Reed: A Cold Fury Hockey Novel

4.5 stars--REED is the tenth instalment in Sawyer Bennett’s contemporary, adult COLD FURY HOCKEY sport, romance series focusing on the members of the professional hockey team the Carolina Cold Fury. This is Carolina Cold Fury hockey player Reed Olson, and ER physician Josie Ives’ story line. REED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Told from dual first person points of view (Josie and Reed) REED is an opposites attract/friends to lovers story line that follows the building relationship between ER physician Josie Ives, and hockey player Reed Olson. Following their second Stanley Cup win the members of the Cold Fury hockey team are due for some R&R, and Reed Olson takes relaxation to the max with a series of one-night stands that are a little too loud for his neighbor’s enjoyment. Enter ER physician Josie Ives, and the woman with whom Reed will fall in love. What ensues is the friends to lovers relationship between Josie and Reed, and the potential fall out as Reed believes Josie can do much better than a high-school educated hockey player with too much time on his hands. Reed Olson is a bit of a manwh*re whose late night antics are fodder for his friends and the new neighbour next door but something about Josie Ives draws Reed like a moth to a flame that he is willing to explore one way or another. A slow start to their friendship including picture puzzles, picnics, pizza and beer finds Josie falling for Reed Olson, and thinking about giving love a second chance. The secondary and supporting characters include Reed’s fellow teammates Marek Fabritis and Tanner Craig, as well as the return of Alex and Sutton, and Garrett and Olivia. The camaraderie between teammates is humorous and fun. We are introduced fellow ER physicians Kathy Krantz, Kevin Mills and Josie’s ex boyfriend Dr. Aiden McCune. REED is a story of friendship, romance, fun and adventure. There are no overt conflicts or over the top dramas that threaten to destroy Reed and Josie’s building relationship except Reed’s lack of confidence as it pertains to falling in love with a woman he believes to be out of his league- their differences may be too large for our hero to overcome. Josie is a strong, feisty female heroine who knows what she wants; Reed is successful hockey player who is willing to take a chance for something more. It is the off-season therefore hockey takes a backseat to the relationship. The premise is sweet and sexy; the romance is passionate and seductive; the characters are energetic and real. REED is a heart warming and uplifting story.

***5 ‘The Love I Was Supposed to Wait For’ Stars*** I swear this series is like crack for me because once I start reading it’s all over from there. I HAVE to finish the book and the only sure fire way for me to completely stop reading is if I’m driving or I fall asleep, and that was what happened with Reed. Once I started it I devoured as much of it as I could before my body decided that sleep was much more important (I don’t necessarily agree, but I do have to be semi aware at work). It was a fun, quick sweet and smexy read that had just the right amount of drama simmering beneath the surface to keep me turning the pages and wanting more when the words were no more. For all the Reed is opposed to the big ‘C’ word and has a “Type” he’s a really good guy. Charming, observant and laid back. I found myself grinning (and at times swooning) at a lot of the things he did because they came from such a good place that even he didn’t know existed within him because it was just him. I loved Josie. She is sweet, snarky and goes with the flow, mostly because she has no choice when she’s working so it has trickled down into her private life. Reed and Josie’s journey to their HEA was a lot of fun. The fact that their first meeting wasn’t necessarily under the best circumstances, the way they both handled it ~ with a little bit of humor, snark and a good dose of heat ~ definitely set the tone for how they went from neighbors to friends to more. This isn’t to say that there weren’t some shallow potholes for them to deal with along the way, because there were, but I enjoyed how they were dealt with and how everything worked out for them in the end. Broken record time: I’m a Sawyer Bennett fangirl, so it’s really no wonder I adored Reed, but it’s just so easy to get caught up in these characters and want to know more about them. I loved getting glimpses of the couples I’ve come to love and getting to know a few newbies. We got a glimpse of Tanner and Marek in this one and lemme tell you...before you are done with Reed you are going to be making grabby hands for their books and wishing you had ‘em yesterday, especially Marek’s which is thankfully up next! ~ Copy provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

Well. My love of the Cold Fury Boys is no secret, and contrary to the book’s blurb, Reed Olsen is, in my eyes the sweetest and most understanding of any of the Cold Fury guys. So, yes, at first glance he appears to be a typical manwhore with no feelings, he has no scruples when it comes to his never ending line of willing ‘blonde Barbies’ and following the teams Stanley Cup win he needs to unwind, that’s what he intends to do during his off time. What he didn’t count on, was his dark haired sexy little neighbour entering his life and turning it upside down. Josie Ives is an ER doctor working shifts who needs her sleep, so when she knocks on her neighbours door to complain about his bedroom activities she isn’t expecting it to be the start of one of the best friendships she’s ever had. Wonderful writing, both Reed and Josie work so well together and the chemistry between them is, as with all Sawyer Bennett’s main characters, super charged. This is primarily an easy going love story, cute and funny, with minimal stress, some emotion, and lots of feel good vibes. I was provided with an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.