a glimpse of Grady's background and personality, and the two men didn't even have a true conversation until halfway through the book. From that point, their relationship felt rushed and superficial.
My other issue was purely personal, in that historical fiction in general, and Westerns set in the 1800s in particular, are really not my thing (I had to read it despite that, since Lisa Henry is one of my favorite authors and so many others raved about it). Those in combination meant that while I liked the book and think it's very well written, I didn't love it and found it lacking in key areas.
Sweetwater is written with the skill I've come to expect from Henry, the kind that transports you to the time and place of the story, makes you feel like you're experiencing the events right along with the characters. Most of the book was from Elijah's perspective, and I loved how well developed a character he was as a result. I particularly enjoyed some of the descriptions of how things sounded to his mostly deaf ears:
Song was water, tipped from a ewer into a hollow basin. Song swelled, reverberated, and he couldn't distinguish the words from the echo.
Getting to know Elijah so well allowed me to experience his emotions with him, and let's just say he was put through the wringer! Unfortunately, in getting such depth with Elijah, I feel like I had to give up that depth elsewhere, especially in the relationship development between him and Grady. I was only given a glimpse of Grady's background and personality, and the two men didn't even have a true conversation until halfway through the book. From that point, their relationship felt rushed and superficial.
My other issue was purely personal, in that historical fiction in general, and Westerns set in the 1800s in particular, are really not my thing (I had to read it despite that, since Lisa Henry is one of my favorite authors and so many others raved about it). Those in combination meant that while I liked the book and think it's very well written, I didn't love it and found it lacking in key areas.
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
4.0
This is my first time reading Lisa Henry by herself. I’ve read many of the books she has co-authored, and enjoyed them immensely, so I was really looking forward to reading this one. I was not disappointed.
A story set in the late 1800’s is always a winner for me. I love history, so this was right up my alley. The author’s descriptions of the sights and sounds of this small town made me feel as though I was right there. I could smell and see everything going on around me as I was reading.
I loved Elijah from the start. He lost his entire family to scarlet fever when he was a small child. A fever that left him partially deaf. Known around town as the “idiot”, he’s anything but. I feel that although he is a sympathetic, innocent character, he’s a strong one too. At around 20 years of age, he’s still figuring out who he is and what he wants when the author puts Elijah in the hands of Crane, the most unsavory character in town. As unfortunate and painful as it was to read those scenes, I felt they were necessary. Necessary in the sense that although Elijah feels ashamed and guilty for what he’s being forced to do, he’s finding pleasure in it too. He feels what he’s doing isn’t right because of the upbringing and teachings of his adopted father. We see and feel his inner struggle with what he desires and what he feels is his moral obligation to the man who took him in and raised him. I felt the author got the emotions spot on and portrayed them well. He’s still trying to come to terms with his sexuality. He just needs to find something or someone to balance it all out.
Enter Grady. Elijah finds what he’s been missing and needing with Grady: kindness, comfort, gentleness. I really liked how we see Grady admiring Elijah from afar before they actually meet. The story is told mostly through Elijah’s POV, but there are a few bits from Grady’s POV. Although it’s minimal and placed strategically within the story, I liked how the author gave us some insight on Grady’s thoughts without it being disruptive. And we see Elijah for the first time through someone else’s eyes, which made him that much more lovable.
I wouldn’t call this your typical love story. Yes, we see the beginnings of a relationship building between Elijah and Grady, and it’s beautiful. But the author gives us this wonderful, untamed world filled with danger. A tightly woven, character driven story that was a delight to read.
The secondary characters were colorful and added their personalities to the story. From the doctor who took him in as his own and had his own sad tale to tell, to the sheriff who looked after Elijah and made sure he was safe, to the bad guys who were really bad and self serving. They all added flair and mystique to an already interesting read.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I look forward to the sequel the author is planning and can’t wait to revisit Elijah and Grady. I would recommend this to everyone.
A story set in the late 1800’s is always a winner for me. I love history, so this was right up my alley. The author’s descriptions of the sights and sounds of this small town made me feel as though I was right there. I could smell and see everything going on around me as I was reading.
I loved Elijah from the start. He lost his entire family to scarlet fever when he was a small child. A fever that left him partially deaf. Known around town as the “idiot”, he’s anything but. I feel that although he is a sympathetic, innocent character, he’s a strong one too. At around 20 years of age, he’s still figuring out who he is and what he wants when the author puts Elijah in the hands of Crane, the most unsavory character in town. As unfortunate and painful as it was to read those scenes, I felt they were necessary. Necessary in the sense that although Elijah feels ashamed and guilty for what he’s being forced to do, he’s finding pleasure in it too. He feels what he’s doing isn’t right because of the upbringing and teachings of his adopted father. We see and feel his inner struggle with what he desires and what he feels is his moral obligation to the man who took him in and raised him. I felt the author got the emotions spot on and portrayed them well. He’s still trying to come to terms with his sexuality. He just needs to find something or someone to balance it all out.
Enter Grady. Elijah finds what he’s been missing and needing with Grady: kindness, comfort, gentleness. I really liked how we see Grady admiring Elijah from afar before they actually meet. The story is told mostly through Elijah’s POV, but there are a few bits from Grady’s POV. Although it’s minimal and placed strategically within the story, I liked how the author gave us some insight on Grady’s thoughts without it being disruptive. And we see Elijah for the first time through someone else’s eyes, which made him that much more lovable.
I wouldn’t call this your typical love story. Yes, we see the beginnings of a relationship building between Elijah and Grady, and it’s beautiful. But the author gives us this wonderful, untamed world filled with danger. A tightly woven, character driven story that was a delight to read.
The secondary characters were colorful and added their personalities to the story. From the doctor who took him in as his own and had his own sad tale to tell, to the sheriff who looked after Elijah and made sure he was safe, to the bad guys who were really bad and self serving. They all added flair and mystique to an already interesting read.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I look forward to the sequel the author is planning and can’t wait to revisit Elijah and Grady. I would recommend this to everyone.