This is by far my favorite book in the Carolina Cold Fury Hockey series. I was so excited for this book; the buildup for Van and Simone in Lucas’ book was excellent. “Van” really delivered with strong sparks, a buildup between Van and Simone, heat (HOT!), engaging storyline, heart, family, the continuation of the series for the rest of the team, everything! I cannot recommend this series enough and Van in particular; his character development was written so very well! Simone was a spunky awesome catalyst!

Sawyer Bennett has knocked it out of park once again!!!

Van and Lucas are professional hockey player and because they are both newer to The Carolina Cold Fury they decide to live together until they get more established in their new city. That was working out swimmingly until Lucas’s younger sister, Simone, announces she has dropped out of Dartmouth and ultimately becomes the third roommate in the house. Simone is immediately attracted to Van and tries to put some moves on him to no avail!!!! There is something in Van’s past that makes him not want to get close to anyone, let alone be in any sort of relationship!! Will Simone break through Van’s walls!?!! Will Van open up to Simone and let her in!??!! Wowzer!!!

I always LOVE diving back into Carolina Cold Fury series because Sawyer Bennett never fails to create an original and alluring storyline!!! If you have kept up with the previous installments than you will remember Van and Simone from the last book in this series (Lucas). If you haven’t read the other books in this series, you can start with Van because it can be read as a standalone. I loved that the novel was told in dual points of view— totally works with plot. I was so curious what was the reasoning behind Van’s apprehension to relationships-I had several conspiracies theories, but would have NEVER guessed what it actually was! I liked both Simone and Van and I was keeping my fingers crossed they would be able to overcome their obstacles!! I give Van 5 stars and as ALWAYS, I am already looking forward to the next book in this fantastic series!

Finally. Finally Sawyer Bennett has brought us a couple more in line with those who featured in the earlier books from her Cold Fury series. More than once have I been ready to part ways with the team due to average storylines and characters after book 3 (and awful covers after book #4 but let’s leave that alone) however I’ve persevered and I’m glad because Van Turner and Simone Fournier delivered the goods.

“I’m a pain in your ass, but I’m a sexy pain in your ass and I’m totally hard to resist.”

I’m not going to lie, Simone started on a bit of a sticky wicket as there’s a fine line between being forward, and forcing yourself onto an unwilling party and she was teetering right on the edge of the latter for a moment. Thankfully though, Bennett reigned her in just in time and rather than becoming prospective stalker material, we’re given a young woman who owns her sexuality, isn’t shy with her desires and has a first class honours degree in pushing all Van’s buttons. He may be quiet, brooding and very private, but as the saying goes: the quiet ones are the worst.

“I’m going to show you what happens when you aren’t smart enough to stop provoking me.”

I admit I went into this fearing I may struggle with Van due to his portrayal in Lucas. Detached and a man of few words, when he does speak he can be brusque to the point of rudeness, but he has a backstory that was as unexpected as he was, one that has shaped him and explains so much as to why he is the loner he is. Happily, my fears were unfounded and I quickly grew to love him, as I did Simone with her bouncy, straight-talking yet thoughtful personality and relentless flirting. And when Van can no longer fight the attraction, they steam up the pages very nicely with their sexy shenanigans whilst also creating some lovely touching moments as they really get to know one another.

“I’ve given you more than I’ve ever given another woman, but I’ve given you my all.”

The Fournier family have pretty much saved this series for me and I’m so pleased Simone and Van were given the story they deserved. For any lover of the Cold Fury series, this is a worthy hot, sexy, fun and heartfelt addition, and one I have no doubt you’ll enjoy hugely.

Amazing Hockey romance. If you haven't read the Cold Fury Hockey series yet then you should. It's one hot series. You don't need to read the ones before since it is a standalone but why wouldn't you. This is one you'd want to binge read. I couldn't put this one down.

You first meet Van in the previous book Lucas. In Lucas he is the mysterious roommate/teammate. Now that Van has his own book let me tell you wowza are you in for a treat. Mysterious Van has a huge secret and is antisocial for a reason. But then you enter Simone into the picture. With her I wont back down or take no for an answer tactics you better hold on and enjoy the ride. She breaks down walls and defenses and let me tell you Van is one sexy man. I love the give and take with them. Simone and Van scorch through the pages. Holy hotness overload. I love seeing the change in Van throughout this one. He quickly became my favorite Cold Fury player. I loved this book. Sawyer Bennett wrote one hot and sexy Hockey book with Van. I can't wait for more Cold Fury books..

**3.5 Shiny Stars**

I liked this book because of Van's complexity, but I wanted a little more from it. Van is such a mysterious guy, but I don't think the book dives far enough into his history. Don't get me wrong, we do get a good explanation of his past, but I wanted him to open up more to Simone about it. He was a great character overall though, and he was written perfectly so I couldn't help but fall in love with him. I love the brief glimpses of growth we got throughout the story.

The story has a lot of time jumps too. Almost every chapter is a week later with a glossed over summary of what they did the previous week, including mentions of meaningful conversations. Because of this, even though I did see their chemistry because some of the moments were elaborated, it wasn't as strong as it could have been. I feel like we missed out on many of the relationship building moments the two characters had. Also, there was SO much sex in this book, that I can't help but feel like that's what their whole relationship was about. I think the book would have benefited from more conversation and less sex in the latter half of the book.

Simone was a bit glossed over and she got lost in Van's story. She was a woman who didn't know where she was going in life and was trying to find herself, but her journey was overshadowed by Van's insecurities. Her story is one that many people can relate to so I feel like it was a bit of a missed opportunity. We get a resolution for her in the epilogue, but that's as far as it goes.

The book itself was written well. The dialogue was realistic and there was just the right amount of set up for the next story. It really was a well told and interesting story, so don't let my little annoyances deter you from reading it. If you liked the previous books, you will like this one too.

Overall, I definitely recommend reading this book. While you don't have to read the previous book, Lucas, I strongly recommend that you do because it overlaps with this one. This one does give away the ending so proceed at your own risk.

After picking this solely on the “A-hole” reference in blurb coupled with hockey divided by liking the dude’s face on the cover, my expectations weren’t super high cuz my picker has been on the fritz lately.

Boy, am I ever glad I was wrong! Right? Whatever. What I’m saying is this was gooooooooooooodddddddd. I was getting pretty happy with the banter and the thrill of the chase then I got to the first sex scene and was all…

WHO THE HELL IS THIS AUTHOR???????

Then I went to look and saw she was a NYT bestselling author! I’m always the last to know. I tell you what those New Yorkers know WTF is up, you get me?

In addition to the sex being rough, slightly kinky (more of that could’ve made it on page) and scorching, the two MCs are well-developed and *gasp* likable.

Van is kind of a lone wolf onaccounta his baggage. He’s taciturn and stoic because the baggage is significant and it’s created his persona in many ways. He’s SUPER bad at social niceties which I found pretty charming actually, but the bottom line is he really doesn’t know how to be any other way.

Simone is his opposite. She’s sassy, extroverted and in need of a place to crash since she’s dropped out of Dartmouth so she ends up on her brother Lucas’ doorstep. She’s smart, funny, sex positive and a little bratty but insightful AF. I maybe identified with her being lost as to what to do with her life. Been there. Done that. Got a closet full of t-shirts. I also liked that there weren’t easy answers for her on that front.

What is an easy decision for her is Van. She takes one eyefucking look at him and decides she wants him then proceeds to relentlessly pursue him. He pushes her away multiple times and is kinda mean about it occasionally, but she is having none of it.

I loved it and I loved her.

The story of how Van and Simone become a “they” is not a new one nor is it unique, but how honest they both are with themselves as well as each other was refreshing. There is of course one exception, but it needed to happen that way. Their transition from sex to love was a gradual one and that rang authentic. I love it when couples are good for each other and maybe Simone is winning in that department but I believe the scales will even out the longer they’re together. Once Simone uncovers his secret how much I respected her response to him cannot be put into words; the whole thing gave me #feelings. Their alternating POVs tell this slice of life romance and go a long way towards character development. There’s little drama or angst but there is a healthy heaping of tongue slap your brains out sex! I would throw down a quote right about now but all of ’em are long so I’ll leave you with this gif that approximates my reactions.



They have chemistry galore and when Van takes the lid off his restraint they are explosive. It’s no holds barred and nothing is off limits. It was a thing of beauty, I tell ya. Blew my doors clean off, it did.

I wish there had been more hockey but what was there for team dynamics were good. Their story seems to overlap with Lucas’ but this can be read as a standalone.

This was my first Sawyer Bennett but will not be my last.

Recommend to romance fans who like their romance without dramatics.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley.

3 stars.
I have read quite a few hockey romances over the last year or so, however this is my first one by Sawyer Bennett and this book wasn't even close to what I was expecting.
If I had to break it down, essentially this book was long on sex and short on story. More erotica and less sports romance.
I have read several other books by this author and I like her writing style. This was a quick and mostly entertaining read but I wanted more depth and more of a storyline, so it was just ok for me. I liked it, nothing special.
ARC received in exchange for honest review.

I liked the first part of the book and the last part of the book, the middle lagged for me, mostly because it was just one sexual encounter after another between Simone and Van.

The first part was fun because I loved watching Van try to avoid Simone and the aggressive way she chased Van. I think what made it so much fun was due to Van not being sure what to do. He was attracted to Simone, but didn't want to be. It was only once you knew Van's past that things made sense. I liked that Simone didn't let Van's brush offs make her give up.

Once things heated up between these two things were great, they had fun together and didn't seem to have any boundaries.

When things blew up at the end I knew that Van would regret his words, but I still hated him a bit. He handled things so badly. I didn't like how it seemed like Van was just let things go, but he made up for it in a big way. In such a way that there was no way that Simone wouldn't believe him.

I'd probably have to rate this one 3.5 stars - it wasn't as great as Max's story or even Roman, but it was still an enjoyable read. There wasn't much in the romance or relationship-building department for this book, which was disappointing and probably why I didn't like this one as much as others in the series. I somehow managed to skip Book 8, but didn't feel as though I missed out on a whole lot before jumping into this one (I'll go back and read Lucas' story next though).

I honestly didn't like Van or Simone for the first part of the book. Van was just downright hateful/mean to Simone and Simone was a bit too bold/slutty for me to respect her. I get that she just went after what she wanted, but she could have been a bit less desperate in her attempts. I get why Van tried to push her away though - his secret was a pretty big one that obviously left him scarred, even if his fears were unfounded now that he was an adult.

Van plays for the Carolina Cold Fury (I live just 15 mins away from where the real NHL team plays, so I obviously like this series for that simple fact). Simone is the sister of Max & Lucas, both players on the same team as Van. So Van tries to use that as an excuse for why he keeps away from Simone. Simone has dropped out of college at Dartmouth and has moved in with her brother Lucas, who happens to be roommates with Van. Once she sees Van, she is determined right away to seduce him - by any means possible it seems. Van tries to ignore her, but eventually he gives into desire.

It's hot and heavy with them for most of the book - seriously, they have sex so many times that you begin to wonder whether there is an actual plot to the book or if Van and Simone can really build a relationship around just the sex. They don't go out on dates, are never seen in public (until a family cook out towards the end and in the epilogue) and never discuss their feelings. So I didn't buy the 'lust to love' transformation. We get some insight into their feelings, but they don't discuss them with each other until the end, so I wasn't buying it.

Now, I liked Van once we found out what caused him to keep himself isolated and out of relationships, especially once he committed to Simone. He even opened himself up to her instead of keeping his secrets hidden, which was courageous and admirable. Even better, Simone accepted him and didn't let him just run away scared. She earned my respect then, that's for sure. Her personality was still a bit too bold and free-spirited for my tastes, but I respected her willingness to stand by Van, no matter what. I also appreciated that her brothers didn't jump to conclusions when Van's secret came out and stood beside him the whole time. It said a lot about them as people and made me like the Fournier family even more.

The ending was cute, but nothing to write home about. I wish Simone had figured out what she wanted to be when she grew up, but at least she took the step towards figuring that out and Van was right there beside her. Hopefully we'll get more info on them as a couple in future books, like we had in this book when other couples made appearances.

This was an awesome read that I had a hard time putting down once I started it and a great addition to the Cold Fury series. Van was such a mysterious character from Lucas's book but the secrets that were revealed in his book were not ones that I saw coming but made me love him more as a character. Simone was such an open book from Lucas's book that I was not surprised with her at all but when the pair were together, they were amazingly hot together with their tender moments. I could see when Van began falling for Simone and fell for him a bit more. The plot of their story where it lined up with Lucas's story in the beginning moved along well, not dragging at all. There is so much that I could say about this book but I don't want to ruin it for anyone but would highly recommend this book to others.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy via NetGalley.

I really do enjoy reading this series and I’m so glad it is going to continue with Reed’s story.

Despite being a series following a team of ice hockey players, each book is unique and refreshing. I have read stories about characters that I’ve loved, and some that have challenged my opinions about certain behaviour, including bullying.

We were introduced to Van during Lucas, as Lucas’ quiet, brooding and grumpy housemate. As a result, Van runs in parallel with Lucas for some of the story as we finally find out just what went on behind closed (bed)room doors between Van and Lucas’ sister, Simone.

I wasn’t prepared for such a determined and dominant character for a 22-year-old but Simone really is a force to be reckoned with, in and out of bed. With her eyes firmly set on Van, she does everything in her power to win him over, even if their connection is based purely on sex. Whilst Simone’s antics came across as funny on occasion, she also smacked of desperation at other times. Van was determined to keep Simone at arm's length for numerous reasons, the main reason becomes clear as the story progresses, but despite her being his teammates’ sister, he struggles to keep away from her after a while.

After finally winning over Van’s “affections” (that’s affections used in the loosest possible term). Simone and Van have copious amounts of extremely physical sex. And whilst, their connection is explosive, the story became mostly about their coming togethers rather than anything else until we find out the real reason that Van is closed off. At this point, we find a softer side to both characters, which I really appreciated, but despite a tender and heartfelt moment when Van opens up to Simone, the scene ends with them once again banging the hell out of each other!

For me, the lighthearted side of Simone was lost when she sold herself short with her sexual exploits. Van, also didn’t come across as a dominant character that you could fall for but instead, he was cruel and disinterested and remiss in ignoring his feelings towards Simone until everything comes to a head.

Whilst I enjoyed this story, I didn’t love it, which disappointed me as I was really looking forward to revealing the man behind the secretive persona. Sadly, the story becomes more erotica than romance, ie all sex and no substance, for some of the book which pulled my interest away from the storyline at times.

That said, this is a book which will be a hit with other readers and I guess that’s the beauty of this series, it really does have something for everyone.

Loved this hockey romance gem!!! It was an awesome read!!! I loved Van!!! He was a tough one for Simone to catch but she suceeded !! Their romance was a wonderful twist

Every single time we get a new book in the Cold Fury Hockey series I get excited! I can't get enough of these guys!

This is Van and Simone's story. Van is a bit of a hard guy to read at first. He pushes people away and it takes a lot to understand him. Simone is Lucas' (Van's roommate) little sister and the chemistry between these two was through the roof!

I can't wait for more in the series- these books never get old!!

I love this series and was anxious for know Van's story. Van is mysterious, broody and sexy with a secret in his past he thinks could wreck him. Therefore, Van keeps to himself and doesn't allow anyone to get close enough to get to know him. Well, that was until the rambunctious Simone Fournier knocks on his door.

Simone is the baby of the family and little sis to Lucas and Max. I struggle with saying how I actually felt about Simone because I know what I will say will be hypocritical- good for the men to act that way but wrong for the woman. Simone has the features of the typical last born plus being the only girl with 3 brothers: babied, spolied and maybe entitled. Yet in a way she is meek in that she has went along with her life pursuing someone else's dreams not hers and she is finally taking control and doing it her own way. She pushes that into to her attraction to Van and is definitely going after what she wants- aka Van- and refusing to take no for an answer. What I did like about her was her strength and confidence in herself that allowed her to pursue a man most of us would turn tail and run from after his nonstop rejections. Not Simone- she was woman and was going to make him hear her roar!

Ugh- I have to say this because I can't get it out of my mind. Simone's constant barrage of advances on Van reminded my of Pepe Le Pew and his neverending chase of Penelope Pussycat! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEdBndu0YUM

Van's story is awful and the walls he has erected are understandable. Yet Simone is exactly what he needs- a bulldozer to knock them out of the way.

We first met Van in the previous book, LUCAS. Some of the events in VAN run concurrent with events in LUCAS.

Van is Lucas’s roommate, and the mean enforcer for the Cold Fury hockey team. Van is antisocial and closed off. He doesn’t do friendships or relationships, and only has down and dirty one night stands.

Enter Simone, Lucas’s “baby” sister. Simone needs a place to stay and crashes on Van and Lucas’s couch. Simone also pursues Van, because she thinks he’s sexy and she likes sex. Van tries to drive her away.

Van finally gives in to Simone. The sex is fantastic. But is there more to it than that? And what will happen if someone learns Van’s secret?
***
I have to confess that I gave VAN only 4*s instead of 5*s because Van was really hard to like in the beginning of the book. We had only the barest hint that he was redeemable. But he did become a very likable character. Lovable, even.

This is a scorcher of a book. A lot of the plot revolves around Simone and Van’s sexual relationship, which is how other aspects of their relationship develop.

Be prepared to shed some tears, which is a sign of a good book.

I didn't love this one, never really connected with the main characters in the way I did in earlier books. Still a good story and writing. Just seemed a little less interesting than her brothers.

A big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I voluntarily reviewed this book. First time reading this series. This is number 9 It reads fairly well as a stand alone, you know you are missing things but it can be overlooked. I have mixed vibes on this book-the chemistry between the characters is fantastic...yet she gets really pushy and almost abusive. I give this a 3.5. He has lots of baggage. There is a lot of steamy sex scenes. I say read this and let me know how you feel.

This book is another addition to the author's hockey series. I like how the author develops the characters introduced in the book prior, while also giving updates on characters from the other books in the series. I have to say though that I thought the ending felt rushed and not necessarily how I thought the characters would be living given their characteristics. Still -- a good read.

Wow! A definite 5 You’re Shiny Stars! My favorite Cold Fury book to date. Holy hotness Van, we find out who he really is and he’s absolutely amazing. I FLOVE Simone, she’s sassy, confident and determined when it comes to Van. A must read!!!

Van... oh how I loved his brooding! And what a shocking past.

There a ton of great scenes! And not just the sex scenes :)

The refrigerator, door lock, butt plug, and Follies.

At times I asked myself if I really liked Simone or not due to her pushy behavior. And I always decided that her behavior was real and I could actually relate to her!

And we still don't know the sex of Lucas's baby!!!! I want to know!!!!