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Toy

R. Parr (Goodreads Author)

4.04 · Rating details · 26 ratings · 17 reviews

Toy: a contemporary m/m romance.

Troy the toy isn’t looking for a relationship. He gets all the sex he needs whilst working at Priapus: a brothel in inner city Melbourne.

Over the past three years, he has learned to turn himself off and load his Tommy program whenever he is with a client. A saleable commodity in today’s consumer society, he is well aware that his cute tw ...more

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Kindle Edition, 380 pages

Published April 29th 2019 by R. Parr

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April 2019 MM Releases

190 books — 248 voters

The Gentleman and the Rogue by Bonnie Dee

Gay Romance Featuring Sex Workers

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Average rating 4.04 ·

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· 26 ratings · 17 reviews

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Jul 23, 2019 Joyfully Jay rated it liked it

Shelves: camille

A Joyfully Jay review.

3 stars

Personally, I enjoyed the depiction of Priapus, the workers, and of Troy while actually at work. Parr doesn’t skimp on details like the rigmarole of clients choosing a sex worker to engage for services, or what happens immediately prior to said services being rendered (e.g. inspecting the client for STIs and showering). I also got a kick out of the fact that for Troy this seems to literally be just a job. While he’s in the midst of giving his clients exactly what th ...more

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Apr 27, 2020 Ed Davis rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m, super-feel-good-story, sweet-love-story

A very enjoyable read. I love the idea of the high school bully and his victim always having been in love with each other. It was a sweet love story. That is if you can have a sweet love story about a sex worker in a brothel.

The writing style was different and it took me a while to get into the story. Once it got going I grew to like the writing style and will certainly check out other books by R. Parr.

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Sep 20, 2019 Pam rated it liked it

3.5 stars

This ended up being really cute. The writing style is unusual for a romance, but it was a really interesting choice. Definitely not the average m/m novel, which I appreciated.

It's almost like a workplace sitcom with a romance subplot, with the bulk of our view into the sex workers' lives taking place in the staff room at the brothel where the guys work. (It takes place in Australia, where prostitution is legal and regulated by the government, so it's a contemporary, in case anyone else ...more

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Aug 03, 2019 VVivacious rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, reviewed, strw

A ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Review. This review can also be found here.

Troy works as a sex worker at a licensed brothel, Priapus where one day a client turns out to be his old high school bully, Nick. Things immediately go south but Nick decides to make things right and apologises for mistreating Troy when they were in high school. Nick proposes they start a bromance but things get messy when Troy realises a bromance isn’t all he wants.

With a whole host of characters, Toy is a romance about A ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Review. This review can also be found here.

Troy works as a sex worker at a licensed brothel, Priapus where one day a client turns out to be his old high school bully, Nick. Things immediately go south but Nick decides to make things right and apologises for mistreating Troy when they were in high school. Nick proposes they start a bromance but things get messy when Troy realises a bromance isn’t all he wants.

With a whole host of characters, Toy is a romance about taking chances and putting yourself out there.

I really liked this story, even though it used the miscommunication trope which I really hate but it made it work. Even though all I really wanted was for Nick and Troy to talk about their feelings the fact they didn’t till the end wasn’t such a stretch of imagination and works very well given the plot.

Troy starts working part-time as a brothel as a way to support his mother while still going to Uni but when Uni gets over and Troy finds himself overqualified and under-experienced for most job opportunities and he decides to take up the work full time. I really liked the way the author handles this accept of Troy’s characterisation. I really liked the level of maturity that this book has while dealing with this topic. Also, I instantly liked Troy.

Troy is a very likeable character and I found myself invested in him very quickly. He is really lovable and fun. He radiates so much positivity that you can’t help but gravitate towards him.

I really loved all the characters at the brothel, Brett, Ari, Qiu, Melissa and Damien and even their various clients with their quirks. All those conversations in the staff room made for a lot of fun moments. Also, it was really good to revel in the level of friendship these characters share.

Nick is a nice guy and mostly I am not miffed about him and Troy getting together but it is pretty obvious from the beginning that Damien also likes Troy and while Damien’s feelings are handled very respectfully I really wanted Damien to have more of a chance because I was really intrigued with that idea. So, my opinion of Nick is very biased even though I can objectively point out the author works hard and succeeds at making Nick a three-dimensional character while limited to Troy’s POV.

In the end, this was a real slice-of-life kind of fiction, salty and sweet with all the emotions mixed it. In the end, I was really satisfied with this book and the ending we got.

This book has a bunch of illustrations and photographs that didn’t show up well on a kindle but despite that hindrance, they really added to the story and I liked the personal touch. Also, the author hid a heart in every illustration and it was fun to go back and try to find each one in the end. Overall, I had a great time reading this book.

Cover Art by R. Parr. I like the cover, I think the illustration of Troy on the cover really lends to his character and how he perceives himself. ...more

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Nov 15, 2019 Robin Morgan rated it it was amazing

I received a Mobi.file copy of this book from the author through a giveaway he had on LibraryThing and the following is my honest opinion. Given the genre of this book, as compared to the genres I usually read/review I’ll need to switch into my erotic writing personae so I can review it appropriately.

Having written a book of 250 Erotic Haiku and a LGBTQ BDSM erotic novella it’s been a while since I’ve had a M/M romance in my hands until now, which might just give me enough inspiration for me to I received a Mobi.file copy of this book from the author through a giveaway he had on LibraryThing and the following is my honest opinion. Given the genre of this book, as compared to the genres I usually read/review I’ll need to switch into my erotic writing personae so I can review it appropriately.

Having written a book of 250 Erotic Haiku and a LGBTQ BDSM erotic novella it’s been a while since I’ve had a M/M romance in my hands until now, which might just give me enough inspiration for me to finish my second erotic novella endeavor.

Troy never had expected to be part of a brothel serving male clients sexual desires from another male; but in the years he’s been at Priapus, he’s become quite adept at turning his almost robotic sex toy self on and off. The only reason he’s working there had been to help his family out due to the dire financial rights they were in due to his medical condition, and had looked at the monetary gains he could reap working there as compare to working some mundane low-paying job somewhere else.

Everything for Troy had been working out fine, and he had no problem satisfying the needs of any of the Priapus clients which came his way. Everything had been fine, that is, until the day Nick Stepanides decided to walk into the brothel. Nick had been the homophonic bully Troy had to deal with back in his high school days, and his memory still remained fresh in Troy’s mind. Troy couldn’t believe Nick would be there looking and desiring the kind of service he’s able to provide for him.

It appears Nick had actually been gay the whole time, portraying the bully to hide own gayness. But seeing Nick’s physique, to Troy he was like a true Adonis to a real woman, he couldn’t resist him and any desires he might have. Not only that, Nick now wanted to start a true bromance with Troy.

Troy has always been able to maintain his ability to switch gears from one personality to another depending on his client, and then back to his normal personae. But, with the budding romance he’s now having with Nick, will Nick become Troy’s downfall, especially since he’s been able to turn Troy’s life upside down, becoming an anomaly destroying his Boy Toy mechanism asunder. What will the outcome of their relationship be like, I’m not saying.

For giving her readers, an engaging reading experience with just the right amount of sex scenes, I’m happy to give the author, R. Parr, 5 STARS for her endeavor here.
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Oct 20, 2019 Lu rated it really liked it

Shelves: erotica, in-english, lgbt, love-story, earc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I received this earc from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I really liked this book. The story is interesting, set in a licensed brothel with Troy (called Tommy at work) as main character. Troy is funny, cheeky and I love reading his interactions with the clients and other sex workers. There are many characters in this story, that I loved. The sweet Brett, the new boy Ari, the grumpy Damien, the goth Qiu, Mel the manager, the middle age woman who took care of her boys and Zane, the guar I received this earc from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I really liked this book. The story is interesting, set in a licensed brothel with Troy (called Tommy at work) as main character. Troy is funny, cheeky and I love reading his interactions with the clients and other sex workers. There are many characters in this story, that I loved. The sweet Brett, the new boy Ari, the grumpy Damien, the goth Qiu, Mel the manager, the middle age woman who took care of her boys and Zane, the guard, who protect them. It was really interesting and sexy getting to know this reality, with the gossips about clients, their kinks and wants, why Troy and the others choose to work as sex workers (all of them because they need money, to live, to pay debts, to chase a dream).. Troy decided to work there because he wants to help his mother with bills and mortage and his own house. After graduating, he decided to work at Priapus and get involved in that, making colleagues/friends, having sex and creating a sort of new personality, Tommy, to protect his heart and separate the two things. Everything changes when at work he meet the high school bully, Nick, who he loved and desidered and still does. Toy is an unconventional love story. Troy's work is as much as protagonist as he is, while Troy tries to understand his feelings for Nick, who want only a bromance, while working. This book is sweet and sexy. I enjoyed reading about Troy's clients, about Brett and Ari falling in love, the friendship between them all, Mel's maternal attitude, Nick, who is gay but not out yet, trying to understand what he likes and who. This love story is sweet and has angst, too, because there are a lot of miscommunication between Troy and Nick. I loved how everything it turned out, for them all. It was very sweet realizing all of them could have and did have an happy ending.
I absolutely loved seeing Troy and Nick happy and living together, planning a future together, as I loved reading about Damien and his politician (how cute my grumpy Damien managed to find someone else, helped by Troy), and Brett and Ari, creating their own bar. Amazing. I needed a sweet happy ending.
A very cute, sexy and sweet book. ...more

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Nov 14, 2019 Becky Baldridge rated it liked it

Toy is a bit different than the standard M/M romance. In fact, it takes a bit for there to really be a romance. It's more about Troy's day to day life as a sex worker, and while we do get the details of many of Troys encounters with his clients, I hesitate to call those parts steamy. Troy treats his job as just that, a job, and like any of us would do throughout the course of a day at work, he thinks about dinner prep, grocery lists, bills, etc - all those mundane things that we all have to deal ...more

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Aug 13, 2020 Amy Shannon rated it really liked it

Not your typical romance

Parr pens a good story in Toy. In the story, Troy is the "toy" but it's not as it seems or even sounds. I haven’t read anything from this author before, and I really enjoyed this story. Troy was a complex character and interesting as a gay man working in a Brothel. It's a very entertaining story and had different levels of humanity, erotica and romance. I say humanity because no matter how much Troy tries to keep his "toy" persona when doing his job, his humanity is still ...more

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Oct 17, 2019 L H rated it really liked it

Troy is a sex worker who is comfortable in his own skin and his own decisions about what he does and does not do. He works a job he is good at. He is not into relationships. Until he encounters Nick, the guy who used to bully him in high school but who really liked and still likes him. And Troy likes Nick. This was a neat, fun story about how they 'find' one another currently and how time and some more maturity can lead to a different outcome for them. The secondary characters in this story are ...more

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Oct 11, 2019 Meri rated it really liked it

I found this book completely different to what I expected. Sure you expect a lot of sex and crude jokes with an MC who works in a brothel. That’s almost a given but this book was almost like a snapshot of different moments along the journey of a slowly budding relationship. One thing I really enjoyed was the setting, I’m from Melbourne so seeing all the familiar place names was like seeing some old friends. Great fun. I enjoyed the slow build relationship and getting to know the MCs.

I received a ...more

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Dec 27, 2019 Jeff rated it it was amazing

Don't let the computer generated artwork fool you-- this is a really good book! I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the relationships and well written dialogue between the characters- most, co-workers; and their genuine affection for each other. I have to say that Nick was my favorite character and his 'journey' warmed my heart. R. Parr effortlessly combined issues faced by many in their lives, and incorporated them into an interest setting and compelling story. One of my favorite reads this year.

I rece ...more

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Oct 15, 2019 Julynn rated it liked it

Good book, very entertaining

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Nov 06, 2019 Lily Sparkle rated it really liked it

The book was amazing to read. I got a review copy from Voracious Readers Only

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Nov 06, 2019 swingtrader1999 rated it really liked it

I loved how detailed and humorous the story was written! It was certainly a delightful read

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Sep 14, 2019 Taya rated it really liked it

Shelves: a-books-to-review

I really need to stop judging books by the cover. This is a new author to me and really didn't have any expectation. But I'm glad to say that this book was a good time spent. It was a funny and engaging read. This is a good slow burn despite broad strokes of sexual content throughout the book with Troy and his clients. I do hope to read more works by this author and maybe in a world involving Troy's co-workers.

This book was provided for free by the author in exchange for an honest review via t ...more

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Oct 28, 2019 Kristina rated it really liked it

Toy was a really sweet story-despite what the main character, Troy, did for a living. In Australia, prostitution in legal and he worked as a brothel. I loved reading a story about a sex worker that wasn’t dirty or sad. The relationship between Troy and Nick didn’t start off the best (they knew each other in high school and involved bullying) but I enjoyed watching the two of them grow into their friendship and then their relationship.

I really enjoyed the writing. It was paced nicely and I was a ...more

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May 31, 2019 R. Parr added it · (Review from the author)

(Review from the author) This is my first book, I hope you like it!

Link to a review by Entrada Book Reviews: https://www.entradapublishing.com/boo...

Link to a review by Love Bytes Reviews:
https://lovebytesreviews.com/2019/11/... ...more

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About R. Parr

R. Parr

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Hi, I’m R. Parr!

I live in Melbourne, Victoria, on the Eastern coast of Australia. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours in English) and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University.

I enjoy sketching, reading detective fiction and romance, using my slow cooker, listening to rain fall on the roof whilst I’m snuggling under the doona and hanging out with family and friends.

My novel Toy has bee ...more

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Quotes from Toy

“We busy ourselves with our food for a couple of minutes, then Nick puts his fork down again.
“You know, Troy,” he says, a serious expression on his face. “We should become friends.”
“Why would I want to become friends with a giant prick?” I tease. “I already have one of those.”
Nick’s eyes widen. “You do?” His gaze travels down my torso. “I wouldn’t have picked that. You’re kind of….” here he pauses, no doubt trying to think of a polite euphemism, “short.”
“Well, not everything about me is drawn to scale,” I say, smug as smug.” — 0 likes

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