Long Winter is a character-driven,friends-to-lovers romance full of longing and understated emotion set on the Nebraska ranch owned by the Chase family. Thanks to a really odd clause in their grandfather’s will, a Chase has to live at the ranch for a total of twenty-one years or forfeit it to another relative, and the task of ‘staying’ fell to the eldest Chase brother, Robbie, who, after the death of his beloved father when he was eighteen, became parent as well as brother to his younger siblings. From then on, he put Danny and Johnny first, essentially forfeiting a life of his own while making sure they had everything they’d need to be able to strike out on their own when the time came. And now, they’ve done just that and Robbie is alone. Not that he resents them or regrets his decisions, but he can’t deny that life is pretty lonely.

Lance Taylor’s life was changed forever when, at the age of nine, Danny Chase sat next to him on the school bus one day and they became best friends. Lance grew up on the neighbouring property, but was never allowed to have or make friends; his alcoholic father spent all his money on drink and Lance never had enough to eat or decent clothes to wear. Becoming friends with Danny meant Lance was kind of ‘adopted’ by all three Chase brothers – even Robbie, although he was ten years older. Over the years, Lance developed quite the crush on the gentle, softly-spoken Robbie, even though he knew nothing could ever come of it. When he was sixteen, after a life of neglect and misery, and years of his unrequited crush on Robbie, Lance decided he needed to leave.

Six years later, Lance comes back into the Chase’s lives in a most unexpected way when, in desperation, he calls Danny to ask him to come to bail him out of jail. He’s been arrested for stealing a car (a car that had been his until his former boyfriend changed the title and then maliciously reported it stolen) and Danny is the only person he can turn to for help. But Danny isn’t in town and doesn’t get Lance’s message until the next morning, when he calls Robbie to ask him to go bail Lance out.

To say Robbie is surprised at the request is an understatement, but he’s ready and willing to help, no questions asked; Lance had been – is – like one of the family after all. But there’s little trace of the sweet, shy boy who used to look at Robbie with his heart in his eyes in the beautiful, elegant and closed-off young man Robbie collects from the local jail, and Robbie doesn’t quite know how to relate to him. Lance is clearly giving off ‘don’t ask’ vibes so Robbie falls back into their established pattern: Lance would never let Robbie take care of him the way he wanted to, so Robbie would just make sure he had something to eat and somewhere to sleep when he wanted them – and he can do the same now.

When the weather interferes with Lance’s plan to find somewhere else to hole up before his court appearance the following week, he ends up staying with Robbie in the converted hayloft at the ranch that has served as Robbie’s living space since the main house was destroyed in a fire. Robbie, who has long been aware of his bisexuality but has never acted on it, can’t deny that he’s very attracted to grown-up Lance, and as Lance realises that his long-ago crush hasn’t gone away, he can’t help but notice the signs of interest Robbie is inadvertantly sending his way. The enforced proximity quickly leads to sexually-charged longing and kindling desire, and even though Robbie knows Lance isn’t going to be sticking around – he has another life (as a photographer and model) in Chicago – maybe, just for these few days, he can take something he wants for himself and take care of Lance.

Lance and Robbie are well-developed, complex characters who are easy to like, and their chemistry crackles nicely. Lance’s childhood with an emotionally distant and neglectful father has (not surprisingly) led to his having issues around self-worth and trust, and Robbie, who had to take responsibility for his younger brothers and the ranch at a young age, has spent most of his adult life looking after everyone but himself. Seeing Robbie finally reaching out for something he wants for himself and Lance finally finding his place with someone who really cares about him is really lovely. Even though the story takes place over about a week, there’s a feel of a slow-burn to their romance, and I liked the way their history is drip-fed throughout the novel in flashbacks that give us a glimpse into Lance’s lonely, neglected childhood and how his friendships with the Chase brothers gave him the kind of safety he’d never had before.

The writing is strong and atmospheric; the isolation of ranch life in winter is superbly conveyed – the author creates a strong sense of the routine necessary to run such a place – and Robbie’s feelings of deep loneliness really leap off the page. I enjoyed the story a lot, although I had to ding it a bit because Lance veers perilously close to TSTL territory with a rather nonsensical decision he makes near the end. I’m also a bit ambivalent about the fact that while the book ends on an HFN, it’s really only half Robbie and Lance’s story, which continues (and reaches the HEA) in book two, Signs of Spring. Despite that, however, Long Winter deserves a solid recommendation, and if you’re in the mood for a snowed-in, slow-burn romance featuring lonely cowboys and lots of pining, this might be just the book for you.