This has 3 stars for me solely cos I am not huge lover of flashbacks in books and I skimmed them.

Robbie and Lance - their story needs to be read over both books in this series. It is well written ( aside from the mention above) and am looking forward to seeing how the author plays out their story.

PS Nial is a douche canoe! ( )

Great character study. I think I liked Felony best though. ( )

This was an excellet read. I immediately fell in love with all of the boys.

The story goes back and forth from past to present, which is something I don't always like, but this was done almost seamlessly. The transitions were smooth and worked well with the plot.

Lance was a poor and emotionally abused boy with an alcoholic father who would actually steal things from his child (like shoes) and sell them. At the beginning of a new school year, he falls in with the Chase brothers, a land-rich family, well known among the community.

It starts off with Lance and Danny, the youngest brother becoming almost instant best friends and slowly graduated to Lance becoming family to all three brothers.

For years Lance harbored a secret (not so secret) crush on the oldest brother, Robbie. At 16, after a confrontation with his father, Lance runs to the Chases for comfort and sanctuary. He makes a desperate confession to Robbie, who cannot give him what he wants and Lance runs away never to return.

Until about six years later when returns to town to see his father who is in hospice and he's arrested for 'stealing' his lover's car. With no one else to turn to, he calls his long neglected best friend Danny, who sends his brother Robbie to bail him out.

This story was sweet and heartwarming with some well written naughty bits in the middle. I loved the characters so much and while there was angst, and mild miscommunication, it wasn't the focus of the whole plot, which can be tedious. There was just enough angst, miscommunication, uncertainty, to keep me intensely interested in the story. I enjoyed the resolution and the few twists and turns kept it from being predictable.

Overall a great read and I will be looking into the rest of the series. Hopefully they will focus on the brothers in the coming sequels. ( )

The long winter of the title wasn't quite there, as the events in the now of the novel take place over about a week, even if it's winter. That said, the protagonists Lance and Robbie and their relationship pulled me into the story, and I'll be happy to read the sequel. ( )