This is book 11 in the Cold Fury series and I would recommend you read the books before this one so you understand all the different relationships between not only the main character but the side characters. This one is about Marek Fabritis and Gracen Moore. They were high school sweethearts until Marek left for the NHL, never knowing that she was pregnant. Now she is getting married to the town jerk and Marek gets an email letting him know, which makes him decide to stop it. Not realizing that he is about meet the daughter he never knew he had. Or how much not only his life will have to change but so will Gracen's.

I couldn't wait for this book after reading what happened with them in Reed! And this book was so beyond what I had hoped for! Marek always seemed like the party animal but then you get to see another side to him in this one. Not to say that he doesn't have his mean moments or those moments when you think to yourself "I don't blame Gracen a bit!". But he is such a great character that you can't help but love him. Especially once he figures out what truly matters and understands what he needs to be really happy. Gracen, oh boy did I ever feel for her! From her doing it all alone to other things that happen that I don't want to give away. But it was definitely heart wrenching! When they finally start working things out, it's awesome to read about! Loved it! Now I have to impatiently wait for Holt's book!!

3.5 Letting Go Of the Pain Stars
* * * 1/2 Spoiler Free
We humans are a complicated bunch. We have all of these desires and emotions and we are supposed to be able to handle them without hurting the ones we love...Easier said then done...

Sawyer Bennett uses her 11th entry of the Cold Fury Hockey Series to take on how hard it is to let go of past hurts and betrayal. She uses Marek's and Gracen's painful past and guilt ridden present to illustrate how very complex relationships can be.

This is not a textbook read of a touchy-feely love story with a few hiccups and then Bam, an HEA. Nope, these two have a very rocky road. It does have a financially secure Hockey Star and a woman who worked hard to become a neonatal nurse so that makes them in a good place. There is undeniable chemistry between them that never died and there wonderful moments where Marek discovers new love for his daughter.

But there is more to this tale then that.

The approach Bennett uses to tell this story has huge doses of reality because in everyday lives, the ones you, your family and friends live... things do not always come together after a few conversations, dates or fights. Nothing just falls into place like in the books we read... no, it takes lots of steps, hard work, miscommunications and tough times. Then maybe if we are really lucky, we can mature and own up to our responsibilities... we can then have a second chance HEA.

Sawyer Bennett has created many characters for the Cold Fury Series and all of them have been people we wanted to know. This time Bennett gave us people we may already know... or at least parts of them... people who have real emotional challenges and need to understand how to overcome them. They may not always be kind or fair...but we know the goodness in them and pray the good wins out overall.

Marek and Gracen win...it is a process, just like life...and then we win, too.

I love the Cold Fury series. Fun, sexy, and infuriating all at the same time. When the guys find their true partner, they are out of this world. When they are bad, some of them are real jerks (to put it mildly and cussing to a minimum). Being young and wanting to spread his wings, Marek left his young love Gracen behind as he became a pro-hockey player. They were lovers and best friends for 5 years and to Gracen, it was like "I like you kid but your not good enough for me anymore when there is money to be made and are tons of women out there to screw". JMO! Soon after he left, she discovered she was pregnant and didn't tell him. Not good, but she apologizes and guilts herself for it plenty for it until she refuses to apologize again. She's a good mom and daughter, but she found herself engaged to another jerk when Marek "rescues" her. He has a lot of anger to deal with, enough that even his best friend Reed calls him on it, Which makes these button pushing stories ring truer to me because we all make mistakes, mature, and change during life's ride. As a reader, I find when my emotions and blood pressure are involved, I am truly engaged in the story. Sawyer Bennett is a go to writer for that roller coaster ride.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Meeting Marek in Cold Fury’s tenth book, I was anxiously awaiting his story, and it was a great one. Marek, learning that his ex-girlfriend is getting married, he forces his former girlfriend and child he didn’t know existed back to his home in North Carolina. With Marek’s anger and Gracen’s concerns that they could actually make it work, their future together is on the line. All Marek knows is that he loves his daughter and whether he wants to admit it or not, he still loves Gracen. When the jilted fiancé starts making demands, things soon come to a head, for better or for worse.
Sawyer Bennett has a way of writing romance that leaves you breathless and on the edge of your seat waiting for her next book.

The perfect end to the cold fury series! Wow— I had been anticipating Mr Marek since we get glimpses of his shenanigans in Reeds book, but this was not at all what I expected! If you read Reed ( 100% not necessary) you’ll know Marek is a party playboy and likes to spend his time tromping around at the beach with beautiful women and relishing in the attention his athlete status gets him! Cue the puck bunnies. All that changes when he gets an anonymous email letting him know his high school sweetheart is about to make the biggest mistake in marrying the town A-hole. Marek decides to swoop in to Haupt the nuptials and gets the surprise of his life!

Gracen has not only been keeping a large secret from Marek, she’s also trying to help save her family. Being pulled in so many directions and their old flames still sparked for one another these two are simply combustible! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

I’m sad to see the men of the cold fury come to an end but excited to dive into Saywers next hockey team with Bishop. One can only hope the two teams will at some point cross paths!

1.5 Stars

While I thought the premise held promise (hockey player finding out his first love had his child and he never knew about it), I thought the execution could have been handled better. The characters needed to be a bit more flushed out. I never felt their chemistry or connection. The writing also felt rushed. I also would have liked to see Lilly (Marek and Gracen's daughter) have more of a spotlight especially since she was the catalyst for their reconnecting.

Great book!! I really loved this one!! I haven't read this series yet! I've read all sawyers other books but never did this series, I think cuz there was so many books! Now I have NetGalley and random house publishers to thank for making me broke this month cuz now I have to go back and buy all the others In this series!! Lol it took me a while to read this book for some reason, I'm not to it on books with kids but this book was so good!!! I highly recommend this book and like I said I'm going to definitely read the rest of the series!! Thank you NetGalley and penguin random house publishers for sharing this book with me! Thank you Sawyer Bennett for another amazing read!

Oh how I love these Cold Fury men! I was so intrigued from the last book with regards to Marek's story. I was gobsmacked with his discovery when he went to stop his ex girlfriends wedding to the biggest jerk from high school. I just couldn't wait to read more about it and I was not disappointed at all.

Marek was mad, white hot mad at finding out he had a nearly four year old daughter that Gracen had kept secret from him. She didn't do it out of spite, she was adamant she made the right decision at the time. So now they have to co parent their gorgeous little Lily together and try to be civil to one another.

I loved Marek, just loved him. He had every right to be mad, and I felt for him with missing out on so much. They way he accepted his daughter with open arms, and tried his best to be a great dad from the start was heartwarming and adorable. All the emotions he had were justified and understandable. It doesn't take away that I admired and loved Gracen just as much. She was a strong woman to accept what was dealt to her, and cope as best she could. I applaud her parents for sticking by her and helping out raising her little girl. Gracie went on a whirlwind of emotions and mostly handled herself in a crisis with calm poise. And I went on all of them with her, the ups and downs, and the in betweens. It was quite a ride and one that had me in all sorts of empathy for them both. There were some very tender moments that made my heart melt and also a few funny bits that had me smiling for a long time. A quick mention of Marek's parents too, they were his strength and back bone in his life and I admired them too. Lastly, I was happy to catch up with Josie and Reed, and what they had been up to.

This is a second chance romance that is told in dual POV and even though it is book #11, it is a standalone and no previous books need to be read. Although, everyone of these guys is a winner in my eye.

A completely enthralling read that grabbed my attention from start to finish. Marek is the guy you love to hate at the start, there is nothing better than the story of someone redeeming themselves for their past mistakes. I loved reading Gracen’s evolution from blaming herself to becoming stronger, and standing up for herself. Overall it was a great story about learning to become a family after a significant amount of time apart.

This is the story of two characters who need to grow up. Gracen is so bitter and self-sacrificing over her failed relationship with Marek that she doesn't tell him that he is a father. Marek is so hostile and angry when he finds out 3 1/2 years later, that there is a lot of book space devoted to his anger. And who can blame him?

This is also a story of second chances. Gracen and Marek have something special together, and as they wise up, they realize that what they felt for each other is far from gone. Throughout the angst of tears and frustration, apologies and unforgiving feeling, emotions both good and bad, they love each other.

This is a story of sizzling good times. Sawyer Bennett does good heat. Marek and Gracen are certainly steamy.

Marek. I was cursing you a little in the beginning, but you soon grew on me and now you're one of my faves. This story is more than just a second-chance at love. It's got layers and character growth and a beautiful family that's just as flawed as any real-life one. This book is an amazing addition to a series that is already one of the best!

There is a lot of anger and resentment accumulated between Marek and Gracen but all of it exist because there is a lot of passion and love involved. Discovering that he is a father has Marek out of balance. With a lot of trial and error and some forced help he learns that he needs to control his temper in order to be a man and a father to his full potential. He needs to learn to let go of the past and enjoy the surprise that will be his future. I like that he becomes a protective in your face man with no excuses. I like that this book is not an I always loved you so I will forgive and forget everything like a fairy tale type of story. Both Marek and Gracen are hurt, but they still care about each other and they have a lot of residual love to dig up. This book was intense, exciting and charged with emotion making Marek another flawed but perfect addition to the cold fury series.

The first half of this book was straight up stressful. We got introduced to Marek and Gracen in the book before this, but I had no idea just how tough it would be for them to navigate this new situation! Marek does NOT even know how to handle any of it, so at first he avoids then he lashes out. Gracen at first lets him, then finally grows a backbone. I mean come on!

They obviously still have feelings there and attraction. And their kid is freakin cute. There's a bathroom scene that seriously amused me as a parent. We also get to glimpse in on all the other players' lives, which was cool.

This is the 11th book in the series, they can be read as stand alones. I have read about half of them so far- fantastic sports romances. Oh, and there's a HEA.

This series just gets better and better with each book! I thought Roman was my favorite, well, I was way wrong! I still have a soft spot for Roman but, Marek is pretty close to taking over the #1 spot.

I hope there will be more in this series!

At the beginning of the book I did not like Marek at all! Over the course of the book Sawyer Bennett definitely redeemed him. Marek basically kidnaps Gracen, his ex, and their three year old daughter ( that he didn’t know about) to stop her from getting married. This story is about second chances and learning how to forgive. Marek and Gracen each struggle with forgiving each other of past sins. Will they finally be able to let go of the past, and have a future as a family? I loved revisiting all of the cold fury guys and seeing a different side of Marek. I can’t wait for the next book!

Oh Marek. Grumpy Marek. This book is not your usual "secret kid" trope. Just like every other Sawyer Bennett book it's unique and every character stands out. This was an enjoyable read. Im sad to see the series go, but I know Sawyer will continue to sweep us off our feet with other books! 5 stars!

Le Sighhhh...Marek is so dreamy!
Sexy hockey player, killer smile, and ohhh his dirty talking game is...on pointttt!
Gracen is a sweet girl...who had her heart broken. She made some mistakes. He made some mistakes. Now they are making mistakes together...or are they? I guess only time will tell. Second chances are tricky suckers. You think your going one way, but then something happens and your headed for the opposite direction.
When these two are together the sexy times are off the charts. Marek knows how to score not only on the ice, but off the ice as well.
Sighhhhh when he calls her Gracie I just melt...I am a puddle...with his blue eyes. Sighhhhh!
Once Marek get's his shizzz together and it's amazing to see him put others first. He really steps up and figures out what he wants in life.
#CherryPie #Lillybug #NextLevelShit #SecondChances #Gracie #ILoveYou #Robactic #Email #Family

Sawyer Bennett delivers a heartwarming story of a man who can't stand the idea of his ex being with anyone else. But wait, she's his ex. Is he really over her? An anonymous e-mail will find him giving Gracen no choice but to leave before saying "I do" and giving us a fabulous story to read.

A secret, a potential scandal, and a story that will leave you with all the feels. Don't miss Marek and Gracen as they discover that sometimes it's possible that doing the right thing isn't as terrifying as it once seemed.

If you've never read a Sawyer Bennett book check out her backlist for this must read story. While this can be read as a standalone I highly recommend reading this series in order to truly appreciate the storyteller that Sawyer is.

This is another story in Sawyer Bennett's hockey series and does not disappoint. I am usually frustrated with books about secrets that are kept for way too long, but the characters here were well developed as usual. I also like that the reader gets a glimpse of the characters in the previous books as well.

This Cold Fury series is amazing and Marek's story earns a HAT TRICK with the 3 essentials: storyline, sexiness and sweetness.

Marek's story was alluded to towards the end of Reed and he was being a jerk. Stopping a wedding between his former flame and the town idiot, Marek is shocked to realize that Gracen had hid from him that he had a little girl. While that's reason to be angry, Marek takes Gracen and Lilly back to his hometown and basically abandons them to sulk in his own misery. Tired of being ignored, Gracen threatens to move home and Marek decides to become a part of his daughter's life. Lilly is a complete sweetheart and Marek soon realizes the best thing to happen to him.

Navigating hurt on both sides, Marek and Gracen attempt to create a home life for Lilly and show her what having a daddy is all about. Old wounds aren't as easily healed and these two both can't seem to stop throwing up the past in order to hurt one another. While Gracen is in a mess she unknowingly created herself, she is elated to realize her serious mistake. Thank goodness some jerks are easy to get rid of!

I enjoyed this story just as I have all of the Cold Fury books. Each of these men learn that life is far more than the game they play on the ice and a good woman is worth much more than the games the pro life allow.