New Hand by L.A. Witt #LGBT #Review #BlogTour #Giveaway

Dana reviews New Hand (Bluewater Bay series Book #23) by L.A. Witt (Published by Riptide Publishing, December 18, 2017, 399 pages) A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb: 

Months after his husband’s death, Garrett Blaine desperately needs a fresh start. He sells his house in Seattle, leaves his accounting job, and starts bartending in Bluewater Bay. There he meets a man who wakes up his nearly forgotten libido.

Jesse Connelly’s friend with benefits bolted after Jesse disclosed his HIV status. Stood up and stinging, Jesse tries to drown his sorrows . . . and finds an unexpected connection with a lonely bartender.

Jesse and Garrett quickly bond over a shared love of comics and card games, and they can’t get enough of each other between the sheets. Not even a bumpy start and a fifteen-year age gap can derail them as they go from strangers to lovers, then friends, then much more.

But as Garrett’s feelings for Jesse deepen, so does his grief for the man he lost—especially as he sees hints of his late husband in his new boyfriend. Now Garrett has to figure out if Jesse is his second chance at true love, or if Jesse’s just filling in for the man he’s never fully grieved. And he needs to figure it out soon, because Jesse’s starting to wonder the same thing.

Buy links: Riptide | Amazon | B&N || Add to Goodreads

Every time I read a book by L.A. Witt, I am always in awe. I feel like she presents so many different types of stories and she never shies away from tackling any situation that LGBT people face in real life. She has written trans, lesbian, gay, asexual, bisexual, closeted, masculine, and femme characters. She has written steamy stories as well as romantic stories with no sex on page. In this story she has created a May/December romance between Garrett, a grieving widower, and a younger HIV positive man.

HIV positive is not the quality Jesse wants to be perceived as being. It’s not his who he is as a whole, but I love that there is a story for him and other HIV+ characters. Even though I was young when HIV and AIDS was a crisis and a surefire killer, I can remember it being as such. I suppose as a bystander I would imagine that especially in those times that if you were diagnosed as positive that it might feel like there is no happy ever after in store. The disease is still serious and shouldn’t be brushed off as treatable and a non-concern, but luckily in the US, we have reached a point where those who are HIV positive live pretty normal, long lives. I love seeing that it’s not a mark of death or a mark of being tainted and that they can find love. It isn’t easy for Jesse and he has been dissed in the past because of it, but his heart manages to still be open to finding love.

This book made me tear up a little bit as Garrett falls for Jesse. He shares stories of his past with his husband Sean and you can see the love he had for him. It hurts when someone good can be taken from the world with no input or control from loved ones. I have to say that the author really allowed me to feel for the characters. Garrett recognizes some of Sean’s spunk in Jesse, but as the story goes on I see him falling for so many things about Jesse that aren’t like his deceased husband. I love these two guys together and they are falling fast.

Both of these characters are strong and I love the way they lend silent support showing trust that the other can handle problems they face. Garrett naturally worries about losing Jesse to a disease like he lost his husband to cancer, but when he clears his head and looks at how the world has changed since he was younger he is very laid back about Jesse’s diagnosis. Jesse is strong enough to deal with the other man in Garrett’s life and let him share his past. A confrontation or two does bring up questions, though. Does Garrett love Jesse or is he merely looking for a replacement? Garrett and Jesse begin to question themselves, too.

I haven’t had the chance to read all the books in this series yet, but it is a goal I have. Garrett and Jesse interact with a lot of characters from past books and I want to know all their stories. I definitely recommend New Hand as well as others in the series. The books are all able to be read as stand-alones but it would be ideal to read the series in order, if you have the chance, for maximum enjoyment.

9/10 Pots of Gold (90% Recommended) – Compares to 4.5/5 Stars

To celebrate the release of New Hand, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide credit and their choice of two ebooks off LA Witt’s backlist (not counting New Hand)! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 23, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for followingthe tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

About LA Witt

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn’t lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don’t tell Lauren. And definitely don’t tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut . . .

Connect with L.A.:

• Website: gallagherwitt.com
• Author Blog: blogspot.com
• Personal Blog: blogspot.
• Twitter: @GallagherWitt
• Facebook: com//L-A-Witt-MM-Fiction
• Goodreads: com/GallagherWitt

About Bluewater Bay

Welcome to Bluewater Bay! This quiet little logging town on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula has been stagnating for decades, on the verge of ghost town status. Until a television crew moves in to film Wolf’s Landing, a soon-to-be cult hit based on the wildly successful shifter novels penned by local author Hunter Easton.

Wolf’s Landing’s success spawns everything from merchandise to movie talks, and Bluewater Bay explodes into a mecca for fans and tourists alike. The locals still aren’t quite sure what to make of all this—the town is rejuvenated, but at what cost? And the Hollywood-based production crew is out of their element in this small, mossy seaside locale. Needless to say, sparks fly.

This collaborative story world is brought to you by eleven award-winning, best-selling LGBTQ romance authors: L.A. Witt, L.B. Gregg, Z.A. Maxfield,  Heidi Belleau, Rachel Haimowitz, Anne Tenino, Amy Lane, SE Jakes, G.B. Gordon, Jaime Samms and Ally Blue. Each contemporary novel stands alone, but all are built around the town and the people of Bluewater Bay and the Wolf’s Landing media empire.

Check it out at Riptide Publishing!