Series Gush: Four Bears Construction
Came for the burly men and stayed for the absolute shenanigans
I first stumbled across Four Bears Construction thanks to a recommendation in the MM Book Recs Facebook group (aka the unofficial HQ for dangerously good TBR suggestions).
The Four Bears Construction series by K.M. Neuhold is an absolute gem in the MM romance genre. This collection introduces us to a crew of foul-mouthed, blue-collar, middle-aged men who are as handy with their tools as they are at finding sweet, hilarious, and steamy happily-ever-afters. Each book focuses on a different member of the Four Bears Construction company, delving into their personal journeys and romantic escapades.
From the very first book, I knew I was in for something special. This series is everything I didn’t know I needed in a romance: older MCs who’ve lived a little, zero stereotypical roles, and a whole lot of burly, hilarious, and loveable chaos. It’s low-angst, laugh-out-loud funny, and packed with heart in the form of found family vibes, trans representation, and characters of all shapes and sizes. Basically, if you want to escape into a swoonie, feel-good world full of lovable characters and steamy HOT HOT HOT moments, Four Bears Construction is it.
So I usually review each book as I read it over on my Goodreads. What you’ll find below is a collection of those reviews.
Thing to note about my reviews: I don’t usually recap what the book is about because the description is like… everywhere already. What I do instead is give what I liked and little clues to help me remember the plot a bit (and moments that I want to reference like this series has a scene with butter that I will never forget).
And with the latest book Handy just coming out, I figured now’s as good of a time as any to GUSH about this series as I rabidly re-read.
Let’s gooooo.
Caulky (Four Bears Construction Book #1)
Writing this review on the re-read and I just love it so much. Low angst, cute, hot, lots of tropes I love. Rebound fling. Anonymous messaging. Nick names. Encouraging partner. Very mild hurt comfort. Older MCs.
Ren and Cole are so cute together and I love how they supported each other when needed. The messaging through M4M bit was so adorable. The helping at the farmers market. The building of the shed. The I love you declaration. And very hot smexy times.
If I had a type for books, this is it!
I also adored meeting the rest of the cast and crew because I just love all the guys in this series.
“Isn’t that part of the deal, babe?” he asks. “Like, being in love is fucking amazing, but the tradeoff is that you constantly have to live with this gnawing worry in your stomach that it’s going to fall apart at any second.”
Nailed (Four Bears Construction, #2)
Code word: butter!
Gosh I loved this one. Stone is hella funny with his mixing up of metaphors. Dare and his grumpy self was so fun to read. Rudy was the matchmaker we didn’t know we needed. Just a heartwarming good time all around.
“The plot thickens,” Stone says in a playful voice, leaning in and resting his arm on the bar. “Also, I sometimes call my dick the plot.”
Hardwood (Four Bears Construction, #3)
This one is my least fav in this series but I still loved it! The sex toy getting stuck was hilarious and iconic. Watson was such a cute character too.
That being said, I have an ex named Everett so I already didn’t like him. I wanted more grovelling. I didn’t understand his hang ups over coming out. And I wanted more interactions with his daughter and Watson.
Otherwise, I loved this one and the epilogue was everything I want an epilogue to be.
Don’t you hate it when people say, ‘no pun intended’? Intend your puns, you cowards.”
Screwed (Four Bears Construction, #4)
Ollie💛 I adored this one and it may be my favorite of the series. Having seen how much shit our poor baby Ollie gets in previous books, I was looking forward to his time for love. Daniel is so cute with him. I loved that Daniel watched his movies, joked with him on the same level, cared for his snake. I adored how Ollie is like the perfect partner, opening doors and giving bubble baths and watching the stars. I love the whole fake marriage turning into a real marriage trope. Too stinking cute.
Sweet baby Gucci in a manger, the man is hung.
Stud (Four Bears Construction #5)
Finally Sawyer and West get together. I low key loved the date sabotage. The panties. The freaking geese. The champagne and pizza. The letters. The remodeling with surprise tub. Just loved these two together. I mean 3 years is like the slowest of burns but since I got glimpses of them from the other’s stories, I was gagging for them to bone already by the time we got here. Loved the pining too.
“We could be good together.” I take a chance, dipping my head lower until our foreheads are nearly touching. He doesn’t protest, leaning in and bumping his nose against mine. “We could be a disaster together,” he counters quietly, sounding a little helpless. A slow grin spreads over my lips. “Not knowing which is half the fun.”
Stripped (Four Bears Construction #6)
When I say in obsessed with this couple, I mean I’m OBSESSED with these cutie patooties.
First up - Demetri and his lack of confidence broke my heart. The obliviousness to the flirting. How he described working out. MARS. Ugh love him.
Then we have Miller, the best book boyfriend ever. The zip lining. The being so supportive. The muscles! The flowers and FUCKING RAIN. I just can’t. It’s too cute.
Can you tell this was my fav couple in this series???? Loved their dynamic.
I look down at the display panel again and nearly cry. I’ve done point-four miles and burned fifty calories, and my legs feel like Jell-O. This is my hell.
Drilled (Four Bears Construction #7)
Cute and hot as expected! Apollo's grumpy grunting and Ridge being able to interpret was adorbs. Ridge's fear of spiders. The shenanigans with the rest of the team. The kittens. Hot sex in the woods. The marshmallows. The warming lube. The ending!!! UGH. Love.
I did wish they would have talked already. It was so painfully annoying with how stubborn Apollo was being.
I also tend to not love second chance romance (even though they aren't long lost lovers... just long lost friends) because it turns into "remember the time" and as a reader I want to experience them together! Just a personal preference.
I wonder how he’d feel about the offer of a friendship hand job? Is that a thing? How about a bestie blowie? Platonic anal?
Handy (Four Bears Construction #8)
The butter made a re-appearance and stole the GD show. LMAO.
Ok, I loved this one. Ledger was sunshine personified and I loved how eager he was. So over the top and ridiculous. A pet racoon named Trash Panda. Perfect.
Griff being so grumpy and staying grumpy is my kryptonite. I'm so glad Ledger loves him just like this and doesn't want him to change.
UGH reading this book just made me feel happy. The secret admirer gifts. Seeing the whole cast and crew from the rest of the series. The banter. The steamy hot smexy scenes. and obvs, the freaking butter AGAIN. Iconic.
This is exactly the kind of thing I’m going to wince in horror and disgust over later when I have some post-nut clarity, but right now… fuck, it’s kind of hot. Scratch that, it’s extremely fucking hot that I make this man so out of his mind horny for me that he’s willing to butter me up and stuff me like a Thanksgiving turkey. Gobble gobble, motherfucker.
Overall Thoughts
K. M. Neuhold goes on the list of my comfort read authors. I know what to expect and I adore her writing style.
The banter. The light-heartedness. The feel good stories. And obvs the smoking hot men and their smoking hot partners. LOVE.
Please excuse me while I work through her entire back catalogue.