Clear Water

By: Amy Lane

Narrated by: Robert Nieman

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Patrick Cleary: party boy, loser, and spaz. Patrick’s been trying desperately to transform himself, and the results have been so spectacular, they’ve almost killed him.

Meet Wes “Whiskey” Keenan: he’s a field biologist wondering if it’s time to settle down.

When the worst day of Patrick’s life ends with Whiskey saving it, Patrick and Whiskey find themselves sharing company and an impossibly small berth on the world’s tackiest houseboat. Patrick needs to get his life together - and Whiskey wants to help - but Patrick is not entirely convinced it’s doable. He’s pretty sure he’s a freak of nature. But Whiskey, who works with real freaks of nature, thinks all Patrick needs is a little help to see the absolute beauty inside his spastic self, and Whiskey is all about volunteering.

Between anomalous frogs, a homicidal ex-boyfriend, and Patrick’s own hangups, Whiskey’s going to need all of his patience and Patrick’s going to need to find the best of himself before these two men ever see clear water.

©2011 Amy Lane (P)2012 Amy Lane

Gay Romance meets Ecological Mystery Novel

This book is set in the Sacramento, California area. I live there, and it added an additional "je ne sais quoi" to the experience. Robert Nieman does a good job reading with different voices for different characters. Most importantly, the story had me hooked in the first five minutes. I listened to the whole thing in one sitting. I really liked it. You will too.

Nice and steady

I loved how this book played out. Almost the entire focus of the plot is on the relationship that evolves between the main characters but it was done in a good way. The pace feels steady through the whole book – building up nicely and it's easy to start to love the characters – both main and side. It was all well written, the characters fit so nicely together – being different but a fit – like puzzle pieces really.
The flow of the story was just great in my opinion, from start to end. No loose ends either.

The narrator took a bit of getting used to. I liked his voice and found him a good story teller but he's slightly lacking with dialogues. He doesn't really give the characters different voices – which is quite fine with me – but at times he doesn't make it clear enough when the speaker is switched either which at some points made it hard to figure out who was saying what. Other than that I don't have any complaints at all *smile*

Not as good as I expected, but a decent listen.

Would you listen to Clear Water again? Why?

Probably not. I did enjoy it but it is not one of the great works of literature of our times that would deserve multiple listens.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Clear Water?

I would say toward the end, when the ex-boyfriend story collided with the current story. Really had me on the edge of my seat for a while.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Try harder to give the different characters a different voice. He was fairly good at this, but at some points in the book it was difficult to figure out which character was talking until after the fact.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Probably the beginning, right after the car crash. Everyone can identify with the hero/Florence Nightingale type.

Any additional comments?

Overall a fair book, worth a listen, but not the best thing I have heard this year.

Robert Nieman

I could listen to him all day long.
Love the story and he Still made it better

Excellent

I really enjoyed this story. Things moved at a nice pace. Loved that they just didn’t jump into bed right off the bat. I was happy that Patrick’s father did redeem himself. I would like for there to be a sequel with them building a future.

yay for amy lane

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it's a funny, sweet, loving feel good book

Which character – as performed by Robert Nieman – was your favorite?

Whiskey, he's sexy

Any additional comments?

I found myself laughing out loud sometimes I really enjoyed this book, its one of my favorites

Why do I bother

Would you try another book from Amy Lane and/or Robert Nieman?

Amy Lane - No, Robert Nieman - Maybe.

What was most disappointing about Amy Lane’s story?

I don't know why I bother, after reading three of her books I decided that as much as I like the stories she writes, I cannot stand her dialogue. Her characters are always ranting on about stupid things, or irrelevant things that bear no point to the plot. In this story, the dialogue is too exaggerated for me. Really, why did the dialogues have to contain so much aggression, and then go into off parts with no bearing on the present. I wish she would try to anchor her dialogue in the scene, and make her characters more mature.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I don't think the narration could have saved this book for me.

What character would you cut from Clear Water?

None, I would just cut the dialogue.

Any additional comments?

Not really, just need to stop buying anything by Amy Lane.

Nothing beyond Chapter 1.

Technical issue. Instead of chapters...which don’t show, it keeps repeating the same 4 minutes. Fix the narration please.

Wow... DNF...

Soo... I can usually get through books no matter what... but this one is such a sleeper I gave up. Like actually kept putting me to sleep. The narrator was just... not even trying?

Everyone sounded the same but I’m honestly not sure if better narration could have saved it for me. I just couldn’t do it. I kept waiting for my interest to be peaked and it just never happened.

Suuuper glad this is in the romance package rather than costing a credit/cash. Maybe this one is a better read than listen? Oofff

Didn't even finish...

I didn't even finish this... Narration was bad, but the story seem kinda done before. I usually like all of Amy Lane's stories...but I think because the narration was so bad, I couldn't get a grip of the story... Which totally sucks... :( Boo!