This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

Alex is the first book in Bennett’s Cold Fury Hockey series. This is the first time I have read a sports romance from this author. I have only read her erotic romance so I was very curious about these books and frankly, I have become addicted to hockey romance lately. I found this book to be very fantastic and WAY better than I was expecting. In fact it just might be one of my favorite sport romances and one of the best books I have had a chance to read from this author. There is something very unique about this author and how she pens a romance. In this story, we see some difficult issues brought into play and so I do want to warn future readers that its not a light and fluffy romance because that is just NOT Bennett’s style in any way.

Now Alex begins with our hero who is being a very bad boy. Alex is a jerk at times, alright most of the times. He does have his friends on the team of course, but he has a “no care” attitude especially towards the fans. The management of the team are very upset with his attitude and manner and want to change what he is doing or his career in hockey is over. They want him to change his manner towards the fans and also to be in a partnership for a drug outreach program for kids. As much as he doesn’t want to do this or change who he is and even though he hates hockey….its the only thing he has ever known which is where our heroine enters the picture.

Sutton Price, has been working in a program to help children and teenagers deal with drug abuse in the home. Sutton has personal knowledge and understanding. Her father is a drug addict and became very abusive when her mother was away. Once her mother found out the truth though, they lived in shelters until her adoptive father took them away from that life and showed Sutton a home that is full of love and laughter. So Sutton has risen above just painful experiences and become a better person for it. She is really excited to be helping out with an outreach program which has been her dreams as she is a counselor. At first Alex is rude to her, but Sutton is calm and cool with him without being insensitive. She understands him more than he realizes. Alex and Sutton have some powerful chemistry, but Alex knows that Sutton is the real deal, and he wants to court her and show her how genuine his interest in because he sees her differently than any other women in his past. The trust is slow but their desire for each other is real and they are honest about who they are and what they expect. But sometimes the past can get in the way of the present and future happiness.

I Simply adored Alex SO MUCH. Now I gave this book such a high rating because I have NO complaints about this book. It really just worked for me in every way. This was an audiobook so I first want to mention the narrators for this story. It had dual POV, so there were two narrators and they both did a SUPERB job. In fact, our female narrator, is one of my favorites to listen to, she hasn’t done too many books though but I love her voice and inflections. She is just lovely to listen to. They both worked so well together and really displayed the love story and the emotional reflections in such a positive way.

Alex is a story that deals with some challenging issues like abuse, drugs, alcoholism. So its really just not easy at its moments. But to be honest, its not overshadowed by all these complicated issues that we don’t see too much in romance. There is a endearing love story, and such charming characters. I especially gravitated towards Sutton’s family. Her parents are just wonderful and her younger brother is AWESOME. His character makes you want to be a better person and really look at yourself and see if you can be more like him. I just wanted to cry all these happy tears whenever he entered a scene, because his character feels SO real. It isn’t very often that we have a supporting character that you feel so much emotion for but I really admired this kid that is so full of gratitude and so humble.

The actual romance that develops between Alex and Sutton is slow in some ways. Because Sutton is full heart and open with Alex. But Alex, has his own demons that he has to fight but thankfully Sutton knows how to handle him when he gets into his “jerk” mode. She truly sees him and understands him and I love that. She doesn’t judge him or anything, even when he hurts her because she understands why and I loved how accepting she is of Alex. Alex is slow to trust, because everyone he has loved and trusted has abandoned, abused or criticized him except for a few of the guys on the team. So he isn’t one to be fully open with Sutton but he does make an effort and even though he makes his own mistakes, he learns from them and becomes a hero you can cheer on.

Overall I found Alex to be a tale that is full of complexities, a unique relationship dynamic and charming scenes to make you full of happiness!! AN AWE INSPIRING EXPERIENCE OF A READ!