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Buchanan House #5
Art House
Buchanan Book Six
Chase Holland spends his days painting Portland scenes to hang in local businesses, neglecting his own surrealist style. After twenty-five years as a full-time artist, he’s frustrated that his career has stalled, but churning out the equivalent of corporate art is better than getting a day job. Chase and Garrett have been together—off and on, but mostly on—for a decade. If asked, they would both say the source of their trouble is the seventeen-year age gap. The truth is less clear-cut. Life would be so much easier if Chase could make a living with his own art, or if Garrett held less conventional ideas about relationships.
Garrett Frisch has been watching their friends get married for the past two years, and it’s taking an emotional toll. When he proposes as a way to keep them together permanently, he thinks he’s being responsible, but Chase is ambivalent and hurt and can’t hide it. It doesn’t help that Garrett’s anxiety is out of control and he’s dealing with insecurities about his own art career. They will have to do their least favorite thing—talk about something more important than which food cart to visit—if they are to get the happy ending they both want.
Chase Holland spends his days painting Portland scenes to hang in local businesses, neglecting his own surrealist style. After twenty-five years as a full-time artist, he’s frustrated that his career has stalled, but churning out the equivalent of corporate art is better than getting a day job. Chase and Garrett have been together—off and on, but mostly on—for a decade. If asked, they would both say the source of their trouble is the seventeen-year age gap. The truth is less clear-cut. Life would be so much easier if Chase could make a living with his own art, or if Garrett held less conventional ideas about relationships.
Garrett Frisch has been watching their friends get married for the past two years, and it’s taking an emotional toll. When he proposes as a way to keep them together permanently, he thinks he’s being responsible, but Chase is ambivalent and hurt and can’t hide it. It doesn’t help that Garrett’s anxiety is out of control and he’s dealing with insecurities about his own art career. They will have to do their least favorite thing—talk about something more important than which food cart to visit—if they are to get the happy ending they both want.
254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 21, 2018
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52 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 4, 2020
Two damaged souls, both inspired artists with a need to create unconventional pieces, are at the center of this powerful, very emotional story about learning to leave behind the past, to stand up to your inner demons, and to accept who you are. I found their struggles painful to watch and had to trust that the strength of their passion and the support from various friends would be able to help them pull through in the end. The result is a tumultuous story with many ups and downs, some very touching moments, and a message of hope and the power of love.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
March 4, 2020
Two damaged souls, both inspired artists with a need to create unconventional pieces, are at the center of this powerful, very emotional story about learning to leave behind the past, to stand up to your inner demons, and to accept who you are. I found their struggles painful to watch and had to trust that the strength of their passion and the support from various friends would be able to help them pull through in the end. The result is a tumultuous story with many ups and downs, some very touching moments, and a message of hope and the power of love.
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
August 7, 2018
Review to follow at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.
ARC provided by Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.
ARC provided by Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.
January 7, 2022
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
I am at the point that I don’t think I will read another book by this author when I finish this series. When I tried to explain what was happening and my issues to people, I was asked repeatedly why I was still reading. At this point, I am still reading because I was so close to finishing the series and the author shows such growth at first that I had hope.
Fatphobia is still alive and well in this book. Neither of the characters are overweight and neither interact with someone who is overweight (the “chubby” guys from the other books have lost weight due to working out with their husbands). There was literally no reason for there to be as many remarks about weight and weight gain as there was.
The characters were so similar I couldn’t tell them apart. I stopped trying. Either of the men could have been the focus at any time and it wouldn’t have changed what happened. They were both artists, both obsessed with over if an erection happened, both obsessed over an age gap, both anxious, both terrible at talking about their feelings, I can keep going.
The book wasn’t even consistent with itself. At one point, one of the characters says they were never worried about an age gap. I call bullshit. Seriously? I know both characters worried, despite not being able to tell them apart, because there was worry about being too young AND too old. I was so done with the age gap plot line within the first few chapters and it didn’t get any better or any more interesting.
The sex was boring. There were no condoms used, but for once this didn’t bother me. It made sense that after ten years and while monogamous, they wouldn’t need one for risk reasons. Of course, this was not addressed on page. The sex was always so hyper focused on erections that it was bad. One of the characters was *gasp* older, so he had “issues” getting hard. He didn’t have any issues, it just wasn’t constant and instant. That is a normal aging thing. The amount of ageism and lack of basic understanding that erections don’t mean love just made every single sex scene in this book painful to read.
Biphobia existed to an extreme extent. There was a violent scene near the beginning. There was no resolution medically or legally (I say this, because it is clear that the author isn’t super versed in the legal world. If a victim didn’t show up, the case would not move forward). There were random biphobic thoughts that were never addressed and then were just outright dismissed later in the book, which just fits in with the idea that the book isn’t even consistent with itself.
Overall, this was probably the most boring book in the series. It was all drama and no substance. Some of the other books were terrible, because of the issues. This was terrible because of the lack of anything and the issues.
I got an ARC of this book.
I am at the point that I don’t think I will read another book by this author when I finish this series. When I tried to explain what was happening and my issues to people, I was asked repeatedly why I was still reading. At this point, I am still reading because I was so close to finishing the series and the author shows such growth at first that I had hope.
Fatphobia is still alive and well in this book. Neither of the characters are overweight and neither interact with someone who is overweight (the “chubby” guys from the other books have lost weight due to working out with their husbands). There was literally no reason for there to be as many remarks about weight and weight gain as there was.
The characters were so similar I couldn’t tell them apart. I stopped trying. Either of the men could have been the focus at any time and it wouldn’t have changed what happened. They were both artists, both obsessed with over if an erection happened, both obsessed over an age gap, both anxious, both terrible at talking about their feelings, I can keep going.
The book wasn’t even consistent with itself. At one point, one of the characters says they were never worried about an age gap. I call bullshit. Seriously? I know both characters worried, despite not being able to tell them apart, because there was worry about being too young AND too old. I was so done with the age gap plot line within the first few chapters and it didn’t get any better or any more interesting.
The sex was boring. There were no condoms used, but for once this didn’t bother me. It made sense that after ten years and while monogamous, they wouldn’t need one for risk reasons. Of course, this was not addressed on page. The sex was always so hyper focused on erections that it was bad. One of the characters was *gasp* older, so he had “issues” getting hard. He didn’t have any issues, it just wasn’t constant and instant. That is a normal aging thing. The amount of ageism and lack of basic understanding that erections don’t mean love just made every single sex scene in this book painful to read.
Biphobia existed to an extreme extent. There was a violent scene near the beginning. There was no resolution medically or legally (I say this, because it is clear that the author isn’t super versed in the legal world. If a victim didn’t show up, the case would not move forward). There were random biphobic thoughts that were never addressed and then were just outright dismissed later in the book, which just fits in with the idea that the book isn’t even consistent with itself.
Overall, this was probably the most boring book in the series. It was all drama and no substance. Some of the other books were terrible, because of the issues. This was terrible because of the lack of anything and the issues.
September 8, 2018
Powerful story of learning to love and be happy. Love, miscommunication, anxiety, passion, commitment are all key threads in this awesome story. These MC's are so well crafted that you really get to know and like them individually. They are both flawed and neither has a solid self-worth, however they deeply love each other and it is beautiful watching them work their way to a closer bond.
Chase and Garrett are incredible characters and i so enjoyed how they found a way to really understand each other and themselves better. Their love is a beautiful thing to behold. I loved how each of their friends play a key role in helping them understand themselves and each other.
I was gifted this book from the author and i freely give my review.
Chase and Garrett are incredible characters and i so enjoyed how they found a way to really understand each other and themselves better. Their love is a beautiful thing to behold. I loved how each of their friends play a key role in helping them understand themselves and each other.
I was gifted this book from the author and i freely give my review.
September 6, 2018
I loved Art House, May/December romance with two uncommunicating men. It was great. And when it rounds out the series and all the other MCs from the rest of the stories are included, it’s even better. I liked learning about Chase and Garrett’s past and how it’s influencing them still. Buchanan house is a hub of activity and I loved reading Art House and definitely recommend this story.
September 1, 2018
Reviewed by Kat
I was surprised to see a book six after such a long break (December 2016 was the last book in the series). I jumped on this because I haven’t been to my beloved Lincoln City (an extremely intricate part of my life for over 60 years!) in a long time and had missed it so much.
I was very surprised to hear that this was Chase and Garrett’s story. Chase was an intricate part of Kyle and Brandon’s story in “Safe House”. Garrett had seemed to be an on again/off again lover but was missing quite a bit of the time in the apartment. This story picks up right after that book even though there was another story in between these two. Chase and Garrett are still having difficulty in their relationship. A good part of that difficulty stems from their 17 year age difference and both men’s insecurities with it. They both believe that the other is going to finally grow tired of them even though they have been together for ten years. They also are very down on their own selves over their own personal perception of their lack of advancement in the art world and their belief that they are a sell-out! When Garrett is attacked and seriously injured they get the jolt that they have needed but both men are so reluctant to share their thoughts and insecurities that they almost tank again. What will happen to the two men that are so perfect for each other but are determined to to keep their private issues to themselves?
Because of the very long time between these stories I kinda wish that I had reread the series or, at the very least, “Safe House”. The author did a pretty good job of reminding us of some parts so I wasn’t as lost as I could have been.
Both Garrett and Chase were so down on their selves and their own self worth that it began to wear on me. I wasn’t even sure if they were going to make it. They are so similar that I wasn’t even sure they were well suited to make it a positive relationship until they finally opened up and started to share. But that seemed like forever! Their lack of willingness to have an open and honest communication process was difficult to endure. Although I finally did grow to love these two wounded and damaged men, it took awhile. I wasn’t sure if I was even going to like them after awhile. I had loved all the match up in the pervious books but this one was harder. I did like that the author brought us back to the coast and some long time issues were finally resolved. And she kept the “family” whole and continuing to thrive. This series really is about the Buchanan House family. A family not created by blood but by the love and respect of the friends that needed a more unconventional type of family created by themselves to support one another.
This book touched on a few more serious and delicate subjects. Death of a family member, parent neglect, abandonment issues, depression and anxiety were a few issues that made this book more darker and difficult to read.
I know that this wasn’t my favorite of the series (due mostly to the high level of angst it stirred in me) but I believe that it was necessary. It did wrap up some hanging thoughts and gave us a nice look at a few of our most favorite members of the “family”. I am unsure if there are more books to come but you can be assure, if there are, I will be reading them. However I will probably be rereading the entire series again first just to refresh my mind.
This book was provided for free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
I was surprised to see a book six after such a long break (December 2016 was the last book in the series). I jumped on this because I haven’t been to my beloved Lincoln City (an extremely intricate part of my life for over 60 years!) in a long time and had missed it so much.
I was very surprised to hear that this was Chase and Garrett’s story. Chase was an intricate part of Kyle and Brandon’s story in “Safe House”. Garrett had seemed to be an on again/off again lover but was missing quite a bit of the time in the apartment. This story picks up right after that book even though there was another story in between these two. Chase and Garrett are still having difficulty in their relationship. A good part of that difficulty stems from their 17 year age difference and both men’s insecurities with it. They both believe that the other is going to finally grow tired of them even though they have been together for ten years. They also are very down on their own selves over their own personal perception of their lack of advancement in the art world and their belief that they are a sell-out! When Garrett is attacked and seriously injured they get the jolt that they have needed but both men are so reluctant to share their thoughts and insecurities that they almost tank again. What will happen to the two men that are so perfect for each other but are determined to to keep their private issues to themselves?
Because of the very long time between these stories I kinda wish that I had reread the series or, at the very least, “Safe House”. The author did a pretty good job of reminding us of some parts so I wasn’t as lost as I could have been.
Both Garrett and Chase were so down on their selves and their own self worth that it began to wear on me. I wasn’t even sure if they were going to make it. They are so similar that I wasn’t even sure they were well suited to make it a positive relationship until they finally opened up and started to share. But that seemed like forever! Their lack of willingness to have an open and honest communication process was difficult to endure. Although I finally did grow to love these two wounded and damaged men, it took awhile. I wasn’t sure if I was even going to like them after awhile. I had loved all the match up in the pervious books but this one was harder. I did like that the author brought us back to the coast and some long time issues were finally resolved. And she kept the “family” whole and continuing to thrive. This series really is about the Buchanan House family. A family not created by blood but by the love and respect of the friends that needed a more unconventional type of family created by themselves to support one another.
This book touched on a few more serious and delicate subjects. Death of a family member, parent neglect, abandonment issues, depression and anxiety were a few issues that made this book more darker and difficult to read.
I know that this wasn’t my favorite of the series (due mostly to the high level of angst it stirred in me) but I believe that it was necessary. It did wrap up some hanging thoughts and gave us a nice look at a few of our most favorite members of the “family”. I am unsure if there are more books to come but you can be assure, if there are, I will be reading them. However I will probably be rereading the entire series again first just to refresh my mind.
This book was provided for free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews