Title: Sunrise over Savannah
Author: Scotty Cade
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (204 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-62798-653-3
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (17th February 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Thompson and Caroline Gray were living their dream until Caroline’s untimely death just two years after they’d bought the Thundercloud Marina. When Caroline died, she left Thompson alone and emotionally disconnected—until Thompson’s longtime friend and towboat owner Hank Charming tows Garner Holt, a recently retired psychiatrist, and his boat into the marina for repair. Thompson and Hank are both drawn to the sailboat captain, but for very different reasons.
Since high school, Hank has secretly carried a torch for Thompson, even though Thompson remained committed to Caroline, even after her death. Hank is totally caught off guard when his initial attraction to Garner makes him realize this stranger might be the one to help him move on with his life. Thompson establishes a platonic friendship with Garner and starts to see the psychiatrist as his only lifeline to sanity. Life improves until Thompson sees Hank and Garner together, and old feelings Thompson thought were long buried begin to resurface. Garner quickly identifies the unresolved feelings between Hank and Thompson and decides to tap his professional skills and work behind the scenes to help Thompson and Hank see what has been right in front of them all along.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4716
Review: Thompson Gray’s life came to a grinding halt when his wife unexpectedly died, four years later he is still unable to move on with his life, unable to let go of the feelings of guilt that he couldn’t protect her. But then Garner Holt sails into his life and manages to get Thompson to see a way through his stagnant life. Hank ‘Prince’ Charming has carried a torch for Thompson since their school day’s but stifled the feelings, best friends through thick and thin Hank tried to support Thompson after his wife’s death but was pushed away. When Hank tows Garner into Thompson’s Marina, Garner is the catalyst that brings the two friends together again and Thompson and Hank discover that they can have more than just friendship between them.
Hmmm, what an interesting story. It’s a story that really made me think about what the characters had gone through and to see it from all angles…. It didn’t stop me thinking that Thompson has a martyr complex or that he was taken advantage of for his white knight complex though. So down to the characters, we have Garner, who is the catalyst for Thompson to start living his life again. Garner is a retired psychiatrist who is sailing the coast just relaxing when he drops into the lives of Hank and Thompson. We have Hank who was pushed out of Thompson’s life. Hank is a towboat owner who gave up on ever getting his old friend back, until Garner works miracles. And finally we have Thompson, a man who has weathered a great burden and can’t work past the guilt of failure, until a new friendship develops. Now all three men are great characters and they play off each other really well, and while there is an interest between Hank and Garner, the real romantic relationship is between Hank and Thompson.
The storyline is a really good one, two men who were best friends driven apart by the guilt that one of them wallows in and it takes a stranger to bring them back together. It is also a story that has darker undertones to it, the reason why Thompson feels such guilt, and the secret that he has kept for so many years. Garner’s role is a unique one because while he is interested in both men he settles for the role of friend and confidant; helping both men to move forward and helping, them to bring to fruition a relationship that would have emerged years before if circumstances had been different. Hank and Thompson’s relationship is one of discovery and acceptance, accepting the love that has always been there and finding happiness with the help of their new friend.
The writing is rich in detail, bringing to your mind’s eye the surroundings, characters, and for some the details may be too much but everyone has their own taste. The characters are well written and quite likable, but Thompson’s situation had me shaking my head as I thought of all the ways that he could have helped without tying his life in knots and that is where his white knight complex comes in, a decision made when he was 14 that he takes to heart and sticks to no matter what it does to him personally *sigh* and then the guilt that plagues him even though there was nothing he could have done to change what happened. I did enjoy the story but I just have a hard time of it when people wallow in their own pain while causing pain to others around them, I can understand it I just don’t like it.
I recommend this to those who love overcoming the past, moving forward with your life, accepting the friendship, love and support offered, discovering yourself and embarking on a loving relationship.