Review: Alex and Garrett by Sawyer Bennett (Cold Fury Hockey Series)

I am a big, big fan of sports romances in general and hockey romances in particular. Why I do not know but I guess I have to enjoy sports somehow (since I don’t really follow ANY sports in my personal life). This is my small connection!

Sawyer Bennett’s Cold Fury Hockey series is a newish sports romance series. I just happened to get book three (Zack) on Netgalley and I am excited to pick it up and read. BUT before I get to that book, here are my thoughts on the first two books.

Alex features Alexander Crossman and Sutton Price. Alex seems like a big jerk. He has a bad reputation in the NHL and unless he gets his act together, he will not be playing. He swears he does not care about hockey at all. He definitely does not associate his professional career with success or career fulfillment. So of course he is being forced into some good PR and that means working with Sutton. They don’t exactly hit it off but there is chemistry there and it builds throughout the course of the story.

I really liked this opposites attract story. Sutton is very warmhearted and kind. She hasn’t had the easiest life but unlike Alex, she has a cheery disposition that permeates her work and her life. She makes the best of her situation no matter what and in this case, it means putting up with Alex’s bad attitude. He isn’t all bad though. Alex is stoic and surly and may not want to be used as part of the PR machine but he definitely feels helpless in the face of his feelings for Sutton. Alex doesn’t do relationships (of course he doesn’t! He wouldn’t be a hockey star if he did!) but with Sutton, he may just be ready to try. There was a great sizzle in this book, cold meeting warm. One of my personal favorite aspects of this story was Sutton’s family. Her mother, stepfather and her younger brother who she just adored. It was nice seeing Alex being drawn into that family. He was not comfortable by a long shot but he knew how important Sutton’s family was to her so he made an effort which I really appreciated.

For me, this was a great start to the Cold Fury Hockey series. And as is expected, we got to meet some of the future heroes.

Garrett features Alex’s best friend and teammate, Garrett Samuelson, who is, to put it mildly, definitely a playboy extraordinaire. But like in many good romance he meets “the” woman who strikes him down. It was definitely an insta-love situation in my opinion but I liked the story anyway. Unfortunately, there is definitely a sad angle to this story. Olivia has just been diagnosed with cancer and has no plans to get into a relationship. Cancer storylines are…. not my absolute favorite honestly. They have definitely worn out their welcome in my reading world. All that being said, I did like seeing Garrett fall hard for Olivia. I wish he had trusted her feelings a bit more as to why she did not want to drag him into her life so quickly. I was of course glad Garrett and Olivia had a happy ending but I wish it hadn’t felt so schmaltzy at times. While Alex kept the emotions almost suppressed on the pages while Alex and Sutton denied their attraction and really, any possible future, Garrett leaves all the emotions on the pages, sometimes to the detriment of the story. That being said, I was glad Olivia and Garrett had their happily-ever-after. Sawyer Bennett definitely has me hooked on her hockey stories!