By The River

Elementals #1

by Katey Hawthorne

Paranormal

After a bad breakup, Adam Kavanaugh returns to his sleepy old river town to find himself. His family hasn't changed, but he has some work to do readjusting to small-town life, so much that he wonders if he's made a mistake by coming home.

But from the moment Leith Marshall pops out of the Ohio River and smiles at him, there's no turning back. Between Leith's swimmer body, sweet laugh, and gentle soul, Adam is head over heels. Leith lets Adam into his little world bit by bit, from his mother's abandoned aquarium shop to his elderly father's fairy tale delusions.

Which might not be so delusional after all. Leith does have a certain affinity for water. It seems almost to listen to him. The current never pulls him downriver, the tub doesn't splash, and the pool hardly moves around him even at an all out sprint. He can't spend a night away from his river, and then there's the way he sings. Adam has to admit, he'd steer his ship straight into the rocks for that.

So maybe Leith inherited a few things from his mysterious mother. It doesn't mean he'll disappear like she did. That's absurd. Right?

Publisher's This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find male/male sexual practices.

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT, Magic

121 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 30, 2012

About the author

Hi! I'm Katey. I write superpowered and fantasy romance of an LGBTQIA bent. I live at Superpowered Love -- kateyhawthorne.com.

I know, I know, it looks like I don't read anything here at GoodReads. But I do, I swear. My reviews and stuff are all over at my other GoodReads thingie, KV Taylor. Relevant shelves to Katey Hawthorne stuff:

Romance
LGBTQ
and
Comics, Graphic Novels, and Trade Paperbacks

Reviews

[Vio · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Lovely flowing story with intriguing elements and sweet guys, it was a very likable romance that has a dreamy feel to it. So this is where it gets tricky for me the ending, I wasn't feeling the warm and fuzzies in fact I was fearful that certain predictions would eventuate its all a bit mysterious and up in the air, not quite finished. It felt more like a HFN rather than a HEA. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens in the next book.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so, so beautiful: a perfect little tale of a man who moves back to his hometown and falls head over heels in love with a bewitching swimmer. I loved how this seemingly simple story flirted with mythology and folklore. The writing is great, and one of my very favorite things about this author is the way she combines the ordinary with the magical. By the end, my eyes were prickling with tears, and I think I held my breath for the last few pages. Well worth a read!

[Darien · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

I am so in love with this story, just so freaking in love. It’s hauntingly beautiful, with unique characters, and the writing just seems so very real. I am so in love with this small little town, and I felt so important to be invited to get to know Leith and Adam.

Adam has moved back to his hometown, after sampling life in the big city. He has no idea what he wants out of life but he is sure about one thing, he needs to be home when he decides that he needs to stop running and face the world head on. While out working on his fitness, Adam sees someone floating in the Ohio River and heads over to offer his help somehow. He soon realizes that the person is at ease in tumultuous water, so very at peace.

The super swimmer turns out to be Leith Marshall (sexy as hell), a member of the same swim team his brother TJ swims on. Adam and Leith have instant chemistry, and Adam finds himself seeking the company of a man others would categorize as odd. To Adam, Leith is perfect even with his strange ways. He fears travelling because he doesn’t want to be away from the river, he has this crazy affinity for water and it does crazy things when he’s in it, plus he sings alone in the bathtub and it is insanely beautiful to hear. Yet, Adam falls hard, and what once was odd becomes whatever because it’s coming from Leith.

With Adam, Leith starts to open up and finds a true friend. He has him taking baby steps away from the father others call crazy. Leith’s past has somehow shaped his future, but Adam starts leading him down a new path. However, this path might lead to losing Leith forever. Sometimes you do crazy things for the people you love, and Adam is definitely in love with Leith.

Gosh, I love this story! It’s so sad, happy, and beautiful and a whole bunch of other feelings combined. Leith and Adam are beautiful together, and I am so happy they have each other. They invited me into their private world filled with rainbow fishes, life, and love. The story is clearly very intimate, and I am glad the author took the time to introduce Adam’s brother. He sheds light on how life was for Leith growing up, his innocence, and brings home how he is just more than the world and no one understands it. TJ also sheds light on his brothers life before which was never a real part of the story. I really wished the part about Adam had been left out; I was thinking new beginnings and had no interest in his past.

The reader is never told exactly what Leith is, but it doesn’t seem to matter and it shouldn’t matter. I loved Adam because of his acceptance, and the way he treated Leith (all kinds of awesome). Love Leith, he is so quirky and interesting and I wanna see him in a Speedo.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this story. The writing was awesome, and the characters and the story were beautiful. There is just enough intrigue to keep the reader guessing and hoping for something, I am not quite sure what I am hoping for but I want it to be good. I would categorize this as HFN, I somehow feel that Leith and Adam’s story is just beginning and it’s cloaked in so much mystery. Seriously though check this one out; it is very enjoyable and sexy.

I believe this quote sums up the awesome:

"Everyone pretended he was just some weirdo, denying his existence so they didn't have to hurt their tiny brains, trying to fit him into the world.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Good m/m paranormal romance about a guy in his mid-twenties who feels drawn to return to his home town, where he becomes enthralled by a mysterious and naive college swimmer. As MandyM noted, while this was beautifully written, the HFN ending felt very tenuous... as if the "for now" might only be a few minutes or days.

[Elizabetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like most about this is the mystery of it, not only in the storyline but in the writing. How the wording doesn’t give too much away, let’s you linger in the shadows of it. How it conjures up a dreamy, other-worldly feel. Just as Adam learns to let Leith have his freedom, the author lets the reader have freedom to interpret the story between the lines.

This skirts playfully around water mythology. Adam and Leith's story is linked strongly to the river that runs through their hometown, directly behind Leith’s back yard. In fact, water plays such a strong role that it becomes the third character in this romance. Adam returns to his hometown, in search of something. Or, maybe himself. Leith is a gifted athlete, a real talent on the college swim team. He is connected to water in some mystical way, has a sweet siren song that weaves its spell on Adam. And the reader is lulled in too.

I had to suspend my ‘but, they just met’ criticism and just go with the flow... so to speak. (Really though, what did draw Leith to Adam so quickly?) And running through it is a message about small town phobias and self acceptance. Adam discovers that yes, maybe you can go home again.

This is sweet, quiet storytelling, nothing momentous really happens. A gentle kind of love story floating on the surface of darker fears.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone pretended he was just some weirdo, denying his existence so they didn't have to hurt their tiny brains, trying to fit him into the world.

I am in love with this story and these characters. This is the first thing I have read by Katey Hawthorne, but I am head over heels for her writing style. I think the word beautiful has been so over used in all the reviews of this book, but it really just fits. The entire thing was mesmerizingly beautiful. It was a magical love story. No angst, no drama, just love. I'm in love with the cover. I'm in love with the river. And I am SO IN LOVE with Leith. Talk about magical! And Adam is so perfect for him.

It appears that this is going to be a series, because there is not really an ending in this book. It kinda just stops mid-story. I don't think I would call it an HFN, more a to-be-continued. Because to me, it is clear that there is a HEA for these two from the first moment they meet.

"I want you Adam. I want you forever."
Adam didn't know when always had turned into forever, and he didn't care because he meant them both and might've from the beginning.

[Mel Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Word Count: 30,388 (72 pages epub)
Published: 2012

This was my first time reading Katey Hawthrone – and I’m glad I picked it up. The summary of the book was a bit mysterious – I couldn’t tell if I was going to get a shifter book or a love story from the description, so I did not have many expectations going in.

The story was about a hometown guy moving back home for no reason other than he was pulled back there. In fact, it seems like he’s lived his life and made decisions because they felt right – without ever looking into the reason behind them. On one of his runs he sees another man that he’s attracted to, and from then on, they are inseparable. Oh, and did I mention that the man lives on the river?

The read itself was intriguing, I kept wanting to see what was next and ended up reading it in one sitting (a very quick, short read). The attraction and pull between the main characters was very well-written. However… I am still unsure how/why/if there was a fantasy element in the book. It was never really explained and that was a bit… peculiar. In addition, this book practiced one of my biggest pet peeves – it ended in the MIDDLE of the story. I still have no idea why he was different, how it ends up, why the craziness is there, what happened to his mom, did they return, and so on. She cut the book way too short and kept me wondering (which is NOT a good thing once I get to the end).

The sex and heat, was good though – it was more about their connection than the actual act most of the time. In fact, I believe they only had “sex” once, but were active along the way. The characters seemed connected and very much into each other – and it was hard to look away!

Out of four…
Overall Read: ♥♥
Sex Heat: ♥♥♥
Plot: ♥

This is a quick read and HOT – vanilla sex for sure, but if you like a strong connection with a little bit of mystery, than this is a great read for you. It combines heat and sometimes graphically describes the actions, and other times hints at what’s going on. If you are able to look over the plot holes (and incomplete story), than I would recommend this.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - This was short and sweet. It was beautifully written, too. It's not my favourite by this author (I absolutely adore her Superpowered Love series) but it's still a nice read. Leith was such a sweetheart.

[Katey Hawthorne]

Sleepy river town. Lost artist. Sweet swimmer. Tattoos and fairy tales. Coming late July 2012. Yay!

http://www.kateyhawthorne.com/p/by-ri...

[Dolorianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This packs a lot into a small space. It's like these two men have just been biding their time until they met each other. In so many ways, their romance was ordinary ... a chance meeting, get-to-know-each-other time, hang out with the friends .... but somewhere along the way something changes. There is something extra in the writing, an urgency to their time together, and an emotional undercurrent that hints a several possibilities. I have questions about the ending, but what stands out the most is their absolute devotion to each other, making whatever future they have totally worth it.

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/

This was a beautiful love story built on trust, commitment and a little fear. The first in what appears to be a series, this story was a perfect start. Adam moved away from the tiny little town in West Virginia as soon as he could and never looked back. He went through lives and loves with disregard just making it as an artist in Washington D.C. Sometimes when you run so hard away from something though you wind up running smack dab into it and Adam wound back in the tiny little river town he grew up in. Leith is a college senior on the swim team with Adam's younger brother TJ. Adam is attracted to Leith the first time he sees the unassuming young man at a swim meet. Leith is a loner with no real friends to speak of except for the Ohio river across the street from his and his father's run down house. Leith somehow has an affinity with water. His father believes that it came from Leith's mother but it sounds more like a fairy tale than any reality until Adam actually sees just how water and Leith embrace each other. Love blossoms between the two men much to the chagrin of TJ who seems to know Leith better than one would think and knows his brother only too well. Both Adam and Leith take chances on each other and grow through their trust and love. Ms Hawthorne did an excellent job of developing the characters of TJ, Leith and Adam fleshing them out slowly yet fully. The mysterious affinity that Leith has for water was woven through the story well and while it kept me guessing right until the end, it never overwhelmed the love story as sometimes happens with a paranormal book. I couldn't help but fall in love with the sweet, giving and somewhat innocent Leith. TJ was the voice of reason in the story and brought Adam to attention often. The story line flowed beautifully without a hiccup. There were a couple of plot twists but Ms Hawthorne delivered on a sweet HEA ending. I'm anxiously awaiting book two. I recommend this well written love story to anyone looking for a feel good book with plenty of great sex.

[Jess Candela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The writing style of this was almost poetic, and gave a real sense of magical possibility. And yet, this book didn't work quite as well for me as others I've read by this author.

I thought Adam's perception, understanding, and acceptance of Leith's otherness was insufficiently explained. Maybe I was just supposed to accept it as part of Adam's tendency to trust and act on his feelings, but I wanted something more than that.

I also wanted more explanation about the significance of his tattoo, since it seemed to be meaningful that he chose exactly the bird he did and no other. Why? I guessed that it was related to his understanding of Leith's otherness, but if Adam is also "other" in some way, that was never made clear enough for me.

A few times I found myself thinking, "I'd like to buy a pronoun." Not that it was ever unclear to whom was being referred, but because it became so noticeable it detracted from my ability to stay in the story. If it had just been Adam's speech/thoughts, I would've simply attributed it to his style, and that would've been fine. I might not even have noticed, beyond appreciating the flow. But Leith and everyone else seemed to speak with exactly the same lack of pronouns, and that disconcerted me.

The ending also disconcerted me, as it seemed abrupt and I still had so many questions. But then I pondered for a while, and decided that I had enough information to feel good about the HEA, and that while more story would have been nice, it wasn't necessary.

Maybe I just needed my hand held more than usual when I read this. Certainly I felt more stupid than usual while reading it. Whether that was me or the story is an open question.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite four stars due to the abrupt ending that left the story slightly unfinished. I liked the relationship between Adam and Leith, their easy banter and even though it smacked of insta-love, I believed the romance between them.

TJ as Adam's younger brother was a good secondary character, even if he only had one major scene. He brought a voice of reason to the table and gave his brother something to think about.

I felt like Adam grew into himself in this novella, and for once experienced real love - the one where you love someone so much that you just want them to be happy, no matter what it might cost you.

And I very much enjoyed Leith's character - eager to learn, wistful, and more or less dancing to the beat of his very own drummer. He had a supernatural quality about him, something ethereal that drew me in from the start, much like Adam was drawn to him. Like a siren song, perhaps, though muted to an extent.

The writing was beautiful in some places and too purple in others, but overall well done. A better editor might have suggested the removal of 'impossibly' - one of my pet peeves.

At only 70 pages on my Nook, this was a quick read, something to take with you to the beach on a hot Summer day to devour while the wind is in your hair and the sound of crashing waves in your ear. Fitting, too.

** I received a free copy of this book from the author. A positive review was not promised in return. **

[Jordie.R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. Everything:)!

[Anke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might be the format on my kindle, but without breaks between the scenes it was a bit difficult to read. And might be my ESL, but overall the whole story felt elusive to me, I couldn't quite grasp it.

[Heather C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was sweet. It was different. My only issue was that I found some of the wording odd to the point I didn't understand what the author meant.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting bit of magical realism. Sort of. Lol. I like it.

[Sammy Goode · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to begin this review with the author's own words--primarily because mine will only pale in comparison, for Katey Hawthorne's are so very beautiful.

"I don't even know what made me happy before you." Adam was sure there had been many people, places, things but they might as well have been in another lifetime. Now all that mattered was this living room, this moment."

It is an amazing thing when we meet that one person who can set right our world and make every piece fall into place, and finally, help us to breathe with ease, without fear. By the River, flows onto the page and carries the reader into the lives of two men, both of whom are unfinished works of art.

Adam has returned home to escape the dull and empty routine of dating mindlessly. He has had affairs with both sexes--unable to light on the one person that his heart can recognize as home. Leith walks out of sync with most everyone, and the water calls to him, keeps him safe, lures him away from a world where he does not fit in. The two men meet by the river and let the water carry them into each other, where they find safety floating in each other's arms.

This story...was so many things. It was most assuredly a love story. The discovery by Adam that he truly did love his home--that he never should have left it for so many unsatisfied years. Leith's surety that the water was a place he could never leave--that it made him whole, complete and safe. Their shared realization that in each other's arms was their true home, a place where each found not only security but the freedom to fly, to journey, without the fear of being pulled under--their love would hold them up--keep them afloat.

By the River was a story of discovery and of myth and of the incredible power that love holds over us. Katey Hawthorne uses this somewhat quirky tale to illustrate to us that if we truly love someone we will risk it all to see them happy--even our own heart.

For Adam, the realization that he wanted to live for another man--see him happy, contented, and that he would do so despite the costs--regardless if he lost him or not, was a mind shattering revelation. Always before Adam had been the one to walk away from his lovers, now, he was giving Leith the ability to do that very thing--to be happy, even if it meant that happiness would take Leith away from Adam for good.

For Leith, whose world had been so very narrow, where the water was his only friend, his only source of comfort, to find the man whom he could share that with—whom he could trust to be there on the shore when he returned—well, that was nothing short of a miracle.

I cannot tell you how magically lyrical this novella was--how amazingly sweet and sexy it read. With each page, Katey Hawthorne invites you in, and allows you to sit in the corner of her imagination and watch beauty unfold. She gently exposes out fears, the idea that letting go of someone we love is both f=risky and freeing all the same. She takes the old, trite add age, "if you love something, set it free..." to insanely glorious new heights and wraps it up in a hot, sexy, poignantly sweet story that has you sighing with happiness at journey's end.

[Jan VL · Rating 3 out of 5]

What to write about this book... I think I expected something way different from it. I think it could've been longer and the characters could've been a bit more developed. The only thing this story actually describes is how the two MCs met and how their relationship evolves. The elemental aspect of the story felt more like a background part. Yes, Leith is one, but that was all. There could've been some fighting involved, or some kidnapping, I don't know, but when dealing with mythical creatures out in the open, I would expect at least some sort of major drama.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book a couple of days ago and I've been struggling on how to write this review. It's soft, poignant, emotional, mythical and dreamy. I fell in love with Leith, He is sweet, naive, strong, dreamy and really finds his love in Adam. Adam was harder for me to connect to in that I worried that he would hurt Leith in an emotional way but thankfully he understood and embraced all that is Leith. The book ends on not quite on the hea i was looking for. I feel there could have been a bit more fleshing out of how they put their lives together.

[Kazza · Rating 4 out of 5]

No great dramas, no screaming shrews or homophobic parents. Nice story. Nice characters. A change from some of the other books out there in the genre. By The River is not too long, just right for the story itself. It certainly has some sexy moments. I also liked the interesting and strong look at people and how they vary. Full review at On Top Down Under Book Reviews -
http://bookreviewsandtherapy.blogspot...

[Snowtulip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was completely enchanted by Leith. The connection that was developed between Leith and Adam felt so strong and real and just made me very pleased to be reading their story. Yes, I wanted more, but I also was quiet satisfied with how the book ended.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful and magical story.

Review at http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords....

Rating: 4.5 stars


Adam Kavanaugh has returned to his home town and family after having lived for several years in a series of other cities and towns after college. A broken relationship, a series of them really, meant he had to start up his life again and this time Ashton, WV called him back home. But fitting back into the sleepy pace of small town life is not going as smoothly as Adam thought it would. His young brother TJ is as resentful of Adam’s return as he was of his brother’s leaving town years before. For TJ, life is should be lived in Ashton, under the shadow of the Appalachians and he has never forgiven his brother for leaving him and the family behind when Adam could have gone to Trinity College right in town as TJ is now doing. TJ has also never understood Adam’s bisexuality and the relationship between the two is strained.

Now back in town, Adam’s life falls into a strange sort of stasis. He spends his days painting a mural on the wall in the small clapboard house he bought, he works and games and avoids phone calls from old friends still in town. And Adam runs a set path through town and along the Ohio River three days a week, trying to make it all seem like home once more. But a chance encounter with a strange young man floating in the Ohio shatters Adam’s inertia.

Leith Marshall is a member of TJ’s college swim team so Adam recognizes at once the form floating in silence on the surface of the Ohio River. At first, Adam thought that something must be wrong and races to the river’s edge only to find Leith bobbing contentedly in the current. Which was odd in of itself. The Ohio was a fast, snarly, dark river and Leith looked totally at ease within it’s embrace. When Leith emerges from the river to respond to Adam’s shout, Adam admires Leith’s beautiful swimmers body barely covered by a pair of grey briefs. But it’s Leith shy smile and gentle ways that have Adam falling hard within a matter of days. But the more Leith lets Adam into his life, the more off kilter Leith’s life seems. Leith and his father live above an abandoned aquarium store that used to belong to Leith’s absent mother. Leith’s father has some strange ideas concerning his son and water. Everything about Leith seems connected in some way to water. Leith cannot stay away from it for any length of time, whether he is swimming in the Ohio or splashing about in a bathtub. And when Adam hears Leith sing in a strange haunting language, the idea of a siren’s song springs to mind. The more Adam falls in love with Leith, the less it matters that Leith might be more than human. Right up until Leith’s father reminds Adam of his wife’s strange disappearance when the ocean’s call become too strong. What will happen when Leith says he wants to see the ocean too?

What an utterly beguiling story. By The River has a quiet, mesmerizing rhythm to it, pulsing with life as it relates the story of a young man who might just be as elemental as water itself. With her wonderful characterizations and vivid descriptions of a setting that is clearly close to the author’s heart, Katey Hawthorne builds a story of a love between two men that becomes so strong, so elemental in nature that even the idea of loss cannot break it.

I love the mystery that surrounds Leith Marshall from the moment we meet him, floating effortlessly on top of a river whose currents churn around him to little effect. Even his name Leith means broad river in English, and has a origin in Lethe, the Greek river of forgetfulness. Leith and water are so intimately intwined that he cannot bear to be parted from it for any length of time and is at his most content when he is immersed in it. Leith and his father Mr. Marshall, a bitter, isolated man, live in a building that once housed his mother’s aquarium shop, until a flood demolished it and his mother disappeared. Now just Leith and his father live among the remnants of their former lives, empty dusty tanks and peeling posters of fish still hanging off the walls downstairs, while the sounds of water lapping up against the shore that is their backyard echo around them. The author pulls us in with her minute attention to the uniqueness that is Leith. He “smells like fresh rainwater”, his eye color changes in accordance with the nearest body of water, and Leith loves to read in the old store where the sounds of the river is the strongest. Detail by detail, Hawthorne builds an aura of mystery around Leith’s very nature. And yet we also understand Adam’s complete acceptance of Leith’s strangeness as a part of someone he loves because we have come to love Leith as well. The love between Adam and Leith flows like water over everything before it, including all the obstacles and arguments that others like TJ throw in its path.

I loved Adam as well. Adam is someone on hold but who can’t figure out the reason for his ennui. Adam is waiting, poised for change and it arrives in the form of Leith. Adam has been a serial monogamist with a number of boyfriends and girlfriends right up until his last breakup which really didn’t upset him as much as it should. Again, it’s as though he knew he was waiting for someone else to come before he could finally commit, focusing inward so much that Adam’ self centered behavior adversely affects his relationship with his brother, TJ. And then he commits himself to Leith with an ease of effort that sends TJ in a rage even as he fears for them both as out gays in a small West Virginia town not always tolerant of those who are different. Katey Hawthorne adds layer upon layer to her authentic portrait of small town life, until Ashton becomes gritty, real, and memorable as any of her characters.

As Leith surges and flows with life so does Adam but in his own way. Adam’s tolerant, accepting personality is necessary if Leith is truly to be a part of his life. The weirdness that is Leith continues when Adam meets Mr. Marshall who he views as more of a keeper than father to his lover. But the man’s torment and pain over the loss of his Scottish wife breaks through Adam’s anger on Leith’s behalf. But the pity he sees in the man’s eyes as he talks about losing his son to the ocean the same way as his wife unsettles Adam when he realizes the pity he sees is for him. That the father thinks Adam is on the same path he took with Leith’s mother is clear. And when the boys leave town for a short visit to the sea, the scene where Mr. Marshall says goodbye to his son is overwhelmingly painful and sad.

Although the name selkie is never used, it is implied that Leith’s mother was a Scottish Selkie who resumed her seal form when the call of the ocean became too great. Or at least that is clearly what the father believes. Is Leith magical? He certainly is to Adam, and to his father. I feel there is a murkiness as well as a mystique that lurks just underneath the surface of the story, just as opaque as the Ohio river that Leith loves so much. I loved the ending of this story, especially because for me it can be interpreted two different ways. For me, the nature of the ending of By The River has all the fluidity of water itself as buoyant love the boys feel for each other carries them along with the currents, caught in the ebb and flow of the tides. The journey to get to this end point was wondrous, sexy and natural for Adam and Leith and the reader. And the last vision we see of Leith is a promise but of what? I think it is up to each person to come to their conclusions as to what happens next, to believe in what has been said between the lovers or the pull of something quite different. How I loved this and I wait eagerly for the next installment in the series. I know the author won’t let us down.

Cover artist Mina Carter does a gorgeous job giving us a cover that delights from gorgeous male torsos to the falcon tattoo that figures within the story.

[Missy~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read, a sort of light flowy romance with a somewhat dream like ephemeral feel to it. I liked it ok, but didn't feel much of a connection to either character, and worse than that, didn't feel much connection between Adam and Leith. It had so much potential with the mystery element of Leiths mother, with a dropping a many huge hints but no big reveal. We are never told why Leith has a connection to water and we are never really told if he can control water, although I THINK that was the intent??
A nice enough story, but not much emotion. A a very very abrupt ending in my opinion.

[Crystal P · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be beautiful. It was a short book full of so much emotion and character growth. I was intrigued by Leith and his story. Adam was an interesting character that was coming into his own - the book opened with him being more lost than he realized and ended with him finding himself. TJ was a vital part of the story and it was beautiful how he’d been being Leith’s protection until his brother took over. My favorite part is how pure Adam’s love was for Leith - it is seen in his anger/frustration with Leith’s father and willingness to lose Leith if that was what Leith needed.

I loved this book from pretty much page one.

[ButtonsMom2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story really touched my heart and the sexy time was hot. 🔥🔥 Leith seems like a mythical creature and Adam falls under his spell and never wants to leave. I thought it was sweet that Adam’s brother, TJ, wanted to protect Leith and basically warned Adam to not hurt him. I would have given this 5 stars if there had been an epilogue. I’m one of those readers who always wants more. Sometimes I’m OK with a book not having one but I needed another scene to let me know how Adam and Leith are a little bit into the future.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

By the River

I love books that incorporates elementals. This is a sweet love story . I love the way the author has taken two characters who are trying to find their place in this small town and wrapped it with the mystery of fairytale ways. There is no major drama or angst it is simply two people falling in love and accepting the person for who they are..Adam and Leith will melt your heart.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating is 3.5 stars

This book was a cute love story with a lot of quirkiness. It was very well written. However, it left me with some open questions. I would be interested in reading something different by this author.

[Amber Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

By the River was such a sweet and captivating story and I couldn't put it down! I wanted more to the ending, but that's the mark of a good book. The chemistry between Adam and Leith was just spot on perfect and reminded me of the early days of dating my husband. Just sweet and pure romance.

[Meep · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kindle-Sort-ReRead

Mainly just odd. Leigh lives in/on the river. Adam hears the river calling to him. They seem very young.
I don't really know what to make of it, not interested enough to continue beyond 40%