Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Two years ago, Law Wyman was working undercover for the FBI, trying to bring down a “conversion camp” that was horrifically abusing LGBT teens. Things went badly and Law was kidnapped, abused, and raped by the leaders of the camp. His lover, Andrew, gave his life to rescue Law and emotionally Law is still not fully recovered from the ordeal.
Ian Mayne grew up knowing something was terribly wrong in the camp his father ran. But between hiding his own homosexuality and dealing with abuse from his father, Ian just tried to stay in the shadows and not ask too many questions. When the truth came out about what was really going on, Ian was horrified and he blames himself for not getting involved.
When Ian’s friend goes missing from a club where he dances, Ian can’t ignore trouble again. So he goes undercover in an attempt to figure out what happened to Nick. When the Snowcroft police chief gets concerned about Ian, he asks David to keep an eye on him. Together, the men quickly realize that something dangerous is going on at the club. Not only is Nick still missing, but the club owner has ties to the Rio Brotherhood motorcycle club and anti-LGBT violence is threatening everyone’s safety as well.
Along the way, the men begin to fall for one another and it looks like things could get serious between them. But even after they make it through the case safely, the guys have lots of roadblocks. Law is concerned his past trauma is negatively affecting his relationship with Ian, and Ian still feels tons of guilt about his inaction over the camp. The Rio Brotherhood isn’t willing to let the men out of their sights and are a threat to their lives. And a small group of homophobic town residents who were supporters of the camp are threatening both the new facility they want to build on the site, as well as Ian and Law’s lives. Now that they have found one another, risks to their safety may destroy what they are building.
Snowcroft Restoration is the fourth book in the Snowcroft series and connects us back to the first book (and my personal favorite), Snowcroft Lost. While we learned about Law and Ian going undercover at the end of Intertwined Hearts, the roots of this story are in the first book where law enforcement infiltrates the camp and Law’s life is threatened. He was also a key side character in the second book, Snowcroft Safehouse, so it was good to get Law’s story here and tie together the various story elements from earlier in the series. That said, I think there is enough information here that newcomers could jump in at this point in the series.
This book divides into two parts, the first one focusing on the undercover case and the second taking place after the men return to Snowcroft. Author Christi Snow does a good job building the connection between these men, both of whom have some pretty traumatic pasts. I enjoyed watching them get to know one another better as they worked the case to find Nick. It was nice to see them find happiness together and figure out a way to work through their issues to be together. I also really appreciated that these men recognize the value of therapy and the story shows how they are getting professional help to deal with things as well. There is some suspense here as the case ultimately connects with Snowcroft and even once they think they are safe, the men have to watch out for the Brotherhood as well as locals who are not happy with Ian’s plans to tear down the old camp.
My issue here is that for some reason, this story just didn’t keep me as engaged as the past books in the series and I am not quite sure why. I think partly this is because there is a lot going on here and the guys seem to jump from one issue and crisis to another, and then back again. So I never really felt like I could settle into a rhythm with the books or the characters. The writing is solid and the story works well with the series, but it just didn’t quite grab me the way I expected, particularly given that I knew these characters and was looking forward to their stories. That said, this one still worked for me and is worth reading, particularly if you are a fan of the series.
I had thought this may wrap things up for Snowcroft, but at the end of the book Snow indicates there will be more stories. We meet one couple who is getting their own book and looks like some more to come after that. I really enjoy this small town series and the characters of Snowcroft, so I am definitely looking forward to more.
Note: There are some scenes where we learn details of Law’s past abuse, so be aware if this is a trigger area for you.
