My Handyman Paperback – October 12, 2013

I can't find anything new to read lately, so I've gone back to my Kindle Library for classics by my favorite authors. All the new m/m romances seem to be about a couple of super-handsome,six foot-seven ex-Marines with PTSD who were driven off their ranch by homophobic cowboys and one is a professional football player and in the closet because of his career while the other is a tattoo artist who has adopted his infant neice or nephew... One might be a high-class lawyer and the other could be a rock star. (There are often a great many pejorative references to twinks.) But anyway, I just haven't come across any new books I could relate to in this genre, as much as I love it.Rob Colton's books are so appealing because the characters are regular people with regular flaws, whether in a fantasy setting or like this one, a real-life background. Cliff is a hard-working accountant still completing his education who has purchased a fixer-upper. When the renovations turn out to be beyond his skill he turns to a construction worker named Kent. Cliff is small, shy and dapper but proud of his orientation and obviously out. Big, burly Kent is in the closet with both his family and his friends. For them to be together a lot of changes will have to occur. The main characters, as always in a story by Rob, are sincerely nice people that I'd love to be friends with in real life. This book is wonderful and an excellent 'read every so often forever' type of book. Keep writing, Mr. Colton! I love you.

I love Rob Colton's books!!!!!! It is a pity that Amazon Kindle does not sell all of his books *pout*I nominated this book for 2013 GoodReads Awards.Rob Colton captured my heart with his stories so I am now one of his most loyal fans. I love his imagination, writing style,the characters he creates and the ends he chooses for his books.What I also appreciate is his characters are your average everyday people like the ones I see when I am at a cafe busy nibbling something whilst probably reading one of his books *grin*...you know the ones you smile at casually because you are just being friendly and nice and then turn to your book to enjoy your time at the cafe....Rob Colton's male characters are not buffed up with 6-8 packs and oozing with success and great looks...How refreshing is that!!!! I also love that his men are from hardworking background whether they are trade-persons or office persons. I love that Rob Colton brings these individuals together because he believes in the power of love....A reader described Rob's books as "porn" but I personally don't agree with that because Rob writes his stories with empathy, romance, great dialogue, story line and intense emotions...yes his stories are explicit but not in a smutty way but because "this is what couples do with each other" way...Rob just happens to writes these intimate moments in details to heighten the readers' romantic side so that readers think "aaawwwww" and then *sigh* because they had an romance overload.This story was just that for me....a very "aaawwww...they are so right for each other...*happy and sappy sigh*"

The premise of this story kinda reminded me of a bad porno. Handyman comes over, fixes something simple, and then bow chicka wow wow. And the story started out very much like that.My Handyman was an ok story. Not great, though. I found the characters a bit cliche and I had trouble warming to them. And their during sex dialog? Bow chicka wow wow. I found that a bit distracting, to tell you the truth.As much as I really didn't like Kent's friends, I didn't much like Cliff's friends either. They were selfish and petty. While it was a good thing for Cliff to break up with Kent, after the way Kent allowed his friends to treat him and after Kent also wasn't so great, Cliff knew that the idea of coming out scared the bejezuz out of Kent. Cliff's friends really should have been a bit more understanding and supportive of what Cliff wanted, when Kent came back into his life.Sure caution Cliff to be careful, even the friend threat of ‘hurt him again and answer to us’ would have been great. But they were pretty awful acting like Kent didn't deserve to breathe the same oxygen as them. While, I don't at all agree with the way Kent treated Cliff when Kent's "friends" were around, he certainly did not deserve the scorn he got months down the road, especially considering Cliff’s views on the matter.The ending was very sweet, though, and I'm glad they found their way.

My Handyman was recommended to me by a fellow fan of Happy Endings. It was definitely a good choice, although I regret starting it before bed. It was hard to put down!Colton sets up his characters skilfully. Although in his blurb he warns that this is a 'fantasy world' I was pleasantly surprised by how real the characters were. Little details such as Cliff's happiness when Kent put his toothbrush next to his made the characters come alive to me. I found the contrast between the characters' expectations and the conflict between them believable, and enjoyed the final resolution more because of that. Other reviewers have commented on a lack of climax, but for me that was a bonus. I like the fact that the problems in this story were ones that any couple could find themselves facing, and they were not overplayed! It felt like a real romance.The well-written sex scenes did not hurt either!

Great Story, nice afternoon read! This is my 3rd. or 4th. book from this Author and so far he not let me down, his stories are warm, lighthearted and leave you with that warm fuzzy feeling! I completely enjoyed this book and I will recommend it to my friends, how can you not enjoy reading a book that has no crazy plots, or unbelievable twists and turns? I will continue to buy and read Mr. Colton's books, thank you sir, for another great read! An avid reader in Rock Tavern, NY.

I absolutely loved this story the first time I read it, and the second time, and now the third time. It's honestly a story i enjoy rereading and that's hard to do. It's a sweet story with lovely beginning middle and end. Really well written too. 10/10 for me.

I love Rob Colton, his books are always so real and his characters less then perfect physically which makes them just that bit more believable. What let's this book down for me is the total lack of condoms or even a discussion about using one. It may seem minor but it was the one thing that stood out as less than real life. Still a good story though :-)

Can see this happening for real. Opposites attracting and tough to come out of the closet, the older you are- the tougher? Nice guys finding each other. Sweet and sweaty.

Je suis tombé par hasard sur ce roman au fil de pérégrinations sur goodread et il m’a attiré car les deux héros viennent de deux mondes différents…Cliff n’est pas le gay stéréotypé qui enchaîne les relations à tout va, pris entre son travail ses études, il n’a pas réellement le temps ni de se trouver un compagnon ni celui de faire des travaux dans la maison qu’il a acheté. Jusqu’à ce qu’un de ses amis lui recommande Kent pour ses talents de bricoleur.Kent est un homme bear, les amis de Cliff le trouvent d’ailleurs gras… et que dire de sa barbe. J’ai beaucoup aimé que l’auteur nous ai créer un personnage bear, je dois dire que je suis friand d’histoire du genre depuis que j’ai lu Mon héros de Max Vos. On sent que Kent est un homme bien si ce n’est qu’il n’est pas prêt à sortir du placard.Le style de Rob Colton est fluide et efficace, les scènes sexuelles sont relativement hots, d’ailleurs ne sautez pas en l’air car lors de leur premier assaut sexuel, le préservatif est zappé mais nos deux héros vivent dans un monde où les MST n’existent pas donc tout va bien (cela est précisé par l’auteur dès le départ). A partir de là on peut pleinement profiter des scènes sexuelles.La relation entre Cliff et Kent démarre sur une forte attirance sexuelle et au fur et à mesure on sent qu’il y a plus. Ils passent à une relation exclusive mais le spectre du coming out de Kent plane sur eux et provoque leur rupture. J’ai bien aimé que la reprise après leur rupture se fasse selon le cheminement d’une lente séduction comme une relation "normale".J’ai un bémol sur les sentiments qui ne sont pas assez exploités et sur le fait qu’on aurait pu développer le coming out de Kent et introduire ainsi plus de drame ou de passion, car au final on a l’impression qu’il s’agit un peu d’un événement comme un autre…En résumé une belle petite romance contemporaine avec un bear et un chaser admirer ( homme normal qui aime les bears) pour ceux qui connaissent les termes ;-), je lirais avec plaisir d’autres livres de cet auteur que j’ai découvert par hasard.

This book was wonderful , wished it was longer but the story was just right . Makes you see both sides of the circle of friends and how they can have an influence on our feelings. Clif and Kent went through so much but came out winers in the end.