Snow Way in Hell

Snow Way in Hell

by Charlie Novak

Tarquin has been in love with his brother’s best friend since he was twelve. Unfortunately, he’s pretty sure George doesn’t feel the same.

Dragged on a pre-Christmas skiing holiday by his older brother, Tarquin isn’t looking forward to three days in the snow. The only upside? Snowboarder George Young, his brother’s best friend and Tarquin’s long term crush, is joining them.

But as a series of minor disasters befall their getaway, Tarquin starts to realise his crush might not be as one sided as he thinks.

Snow Way In Hell is a 18,500 word contemporary romance M/M short story. It’s full of missing luggage, terrible hotel decor, a himbo big brother, and lots of winter sweetness.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Novella, Christmas, Holiday, Friends To Lovers

65 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 11, 2021

About the author

Charlie lives in England with her husband and a dachshund named Biscuit. She spends most of her days wrangling other people’s words in her day job and then trying to force her own onto the page in the evening.

She loves cute stories with a healthy dollop of fluff, plenty of delicious sex, and happily ever afters – because the world needs more of them. Charlie also believes that love comes in all shapes and sizes.

Charlie has very little spare time, but what she does have she fills with cooking, pole-dancing, reading and ice-hockey. She also thinks that everyone should have at least one favourite dinosaur…

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cute, super quick, swoony novella.
Love the long-time crush that turns out to be more than a fantasy.
They were sweet and sexy together!
Can't wait for the 'brothers' turn next!

*3.5 stars*

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

SNOW WAY IN HELL was a very cute novella and I'm a sucker for the sibling's best friend trope. Tarquin, or Quinn as he prefers, has crushed on his brother's best friend George but he's assumed that George would never be interested. These two were so cute together and I enjoyed their low angst romance.

[Tan✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idek if I can call this insta lovey but that’s how it felt. They were already in love before this started so I felt like I didn’t really feel it. It went SO FAST.

I really did enjoy the epilogue though :)

[Cadiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute festive romance

I've read this one because book two about Quinn's brother Max is out soon and I wanted to get the background and because Charlie Novak writes fun books I pretty much always enjoy.

And yep, it was a fun festive romance with a lovely pair at the heart of it and a delightful ski holiday prompt that finally brought together the two men.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was super meh, I just read it because I want to read Max’s book

[Kim Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this author before. this is a contemporary MM novella about Tarquin and his brother's best friend George. Set in London and Bulgaria the snow features in this story as George is a snowboarder.
Love Tarquin's brother Max!! I'll read more from this author.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie Novak can do no wrong. This is such a fun and flirty snowy romance. It's about Quinn, who has been in love with his brothers best friend George for years and they both end up at a snowy skiing weekend courtesy of Quinn's himbo well intentioned brother. Short and sweet. If you're looking for holiday books that's are low on the holiday, this is for you. It's mentioned that it's near Christmas but there's no actual holiday on page nor is there any further discussion of the holidays at all. It's just snowy and cold and set in December in both Leeds and Bulgaria.

[kitamikeita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I put off writing the reviews since January. I'm slowly catching up. So my memory will vary according to how long ago I read it and how impactful it was.

Despite it being short, I'm really surprised to remember a bit still.

I haven't made any notes but I think overall I enjoyed it enough. It wasn't a masterpiece I think.

[Ζωή Παππά · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it!

[Smut Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sizzling hot scenes, embarrasing brothers and sweet crushes make this story memorable and most enjoyable!

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was sweet and packed with tropes! Always a fan of the big brother's best friend trope, though I did find Max, the big brother, to be a little OTT. Cute characters, unnecessary epilogue but standard for the genre. Was a little confused because there's one point where racism was mentioned in a way that made me think one or both of the characters must not be white, if you're attempting to write an inclusive cast, I should be able to tell after reading 18k.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freebie. This was pleasant enough but I may be suffering burn-out on the older brother's best friend trope.

Anyway, Tarquin is a Ph.D. student whose brother weedles him into going on a ski vacation with him and some friends, including George who basically grew up with them and is now a professional snow boarder much to his Singaporean family's consternation (although they've kind of accepted it now). Tarquin's brother is rich, in fact both their families are rich, but Tarquin hates taking advantage so they end up in Romania at a dump ski resort (with lost luggage) with no snow.

They end up going out and Tarquin and George head back to the hotel, only to find out that his brother has brought home a "date" so George is kicked out of his room and tries to bunk with Tarquin who only has a single room. Soon they admit they have been attracted to each other and have a pleasant night in the squeaky single bed.

I found there was a bit of a being hit over the head about how rich these guys were (George's family bought half the ski resorts in Europe so that he has a place to train for the Olympics and X-games) but how they didn't like to flaunt it, they treated people nicely, hated how rich people were snooty. I get it, they are rich but not snobby. It was cool that George was Asian so that was a nice switch. Nothing wrong with the story but as I said, kind of burnt out on the trope.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, cute, fun and easy read! Tarquin and George are so cute together and there were plenty of classic tropes as they each figured out they liked each other. The unexpected and fun part was the brother Max, he was perfect and so adorable! The only bothersome part is that as a short it couldn't expand too far into the whole family setup. There was so much about how much money Max had and then Tarquin said he didn't have money like that and was on a stricter budget. Then it turns out that their parents have tons of money themselves and it seems that George and Tarquin are probably either supported by their parents or trust-fund babies so it was curious how they acted like they didn't have that sort of money and it just.....bugged me. It wasn't really relevant to the relationship but since so much had been said about the finances it was something I wanted to have cleared up.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I'm REALLY surprised! I almost didn't read this after having had problems with Up To Snow Good the story that follows this one but I am so, so glad I did. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I'm hated seeing The End.

QUICK THOUGHTS

** Winter fun
** Quick easy read
** Brother's best friend
** Long time crush (both ways)
** Sooo sweet
** No real angst or drama
** Couldn't stop smiling
** NOT filled with sex (very little actually) but sexy as hell
** LOVED the MCs... Quinn & George
** Swoon worthy
** Satisfying ending but would have loved more
** Short, under 70 pages

[Betty Loves Books Galore · Rating 4 out of 5]

story of Tarquin and George

This is a brother’s best friend to more holiday romance, featuring Tarquin and George, and is a standalone novella.

George is Tarquin’s brother’s best friend. Tarquin and George have had crushes on each other for a few years but neither acted on it.

This is such a cute holiday novella. Sounded like a hoot of a snow weekend and ends with George and Tarquin getting their HEA.

Things to expect in this book are:
Standalone Novella
MM holiday romance
Brother’s best friend
Opposites attract
PhD student X Prof snowboarder
Nerd x Jock
Both crushing hard
Forced proximity
One bed
Bit of spice
HEA

[Mella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short romance novella, nothing particularly new or different. Started off promising with some funny lines but nothing much happens and the characters are kind of bland. There's no real backstory to add depth to the characters. I'd probably enjoy it more if this was reworked into a full length novel and the characters were fleshed out. I did have a favourite part though;

“I think he’s the absolute definition of a himbo: a strong idiot with a heart of gold.”

A himbo. Definitely have to add that to my dictionary. Quick short read, 2.5 stars.

[Bárbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so short, that I'm pleasantly surprised at how it managed to both develop the characters and their backgrounds, and it succeeded in making a nice slowburn with the right pace. I enjoyed it so much I'm willing to overlook how ridiculous some of the dialogue was and how artificial it sounded.
When I'm turning down the possibility of being petty and nitpicky, you have to absolutely know we have a win.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than the usual stranded because of snow, this time Quinn, his brother Max, Max's best friend George, plus a few friends arrive to a ski resort hotel and are stranded because there's no snow. Quinn has always had a crush on George but feels he's not good enough. A lovely short story, very sweet tale.

[Raven and Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brother’s best friend

I love this author’s characters. Quinn and George are both adorable and completely oblivious to the fact that the object of their affection is just as besotted as they are. This is a quick close proximity brother’s best friend book that will not leave you disappointed with the ending.

[Jozey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet short novella with a dose of adorable characters

Contains: brother bestfriend, crush, one bed, sweet & hot

This short story is so cute and sweet. Lusting after his brother's bestfriend and then one trip and they finally admit their feelings. It was a sort loving story. Adorable, cute. I would have love to have a full lenght novel of them.

[Golden Child · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quinn and George

Perfect sweet novella with two adorable guys that finally admit their feelings for one another. They are dragged on a skiing holiday by brother and best friend, Max. The holiday starts off rocky with lost luggage, a jerk, no snow and a hotel renovation but all comes together. Max was great, I loved his unending energy.

[Bekka]

Himbo Brother Max was clearly meant to be the MC as he was the most fleshed out and got a lot of page time in these 65 odd pages.
tags: Best friends brother, forced proximity, only one bed, both have crushes on each other, no angst

NSFW infos:
four year age gap
two out and gay MCs
blow job on-page
first time anal together FTB

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've already read Up To Snow Good, so I've seen the rest of the story of the epilogue from Max's POV and how cute George and Tee/Quinn are together, but it was really nice to see the point that their spark turn into the flame. And freaking hot.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read : January 21, 2021
Rating : 4 Stars

A very cute short with funny characters.

Tarquin(Quinn) has a major crush on the best friend of his brother, for quite some time and this holiday it seems like George might be crushing back...
I can't really say much more than that since it's so short but it's cute.

[Ken Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter Wonderland download. Cute short story where the plot involves big brother's best friend and privileged Brits. Bulgarian ski trip on a budget sets up the reveal (got to love clueless Max), and the alternating POV between Quinn and George uncovers thinking mature twenty-somethings.

[Sarah Sargent · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when you realize that you want something more with your best friends younger brother? You try to stay away cause that is a no go. That is the case with Snow way in Hell. This is a stand alone short that was amazing from beginning to the end.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet and steamy! A ‘forbidden’ romance, both men think they can’t be together because of their brother/friend. But a holiday trip opens the door to new possibilities…

Even though it’s short Charlie Novak does a fantastic job of making the HEA very satisfying!

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and Sweet

This novella was very fast paced and I found myself wishing it were longer. Quinn and George were cute together but I wasn't able to truly get invested in them since it was so short. That being said it was a very very cute story.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

short but sweet

This is the prequel to another book by Charlie. I came across it after reading the other book, the story told how George and Quinn met, and the other book is what happens after the hour spoken about at the end of this book. You will want to read it.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super quick cute winter vibes novella. It’s also brothers best friend which is a personal favorite. Quinn & George are so sweet together. I love that they were both pining and that Max had been trying to get them together for years. Overall a fun read!