RYKER
Cold Fury #4
Sawyer Bennett
Releasing Sept 8th, 2015
Rating: 4 1/2 Stars
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book
for review from Tasty Book Tours, the publisher, and the author. I was not compensated nor was I required to
write a positive review. The opinions I
have expressed are my own. I am posting
this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of
Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".
Synopsis:
The rugged men of the Carolina Cold Fury hockey team are winning hearts once again in another scorching novel from New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett.
The rugged men of the Carolina Cold Fury hockey team are winning hearts once again in another scorching novel from New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett.
The stakes have never been higher for Carolina Cold Fury goalie Ryker Evans. With his contract running out, he’s got a year left to prove he’s still at the top of his game. And since his wife left him, Ryker has been balancing life as a pro-hockey star and a single parent to two daughters. Management is waiting for him to screw up. The fans are ready to pounce. Everybody’s taking dirty shots—except for the fiery redhead whose faith in Ryker gives him a fresh start.
As the league’s only female general manager, Gray Brannon has learned not to mix business with pleasure. And yet even this tough, talented career woman can’t help breaking her own rules as she gives Ryker everything she’s got. She hopes their hot streak will last forever, but with Ryker’s conniving ex plotting to reclaim her man, the pressure is on Gray to step up and save a tender new love before it’s too late.
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Goodreads Series Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/125350-cold-fury-hockey
Goodreads Series Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/125350-cold-fury-hockey
My phone gives a short chime and I pull it
out of my pocket. I can’t help the curl of slight disgust that comes to my lips
when I see an email from Hensley. Most people would agree: A man is allowed to
be disgusted by his wife when she sleeps with another man. Even more so when
that other man is a teammate.
But that’s not why I curl my lips and
wrinkle my nose. No, I’m pretty much past that, and I know I’m past it because
I just don’t think about it anymore. In fact, I’m expecting the final divorce
decree in the mail any day now. Our hearing was last month in Boston and my
lawyer assured me it would sail through with no hitches, mainly because Hensley
and I were able to agree on a division of our assets and custody of the girls
coming to me.
No . . . there is absolutely not a single
remaining bitter feeling left in me about the loss of my wife and her betrayal
to our marriage. It’s over and I’m ready to move on.
I am, however, completely affronted by
Hensley’s attitude toward her daughters. Those precious silver-eyed beauties
whom she dumped on my doorstep before she checked out of their lives so she
could run around the country with her boy toy during hockey season.
A quick glance at her email and my stomach
knots up. A simple reminder that she’ll be in town next week when the Boston
Eagles—my former team—will be here in Raleigh to play the Cold Fury. Because
Hensley is still currently fucking my former Eagle teammate Patric Sutter, and
living with him on the road, she’ll be here for a visit. Obviously, she wants
to spend some time with Violet and Ruby.
I hit Reply, but before my fingers can even
begin to type what I hope will be a fairly calm response—because let’s face it,
I’m not going to keep her away from the girls—my phone starts ringing,
immediately followed by a picture of Zack popping up.
Zack Grantham.
My teammate. My best friend.
Boyfriend to Kate Francis, my girls’
part-time nanny and the angel who helped me get grounded when I needed it most.
“What’s up?” I say, leaning back against the
hallway wall. I keep an eye on the space below the bathroom door, making sure
the spider doesn’t come prowling out. I have my foot poised to strike out and
stomp the little fucker if it shows.
“Dude . . . turn on the TV right now to
channel thirty-three,” he says in a rush.
I don’t think to question the urgency in
Zack’s voice and quickly step into Violet and Ruby’s room to grab the remote. I
deftly change the channel to the sports news network as I sit on the end of
Violet’s little twin bed decorated in purple flowers and white lace.
“. . . while this is still very much
speculation, it appears the wheels are in motion for the league to see its
first female general manager in its ninety-eight-year existence. Sources inside
the Cold Fury office will do nothing more than confirm that while Brian Brannon
has stepped down from his position as the team’s general manager, he will still
retain his position as president and CEO of the organization. A more formal
statement is expected later today.”
The male reporter turns to his co-anchor at
the desk, a beautiful blonde who looks more like a beauty queen than a sports
reporter and says, “So, Jessica . . . potentially historic news coming out of
Raleigh, North Carolina, today.”
The blonde nods seriously and turns to face
the camera. “Very historic and also controversial. If these rumors are true,
Grayson Brannon, daughter and heir to the Brannon fortune, will become the
first female general manager of a professional hockey team. I’m sure this is
going to spark a lot of heated debate over her capabilities, so it will be
interesting to see how this plays out.”
The male reporter nods sagely and looks down
at a digital tablet sitting before him on the desk. “Already, Twitter is
blowing up with comments about the potential change in management.”
A news graphic appears to the left of the
reporter on the TV screen, showing some of the tweets as he reads them out
loud. “Here’s one from @FuryFan4Life . . . What the hell is
@Carolina_Cold_Fury thinking? A woman general manager? Ridiculous.”
The blond reporter props her chin in the
palm of her hand, watching her co-anchor as he reads the tweets, her face the
perfect mask of concerned interest.
“Gray Brannon is more than qualified.
Give her a chance,” he reads aloud. “That’s from @carolina_girl_87.”
“There’s going to be a lot of polarized
opinions about this,” the blonde says, and the camera zooms in on her. “But
everyone needs to remember, Gray Brannon may be young, but she has the
experience needed—”
I hit the mute button on the TV, not needing
to hear all about Gray Brannon. I know plenty already.
“Think it’s true?” I ask Zack as I put him
on speakerphone.
“No idea. I was just watching TV and this
breaking news came on.”
Almost as if by eerie design, my phone
chimes and a text appears. It’s from the Cold Fury office and simply says, Team
Meeting 5PM.
“Did you just get that text?” Zack asks.
“Yup, and I’m going to go out on a limb and
say it’s true.”
Zack gives a low whistle. “Ballsy move for
Brannon.”
That it is.
Moving his daughter into the position of the
team’s general manager. Fucking ballsy as hell and I’m guessing it’s going to
cause some dissension in the ranks.
Not from me, though. I personally think Gray
Brannon can do the job. She is, after all, the one personally responsible for
getting me traded to the Cold Fury, and for that alone she has my support.
My Thoughts:
Ryker is taking the job of single
parent very seriously. Gray Brannon is a
woman working in a man’s world. This
author shows the reader that there’s more to a hockey player than a uniform and
a pair of skates. She also shows that a
woman can hold her own in a world where the employees expect to deal with a
man.
It’s a story of what might be the
forbidden and a woman’s fantasy come to life.
It’s also a sad story because it’s a reminder that not all families
spend the holiday together. We also see
that a hockey player is more than a puck, stick, and penalties. It’s more than the game – the players do have
a life and people who love them. You’ll
also realize that if there’s something or someone that they care about,
compromise may have to come into play.
Our author shows that it’s ok to
fall in love with a man that’s been married before. And that includes ones that come with a
readymade family. The author does a
great job in showing that sometimes workplace romances can work. And in this book you can expect a happy
ending.
If you’re a sports read fan, I
think this is a book you might want to check out. Maybe you’re a hockey fan as well. With pre-season going on now and the regular
season starting soon what better way for you to get ready but to add this book,
and series, to your reader pile. It will
also prepare you for the last book in the series coming out.
Enter to Win a Select Loveswept Ebook Bundle
USA Today and New York Times 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 third book in the Cold Fury Hockey Series with Random House Loveswept, June 2015.
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Grab the other Cold Fury Romances:
ALEX
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo
GARRETT
ZACK
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