Alex by Sawyer Bennett Series: Cold Fury Hockey #1
Published by Random House on October 14th 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Purchase @ AMAZON or BN or Purchase @ eStories
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Hockey star Alexander Crossman has a reputation as a cold-hearted player on and off the rink. Pushed into the sport by an alcoholic father, Alex isn’t afraid to give fans the proverbial middle finger, relishing his role as the MVP they love to hate. Management, however, isn’t so amused. Now Alex has a choice: fix his public image through community service or ride the bench. But Alex refuses to be molded into the Carolina Cold Fury poster boy . . . not even by a tempting redhead with killer curves.
As a social worker, Sutton Price is accustomed to difficult people—like Alex, who’s been assigned to help her create a drug-abuse awareness program for at-risk youth as part of the team’s effort to clean up his image. What she doesn’t expect is the arrogant smirk from his perfect lips to stir her most heated fantasies. But Sutton isn’t one to cross professional boundaries—and besides, Alex doesn’t do relationships . . . or does he? The more she sees behind Alex’s bad-boy façade, the more Sutton craves the man she uncovers.
Liezel’s Thoughts:
It has been quite awhile since I’ve read a good sports romance so of course it was a no brainer when I was invited to pre-review this new series written Sawyer Bennett. After finishing this book last night, I would have to say that I was pretty impressed.
The book starts off with a rough introduction to the hero, Alex. He is arrogant, apathetic and egotistical man on and off the ice. The only reason why people accepted him was the mere fact that he was extremely talented while in the rink. The strangest thing however is as much as he is gifted on ice he absolutely hates the sport itself. As soon as I saw that part of him I was immediately enraptured into his story. I just needed to know how someone so gifted became this way. Most importantly, I needed to know what type of woman would it take to literally bring him to his knees.
Management was highly aware of that bad image that he possessed. To improve it , he is thrown into Sutton Price’s world where is tasked to become the spokesperson for a youth anti-drug campaign – a project that Sutton is very passionate about. At their very first encounter sparks fly and rather than being the jerk that he normally is, he is taken by her dedication and is actually somewhat pleasant toward her.
Working closely together it doesn’t take much time for Alex’s perspective to change. Sutton just has this special way of bringing the best parts of Alex to the surface. Everyday she continues to challenge him, giving him that much-needed opportunity to come to terms with his past and even his future. As time passed, a different side of Alex emerged and I would have to say that it was beautiful to witness such a hateful man become in touch with his inner self.
Sutton’s character was the best part of this story. I thought she was overall perfect. She had this innate beauty within that anyone would be envious about. She had this perfect balance between selflessness and compassion but when needing to be she could also be bold and brazen to get her point across. For me, she was exactly what Alex needed to get his head and his heart on the right track.
What made this book special to me was that it didn’t just focus on this amazing couples’ romance. It also gave me a good insight on abuse whether it be alcohol, drug or physical abuse. It also touches deeply on acceptance and forgiveness therefore making it a very deep and well-rounded story.
Overall, I thought it was a great introduction to this new series. As much as I loved both Alex and Sutton, Garrett made such an excellent impression on me and I can not wait to read his story coming out in February.
The Verdict:
About Sawyer Bennett
USA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett, is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.
