Van: A Cold Fury Hockey Novel (Carolina Cold Fury Hockey) Kindle Edition

The only reason I didn’t do a DNF when I started this book is because I requested it from NetGalley and I felt obligated to write a review. So I kept on reading and thankfully, when I was about 50% of the book, it turned into the wonderful love story that I always expect from Sawyer Bennett. I have been a fan of Ms Bennett for some time and have read A LOT of her books and loved them all, so one dud is not a bad thing. I’m pretty sure the book was fantastic for other readers. So I will explain below.

Simone Fournier arrived at her brother’s house, with suitcases, uninvited. She dropped out of college where she was one semester away from finishing pre-med in an Ivy League University. She realized that studying medicine was her father’s dream, not hers, so she dropped out and appeared on her brother Lucas’ doorstep. Lucas lived in a very small house with Van, another player in the Cold Fury hockey team. The house only had two bedrooms and neither of the guys ceded her his bedroom, so she claimed the couch for sleeping. She met Van and she liked what she saw and she decided she wanted him. Thus starts a sexual harassment campaign. She relentlessly pursued him, no holds barred, offering sex, dressing provocatively, in a pushy and constant manner. No matter that Van told her he didn’t want to get involved with her, she didn’t heed his warning and kept pushing, to the extent that Van had to keep away from the house or hide in his room. I can understand that a woman has a right to own her sexuality but if this were coming from a man, it would be called sexual harassment, but coming from a woman, she called it seduction??

Finally Van succumbed to so much temptation, and the sex was stratospherically good. So they agree to a sex only rule, no further involvement. Van has powerful reasons for not wanting to get involved with women, and he’s kept a wall around him all his life. His father was a sociopath, convicted of raping and murdering women. He lived the scandal of the trial and conviction and the aftermath was so vicious for a little boy that he learned to hide within himself and not let anyone in. Until Simone and her pushy ways got into him.
So, once Simone and Van are involved, they were great for each other. After the fact, I realized that if Simone hadn’t been so pushy and corralled Van the way she did, he probably would have kept closed off and never come out of hiding.

Simone had some growing up to do, she needed to figure out what to do with her life and return the money that her parents had invested in her career. I didn't have a lot of admiration for Simone at first, except that once she had Van, she was a fantastic girlfriend, supportive and understanding.  She helped him a lot in overcoming his issues.

Van was opening up, letting people in and getting involved with what was happening around him. They both needed to grow as a couple, since this was new territory for both.
Once Simone was in a committed relation with Van, she turned into the good girl that everyone said she was. The vibe I got from the book was that she was sex-starved, given the insistence with which she pursued Van. Also, her choice of work and attire. It just did not jibe with the image of a good girl. Nevertheless, once the book got going with Van and Simone as a couple, and they started mingling with the Simone’s brothers and sisters in law, we get to see a Van learning the ropes of social interplay, trying to let people in and wanting to please Simone. He did a lot of growing up, even though he was always afraid of turning into a monster like his father later in life.

A scandal happens, and it will test them as a couple and their commitment to each other.
Apart from the beginning and the distaste I felt for the way Simone pursued Van, it was a great book, like all the other Sawyer Bennett books. Great reading, great hockey family, great pace. In this book, I loved the male character. It was like seeing a guy who was socially stumped, go baby steps into opening his self and slowly approaching happiness.

I really did not know what I was getting with this book. I read the reviews, and most loved it, but others really hated it.
I love this series. This book was just so-so for me. While I didn’t love it, I also didn’t hate it.
Their story could be considered a taboo romance. You don’t ever sleep with your teammates sister.
Van and Simone’s story had a lot of the same good stuff I love about the series, it was well written, a good story that tugs at your heartstrings, and had great characters. It was similar to Hawke and Max’s story, in that it runs parallel to Lucas.
It differs in that a lot of the first few chapters are almost identical to chapters in Lucas. There is a lot of sex in this book, a lot of inventive and rough sex. (All consensual) And it was much shorter than earlier books.
I was looking forward to Simone’s story. I loved the little snippets of her we got in Max and Lucas (her brothers books). She seems down to earth and fun. What we got was a character so far from how she was portrayed it was almost like reading an entirely new character. She was snarky, a bit mouthy, pushy, brazen, extremely sexual, and a bit stalkery at least where Van was concerned. She wanted him from the moment she saw him, and went way out of her way to make that happen. Almost to the point of sexually harassing him.
Van was hard to read. He was so closed off, distant, anti social. But was very honest with Simone when they finally do get together about what she is to him. Van is fighting some serious demons in his life. He’s chosen to keep himself isolated because of what he is afraid he will become. What may be lurking just under his skin, something in his very DNA.
It was not a bad story, just different enough that it was, at times, difficult to read. They do finally end up together after battling Vans demons together. And I will continue reading the series.

My major problem with this book (and this had zero impact on my review, just a practice I really don’t care for. And I’m pretty sure it’s something the author does not control) was the price. It was 156 pages, for the same price as earlier books that were much longer. The first three books started off 1 and 2 dollars less, and were all close to 300 pages. They hook you in, raise the price, and lower the page count. Not cool. If the page count goes down, so should the price. JMO

**Advanced copy provided by the author, NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

This is one of my favorite series and Sawyer Bennett continues to find ways to infuse new life and elements into every single book that comes out. Van is no exception and I was drawn in from the very first page.

Van Turner is one of the best players the Cold Fury has recently picked up, and while he's known for his aggressive play on the ice, he can only be described as closed off and a loner off of it. He prefers to keep to himself and not attach himself to anyone. He's got deep rooted issues from his childhood that have caused him to put up the walls and he has no intention of taking them down for anyone.

Simone Fournier is the sister of two of Van's teammates, Lucas and Max. When she shows up on Lucas' doorstep, which also happens to be Van's too, she makes it known she's moving in for the foreseeable future. She's instantly attracted to the moody teammate of her brothers and she's not one to be deterred by his less than welcoming attitude.

As Simone barrels forward with trying to seduce Van, she also is trying to figure out where she belongs and where her life is headed. When the two embark on a purely physical arrangement it's satisfying for the both of them, but is it possible to keep feelings out of it? And, will the insecurities and issues from Van's past end up driving them apart?

I was so ready for this book after witnessing the tension between Van and Simone in Lucas' book and I was not disappointed. Both Simone and Van had their issues, but in the end, what they were able to bring to one another was exactly the right mix of what they each needed. Kudos to Sawyer Bennett for continuing to give us engaging and entertaining stories in this fantastic series!