the_novel_approach's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, guys… Seriously mixed bag review ahead. I fear this write-up will be as all over the place as this book felt at times, but I’ll try to keep it reigned in. First, let me say that I ended up liking No River Wide Enough a fair amount. The last quarter of the story was very strong, but it was a struggle at times getting there. Also, in the beginning of the story, the emotion simply wasn’t there. We were told how Chris felt about things, and about how he was learning things about Hank, but there was a lot of on-page relationship development missing. We got there in time, I was rooting super hard for the MCs by the halfway point…but, it took until almost the halfway point before I was really feeling it.
There were a couple of other minor story niggles I had, but the main issue I had with this book was the editing. Or, I should say, glaring lack of editing. Usually I’m completely forgiving of errors, especially considering we often receive ARCs or copies that specifically state they are uncorrected proofs. But, in this case, the review copies were sent two days prior to release, so it should have gone through final edits by that point. And nowhere did it state that it was an uncorrected proof, so I’m left to believe that the book was put out into the world like this. Which is so unfortunate because, along with a few MASSIVE mistakes, there were a ton of typos, wrong words, missing words, and extra words. These problems took me out of the story time and time again.
Like I said, though, mixed bag… So, along with my complaints there are also lots of nice things to be said about No River Wide Enough. I truly enjoyed the characters, the setting was lovely, and the time period was interesting and allowed the author the ability to discuss conflicts that aren’t as prevalent today as they were in 1992. Ultimately, this book was a story of hope and possibility, and left me feeling positive and uplifted.
Most of that positivity came from the characters themselves. Both Chris and Hank are so, so charming. I loved them both. Chris’s boyfriend left him a year ago, deciding small-town life wasn’t for him, but Chris stayed and built a very nice life for himself in St-Clovis. He owns and runs a local bakery and café with his partner, Drika, who he adores, and lives next door to his best friend and her young son. He has mostly given up on the idea of having someone to spend his life with again, though, until Hank Clift comes to town. Hank is intelligent, well-read, kind, and very, very lonely. Having suffered a tough, humiliating, ugly breakup a couple of years ago, he had also all but given up on finding someone, until seeing Chris. These guys were beautiful together. They had so many gorgeous, swoony moments. I loved this, for example:
I’ll sum up by saying, I finished the book with a smile on my face—it really did leave me with a good feeling—but, it was sort of a messy journey. I liked the premise and a lot of the parts, but the execution wasn’t perfect. I kept getting glimmers of what made Craving’s Creek (the only other book I’ve read by this author) so magical—there was some stunning dialogue and beautiful imagery that went along with the water theme—but at other times I wondered if this was the same Mel Bossa. And, that editing was so hard to get past. Sorry I don’t have a more definitive yay or nay for you guys. I’m sure some people are going to love it and be more able to overlook the things I couldn’t. But, for me, it was a bumpy read.
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach
There were a couple of other minor story niggles I had, but the main issue I had with this book was the editing. Or, I should say, glaring lack of editing. Usually I’m completely forgiving of errors, especially considering we often receive ARCs or copies that specifically state they are uncorrected proofs. But, in this case, the review copies were sent two days prior to release, so it should have gone through final edits by that point. And nowhere did it state that it was an uncorrected proof, so I’m left to believe that the book was put out into the world like this. Which is so unfortunate because, along with a few MASSIVE mistakes, there were a ton of typos, wrong words, missing words, and extra words. These problems took me out of the story time and time again.
Like I said, though, mixed bag… So, along with my complaints there are also lots of nice things to be said about No River Wide Enough. I truly enjoyed the characters, the setting was lovely, and the time period was interesting and allowed the author the ability to discuss conflicts that aren’t as prevalent today as they were in 1992. Ultimately, this book was a story of hope and possibility, and left me feeling positive and uplifted.
Most of that positivity came from the characters themselves. Both Chris and Hank are so, so charming. I loved them both. Chris’s boyfriend left him a year ago, deciding small-town life wasn’t for him, but Chris stayed and built a very nice life for himself in St-Clovis. He owns and runs a local bakery and café with his partner, Drika, who he adores, and lives next door to his best friend and her young son. He has mostly given up on the idea of having someone to spend his life with again, though, until Hank Clift comes to town. Hank is intelligent, well-read, kind, and very, very lonely. Having suffered a tough, humiliating, ugly breakup a couple of years ago, he had also all but given up on finding someone, until seeing Chris. These guys were beautiful together. They had so many gorgeous, swoony moments. I loved this, for example:
“Yes…I was that river. Trickling, when I should have been gushing down mountains and pouring through valleys. They split me up. All of them. My father. The military academy. People. And I lost my strength. My dignity. But somehow, in spite of all that, I flowed down to you. And now going back home without you, feels like flowing backwards against my own stream.”
I’ll sum up by saying, I finished the book with a smile on my face—it really did leave me with a good feeling—but, it was sort of a messy journey. I liked the premise and a lot of the parts, but the execution wasn’t perfect. I kept getting glimmers of what made Craving’s Creek (the only other book I’ve read by this author) so magical—there was some stunning dialogue and beautiful imagery that went along with the water theme—but at other times I wondered if this was the same Mel Bossa. And, that editing was so hard to get past. Sorry I don’t have a more definitive yay or nay for you guys. I’m sure some people are going to love it and be more able to overlook the things I couldn’t. But, for me, it was a bumpy read.
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach
alextweetsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
*I received a book in exchange for an honest review*
TW: Explicit on-page homophobia, AIDS discussions, physical assault, talk about conversion therapy
I was surprised when I saw the date at the beginning of the book, because nowhere in the blurb does it say when the story is happening. From the description I imagined that it is happening in a small town in today’s times. But no, it is happening in 1992 (a year before I was born 🙂 ) and in a small town.
But the story fit. And I cannot believe what I will say now, but it does feel more historical than contemporary. It is unsettling to say that, but it does show how different times were back then.
Chris has been living in the city on his own for about a year, since his ex decided that small-town-living is not for him and moved back to a big city. But Chris has decided to stay, to take care of the bakery, despite being the only openly gay man in the town. And during the stereotype-fuelled times, with AIDS epidemic still in full swing.
Hank, on the other hand, is deeply closeted, and after having a bad experience years ago when someone outed him to a small circle of people, he is afraid of ever coming out. But he cannot deny his attraction to Chris.
Their story starts quickly, it is pretty much…I don’t know if actually insta-love, but certainly attraction is there from the beginning, and they fall in love. But Hank has a hard-ass father for whom he has to care, or find a home that will take him, after every single one near their actual home doesn’t want to.
As said in TWs, there is explicit homophobia and physical assault from a homophobe father who thinks Chris has ‘turned’ their son gay, as well as a discussion about sending the boy to conversion therapy. Luckily, the boy has a good grandmother who gives him money to move to the city, and Chris gives him a contact of his ex, so that someone will help the boy avoid the major traps. (The assault is basically a man pushing Chris, causing him some minor injuries, and it is over pretty quickly, but it is still there).
There is not much discussion about Chris’ ex on page, but I did not find it missing as much, I liked how it was all focused on the present.
The book seemed very realistic, especially in describing the AIDS epidemic, telling how Chris and his ex have seen many funerals, and how it affected people’s views of gay men. And even the HEA ending seemed very realistic. It is not as ones you would find in books happening nowadays, but it does say in the epilogue that it was 1993.
It is not the easiest book to read, as it deals with many issues I described above, but I liked it a lot.
TW: Explicit on-page homophobia, AIDS discussions, physical assault, talk about conversion therapy
I was surprised when I saw the date at the beginning of the book, because nowhere in the blurb does it say when the story is happening. From the description I imagined that it is happening in a small town in today’s times. But no, it is happening in 1992 (a year before I was born 🙂 ) and in a small town.
But the story fit. And I cannot believe what I will say now, but it does feel more historical than contemporary. It is unsettling to say that, but it does show how different times were back then.
Chris has been living in the city on his own for about a year, since his ex decided that small-town-living is not for him and moved back to a big city. But Chris has decided to stay, to take care of the bakery, despite being the only openly gay man in the town. And during the stereotype-fuelled times, with AIDS epidemic still in full swing.
Hank, on the other hand, is deeply closeted, and after having a bad experience years ago when someone outed him to a small circle of people, he is afraid of ever coming out. But he cannot deny his attraction to Chris.
Their story starts quickly, it is pretty much…I don’t know if actually insta-love, but certainly attraction is there from the beginning, and they fall in love. But Hank has a hard-ass father for whom he has to care, or find a home that will take him, after every single one near their actual home doesn’t want to.
As said in TWs, there is explicit homophobia and physical assault from a homophobe father who thinks Chris has ‘turned’ their son gay, as well as a discussion about sending the boy to conversion therapy. Luckily, the boy has a good grandmother who gives him money to move to the city, and Chris gives him a contact of his ex, so that someone will help the boy avoid the major traps. (The assault is basically a man pushing Chris, causing him some minor injuries, and it is over pretty quickly, but it is still there).
There is not much discussion about Chris’ ex on page, but I did not find it missing as much, I liked how it was all focused on the present.
The book seemed very realistic, especially in describing the AIDS epidemic, telling how Chris and his ex have seen many funerals, and how it affected people’s views of gay men. And even the HEA ending seemed very realistic. It is not as ones you would find in books happening nowadays, but it does say in the epilogue that it was 1993.
It is not the easiest book to read, as it deals with many issues I described above, but I liked it a lot.
lucyp21's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating 3.5 stars
I requested this on NetGalley because I instantly liked the title and the description. It looked like it would be a sweet romance and, in many respects, that was completely true.
Chris and his boyfriend leave New York in 1992 during the height of the AIDS crisis because they are tired of burying friends and move to a small town and open up a bakery. They break up and Chris' boyfriend moves back to New York, leaving Chris as the only gay man in town. Enter Hank who is there to test the old water plant and things kick off. Rivers play a huge part in this book, bringing the main couple together and continuing to be something which remains a theme of the book.
I really like the variety of characters there were in this book. While the main plot was between Chris and Hank, there were smaller subplots of Shirley and her husband, Troy, coming out of prison, Donnie and his strained relationship with his father and Drika wanting to do the right thing for her nephew while risking her relationship with her brother. Bossa creates varied characters that you can understand, even if you don't agree with their decisions. Liliana wants to send her son to a gay conversion camp because she believes it would be the best thing for him and the psychological, emotional and physical abuse of these camps was not nearly well publicised twenty years ago, nor how completely pointless they were because it led to encouraging self-hatred and denial rather than actually turning people straight. I completely disagree with this decision of hers but Bossa makes it very clear that this ignorant, misguided decision has good intentions behind it and she does this for a lot of bad decisions in this book. We can see why Hank is so scared of being out but we know it is going to stop him being happy if he continues like he is.
This book is set in 1992 and the setting really drives the book. There are all the misconceptions about gay people and AIDS itself which were even more prominent back then, when the only information you got was from books and the media. Sometimes I forgot which time it was set in but it was always brought back to the forefront because it was such an important part of the plot. Hank and Chris find the long-distance relationship even worse when they have only landline phones to communicate on and I really felt for them when events were going on in Chris' life and he didn't want to talk about them over the phone.
Then we come to the relationship. I absolutely loved the last two-thirds of this book where Hank and Chris had confessed to each other but it wasn't a happily ever after, as the two of them had to work through their own issues and outside conflicts as well. It was so nice to see a romance novel where the conflicts weren't based around stupid misunderstandings or mistaken cheating or one breaking up with the other for their own good. Their fights and conflicts stemmed from understandable fear and distance between each other and I loved how it was resolved as well. That being said, the first third of the book was incredibly insta-lovey and if this book wasn't such an easy read, I would have given up on it. I'm really glad I didn't give up on it but I found myself rolling my eyes at how quickly Hank and Chris' relationship developed and wished we could have gotten a more slow-burn start to their romance.
If I was reviewing the first third and the second two-thirds separately, there would be two very different ratings. Together, I would say this book is 3.5 stars and I would recommend it, as long as you get through the first third.
*I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I requested this on NetGalley because I instantly liked the title and the description. It looked like it would be a sweet romance and, in many respects, that was completely true.
Chris and his boyfriend leave New York in 1992 during the height of the AIDS crisis because they are tired of burying friends and move to a small town and open up a bakery. They break up and Chris' boyfriend moves back to New York, leaving Chris as the only gay man in town. Enter Hank who is there to test the old water plant and things kick off. Rivers play a huge part in this book, bringing the main couple together and continuing to be something which remains a theme of the book.
I really like the variety of characters there were in this book. While the main plot was between Chris and Hank, there were smaller subplots of Shirley and her husband, Troy, coming out of prison, Donnie and his strained relationship with his father and Drika wanting to do the right thing for her nephew while risking her relationship with her brother. Bossa creates varied characters that you can understand, even if you don't agree with their decisions. Liliana wants to send her son to a gay conversion camp because she believes it would be the best thing for him and the psychological, emotional and physical abuse of these camps was not nearly well publicised twenty years ago, nor how completely pointless they were because it led to encouraging self-hatred and denial rather than actually turning people straight. I completely disagree with this decision of hers but Bossa makes it very clear that this ignorant, misguided decision has good intentions behind it and she does this for a lot of bad decisions in this book. We can see why Hank is so scared of being out but we know it is going to stop him being happy if he continues like he is.
This book is set in 1992 and the setting really drives the book. There are all the misconceptions about gay people and AIDS itself which were even more prominent back then, when the only information you got was from books and the media. Sometimes I forgot which time it was set in but it was always brought back to the forefront because it was such an important part of the plot. Hank and Chris find the long-distance relationship even worse when they have only landline phones to communicate on and I really felt for them when events were going on in Chris' life and he didn't want to talk about them over the phone.
Then we come to the relationship. I absolutely loved the last two-thirds of this book where Hank and Chris had confessed to each other but it wasn't a happily ever after, as the two of them had to work through their own issues and outside conflicts as well. It was so nice to see a romance novel where the conflicts weren't based around stupid misunderstandings or mistaken cheating or one breaking up with the other for their own good. Their fights and conflicts stemmed from understandable fear and distance between each other and I loved how it was resolved as well. That being said, the first third of the book was incredibly insta-lovey and if this book wasn't such an easy read, I would have given up on it. I'm really glad I didn't give up on it but I found myself rolling my eyes at how quickly Hank and Chris' relationship developed and wished we could have gotten a more slow-burn start to their romance.
If I was reviewing the first third and the second two-thirds separately, there would be two very different ratings. Together, I would say this book is 3.5 stars and I would recommend it, as long as you get through the first third.
*I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
alextweetsbooks's review
4.0
*I received a book in exchange for an honest review*
TW: Explicit on-page homophobia, AIDS discussions, physical assault, talk about conversion therapy
I was surprised when I saw the date at the beginning of the book, because nowhere in the blurb does it say when the story is happening. From the description I imagined that it is happening in a small town in today’s times. But no, it is happening in 1992 (a year before I was born 🙂 ) and in a small town.
But the story fit. And I cannot believe what I will say now, but it does feel more historical than contemporary. It is unsettling to say that, but it does show how different times were back then.
Chris has been living in the city on his own for about a year, since his ex decided that small-town-living is not for him and moved back to a big city. But Chris has decided to stay, to take care of the bakery, despite being the only openly gay man in the town. And during the stereotype-fuelled times, with AIDS epidemic still in full swing.
Hank, on the other hand, is deeply closeted, and after having a bad experience years ago when someone outed him to a small circle of people, he is afraid of ever coming out. But he cannot deny his attraction to Chris.
Their story starts quickly, it is pretty much…I don’t know if actually insta-love, but certainly attraction is there from the beginning, and they fall in love. But Hank has a hard-ass father for whom he has to care, or find a home that will take him, after every single one near their actual home doesn’t want to.
As said in TWs, there is explicit homophobia and physical assault from a homophobe father who thinks Chris has ‘turned’ their son gay, as well as a discussion about sending the boy to conversion therapy. Luckily, the boy has a good grandmother who gives him money to move to the city, and Chris gives him a contact of his ex, so that someone will help the boy avoid the major traps. (The assault is basically a man pushing Chris, causing him some minor injuries, and it is over pretty quickly, but it is still there).
There is not much discussion about Chris’ ex on page, but I did not find it missing as much, I liked how it was all focused on the present.
The book seemed very realistic, especially in describing the AIDS epidemic, telling how Chris and his ex have seen many funerals, and how it affected people’s views of gay men. And even the HEA ending seemed very realistic. It is not as ones you would find in books happening nowadays, but it does say in the epilogue that it was 1993.
It is not the easiest book to read, as it deals with many issues I described above, but I liked it a lot.
TW: Explicit on-page homophobia, AIDS discussions, physical assault, talk about conversion therapy
I was surprised when I saw the date at the beginning of the book, because nowhere in the blurb does it say when the story is happening. From the description I imagined that it is happening in a small town in today’s times. But no, it is happening in 1992 (a year before I was born 🙂 ) and in a small town.
But the story fit. And I cannot believe what I will say now, but it does feel more historical than contemporary. It is unsettling to say that, but it does show how different times were back then.
Chris has been living in the city on his own for about a year, since his ex decided that small-town-living is not for him and moved back to a big city. But Chris has decided to stay, to take care of the bakery, despite being the only openly gay man in the town. And during the stereotype-fuelled times, with AIDS epidemic still in full swing.
Hank, on the other hand, is deeply closeted, and after having a bad experience years ago when someone outed him to a small circle of people, he is afraid of ever coming out. But he cannot deny his attraction to Chris.
Their story starts quickly, it is pretty much…I don’t know if actually insta-love, but certainly attraction is there from the beginning, and they fall in love. But Hank has a hard-ass father for whom he has to care, or find a home that will take him, after every single one near their actual home doesn’t want to.
As said in TWs, there is explicit homophobia and physical assault from a homophobe father who thinks Chris has ‘turned’ their son gay, as well as a discussion about sending the boy to conversion therapy. Luckily, the boy has a good grandmother who gives him money to move to the city, and Chris gives him a contact of his ex, so that someone will help the boy avoid the major traps. (The assault is basically a man pushing Chris, causing him some minor injuries, and it is over pretty quickly, but it is still there).
There is not much discussion about Chris’ ex on page, but I did not find it missing as much, I liked how it was all focused on the present.
The book seemed very realistic, especially in describing the AIDS epidemic, telling how Chris and his ex have seen many funerals, and how it affected people’s views of gay men. And even the HEA ending seemed very realistic. It is not as ones you would find in books happening nowadays, but it does say in the epilogue that it was 1993.
It is not the easiest book to read, as it deals with many issues I described above, but I liked it a lot.
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