Alex by Sawyer Bennett Also in this series: Garrett, Ryker
Series: Cold Fury Hockey #1
Published by Loveswept on October 14, 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Sports, Hockey
Narrator: Graham Halstead, Cris Dukehart
Length: 9 Hours and 57 Mins
Pages: 224
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0553393006
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 facade, the more Sutton craves the man she uncovers.
Alex is the first book in Bennett’s Cold Fury Hockey series. This is the first time I have read a sports romance from this author. I have only read her erotic romance so I was very curious about these books and frankly, I have become addicted to hockey romance lately. I found this book to be very fantastic and WAY better than I was expecting. In fact it just might be one of my favorite sport romances and one of the best books I have had a chance to read from this author. There is something very unique about this author and how she pens a romance. In this story, we see some difficult issues brought into play and so I do want to warn future readers that its not a light and fluffy romance because that is just NOT Bennett’s style in any way.
Now Alex begins with our hero who is being a very bad boy. Alex is a jerk at times, alright most of the times. He does have his friends on the team of course, but he has a “no care” attitude especially towards the fans. The management of the team are very upset with his attitude and manner and want to change what he is doing or his career in hockey is over. They want him to change his manner towards the fans and also to be in a partnership for a drug outreach program for kids. As much as he doesn’t want to do this or change who he is and even though he hates hockey….its the only thing he has ever known which is where our heroine enters the picture.
I even snicker as I see a sign across the ice proclaiming, Crossman for MVP, Most Valuable Prick.
Classic! I’m the player they love to hate, and I could give a fuck.
I come out…do my duty, score my goals and get my assists, collect my paycheck and past that, just leave me the fuck alone.
Sutton Price, has been working in a program to help children and teenagers deal with drug abuse in the home. Sutton has personal knowledge and understanding. Her father is a drug addict and became very abusive when her mother was away. Once her mother found out the truth though, they lived in shelters until her adoptive father took them away from that life and showed Sutton a home that is full of love and laughter. So Sutton has risen above just painful experiences and become a better person for it. She is really excited to be helping out with an outreach program which has been her dreams as she is a counselor. At first Alex is rude to her, but Sutton is calm and cool with him without being insensitive. She understands him more than he realizes. Alex and Sutton have some powerful chemistry, but Alex knows that Sutton is the real deal, and he wants to court her and show her how genuine his interest in because he sees her differently than any other women in his past. The trust is slow but their desire for each other is real and they are honest about who they are and what they expect. But sometimes the past can get in the way of the present and future happiness.
I Simply adored Alex SO MUCH. Now I gave this book such a high rating because I have NO complaints about this book. It really just worked for me in every way. This was an audiobook so I first want to mention the narrators for this story. It had dual POV, so there were two narrators and they both did a SUPERB job. In fact, our female narrator, is one of my favorites to listen to, she hasn’t done too many books though but I love her voice and inflections. She is just lovely to listen to. They both worked so well together and really displayed the love story and the emotional reflections in such a positive way.
Alex is a story that deals with some challenging issues like abuse, drugs, alcoholism. So its really just not easy at its moments. But to be honest, its not overshadowed by all these complicated issues that we don’t see too much in romance. There is a endearing love story, and such charming characters. I especially gravitated towards Sutton’s family. Her parents are just wonderful and her younger brother is AWESOME. His character makes you want to be a better person and really look at yourself and see if you can be more like him. I just wanted to cry all these happy tears whenever he entered a scene, because his character feels SO real. It isn’t very often that we have a supporting character that you feel so much emotion for but I really admired this kid that is so full of gratitude and so humble.
She’s precariously close to becoming my everything, a thought that scares the daylights out of me. I’m not sure I’m ready for that responsibility, particularly not when I have so many ghosts that continue to torture me.
The actual romance that develops between Alex and Sutton is slow in some ways. Because Sutton is full heart and open with Alex. But Alex, has his own demons that he has to fight but thankfully Sutton knows how to handle him when he gets into his “jerk” mode. She truly sees him and understands him and I love that. She doesn’t judge him or anything, even when he hurts her because she understands why and I loved how accepting she is of Alex. Alex is slow to trust, because everyone he has loved and trusted has abandoned, abused or criticized him except for a few of the guys on the team. So he isn’t one to be fully open with Sutton but he does make an effort and even though he makes his own mistakes, he learns from them and becomes a hero you can cheer on.
Overall I found Alex to be a tale that is full of complexities, a unique relationship dynamic and charming scenes to make you full of happiness!! AN AWE INSPIRING EXPERIENCE OF A READ!
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. Her husband works for a Fortune 100 company which lets him fly all over the world while she stays at home with their daughter and three 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.
Sawyer is the author of several contemporary romances including the popular Off Series, the Legal Affairs Series and the Last Call Series. She will be releasing her second book in the Cold Fury Hockey Series with Random House Loveswept, February 2015.
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