❝Simone … you were my first friend ever. My first … everything.❞

‘Van’ just might be my favorite in the Cold Fury series.

We got a glimpse of Van and Simone in the last book in the Cold Fury series, ‘Lucas’, when Simone moved in with her brother, Lucas, and Van. Van did not act impressed by her. Although, you could definitely sense the sexual tension. 'Van' starts out with Simone moving in. This book runs concurrent with ‘Lucas’ but never did I feel like we were getting a retelling. Instead, it was great seeing events in ‘Lucas’ through the eyes of Simone and Van. 'Van', however, could be read as a standalone.

❝I’m tired of your games, little girl. No more flirting and shaking your ass around me.❞

Van Turner is the enforcer for the Cold Fury hockey team. He’s a bruiser to his core. He’s hiding a terrifying secret that has shaped him into the man he is today. His reputation as an asshat has helped keep people at bay. He’s all for one night stands, but anything more, could bring his secret to life and could hurt more than just him.

I loved the moments we got to see Van’s vulnerability and his fears. He was always so stalwart and a pro at hiding behind his walls. So when he smiled, laughed or showed emotion, those tender moments were all the more powerful. However, beneath that brooding, standoffish man hid an alpha male so sexy, Simone could barely control herself.

Simone was a terrific character, she was loyal, full of spunk and sass. She was determined to live the life she wanted and that included having the man she desired.

❝He should have never shown me that. He should have kept that secret from me because I’m even more determined than ever to chip through this armor he’s wearing.❞

‘Van’ was steaming hot! The sex scenes were flaming because of the alpha male Van and the girl who is always up for anything, Simone. I turned off my electric blanket while reading this because I didn’t need any extra assistance keeping me warm!

‘Van’ satisfied the angst lover in me. It pulled at my emotions. I was angry and felt sad for Van and was proud of and rooted for Simone. One of the great things about this series is that while each book can be read as a standalone, you get a little bit about previous couples. So I cannot wait to find out what the future holds for Van and Simone!

This series just gets better and better!! Van’s book it had a little bit of a different vibe to it definitely unique. Part of Van’s book runs concurrent with Lucas’ book so you see another side to his and Stephanie’s story.

Simone drops out of college and decides that she is going to stay with her brother Lucas who shares a house with his teammate Van. Simone was a strong and stubborn heroine and boy was she a little firecracker, but a little lost in her life. Van is closed off and keeps his distance from people very broken. They are thrown together and the sparks and banter fly! Simone sit her sites on Van and he wants nothing to do with her. The more Van pushes Simone away the harder she pushes back.

He had his reasons for keeping to himself and when Simone found out what that was the story took a big turn. She gave him the outlet to finally share his past with someone. They both had obstacles to overcome in their past but they were better together they seem to bring out the best in each other. Near the end Van messes up big time but it was fun watching him pull out all the stops to prove himself to Simone.

I am not sure how I feel about the epilogue. I am sure that we will be seeing Van and Simone in future books because they are family!!! Catching up with the team and their families is always a highlight to this series.

Another Sawyer Bennett surprise! Van was such a complete jerk in Lucas that I was convinced there was no way he was worthy enough to be the next Cold Fury hero. Fear not, Van turned out every bit as yummy as his teammates.

That's not to say Van didn't try his damnest to push away Simone and his teammates with his aloof, harsh lone wolf demeanor. Too bad the saucy, sexy Simone was even more determined to break down his walls. Once she set her mind to it (and dropped her clothes), Van was done for. In fact, Van and Simone's escapades put them in the running for The Cold Fury's Most Sexually Adventurous Couple. These two clearly didn't lack heat or chemistry. What Van and Simone did lack was patience and maturity, which fit with their college age experiences. Van was so scared to let anyone in and Simone was still trying to find her adult footing.

Their story ran somewhat parallel to part of Lucas and Stephanie's story, and it was sweet to check in on the other Cold Fury couples. Looking forward to Reed, the next hero in the Cold Fury lineup.

Oh VAN!! What can I say. ... except for '"you are my MAN, VAN!" This guy was so hot I was melting raising the book. The cover alone is drool worthy. Love this author. I've hea d so much about her and never had the opportunity to read her books. Thank you NetGalley for I toducng me to another great author

I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

there is tortured past with a brooding hero in a romance novel and then there is seriously fucked up past, like just fucked up and then several steps over the line into ghastly territory.

This book falls into the latter category.

luckily the heroine really liked to be dominated and abused? I feel gross just phrasing that.

ok.

there was a lot of consensual sex between adults. if you consider a sheltered 22 year old to be an adult. the law does, so whatever. the guy was emotionally scarred, the girl was emotionally scarring. Ha ha just kidding. But there was a scene at the beginning where I honestly thought she might try to rape him. she would have failed. he had a foot and a hundred pounds on her but I dunno. he was maybe messed up enough that her raping him was a possibility.

anyway. they have a lot of sex. they get emotions. he has trouble with emotions. they have the requisite douchebaggery of him because of said emotions. and then a super fast and easy make up in time for The End.

Do I have confidence this relationship will last? Not really. Did I think some of the sex was scorching? Ugh. Yes. Sue me.

It was perfect! Simone is strong and determined and knows her worth and Van is stubborn and strong and pure alpha. He is a man of very few words and low sweetness but when he actually is loving it is purely swoon worthy. It's even better than a guy that is like that all the time. When he decides what he wants he goes all out. It is very entertaining to read their interactions and really see that Van has the patience of a saint for having to deal with Simone's advances. But really, how can he say no when she has exactly what he needs? What he has been missing. She brings out from him potential he didn't even know he possessed and that is worth turning every page and getting sucked into the story. I also love the details into how Lucas situation was progressing since this story is happening at the same time as his.

This series is just phenomenal! All the book on the own deserves 5 stars all day long but when you read them one after each other do you get the total effect to how brilliant, fantastic, wonderful and amazing author Sawyer Bennett is. One of my favourite authors of all time. If I could give her more stars I would all day long. All her books are fantastic to read especially her sports ones. There my favourite! Would highly, totally and absolutely recommend this book and this author.

Van, A Cold Fury Hockey Novel, Sawyer Bennett

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance, sports

I've read lots of Sawyers novels, and enjoyed most very much, but a few haven't quite cut it for me, and this is one of them. 

Poor Van, what a horrific past and no wonder he's as emotionally fragile and seems an ar se. That's his way of protecting himself from the world, of dealing with his anger. Hockey is a great outlet for that rage, lets him release his feelings on the ice, and he's done well in the sport. women though....absoloutely no-one, male or female, except his aunt, gets close to him. 
Simone, urgh. I just did not like her and its my main reason for disliking the story. there's an attraction in a woman with self confidence, Simone though was simply arrogant, rude, uncaring of what anyone else wanted, her feelings were all that counted and I really disliked her.
I think what got me is we're always saying "no means no" and that's a great message, but it applies to both sexes and she just didn't respect Van when he said no. There's one scene that if it was the other way round people would be outraged, horrified, claiming it borders on rape/abuse and just because its a female doing the pushing doesn't mean its right :-( 

She really coloured my whole view of the book, my dislike of her meant I couldn't enjoy the story, I wanted to shout at her to have respect for Van's feelings, stop just steamrollering her way through because she wanted something.
Its a sex overtakes the story novel too - and for me that isn't good. 

Stars: 2.5/3. Sorry Sawyer, there were bits I liked but overall this one's a fail for me. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am a fan of the sports genre, so this book really appealed
to me. There is plenty of excitement and romance. It is
very well written. Great read !!

I went into this book thinking I didn't really like Van, I mean he is a grumpy loner in the other books who really made zero effort to make a friends...how could Sawyer possibly redeem him.
Well I was wrong! I adore Van and I think he might have actually snuck past Max as my favorite Cold Fury player!

Simone is the sister of Max and Lucas from the Cold Fury Hockey team. when she moves in with Lucas after dropping out of college she also finds her self room with Van, her brothers roommate and teammate. She finds herself drawn to him right away and is shocked when he wants nothing to do with her. Determined to make something happen she set about driving Van crazy.
By this point I am firmly in camp Van and yelling at my e reader "leave him alone! Can't you see he just wants to left alone!!!" But eventually she breaks through the wall he has put up and she is good for him. When he reveals why he has that wall she helps him work through his dark past and understand not everything is his to take on.

The road is rocky but by the end of the book I love this couple together and their story.

Not what I expected from this author.. way too much sex and little story

Ugh. I'm not sure what has happened with the Cold Fury series, but these last 2 outings were big misses for me. While I enjoyed Van as a character, Simone was just awful. She has very few redeeming qualities. We had a brief introduction to Simone in Lucas' book. She is dedicated to her family and loves them very much. Simone does NOT seem to love herself -- at all. Her blatant overtures to Van were very off-putting IMO. Van was attempting to be considerate. Her unwillingness to be honest with her family shows how insecure she is, and also how immature she is.

Simone made it difficult for me to even finish the book.

As for Van, I loved that he was not consumed by hockey. He recognized he would need more than hockey at the end of the day.

In the end, I gave it 2 stars, because I love the Cold Fury series as a whole and I like Van. Based on Simone alone, I'm not sure I could give even 1 star.

This book was stellar! Van was broody, complex and battling demons. Simone was exactly what he needed - solace. I love their chemistry, the banter and the sexy times! Well done!

Van’s rage burned inside him like an eternal flame. Tales of a horrific past feel his mind with the horror he may turn into the person he despises with every beat of his heart. He remains aloof and uninterested but Simone has found a way to expose the vulnerable man that lies behind the surface. How can he resist her allure and give in to the feelings that finally bring him peace?

Van sure had a troubled past that managed to make his present kind of murky as well. But Simone - she was really something, and totally open to tear his walls apart, while also grabbing him out of his shell.

These two characters were like water and oil at first, and then, suddenly bam! they were rather like dynamite. Both Van and Simone were strong minded, and they knew what they wanted, or didn't want as it were. Simone wanted to get to know Van better... much, much better. And he was good with keeping her and everyone else at arm's length.

I am a HUGE fan of this series and I really like Sawyer Bennett's writing but I did not like her Wicked Horse series. I felt this book sorta blends the two together. So if you love both series, you will love this book but for me I want a more serious/adult type of romance and this book was not it. For me it fell short and I am really sorry about that because I love this series and the author. The issues for me was the characters.

Simone is 22, a college drop out, and Lucas and Max's sister. She comes to town suitcase in hand and moves in with brother Lucas and his roomie Van. This book runs thru part of the book Lucas. Van is a cold guy. He has his reasons, but still I did not like him for that reason.

Simone was a hussy. She gets naked and tries to tempt him and she works at a strip joint. I did not like her character at all. And truly that is what did this book in for me. She came off very immature and she didn't seem to care about consequences of her actions.

While this is well written, I really did not like the two main characters. I like a little more maturity in my books and Simone came off as a spoiled girl who also took her clothes off for money.

Superb romance by Sawyer Bennett. Excellent all around story.

4.5 stars
An original take on the tortured hero who has his counterpart in a very sexually active and aggressive heroine.
The progression of their relationship is totally engaging and the way this “mysterious, withdrawn and taciturn man” falls for the bold heroine, Simone, is so enjoyable to read.
There’s lots of sex, passion and emotions - and a good sense of humour - as the grumpy introvert learns to deal with his deep emotional scars and fears and opens up to Simone.

Although technically the latest novel in Sawyer Bennett’s Cold Fury NHL series, the action in “Van” runs concurrently with the previous book, “Lucas” and follows many of the same characters.

We got to know Van in Lucas’s story and what we got to know we didn’t much like. But it was clear that his surliness was meant to hide a deep vulnerability and most likely a secret, tragic past. I hoped the whole way through “Lucas” that “Van” would be next because I didn’t want to wait three years to crack the mystery. Thank goodness Sawyer put us out of our suspense.

Simone Fournier has two brothers playing for the Cold Fury so we’ve met her before. She is smart, bold, highly sexed and of course extremely sexy. She’s also stubborn, which is a good thing given Van’s iron will. In fact, he made every effort possible to put her off in her brother’s story and that’s where we pick up the plot.

If Van has a terrifying secret (and it’s not one I’ve encountered before in romance), Simone is at a crossroads herself with major changes going on in her life. Her determination to break through Van’s walls and his fear of the past consume most of the plot. And while I don’t usually have much to say about sex scenes, these were on the raw side and I suppose more in line with Bennett’s “Wicked” series. In fact, until he starts to let down his guard a little with her, I found them more sexual than sexy, not my preference but completely appropriate to the characters and plot.

So, hang in there if there is any “ewww” going through your mind at any point; their relationship’s transformation is redemptive for them both. The last few chapters are not just moving but funny, a great payoff to their difficult road. And he gives her the BEST nickname ever, one that made me smile throughout.

ARC supplied for an honest review.