I love the guys of Cold Fury. Lucas is the sweetest man, quite the opposite of what Stephanie expected or thinks she deserves. Emotionally stilted, Stephanie is not ready for what's coming her way. Lucas knows that he will be an awesome family man, just didn't know it would be this soon. Never a dull moment.

Another book and another gorgeous Cold Fury player!

Book 8 and I am still loving this series which takes readers on a fascinating journey into the world of sporting alphas. We’ve had characters which are dominant, characters which frustrate, and this time we just have a sweet, generous, kindhearted and generally loveable character in Lucas.

A player, in both senses of the word, Luc is happily enjoying singledom until he comes across Museum curator, Stephanie Frazier. When he realises that Stephanie is more than his match where hot dates are concerned, he jumps, literally, at the chance of one night with her but it’s one night that will change his life forever.

Stephanie has as easy-going and fun-loving personality but with a major insecurity complex. Having lived a wealthy but unloved childhood, she finds it hard to make friends and even harder to commit to someone and love…. love is an impossibility, or so she thinks.

Clearly enamoured with Lucas, and vice versa, the duo start a less than conventional relationship. Whilst clearly enjoying each other’s company, in between the sheets so to speak, it’s difficult to foresee them having anything more than a physical connection with each other, at first.

Another delightful Fournier man, Lucas adds his own blend of special to this story and despite his kindness towards Stephanie, and her “little” problem, she is impossibly frustrating and continuously rejects what he has to offer. Whilst full of drama, readers are also treated to an unusual love affair and it’s definitely one to savour.

This was an easily enjoyable story, despite the drama. Luc was definitely the highlight in this instalment!

A one night stand that turned into a baby and so much more. Luck and Stephen are such great characters. Lucas has a lot of depth to him. Stephie has never known love or even friendship. Lucas throws her for a loop. It was such an interesting story. It's part of a series but can be read as a standalone.
****I voluntarily reviewed and gave my honest opinion of this Advanced Reviewer's Copy of this
book from Net Galley****

I love me a hot as sin hockey player!
Lucas def fits the bill. He is hot, young, and ready to score! He has the pleasure of running into Stephy one night, and he can't shake her. His eyes find her icy blue ones and I think he knew he was done for.
Stephy is a young independent gal who trusts no one and needs no man to make her happy. She is a fiery red head who protects her heart at all costs. Lucas and Stephy fall into an easy routine after they face some obstacles. Lucas is fiercely protective of her, and she takes that as a sign of needed to slow down. She has been burned before and is NOT looking to let her walls come down. Lucas shows her what he has to offer and what he is willing to do for her, but will she be able to love herself enough to accept what he is offering? I think you need to read that to find out!
#Acrocanthosaurus #Strings #CherryGarcia #CasuallyComplicated #CrotchMonster

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
This is the second book in this series I have read. It's an easy romantic sports story with a sexy hot athlete as the hero. I really liked the character of Lucas and his caring nature and strong family relationships was heartwarming. The chemistry between him and Stephanie was sizzling and there were some steamy scenes.
An enjoyable read.

Sparks fly when hockey hotshot Lucas Fournier and museum curator Stephanie Frazier meet at a fancy gala. A night of unbridled passion turns into something more when the condom breaks and suddenly, Steph and Luc share a connection for the rest of their lives. The only problem – aside from the obvious – is that Steph doesn’t do commitment. Can Luc push through her walls and get her to accept the love he wants to give her?

I’ve picked up some Sawyer Bennett books over the years, but they’re just gathering virtual dust on my Kindle shelf. I know that Sawyer Bennett is a pretty big author in the romance genre, so I was excited to be approved for this ARC on Netgalley. Unfortunately, aside from the rather heated beginning, this book fell flat for me.

First of all, at least half of the blame lies on me. I really, really dislike the “surprise baby” trope, and somehow missed that in the blurb. And this book is really, really focused on the baby aspect. It’s not that I dislike kids (I love babies) or that kids in my romance novels bother me (they don’t). I think it’s more that I read romance to escape from my daily life, and the reminder that something as simple as a condom breaking could change my life forever just does not relax me one bit.

Honestly, this book stressed me out.

Now, Luc seemed like a great guy. I appreciated how open, honest, and straightforward he was. Stephanie, on the other hand, totally rubbed me the wrong way. I get that she had a bad childhood, but her whole standoffish vibe and refusal to let Luc in grated on my nerves.

Throughout the book, Luc constantly tries to break down Steph’s walls, and she will not let him in. When Luc confronts her, there’s this whole attitude of “you can’t upset a pregnant woman” that really bothered me – let me tell you, I am of a certain age where literally everybody I know is having children. I have had five coworkers give birth to seven children over the last two years. Relatives and friends have also had babies. You can upset a pregnant woman. I mean, obviously, don’t try to stress her out, but absolutely call her out if she’s acting like an idiot! And Stephanie acted like an idiot throughout a good 75% of this book.

There’s this one conversation which basically goes like this:

Luc: Could you please open up a bit? I feel like I hardly know you.
Steph: Um, excuse you, I had a bad childhood and I am literally pregnant right now?
Luc: Yeah, but maybe you could like… talk to me?
Steph: HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF NOT TALKING TO YOU WHEN I HAVE ACTUALLY SHARED VERY MINIMAL FACTS ABOUT MY LIFE!
Luc: But… like… I want to know more.
Steph: This is why I don’t date. I’d rather be single. You are so mean.
Luc: Okay. I am legitimately sorry and I can’t believe I actually asked you a question while you’re pregnant with my child. Carry on.
Yes, there are also scenes where Luc acts like a total jerk, but it’s not completely unwarranted. There’s always something leading up to it. His actions never come out of the blue and are, while possibly poorly worded, legitimate responses to Steph’s actions. All Steph does is sit around and complain about how nobody could ever love her when she has a man she even admits is perfect sitting down next to her, trying to love her despite her reluctance.

Anyway. Can we move on to the plot? Or, rather, the lack of plot? Because this book is mostly just gratuitous sex tied together with a very flimsy plot of a) a surprise baby, b) Steph’s familial issues, and c) Steph’s job prospects. All in all, not a lot of plot for a book that’s ~300 pages. And, the thing is, the sex scenes aren’t that great. Sure, the first one is pretty hot, but then they start getting repetitive and I found myself skimming them.

Serious question: Do actual adults in actual relationships really spend this much time having sex? I mean, I get that it happens when you’re in your first real “adult” relationship, no longer living with your parents, trying to assert your independence or whatever. But do actual adults really have sex marathons that last for four days? If so, how is that even pleasant? How does your body handle that? Do you really have nothing better to do?

The majority of the book revolves around the fact that Steph is pregnant, and actual pregnant women comment on the fact that they’re pregnant less than Steph does. Actual women that I know with hyperemesis gravidarum, who are hospitalized for their condition, talk about throwing up less than Steph does. (I hope that super graphic vomit scene is cut out of the final version of the book because it was absolutely disgusting and does not belong in a romance novel.)

There were a few things within the story itself that rubbed me the wrong way. I’m just going to break this part up into bullet points:

The former curator’s “scandal.” I’m not going to delve into any spoilers about what happened, but suffice it to say that I don’t really and truly understand what the scandal was. As long as they’re not hurting anybody, what people do in the privacy of their own home or outside of office hours should have no bearing on their position at work.
The old-fashioned OB-GYN. I work in a medical office, so I’m really sensitive to the portrayal of doctors in fiction. Steph’s OB is completely unprofessional, like to the level where I’m not sure how he’s still practicing. He makes snide comments about “I didn’t realize you were married” (I didn’t realize that babies couldn’t be conceived without a ring on the finger) and “Stephanie is probably going to want you to leave the room now” (maybe let her make her own decisions).
The stripper. Honestly, she came out of left field and gave off these clear “I’m only here as a plot device” vibes – obviously, since we never saw or heard from her again.
Simone and Van. The problem I had with these two is that I cared about them more than Steph and Luc. I saw their relationship coming from a mile away and, at Simone’s first appearance, made a note about how I was sure that she was just there to set up the next romance in the series, and, lo and behold…
The name dropping. Lucas is #8 in a series, and though it supposedly functions as a standalone, I felt like I was missing quite a bit by not already knowing these characters. There are comments throughout about how X and Y got married or are expecting and there was a clear implication that this should mean something to me, but it just didn’t.
One thing I do really have to commend the publisher on is finding a cover model that actually looks like the description from the book. The last two books I read with faces on the cover looked nothing like the description of the hero, so this was a welcome change.

I guess, all in all, I was disappointed with Lucas. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did, but it’s not necessarily a bad book if you’re into this kind of story. I can’t see myself going back to read the previous seven books in the series, but I’m still planning to read the Sawyer Bennett books that I already own.

Final rating: ★★☆☆☆

I received a free ARC of Lucas from the publisher (via Netgalley) in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed Lucas and Stephanie's story. I have read all the books in the Cold Fury series and they are all great!

Lucas and Stephanie are complete strangers when they meet each other at event at the Museum that Stephanie works at. There is an instant attraction on both sides. They exchange a few words and decide to meet after the event. After their night together at Lucas's house Stephanie left and they haven't had any contact.

Lucas is a hockey player and very well known m. He has just been traded to the Cold
Fury, which his brother also plays for. He has 2
Brothers, one sister and parents who love each other and their kids very much.

Stephanie is an only child and her parents are very wealthy. Although her parents are wealthy and she has had the best of everything her parents didn't mean to have her. Her parents only care about their careers and she was raised by a nanny. So Stephanie isn't use to a
normal family and she has never had a relationship. She typically has one night stands.

About a month after Stephanie and Lucas were together Stephanie shows up at the bar that the Cold Fury team goes to after home games. She tells him she is pregnant and Lucas reacts badly. Stephanie tells him when her girst appointment is and he go if he wants and she leaves. Lucas is in shock and goes to his brother and tells him what is going on. Max being the older brother calms him down and helps him figure out a plan. Lucas goes to Stephanie's work the next day and apologizes for the way he reacted. Lucas tells her he wants to be involved in the pregnancy and get to know each other as well because they are basically strangers and known nothing about each other.

Lucas and Stephanie hang out and continue to sleep together but they don't call it a relationship. Stephanie doesn't want to call it that, because of how she was raised she doesn't know how to accept or give love. Lucas understands, although he has developing feelings for her and he knows she has them for him he just keeps spending time with her without pressuring Stephanie.

This is a good book, with dual POV and plenty of sexy scenes. I loved Lucas because of how sweet he was to Stephanie. Once he realized she was pregnant with his child he was 100% sold out to her and the baby even though Stephanie held back because of her childhood. Read this book!

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Lucas is the 8th book in the Cold Fury Hockey series and follows yet another member of the The Carolina Cold Fury hockey team.

I liked Lucas and his storyline, but I have to say this wasn't my favorite book out of the series. I felt like their was a lot (I mean A LOT) of sexual scenes and not too much else as far as content and storyline.

However, Sawyer still can write her tail off- so I will definitely keep reading this series and other books by her.

3.5-4 Stars

I enjoy the series and was excited to read Lucas's story. The story between Lucas and Stephanie didn't go as I had hoped but then I wasn't the writer.
The pair had amazing chemistry in the bedroom but it did translate outside the bedroom for me.
Lucas was a sweet , sexy funny hockey player who could be a charmer. Through the entire book he tried to charm Stephy . She was resistant to his charms until the very end. While I understand her reasoning I had a hard time liking her at times.

This book fell flat for me. I've only read one other book in the series (Alex) but I really liked it and I like her writing style so I was pretty excited when I got an ARC.

My biggest problem with the book was the lack of content. It was mostly just sex and internal dialogue. Every time I felt like we were finally going to have a "scene" it just turned into yet another chapter of sex. In fact, there were SO MUCH sex that we had "fade out" sex scenes. I wanted more situations, more of the two of them connecting. Everything was very glossed over and there were a lot of instances where we were told they had meaningful conversation, but not a lot of the actual conversations. The ending wasn't so great either. Things get resolved quickly, but there is nothing about the baby. The epilogue is about Van so we never get an update on how the rest of the pregnancy went. I don't think anything needed to be said about Van to set up the next book because it was pretty obvious where that was going.

Stephanie bothered me a lot. When I first got into this book I was really excited to have a strong, independent, unapologetic h. I remember actually thinking "Yes! She's going to be awesome!" and she was for a little while. The problem was, she was insecure for too long. I understood why she had a hard time accepting love, but Luc was giving it to her in droves. While she didn't doubt his feelings, she wouldn't accept them. I'm probably one of the only people who actually thought the comments he made to her in their fight needed to be said. How could she expect to raise her child with love if she doesn't know how to love? She needed to be knocked on her ass to realize how horrible she was being. If anyone owed anyone an apology, it was her.

Luc was a really awesome H. He had a really great heart and I LOVED that he stepped up to the plate immediately. I understand why he would want a paternity test originally because he didn't know her and he is an athlete with a lot of money. Many crazy women would try to use that to their advantage. He was extremely level headed and a very strong character. He actually made the book for me.

Overall, I recommend this book if you're already reading the series. As a standalone I'm on the fence because I just felt like it was missing content, but it was an intriguing story.

First of all Lucas, second of all Lucas and third of all Lucas! Super likable character and that is what made this hot book character even hotter. I loved the character, Lucas! This story was interesting and made you root for both Stephanie and Lucas. The author did a great job of conveying the important details of the characters and storyline with out being overly repetitious.

I really enjoyed this book. The surprise pregnancy plotline is always a favorite of mine. Add in a dash of sports romance plus a truly sympathetic portrayal of the effects of emotional abuse on a child and this is a great read.

This continues Sawyer Bennett’s series about hockey players for the fictional Carolina Cold Fury. This story is about Lucas Fournier who has an extremely hot one-night stand with Stephanie, a woman he meets at a fundraiser for the Natural History museum.

It’s not much of a spoiler to reveal that Stephanie gets pregnant since this happens early in the novel. Once she tells Lucas, he demonstrates what a sweet guy he really is as he tries to get to know Stephanie given that they’re going to be sharing a child. However, she has serious issues because of her upbringing. Lucas, on the other hand, comes from a very loving and supportive family with whom he’s very close. The challenge for him is to help Stephanie overcome her personal insecurities and let him in...all while sharing some smokin’ hot lovemaking.

Even if you haven’t read any of the earlier books in the series, you can still enjoy this one. And you’ll probably want to then go back and read the other books.

I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. I'm addicted to this series, so I was soo happy to be able to read it also in advance!
Here are some of my thoughts about "Lucas":
- I felt so sorry for Stephanie, for what she had to endure as a child, but also during her adult life. Parents should be the people from who you get unconditional love, and reading about her childhood, how she grew up, and also how her parents keep treating her, it broke my heart. I totally got her reticence at starting something lasting with Lucas, she never had a model to look up to, and she's scared about what will happen if she lets go. Her parents can't even be called this, I have no words at how people can treat their own children like this, but I know that unfortunately people like them exist in real life. Lucas is a god send miracle for her, the perfect guy to get her all the love she missed previously in her life, both personally and by having a loving family behind his back who accepts Stephanie between their folds.
- Lucas is a really good guy, a real gentleman, up to his duties and with the right priorities in mind (see accident episode). He tries relentlessly to make her lose her guard, with so much patience. He's still human, so he has some moments when he lose his hope, but I think this is absolutely comprehensible, because it mustn't be easy to try to win a stubborn and scared woman like Stephanie.
- I loved the secondary characters, Jules and Max😍 so happy to read more about them! And I'm soooo curious about Van and Simone. She's a firecracker, so I'm sure their book will be a rollercoaster 😍

This was my first of the Cold Fury books and I absolutely loved it. Really need to go back and read the seven (seven!) others that I've missed out on. 2:30 am and I just finished it because I couldn't put it down. And oh man that tease for Van's story was glorious and I'm excited to see what makes him tic. Lucas and Stephy were great and I loved their story. Their chemistry was off the charts good. Plot and storyline were well written as well. Would definitely recommend. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

I liked this one. I love this series, but this one kind of fell flat for me. I couldn't relate to the characters maybe? I love that Lucas is Max's brother. I love that a lot of characters from previous books were in this one.
Sawyer Bennett has a way of making her characters lovable and then they break your heart, then fix it up.
Stephanie was maybe a bit too stand offish for me. Lucas really takes the swoon cake. He seemed nearly perfect!

Sawyer Bennett is a powerhouse when it comes to writing but, there is just something about her ability to bring rugged, bullheaded, and just plan sexy hockey players to life that gets me every time. I'm drawn to these storylines, characters, and this overall series more than any other hockey romance out there.

Lucas and Stephanie's story was filled with ups and downs, family and friends, and a whole lot of hockey. Like the rest of the series Sawyer Bennett was able to insert the pure adrenaline rush of watching hockey into the feel of the book, so not only are you enjoying this immensely emotional romance but you get the fun of being on the ice.

I'm not saying much in this review because the surprises in this book need to be just that. I don't want to spoil anything because this book is so much fun and you just need to dive in and let it take you where it will!

I didn't really expect the one night that Luc and Stephanie had to end up so interesting. Sure they had fantastic chemistry, but it was a hookup. I really didn't like how Luc reacted to Stephanie's news, but he redeemed himself the next day. I liked that the two of them were going to try to work things out, at the very least to be friends. I also knew that Stephanie's suggestion to keep having sex would change things between them.

Stephanie had issues, ones that annoyed me, even as I understood why, more so after the two phone calls with her mother. I was stunned with those, could totally see why Stephanie was so messed up, just hated that Luc had to work so hard. When their big fight came things went how I expect, down to Luc's harsh words. I was glad that Jules ripped into Luc about them when she learned, he needed to hear that. While I hated the drama at the end, I did like that it caused Luc to realize what was important to him and go after Stephanie, glad that Stephanie took the out stretched hand to grab for what she really wanted too, a safe place, a family to belong to, people to love her and that is just what Luc and his family could provide her with.

Holy moly this authors novels just keep getting better and better. This novel grabbed me from the first page until the very last. I was sorry I reached the end because I just didn't want this novel to end. I loved the main characters. I loved Lucas, he was honest, loyal and so very sweet. I loved Stephanie that even with her horrible childhood she was able to be brave and try to make a try with Lucas. This novel made me laugh out loud, at times cry and finally in the end left me smiling and feeling happy. I loved this novel and can't wait to see what this author has in store for the future.

I LOVE this series and I have loved every single story in this series. Each time I think I know a player, well the author surprises me. In this book the player highlighted is Lucas, he is the brother of Max who in a previous book met and fell in love with Jules. I am happy to say they are very much seen in this book along with Max and Luc's parents and we get to know Simone, their sister too.

In this story Luc is a major player and at an event he meets Stephanie, a gorgeous redhead who works at a museum. As you can imagine they have a one night stand. Then the book picks up later when Luc and Stephanie meet up again. Luc really wants Stephanie but she is very closed up.

This story is really about Luc getting her to accept love and open herself up. Steph has never known love and Luc really likes her and wants her to open her heat to him. At times I really felt for Luc because I am not sure I would have come back for more with Steph. She was a very tough nut to crack.

This was a well written and fun story and I really liked every character. As with a Sawyer story there are lots of sex scenes. I cannot wait for the next story starring Van.

Adorable and heart wrenching, pulled at my heart strings from start to finish!

Not typically a fan of surprise pregnancy romances but I adore sawyers cold fury hockey series and this one didn't disappoint. I went in to the story thinking I would be disappointed with Lucas and how he would handle the situation, but really he was amazing from the get go, of course there were moments of frustration with the situation but ultimately this story has everything in it to tug at your heartstrings and make you fall in love with this couple!