This single dad hockey player plays to win...
Benched by Elise Faber is available now!
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Max Montgomery was at the height of his career, playing the best hockey of his life, and lucky enough to have a starting spot on a team that was actually a contender for the Cup.And one by one his friends were falling in love.
Love. Now that was a dirty four-letter word if he’d ever heard one.
Max had experienced love and all of its aftereffects and where had that gotten him?
Lonely, living in an apartment, and paying alimony to a woman who’d left him at the merest sign of a hiccup in their marriage.
His only bright spot was his son. Brayden had moved back in with him a few months ago, after his mother had taken off to God knew where. Max loved having him home, but with his son only seven and him on the road for forty-two games a year, they’d struggled. Still, they’d found a way to make it work.
But then Brayden threw Max a completely new curve ball.
He wanted Max to find a wife.
Max had been there, done that, got the crappy T-shirt as a souvenir. No way would he make himself vulnerable like that again, no matter how much his son wanted it.
A puppy was a perfectly viable alternative, right?
At least that was what he’d been thinking until he met Angelica Shallows, sister to the team’s Physical Therapist guru, Mandy, and a brilliant engineer in her own right. She was gorgeous, smart, but had shadows in her eyes.
Max knew all about shadows, knew they were meant as a sign for him to stay away.
What was that about the best intentions paving the road to hell? Max may have wanted to stay away, may have wanted to abide the warning signs in Angie’s eyes, but—
The real trouble began when found that he couldn’t do either of those things.
REVIEW:
3.25 stars
***
This was a pretty good book, but I didn't totally love it. Benched is book four in the Gold Hockey series, but it can be read as a standalone. It was the first book I have read by Ms. Faber. This book is Max and Angie's book. Max is a pro hockey player and a single dad to a son, Brayden. He meets Angie, who is the estranged sister of his team's physical therapist. They meet by accident and then again by accident, and both feel a connection, which leads to spending time together and dating.
I liked Max and Angie. Max is a devoted dad and has been focused on his son since his wife left them a few years prior. He hasn't dated or anything, but when his son asks for a new mom and then he meets Angie, he feels like it is fate. Angie is quirky and sweet with some anxiety, a history of being sexually assaulted/attacked, and guilt over her estrangement with her sister. I felt like Max and Angie were a good match and brought out the best in each other. Max helped Angie gain some confidence and come out of her shell some. I liked Max's son, Brayden too.
I did think that the book was a little slow starting. By 35%, barely anything had happened. We saw a lot of the characters separately with friends but just minutes together by that point. Once it got going, I liked the middle of the book a good bit. Max and Angie had a slow burn romance that I enjoyed seeing develop. I thought the couple was cute together. But I felt like the book went downhill at the very end. I did not love the big conflict near the end. I can't explain what happened without spoiling it, but there is an incident where Brayden is put in danger when he is with Angie. Max was really awful to Angie and let her go through the aftermath of that alone with no intention of fixing things until his son asked him too. Of course, Angie forgave him immediately and I felt like she was a total doormat. This conflict was right at the end so there was no further resolution and the epilogue is about the next couple in the series. I don't like a doormat heroine and I didn't feel like Max understood how awful he was to her or that he truly felt sorry. I felt really bad for Angie. This conflict and the way it was handled really put a damper on the way I felt about this book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book in general, but it had some moments I did not enjoy. Still, the story was fun and interesting. I liked that Max was a devoted dad and Angie was able to come into her own. I do think the book is worth reading, even if it was not my favorite.
I liked Max and Angie. Max is a devoted dad and has been focused on his son since his wife left them a few years prior. He hasn't dated or anything, but when his son asks for a new mom and then he meets Angie, he feels like it is fate. Angie is quirky and sweet with some anxiety, a history of being sexually assaulted/attacked, and guilt over her estrangement with her sister. I felt like Max and Angie were a good match and brought out the best in each other. Max helped Angie gain some confidence and come out of her shell some. I liked Max's son, Brayden too.
I did think that the book was a little slow starting. By 35%, barely anything had happened. We saw a lot of the characters separately with friends but just minutes together by that point. Once it got going, I liked the middle of the book a good bit. Max and Angie had a slow burn romance that I enjoyed seeing develop. I thought the couple was cute together. But I felt like the book went downhill at the very end. I did not love the big conflict near the end. I can't explain what happened without spoiling it, but there is an incident where Brayden is put in danger when he is with Angie. Max was really awful to Angie and let her go through the aftermath of that alone with no intention of fixing things until his son asked him too. Of course, Angie forgave him immediately and I felt like she was a total doormat. This conflict was right at the end so there was no further resolution and the epilogue is about the next couple in the series. I don't like a doormat heroine and I didn't feel like Max understood how awful he was to her or that he truly felt sorry. I felt really bad for Angie. This conflict and the way it was handled really put a damper on the way I felt about this book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book in general, but it had some moments I did not enjoy. Still, the story was fun and interesting. I liked that Max was a devoted dad and Angie was able to come into her own. I do think the book is worth reading, even if it was not my favorite.
About the Author:
Aside from writing romance, Elise's passions are chocolate, Star Wars, and hockey (the order depending on the day and how well her team -- the Sharks! -- are playing). She and her husband also play as much hockey as they can squeeze into their schedules, so much so that their typical date night is spent on the ice. Elise is the mom to two exuberant boys and is thoroughly addicted to Dancing With the Stars.
Connect with Elise!
Website: https://www.elisefaber.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elisefaberauthor/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/elisefaber
Twitter: https://twitter.com/faberelise
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bdnmEj
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2Ilspyd
Aside from writing romance, Elise's passions are chocolate, Star Wars, and hockey (the order depending on the day and how well her team -- the Sharks! -- are playing). She and her husband also play as much hockey as they can squeeze into their schedules, so much so that their typical date night is spent on the ice. Elise is the mom to two exuberant boys and is thoroughly addicted to Dancing With the Stars.
Connect with Elise!
Website: https://www.elisefaber.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elisefaberauthor/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/elisefaber
Twitter: https://twitter.com/faberelise
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bdnmEj
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2Ilspyd
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