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Renovations #1-3
Renovations I: Framework
When Toby Archer's marriage falls apart, he takes up flipping houses to fill some of the void left in his life. The first time that contractor Ven Parrish works for him, Toby notices the fact that Ven is gorgeous, but what really catches Toby's attention is Ven's work ethic. Toby isn't going to pass up the chance to hire Ven again; it's just good business sense. The more time they spend together, the harder it is to deny their attraction to each other. Toby is a lawyer with an upper class lifestyle, and Ven is a working man from a family still scraping by. What they have in common, especially a commitment to family, does more to keep them apart than bring them together. Still, Toby and Ven have sense enough to know when something is worth the work, and neither is afraid to get hot and dirty to get the job done, especially when the finished product might be a happy ending for everyone. Renovations I: Framework includes the following stories: Renovations 1: Flipping Out Renovations 2: Playing House Renovations: Making Time Renovations 3: Moving Day A Renovations Addition: Counting Blessings
- GenresM M RomanceContemporary
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 27, 2009
56 people want to read
About the author
Anah Crow
58 books195 followersUnder Construction!
F.A.Q.
Do you want to participate in Generic_Author_Event?
F.A.Q.
Do you want to participate in Generic_Author_Event?
Drop me a line, please! If you're looking for a book for donation or a blog post from me, I'm usually cool with that.Are you going to write a sequel to Some_Book_You_Wrote?
The up front answer is no, unless the book cover indicates that it's part of a series. If there's going to be a sequel to a book, you'll know once I've signed the contract.Who is this Dianne person?
Only the light of my life and all that rot. She e-sides here: http://www.foxwrites.com/ Without her, you wouldn't see much from me at all, not even the books that don't have her name on the cover.Do you read your email?
All the time. I think the question you want is do I answer my email? Occasionally. Badly. I'm a terrible, terrible emailer.You're reading X books at once?!
Only occasionally at once. I can read two books at the same time, but I get dizzy. Mostly, I just switch books depending on my mood. It's unusual for me to have less than four on the go at a time.Do you read reviews of your books?
No, sorry! I'm here, yes, but I prefer not to read reviews (no matter how lovely they are) because once a book has left my hands and is available to the readers, my relationship to it changes. It's all grown up. :) I have a clutter of booklings to nurture so they will join the others on your shelves.Will you read/review my book?
Sorry, but no. There are a number of reasons for this but the biggest is—I suck at doing these things. I'm a horrible procrastinator. I get wound up and then blank out what I'm supposed to do. My ADHD goes galumphing through my head like a bull in a china shop, wrecking everything.I'm a writer and you hated/loved my book!
I'm sure you're a lovely person, either way. Please have one or both of: "I'm sorry!" or "You're welcome!"Can I be excused now?
Of course you can! Thanks for reading.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 2, 2014
3.5 stars. Three solid, feel good, love stories between a lawyer and contractor who flip houses. The buildup is slow and sexy, the guys hot and I loved the inclusion of Ven's brother and the dogs. It all give it that 'family' even before they fell in love. This book will warm your heart and make you smile. The sex got a bit repetitive at times, but I still really enjoyed this book. Woven together in this one book, the three short stories read seamlessly.
Renovations 1: Flipping Out
Renovations 2: Playing House
Renovations 3: Moving Day
Off to read the sequel (Renovations 4-6)
Renovations 1: Flipping Out
Renovations 2: Playing House
Renovations 3: Moving Day
Off to read the sequel (Renovations 4-6)
September 2, 2011
A sweet m/m love story that follows the various stages of a relationship's development, with lots of sex thrown on top! A bit of escapism without requiring too much concentration - perfect for the end of a stressful day when you just need to get away from it all.
Read
August 3, 2009This is a collection of three previously published novellas and two short stories but the whole doesn't suffer of this. Reading all the stories collected in one book is on the contrary very nice, since you can see how the love story between Toby and Ven evolves in a natural way. All the feeling of the book is of being nice and quite, of a story taken step by step, without jumping the things.
When the first part start, Toby and Ven already met. They have a work and working relationship, Toby is dealing in real estate and Ven is the contractor who restored the previous house Toby sold. Toby real work is as a lawyer, and on the side he buys one house at time, and then he restores and sells it. Toby has no real home for his own, he is just out of a bad divorce, and this situation helps him to not feel committed to one thing, in this moment Toby needs the freedom: I believe the free life style allows him also the mental freedom to finally admit he prefers men over women. But Toby's mourning period over his divorce is already finished, it was probably part of that period when he first met Ven and they did the first house. The story we read turns around how Toby is now willing to "settle" down with Ven, and it's instead Ven that has to come to pact with his own "coming out".
Ven is out with his family and friends, but it's not OUT of his family and friends. He is still living with his brother, Cake, he has a lot of commitment with his parents, he has five dogs to look after... Ven's life is so full of duties, that he has no space for a lover. When Toby enters his life, some of that duties are starting to fade and Ven is suddenly faced with a true: he has no more excuses to not commit with only a man, it's time for him to grow up.
I like the symbolism of the houses they restore: till the moment both of them Toby and Ven, are not ready to settle down, they play with the houses like two kids, they buy, restore and sell, they never do the work for their own. But when their relationship is starting to become something else, deep and steady, in that moment they start to see the houses with different eyes, the houses are no more doll houses, they bring with them the promise of a future together.
As I said the love story between Ven and Toby evolves step by step: first they decide to be exclusive, then then Ven meets Toby's daughters, then Toby presents Ven to his work colleagues, then Ven introduces Toby to his family... nothing is pushed too fast and everything is dealt in a nice and effective way; due to the carefulness they take, everything goes right like an oiled engine, like the careful restoration they bring on their houses. Like the good job they do on restoring an house, they do a good job on restoring Toby's life after the divorce and on building the basis for Toby and Ven's future life as independent men from their family. And it's not a break, it's only another forward step, taken with wisdom.
On a closing note, Renovations I is also a pretty sexy book, with a lot of very nice and good sex scenes, explicit but not vulgar. It's also a multicultural love story, Ven is Afro-American, but this side of the story is not too much highlighted; it comes on front when Ven finds out that also Toby's ex-wife was Afro-American. I actually found quite coherent that, despite the sex, Toby's preferences remain the same.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1603707484/?...
When the first part start, Toby and Ven already met. They have a work and working relationship, Toby is dealing in real estate and Ven is the contractor who restored the previous house Toby sold. Toby real work is as a lawyer, and on the side he buys one house at time, and then he restores and sells it. Toby has no real home for his own, he is just out of a bad divorce, and this situation helps him to not feel committed to one thing, in this moment Toby needs the freedom: I believe the free life style allows him also the mental freedom to finally admit he prefers men over women. But Toby's mourning period over his divorce is already finished, it was probably part of that period when he first met Ven and they did the first house. The story we read turns around how Toby is now willing to "settle" down with Ven, and it's instead Ven that has to come to pact with his own "coming out".
Ven is out with his family and friends, but it's not OUT of his family and friends. He is still living with his brother, Cake, he has a lot of commitment with his parents, he has five dogs to look after... Ven's life is so full of duties, that he has no space for a lover. When Toby enters his life, some of that duties are starting to fade and Ven is suddenly faced with a true: he has no more excuses to not commit with only a man, it's time for him to grow up.
I like the symbolism of the houses they restore: till the moment both of them Toby and Ven, are not ready to settle down, they play with the houses like two kids, they buy, restore and sell, they never do the work for their own. But when their relationship is starting to become something else, deep and steady, in that moment they start to see the houses with different eyes, the houses are no more doll houses, they bring with them the promise of a future together.
As I said the love story between Ven and Toby evolves step by step: first they decide to be exclusive, then then Ven meets Toby's daughters, then Toby presents Ven to his work colleagues, then Ven introduces Toby to his family... nothing is pushed too fast and everything is dealt in a nice and effective way; due to the carefulness they take, everything goes right like an oiled engine, like the careful restoration they bring on their houses. Like the good job they do on restoring an house, they do a good job on restoring Toby's life after the divorce and on building the basis for Toby and Ven's future life as independent men from their family. And it's not a break, it's only another forward step, taken with wisdom.
On a closing note, Renovations I is also a pretty sexy book, with a lot of very nice and good sex scenes, explicit but not vulgar. It's also a multicultural love story, Ven is Afro-American, but this side of the story is not too much highlighted; it comes on front when Ven finds out that also Toby's ex-wife was Afro-American. I actually found quite coherent that, despite the sex, Toby's preferences remain the same.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1603707484/?...
November 9, 2014
What can I say this is one of those books you read because it takes absolutely no brain power to get through. It's a sweet little read that actual takes time to work through the beginning stages of a relationship. So I'm expecting the next ones (which I'm pretty positive I'll read) to be interesting because the one thing I love to read is the actual development of a romantic relationship from lust to love. Be prepared though the story is hidden underneath boat loads of sex. It's there I promise.
Sure, I'd recommend this one for anyone looking for a sweet, easy read, low on angst and high on sex.
Sure, I'd recommend this one for anyone looking for a sweet, easy read, low on angst and high on sex.
November 25, 2011
3.5
This is a sweet, angst free story.
Ven is a contractor who works for Toby, a lawyer who flips houses on the side.
Their relationship developed over the course of about a year in this book.
My only complaint was there was way more sex than story. I would have preferred to see more of their relationship development than all that sex. ;)
This is a sweet, angst free story.
Ven is a contractor who works for Toby, a lawyer who flips houses on the side.
Their relationship developed over the course of about a year in this book.
My only complaint was there was way more sex than story. I would have preferred to see more of their relationship development than all that sex. ;)
December 31, 2013
I'm usually not a big fan of stories containing more sex than plot but this one had such a sweet feel good mood to it that I ended up enjoying the book alot. You can feel the sexual chemistry between Ven and Toby. It's nice to see the sexual relationship between the two turn more and more into a romantic one the book progresses.
November 22, 2011
Four and a half stars.
March 12, 2013
A sweet, non-angsty feel-good story
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews