Patrick Cleary is a young man with no mother, an emotionally absent, sometimes emotionally abusive father and no self esteem at all. Almost invariable in the early parts of the story, the first words out of his mouth are "I'm sorry." When he's rescued from drowning following an auto accident by aging hippie nerd "Whiskey" both men are lucky to have met in this sweet romance/fantasy fulfillment tale.
For inveterate rescuer/caretakers like me, Patrick Cleary was catnip from the very first. A sweet, vulnerable young man with low self image and ADHD made for the perfect sympathetic character and supportive, nerdy, non-judgemental Wes "Whiskey" Keenan made the perfect romantic foil. Even trusty side-kick "Fly Bait" added a softening presence that was welcome and kept the "creepy" to a minimum. This was primarily a romamce tale, and while there eventually WAS some sex in the novel, it was presented in a romantic rather than a graphic or steamy fashion.
I've got a soft spot for the wounded puppies of the literary world whether straight or gay, and Clear Water now joins the list of my "most likely to re-read when I need soul comfort food" books.
One niggling complaint... While the lad on the cover is genuinely attractive, he's not at all how I picture Patrick to be.
However that's a minor issue. This book actually misses on several of the criteria that I generally use to evaluate my five star favorites but it hits big-time on the most important one... "After just finishing this book, am I tempted to go back and begin it again immediately?" In this case that's a definate YES
For inveterate rescuer/caretakers like me, Patrick Cleary was catnip from the very first. A sweet, vulnerable young man with low self image and ADHD made for the perfect sympathetic character and supportive, nerdy, non-judgemental Wes "Whiskey" Keenan made the perfect romantic foil. Even trusty side-kick "Fly Bait" added a softening presence that was welcome and kept the "creepy" to a minimum. This was primarily a romamce tale, and while there eventually WAS some sex in the novel, it was presented in a romantic rather than a graphic or steamy fashion.
I've got a soft spot for the wounded puppies of the literary world whether straight or gay, and Clear Water now joins the list of my "most likely to re-read when I need soul comfort food" books.
One niggling complaint... While the lad on the cover is genuinely attractive, he's not at all how I picture Patrick to be.
However that's a minor issue. This book actually misses on several of the criteria that I generally use to evaluate my five star favorites but it hits big-time on the most important one... "After just finishing this book, am I tempted to go back and begin it again immediately?" In this case that's a definate YES
