Two men tortured by the same man in different ways are brought together in an unlikely romance in Chirsti Snow’s Snowcroft Restoration. I’m just going to put it out there that Christi has dragged me kicking and screaming through the Snowcroft series, not because the books aren’t good because they are, but because I am not a fan of romantic suspense and these books has a lot of suspense to them especially this one. I knew this book was going to be a tough one because of the two men involved, but I honestly had no clue how hard it would be to not only relive what these men went through, but to watch them come to terms with it as they both work to move on from their past and embrace their future. Horrific, intense, and brutal are three words that come to mind when I think about this story, but so are beautiful, hopeful, and loving.

For the past two years Ian Mayne has been trying to make up for his father’s sins and to finally move on with his life, but when a young man who he spent time with during a very low period in his life goes missing, Ian is determined to find him or at the very least uncover everything he can about his disappearance which is why he finds himself dancing in a gay night club and realizing every passing day that there is more to the story than meets the eye. When former FBI agent Law Wyman shows up at the club and asks for a private dance, Ian knows two things; one his attraction to law is mutual and two he is glad to have back-up in his investigation.

What I loved about this book is that while both Ian and Law were survivors and no doubt very strong men, we saw over and over that they were broken. Law owned it, he admitted it first hand, and he also was quick to talk about his breakdowns and the fact that he was a good therapist who helped him put the pieces back together. There is nothing better than someone knowing they need help, getting it, and not being afraid to talk about it to others. Ian was a bit in denial and I think that not only did Law help him to see he had a right to be angry about what happened to HIM as well as the guilt he felt for his father’s actions but in helping his friend Nicholas through his ordeal made him realize he wasn’t as whole as he’d like to believe.

Nicholas’s disappearance and the blow back from Ian and Law’s investigation into it had far reaching effects; despite that at times some of it was hard to read I felt Ms. Snow handled things in a respectful manner and tempered it with lighter, happier moments to make it all work while Ian and Law worked through their feelings for one another.

While at times difficult to read, Snowcroft Restoration was and expertly crafted romantic suspense where the love story wasn’t lost in the shuffle. Ms. Snow continues to impresses me with her storytelling and world building in her Snowcroft series.

Finally Law's story. We meet Law in Snowcroft Lost and see him a bit in the other two but finally we get his story and for him to heal his past and heart.

We also met Ian in Snowcroft Lost as he's Trevor's cousin and the son of Trevor and Ian's tormentor as well as many others.

" . . . Between the two of you, you could pack a 747 airplane with baggage."

These together have a lot of baggage but that is what makes them work together.

David sends Law to help Ian out as Ian investigates his missing friend Nicolas. As Law helps Ian they both start to trust and need each other which is also the balm to healing for both. I adore Law and my heart breaks for his back story but thankfully we get to see him heal.

"I hope we can figure out how I can keep you, because I'm not sure I'm going to be able to let you go."

As Ian goes undercover he gets himself in the middle of a gong show causing more trouble back into Snowcroft.

I can't wait for Nicolas and Ramirez Story. I absolutely adore this series and this author.

3.5

Have you ever read a character in a series and just near lost your mind wanting their story? Well, Law was that for me. So when I finally got his story I was so giddy! The book was even better than I had hoped! It was a nice big complex one too. We have two parts to the story to get your life in order, dinner in the slow cooker, phone turned off and your 'do not disturb or die' reading sign put up. This one is hard to put down!

Law is not just a little broken he is very broken and his love interest is just as beaten by life. Their worlds have crossed paths in the worst ways. This is the part that if you are sensitive to trigger warnings then please be cautious. Though it is not graphic and doesn't go into detail you are made aware of abuse and rape.
Ian was a great character. He is strong and confident. He is determined to never be weak and afraid again. Law is a powerful character. There just isn't any other way of saying it. I love his jealous and his passion. He doesn't really know what to do with any of it because it is so no him. These guys together are explosive.

This book has twists and so much unexpectedness. It goes to places I didn't see coming. It hints at a book I am already frothing at the mouth for. The suspense was midgrade but it was still so good. The romance and the unknown is what made it awesome for me. I highly recommend this book.

Caution: graphic violence and sexual abuse/gang rape implied.

This book had me conflicted. It’s been a while since I last read the first two installments of “Snowcroft Men” series. So it took a while for me to realize that the MC of this book - Law Wyman - is the one whose story I’ve been so looking forward to read (Duh! Smacking my own head). After the torture he endured in #book1 - off page, of course - I’m curious as how Law would cope. Not so easy, as it turns out! But that’s not what got me nonplussed.

Before going further, I just want to point out that this is the sort of series that have to be read in chronological order to understand the characters better. I’ve been known to jump back and forth among books in a series when it’s possible to do so. Being more orderly would work better for this series, though.

In this fourth entry to “Snowcroft Men” series, Ian Mayne - son of the evil camp on #book1 - is going undercover as go go dancer in a MC-owned gay club to look for his missing friend. Law Wyman is going after him looking for closure for the dark moment of his life, and offering himself as backup since Ian doesn’t have any. The fact that stopped and got me thinking.

No disrespect to Forestry Service law enforcement, I’m sure they have brilliant and brawny members to uphold the law. But going undercover - in a non forestry environment, no less!! - with no backup whatsoever struck me as beyond reckless. Taking paid leave to do so is just... I don’t know. Stupid? Brainless. This really don’t endear me to Ian and pretty much ruin the first half of the book for me. I still have sympathy considering his childhood growing up with a monster for a father, but that’s it!

Law, considering he’s briefed by Snowcroft PD new Chief of Police of Ian’s mission, comes in prepared: fake identity, safe house, and everything (he’s a former FBI agent and still maintain all those because FBI feel guilty and doesn’t want him to sue... you know what, don’t ask!).

So yeah, I wasn’t too impressed with how the undercover mission operates. Then there’s the insta-attraction these guys felt for each other. One might argue it’s not instant since Ian and Law know one another for a couple of years already. But since they haven’t seen the other in skimpy attire... Well. You get the gist. Personally, I could do without the many steamy scenes these guys have. A couple of those that impact the flow of the story are fine, but the rest is just one too many! It might work for those loving extended steamy, smexy scenes though - you might find them enjoyable.

The story is told from multiple POVs, the majority of it being Ian’s and Law’s. One POV of all clued me in of the twist in the horizon. Although I didn’t think this spiel would that long. Which is another of the conundrum for me. See, this book comes in two part with two setting which make it one long story. That saying, with the amount of incident and characters involved, it feels not long enough as in there’s not enough meat to support the overall story! Too many pauses, dragging and whatnots to my liking really.

On the other hand, taking into account the nightmare (mentally and physically) both men had been through, it’s just so heartwarming to see them fall over themselves standing up for each other. I do love steadfast quality in book character.

To recap; I love the character development aspect of the story, especially given how difficult - or impossible - it is for them to shake off the bad. But I just don’t find the romance and case-handling plausible enough. Of course, that’s only my personal take on the book. Others might feel differently.


Copy of this book is kindly provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. This book was not for me.

Snowcroft Restoration, Men of Snowcroft 4, Christi Snow

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance, LBGTQIA

I enjoyed the first book in this series, but having missed the next two and being over three years since book one, it was a bit like coming in cold and maybe it affected how I felt about this story.
I liked it, just didn't love it, didn't feel it was special.

I felt Law and Ian went from 0 to 100 without stopping, and that works in Lust but Love? I wasn't feeling it.
I also had a hard time dealing with the unreality of the legal side, how Law was not FBI and yet still able to use his contacts, his aliases, hos cards, and how those were linked to his personal account so there was no financial restraints.

I felt the Nick/Ramirez story came too close to overshadowing the main one, found the change of ID from Bad Guy to Good Guy done Bad Things hard to take. Tell that to the guys he maimed, ordered killed... “oh, he's really working for a greater good” Nope, doesn't wash.

The story too got incredibly busy, with betrayals, double dealing, multiple good/bad guys, kidnapping, shootings, murders, bombs, it was at times somewhat chaotic, and rather than work to a final climatic end it felt kind of fuzzy, too much going on to appreciate just how each part worked.

Maybe if the gap between my first read and this had been shorter, not three and a half years, maybe if I'd read books two and three...I don't know. It was a decent read but not one that excited me, and not one I'd reread.

In common with many LGBTQIA reads too there seems constant emphasis on the maleness, the rooms smell masculine, the décor is masculine, their clothes are masculine, the guys themselves smell masculine ( as opposed to what I'm not sure?), everyone is rugged and outdoorsy, or tall and well built, except for Nick and that poor dancer – Matt? - they seem to be totally the opposite, slight and effeminate, the husband and husband introductions get pulled up again and again. I get it, its a story about men, men with male partners, I don't need reminding of it every few pages.


Stars: Three, an OK read but not a rereader.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

This story was quite intense. It involved Law who was backing up Ian who was looking for his friend Nicholas. Nicholas had disappeared several months ago and Ian wanted to find him by going undercover at the gay club where Nicholas had worked. This was quite ironic since Ian'a father had run a horrible camp to make teens not be gay. Most of them disappeared or were scarred for life. Ian wanted to tear the camp down and build something positive for the town, but first he wanted to find his friend. What he didn't know at first was that Law had been one of those teens that had been horribly treated and scarred at his father's camp. The whole story brought all those things together in one powerful story. Well worth reading. I got this story from Netgalley for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book just didn't work for me. The plot sounded interesting from the blurb, but there were just too many unbelievable/unrealistic things for me to really get into the story. A grown man is thrown from a reclined position hard enough to leave a "body shaped hole" in a wall and suffers a concussion, yet within 24 hours he's driving and wielding a sledgehammer for 45 minutes? An ex-FBI agent is allowed to keep his undercover aliases from his time at the Bureau and the credit cards just happen to be tied to his personal accounts? Every time there was a problem that needed to be solved (such as getting into a safe to find evidence) a magical solution just happened to come along. There was so much about this plot that just wasn't plausible that it got in the way of the story for me.

From the romance perspective, the underlying issues behind Law and Ian's trauma and relationship should have made for a gripping story, but they just didn't grab me. I had a hard time understanding what drew Ian and Law together to begin with (other than a bizarre unofficial undercover operation that seemed to be sanctioned by every law enforcement agency for miles around), and their relationship seemed to develop so quickly I kept feeling like maybe they had known each other before. There were cute moments and the sex was well written, but their relationship seemed somewhat flat.

This story held twists and turns and a happy ending that I'm sure will appeal to most readers of this genre. Unfortunately, for me, the issues outweighed the good in this book.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. Two men, Ian and Law, join together to try and find Nicholas who has disappeared. Ian, is the tortured son of a man who ran a camp where gay teens were tortured, raped and killed. Law, is a former FBI agent who was captured and tortured and raped for 3 weeks by Ian’s father and his followers. They come together and eventually fall in love but there is alot of previous baggage they have to overcome. The sex between Ian and Law is very erotic and a part of the story but the story is do much more than just sex. It is an excellent read and I would highly recommend this book.

This book seems to be part of a bigger picture, a continuation of the first three in the series. Coming into the series late I didn't know the characters but Snow did a great job of educating the reader on past events, I never felt lost. This is definitely a book for readers with open minds about sexuality, all the books are either MM or MFM. This wasn't a smutty book with tons of sex but a book with heart and intense relationships. The men are still recovering from traumatic pasts that are actually intertwined. It's a longer read than I've had lately but I enjoyed the pace. My copy was given through Netgalley.