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

One of my all time favorites- spot on narration

Patrick is a screw up. He’s got ADHD, he’s off his meds most of the time, his nickname is Tricks because he’s always being picked up and his boyfriends are always using him for his Daddy’s money. He wants to change, but doesn’t know how, and ever since his mom left, it’s been him and his Dad and his dad is either indifferent or derisive.
One day, Patrick’s current boyfriend drugs him and accidentally crashes his car and leaves him for dead in the river. Wes “Whiskey” sees the car go over the edge and rushes to save Patrick. When Patrick comes to, Whiskey is entranced. He and his lesbian assistant “Flybait” are living on the river this summer doing a project for Fish and Game (trying to find the source of contamination in the water which causes mutations to frogs). Though Patrick is quite the spaz, both Whiskey and Flybait can’t help but see the diamond in the rough that is Patrick and they enlist his help on their project and in turn end up making Patrick a “project” of sorts, as well.
Over the course of the summer, Whiskey and Patrick fall in love. There are lots of hurdles to overcome. Patrick’s aversion to getting physical. Whiskey’s new job in the North Pole. Patrick’s ex. Patrick’s father. Drug runners. Patrick’s ADHD… the list goes on. But, together, they navigate the rough waters and find a deep and abiding love.

**
I fell in love with Patrick right from page one. He is one of my favorite Amy Lane characters. He is so genuine and open and honest and he’s simply been misunderstood for most of his life. All he wants to do is the right thing, but he can’t manage to connect the right dots. Whiskey and Flybait are other favorites, cynical yet hopeful, jaded yet still able to recognize a good thing when they see it and under their crusty shells, big- hearted softies.
The physical scenes between Whiskey and Patrick are both so touching and yet hot and then also, really funny, too.
This is one of my favorite Amy Lane books and I give it a 6 of 5 stars.

Audiobook:
I haven’t run across Robert Neiman before, but I really enjoyed his narration here. His version of Patrick is hysterical and I thought just perfect. There were times when I thought he could have benefited from slowing down a bit and some mispronounced words here and there, but overall I thought his style really matched the tone of the book and I was really happy with the overall results.

I give the narration a 4.75 of 5 stars.

Overall 5 of 5 stars

I Love this book and this narrator

I got this book a year ago and I have listened to it about 3 or 4 times at this point. I love this narrator b/c he perfectly embodies the characters. I know some don't like his voice b/c it is a little "California club kidlike." But that is perfect for Patrick and Whiskey. I think the audio version of this book is the way to go b/c of the narrator. He brings these guys to life for me and it is hella funny. "Totally" worth a credit.

- happy sigh-

I love EVERYTHING about this story.

Fantastic characters, a slow burn gay romance, a somewhat of a frog mystery, drugs, geez oh man out of character action at the end, betrayal (you left me to die and you stole my money) <---- haha... that could be the beginning of a rap song or country song...hehe, a father learning what love means, a son finding the true meaning of love and forgiveness, a hot older dude who teaches the meaning of loyalty and delicious sexy time, an awesome lesbian best friend, and a fantastic narrator!

All the ingredients that make a perfect story!

LOL Funny!

Any additional comments?

I love this narrator! People may not have different sounding voices however he manages to pull all the sarcasm out perfectly. I have found that there are very few narrators who can make the funny parts as funny as the author intended them to be or even funnier. How can a book with an adult with ADHD, a cranky lesbian and two headed frogs not be funny? There are some awesome one liners but don’t fret that isn’t all the humor in the book.

The story line is unique. The dialog isn’t tripe or predictable. The characters are believable. There isn’t much depth given for Fish Bait and Whiskey as there is with Patrick but their interactions make up for that. The difference between the inner and outer dialog is a bit hard to follow at times, but even though I liked it. I have listened to this book twice and it still makes me laugh.

For those who are intelligent and a bit spastic or OCD themselves you’ll like this book.

Wonderful listen

What did you love best about Clear Water?

The love story was very moving. The slow blooming of Patrick's inquisitive and wonderful nature coaxed by a nurturing, patient Whiskey was emotionally fullfilling.

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.

It's Very Clear...

Would you consider the audio edition of Clear Water to be better than the print version?

Yes. Robert Nieman is great at conveying the tone and emotion of the books he narrates.

What other book might you compare Clear Water to and why?

Special Delivery by Heidi Cullinen. Both of the young men - Sam and Patrick needed to find themselves. They both had goals to attain but did not know how to go about it. They both wanted love but chose the wrong way to go about getting it. The 'family' in their lives were cold and indifferent. It took total strangers to make them see their worth.

What does Robert Nieman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

See above.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, and I did.

Any additional comments?

Dreamspinner, hire Robert to narrate more books, please!

I liked this. I found myself laughing out loud!

What did you like best about Clear Water? What did you like least?

Fly Bait was the Bomb and the two headed frogs were awesome. I didn't like how Patrick was so whiny. I really wanted to slap him every now and then! Oh and his Uber clumsiness seemed a little unrealistic.

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

I enjoyed the competence that Patrick found with people who accepted him for who he was.

What three words best describe Robert Nieman’s performance?

competent.

Do you think Clear Water needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

no. it is complete without it.

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*

Clear Water

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

Yes, Amy Lane writes wonderful stories

What other book might you compare Clear Water to and why?

Not really, it was really fun and different.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scenes with the frogs.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I like unabridged and I am willing to listen to the whole story.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this story.