Book Review: Snowcroft Safehouse by Christi Snow

Title: Snowcroft Safehouse
Series: Snowcroft, Book 2
Author: Christi Snow
Genre: Romantic Suspense, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: Review copy provided by author
Published: April 24, 2015 (self-published)

A year ago Declan Jasper was entertaining sold-out arena crowds as the lead singer of Black Rainbows. But that came to an explosive end when the band got caught up in a criminal cover-up, one that ended with the entire band dead. At least that’s what everyone is supposed to think.

Now, Dex is hiding in plain sight, working as the school band director in a sleepy little mountain resort town while under the protection of a hard-nosed FBI agent. Instead of eyeliner and black leather, he now wears glasses and corduroy. Instead of having sexy coeds—both male and female—throw themselves into his bed, he’s dealing with teenage angst and grumpy parents.

At the top of his troubles list is Kelsey Walker, a junior high bundle of rare musical talent in the form of one confused, messed-up adolescent. Dex figures the problem comes from her broken home and wants to help. But when he meets her father, sexy bar-owner, Jack Walker, he realizes that instead of helping he’s probably just bringing more trouble and danger to their door.

Dex has to stay alive until the trial to bring his bandmates’ murderers to justice, but can he do that if it means sacrificing his own happily ever after?

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Reviewed by: J9 and Crissy

J9: I adored book one of this series (my joint review with Brianna) so had very high expectations for this book two!

Crissy: Agreed. I’m a huge fan of Snowcroft and its inhabitants. I fell for the first book. Hard. So I was definitely looking forward to this one.

J9: A romance starts for me with the leads and Finn and Jack were wonderful leads with personal growth. Given that Jack isn’t “out” readers may expect him to have the most growth but I thought Finn did. At novel’s opening Finn had lost everyone close to him and had essentially accepted that he was dead man walking and only survived to bring his band’s killer to justice. So to watch him open up emotionally to Jack and his daughter, as well as friends like Law, was wonderful.

Crissy: I agree here too. I really liked Finn and Jack together. As individual characters, though, that’s where the real power was held in this story I think. Finn was heartbreaking in coming to accept his new life. There were times he made it clear that the only reason he was still alive was for revenge. The fact that he finds new reasons to live, to me, made this book what it is. Beautiful.

And when it comes to Jack. Well, the first thing that comes to mind is his heart. The guy would and did give up everything to make his daughter happy. His conflict and struggle were deeply hidden from the rest of the town and especially his family and friends, all but Trevor and Jamie, of course.

J9: Yes, they’re both strong characters that made me care about their happiness.

The relationship development between Finn and Jack was combustible but I could see the emotional pull too. This author writes the perfect blend of emotional and erotic intensity for me, which is a must-have in my romance!

Crissy: And add in the suspense angle of the mob trial and the whole reason Finn is “Finn”. The secrets not only added to the thrill of the storyline, but also to the tension between Jack and Finn. I really enjoyed that aspect – the not knowing.

J9: Yes, the plot has some great suspense. I have to also mention the stellar secondary characters here. Series readers like me will have already fallen in love with Law, Finn’s FBI bodyguard, but this book will make readers DEMAND his HEA!

Crissy: Ohmigod! Yes! I’m so head over heels for Law. He’s perfect and damaged in all the right ways. I’m looking forward to his story. It’s sure to be an emotional rollercoaster. I can hardly wait.

J9: Additionally, the secondary characters of the Snowcroft townspeople, from the aged band director to Jack’s former sister-in-law, are lovely characters. The leads from book one, Trevor and Jamie make a few appearances here which had me a little giddy. I love to see their interactions!

Crissy: And let’s not forget Kelsey. She’s the commonality that first brings Finn and Jack together. Plus all of her pre-teen actions killed me. She was spot on. And yes, Trevor and Jamie stole the scenes they were in, but then again, I expected nothing less.

J9: I do admit to a few issues however, one, the plot comes to a sudden and fierce conclusion very close to novel’s end. So much happens so quickly that it felt a tad rushed. Still that wasn’t a huge issue for me.

My largest issue is that Jack learns of Finn’s sexually adventurous past and feels inadequate, an utterly realistic reaction in my opinion. The big miss for me was that the leads didn’t discuss this. The plot forced a reconciliation instead of the two leads resolving the issue between them. I was disappointed because it felt like a missed opportunity for the leads to cement their emotional intimacy – such a good set-up but not the follow up.

Crissy: They skip over a lot in their relationship, I thought. Whereas, I liked them, sometimes I felt that all they had was that combustibility between them. The first time either of them mentioned the word love, I wondered where that had even come from. Because from my viewpoint, I saw just barely friends with benefits. I mean they were hot, but the level of personal connection felt glimpsed over.

And one thing that stuck out to me as odd was that everyone in Snowcroft seems to have some sort of connection to Texas – either they were born there or lived there at some point. The reason it caught me off guard was because Snowcroft is in New Mexico, which I know is next door, but still I found it strange how the New Mexican town appeared to be made up of Texans. Even the white van at the end had Texas plates.

One of my biggest issues, though, was the underdevelopment of the Jack’s conflict with Mande. We were told of this connection between them and how Mande wanted it, but besides the hug at the very beginning of the book and the fight, I didn’t see it. I expected more drama from that aspect. I wanted more drama there, but I didn’t get it.

J9: Yes, that’s true! I did notice that conflict set up but it just disappeared after one scene where Mande was so angry.

While I enjoyed book one more, this one was still an enjoyable romance and mystery. I can’t wait for book three in this strong series!

Crissy: I agree. I adored Finn and Jack’s story. It had it’s definite ups and downs, but it was a great combination of romance and suspense. I’m keeping an eye out for Law’s book and crossing my fingers that it will be number three.

Crissy’s Rating:
4 Frogs