Redesigning Max Foothills Pride Book Two
MM Paranormal Romance
JMS Books LLC
July 29, 2020
97
Renowned interior designer Fredi Zimmer is surprised when outdoorsman Max Greene, owner of Greene’s Outdoors, hires him to revamp Max’s rustic cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Fredi is an out-and-proud Metro male whose contact with the outdoors is from his car to the doorway of the million-dollar homes he remodels, and to Fredi, Max is a typical straight man’s man.
When Max blatantly and clumsily flirts with Fredi, Fredi’s stereotypical view of Max is shattered. Is this a build-up to a gay bashing? Cautiously believing Max is closeted and is trying to come out, Fredi decides he’s game to put a little spice into Max’s life, whether it’s in the colors and fixtures he’ll use to turn Max's dilapidated cabin into a showplace or over one of the many lunches and dinners they share talking about the remodel. Who can blame a guy for adding a little sensual pleasure as he retools Max’s life visually? Besides, Fredi has a backup plan if he’s wrong about Max’s intentions.
Life would be all wine and roses if it weren’t for Max’s former friends and their conservative families. Alarmed with Max’s obvious infatuation, they make it their business to save him from sliding into hell.
With the battle on, will Fredi and Max win the fight for a life of happiness together?
Reviewed by Ulysses Dietz
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Part of Pat Henshaw’s “Foothills Pride” series, “Redesigning Max” is a charming and well-crafted love story about the burgeoning community of gay folk in the Sierra Foothills to the east of San Francisco and Sacramento. The series of interconnected stories focuses on couples, but puts them in the larger context of the fictional town of Stone Acres, California.
In “Redesigning Max” we are reintroduced to Fredi Zimmer, nationally known interior designer and lifelong friend of Jimmy Patterson. Although barely 30, Fredi is a player, and a flamboyant character. So imagine his surprise when Max Greene, a laconic, tall drink of water who embodies the lumberjack archetype of so many of Stone Acres’ longtime residents begins to show interest.
Seems like Max wants Fredi to remodel his late uncle’s truly horrendous, but beautifully situated, hunting cabin. More puzzlingly, the close-mouthed Mr. Greene seems to be sending confusing signals to Fredi.
Like her first “Foothills Pride” book, Henshaw gives us sweet romance, generous character development, and enough homophobia-driven angst to make us realize how much we care for Fredi and Max.