★★ NEW Hockey Romance from Sawyer Bennett ★★
A hockey hunk spinning out of control. The neighbor he can't stand, but can't get out of his head. Coen: A Pittsburgh Titans Novel is available NOW from Sawyer Bennett!
Meet Coen Highsmith! Read the first THREE chapters of Coen: https://sawyerbennett.com/chapter/coen/
And then grab your copy of Coen, a standalone hockey romance that will have you swooning, laughing, crying, and reaching for a glass of ice water:
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Still need a little convincing? Here’s the blurb to get you game ready:
Coen Highsmith was a league star, but he lost more than his team the day the Pittsburgh Titans’ plane crashed. Can he be saved from his downward spiral of guilt and regret to become the man he once was?
I had it all—a successful hockey career, the respect and adoration of the fans, a rotation of beautiful women warming my bed, and a feeling of self-worth and contentment with the direction of my life. But that all changed the day the team plane went down, taking my only chance of redemption with it. Now I’m left with the daily reminder of all my failures and my inability to correct them.
My new teammates are tired of my attitude and following my suspension, I hole up in a mountain cabin to get away from all of it. The isolation is exactly what I need to get out of my own head, and I’m beginning to think I could be content in this quiet forever.
Tillie Marshall isn’t the type of woman who would usually catch my attention, yet she manages to do so for all the wrong reasons. I’m here for the peace and seclusion but the quirky artist is hell-bent on destroying that by cutting down the trees that separate our properties so she can open a pottery studio. If it’s a fight she wants, it’s a fight she’ll get. I have the money and the time and no issues bringing her down through the court system. While I see flashes of steely determination within her, I’ve found that being a jerk comes naturally these days and she won’t be hard to intimidate.
Unfortunately, that gorgeous and somewhat odd neighbor who has been causing me grief is creating another type of feeling within me. And once that spark is lit, Tillie displays a faith in me that for the first time since the crash I desperately want to believe. Now it’s time for me to step up and become the man—no, a better man than I once was.
One of the “Lucky Three”. That’s what Coen Highsmith has been referred as since he was one of the three members of the Pittsburgh Titans who did not perish in the horrific plane crash that took his entire hockey team; but “lucky” is that last thing he feels. Not only is he dealing with Survivor’s Guilt, but he’s dealing of the guilt of leaving something unresolved with someone who was on that flight. He’s had several high profiled incidents that weren’t so positive. He’s been in multiple physical altercations. He’s pushed away anyone who tries to help him or shows concern for him. At this point he’s more or less hit rock bottom and has been suspended from The Titans. In his mind, he’s done with the team and with hockey in general. To his dismay, the team’s owner, Brienne Norcross, and a few self-proclaimed friends from the team won’t let him just quit. They’ve suggested he use his down time to get himself together.
When his teammate Stone offers him his cabin to get away and regroup, he finally takes him up on his offer. He enjoys this seclusion so much he buys the cabin. At the time he didn’t realize along with the cabin, he’d inherit a pain in the ass neighbor hell bent on cutting down the trees that borders both of their properties. Tilden Marshall is stubborn, mouthy and sexy as hell. All he wants is peace and quiet, and not constantly wonder what it would be like to claim her.
Since the start of this series, I’ve been anxious for two stories, Coen being one of them. He has been a true asshole in the previous three books, so I had this feeling that he was dealing with something so deep that my heart was going to be ripped out. But he turned out to be nothing like I thought he would, his story was nothing like I thought it would be, and I was pleasantly surprised! The guy is a walking contradiction. While he does have some issues that he needs to work through, and can be blunt and harsh, he’s a very likeable guy. As a matter of fact, he’s quite…. dare I say…. charming. The Coen before the accident was a nice guy, a fun guy, the life of the party guy, and this is the guy who shows up during this book, okay not so much the life of the party guy…but the nice, fun guy.
The first glimpse of this humor appears when he and Tildie have their first argument about her wanting to cut down the trees around his sanctuary.
The man is overly dramatic as he waves his hands. “I’m a goddam naturalist. I draw strength and serenity from Mother Nature. I’m a motherfu*king, modern-day Snow White who communes with all the forest creatures and don’t want their habitat destroyed.” My head tips to the side as I frown with skepticism. “Really?” ” No, not really,” he says with an eye roll. “I just like my privacy, okay? End of story.” That was my first laugh out loud moment and there were many with him.
What has Coen spiraling out of control in regard to the plane crash was nowhere near what I thought it was going to be. Coen’s journey is learning to forgive himself for something he had no control over. Even though he finally confides in Tillie what drives his drastic personality change after the accident, for me it wasn’t her convincing him that he had nothing to feel guilty about, but her helping him bring out the person deep down inside that was capable of more than what he thought he was even before the crash. He faced the issues he had with him family, his feelings of not being important in anyone’s life, not being capable of being who he truly is.
These characters were fun. Their banter was fun. Their attraction was instant, and the chemistry was crazy. Coen wasn’t the grump I thought he was going to be. He was intuitive, compassionate, and he was so matter of fact that I couldn’t help but to laugh at his delivery in his conversations. They almost always had me giggling.
“So, not fu*k buddies, but like... fu*k neighbors?” I ask, because that sounds ridiculous. He shrugs, “You’re the one keen on labels.”
I really liked Tillie. This woman was not afraid to speak her mind around Coen. She may have been thrown for a loop by her attraction to him, and struggling to understand why he’s attracted to her, but she doesn’t hold back when it comes to telling him about himself. Even when she learns that he’s a famous hockey player, she’s not about stroking his ego. When he’s being an ass, she calls him out.
“Are you okay?” He blinks in surprise. “Yeah, why?” “Because you’re quiet and brooding and acting weird. I feel like if I say the wrong thing, you might explode.” It’s not a good sign that Coen’s jaw sets into a hard line. “If I make you uncomfortable, you don’t have to stay.” And that’s all he needs to say for me to judge the situation. “I’m out of here.” I put my beer on the handrail and head for the back door, going in to grab my purse, my keys and my dignity. I don’t need this shit. I don’t even make it a few feet before he’s up and out of the chair, stepping right into my path. His expression is thunderous. ‘You’re just going to leave…like that?” Ordinarily, I world laugh at someone who would say something so ridiculous. “you told me to leave if I was uncomfortable. I’m distinctly uncomfortable.” “Well, then fu*k you and your tender sensibilities,” he snarls. “No, fu*k you,” I snarl right back at him as I barrel past.
What I loved about their battles, he could get really snarky with her, and she’d basically give him the finger, exit stage left, and he’d be the one running after her! Also, as much as he wanted to keep it physical, it was him who was beating down the emotional connection the most. His level of compassion was a pleasant surprise. I especially loved the way he handled the mean girls and don’t even get me started on the chipmunk. Cutest thing eh-ver!!!
My favorite snark from Coen came after an “encounter” the two had.
“Couldn’t have done that to you if you’d have cut the trees down now, could I?” Coen pivots on his foot and walks away, chucking as he toward his house. “Seriously?” I call after him, bending over to thread my foot back through my shorts. I’m pulling them up as he turns his head slightly to yell over his should, “We should have a bumper sticker made. Save a tree, ride my mouth.”
Coen turned out to be a somewhat light-hearted read that gives your inside that giddy feel. If you haven’t read the first three books, you definitely should, it will give you a lot of context/background to give you the true “Coen Experience”.
Up next is Drake…. he’s the other character I’ve been dying to read about. We really only meeting him in book one and his encounter with Brienne Norcross isn’t a pleasant one. While I was off in my prediction that Coen was going to gut me. I think I’m pretty spot on with thinking this single dad is going to be, Grumpy/take no prisoners/panty melting HOT AF!!!
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