I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Juno Paxton has built her award-winning documentary career dismantling institutions people blindly worship. Her latest assignment is her most high-profile yet: immerse herself in the league’s newest hockey expansion team—the Portland Wildfire—for an entire season and create a behind-the-scenes film the league can parade around as “authentic.”

Juno doesn’t buy it. Not the hype, not the hero worship, and definitely not the polished personas of pro athletes. She expects egos, theatrics, and plenty of manufactured grit.

What she doesn’t expect is Crosby Hale.

The Wildfire’s starting goalie is stoic, meticulously focused, and infuriatingly camera-shy. He wants nothing to do with her film, her questions, or her insistence that he “show some personality.” Unfortunately for him, the league wants Juno’s documentary to center on the enigmatic goaltender who refuses to cooperate.

But the more time Juno spends with Crosby, the more she glimpses the steady, thoughtful man beneath his guarded exterior. He isn’t the stereotype she’s built her name exposing—he’s better. The more she learns about him, the harder it becomes to keep her documentary, and her heart, objective. And for Crosby, letting Juno in feels less like a mistake and more like the beginning of something worth fighting for.

This brand new expansion team is settling old scores, electrifying a new arena and introducing a new cast of players to delight hockey romance fans! I really enjoyed getting the lay of the land with a new warm-hearted owner, a bit of leftover drama coming in from various sources and settling in with Juno making a documentary about the growing pains. The team that we’ve met so far seems like a solid group of guys who are quickly trying to mesh into a winning team and form the brotherhood that will eventually take them far. It’s a bit of a set up when the faces are new and the groundwork has to be laid to draw us in. I’m definitely hooked! The main characters for this story were Crosby and Juno and both brought a lot to the table to set up drama, angst and attraction. I did not like the ending because it was super abrupt and left a lot of things up in the air. Good characters and drama though, so I’m looking forward to continuing in this world.

CROSBY
Sawyer Bennett
Release Date: May 19

Meet Sawyer Bennett:
New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life
experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary
romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just
about everyone.

A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur,
stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to
her wonderfully naughty dogs.

If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter
(http://www.sawyerbennett.com/signup).

Connect with Sawyer Bennett:
https://geni.us/SawyerBennett

Blurb:
She’s here to expose hockey’s biggest flaws. He’s the complication she never planned on. Neither one
is prepared for the sparks that fly every time they collide.

Juno Paxton has built her award-winning documentary career dismantling institutions people blindly
worship. Her latest assignment is her most high-profile yet: immerse herself in the league’s newest
hockey expansion team—the Portland Wildfire—for an entire season and create a behind-the-scenes
film the league can parade around as “authentic.”

Juno doesn’t buy it. Not the hype, not the hero worship, and definitely not the polished personas of pro
athletes. She expects egos, theatrics, and plenty of manufactured grit.

What she doesn’t expect is Crosby Hale.

The Wildfire’s starting goalie is stoic, meticulously focused, and infuriatingly camera-shy. He wants
nothing to do with her film, her questions, or her insistence that he “show some personality.”
Unfortunately for him, the league wants Juno’s documentary to center on the enigmatic goaltender
who refuses to cooperate.

But the more time Juno spends with Crosby, the more she glimpses the steady, thoughtful man beneath
his guarded exterior. He isn’t the stereotype she’s built her name exposing—he’s better. The more she
learns about him, the harder it becomes to keep her documentary, and her heart, objective. And for
Crosby, letting Juno in feels less like a mistake and more like the beginning of something worth fighting
for.

Warm, witty, and unexpectedly emotional, CROSBY launches the Portland Wildfire series with a slow-
burn enemies-to-lovers romance between a skeptical filmmaker and the goalie determined to stay out
of her spotlight… until she becomes the one thing he can’t turn away from.

Buy Link:
https://geni.us/SB_Crosby

Tropes:
Hockey Romance
Forced Proximity
Reluctant Hero
Slow Burn
Workplace Romance
Opposites Attract
Found Family
Emotionally Guarded Hero
Bold, Unapologetic Heroine

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Kace by Sawyer Bennett
Series: Pittsburgh Titans #20
Published by Big Dog Books on April 7, 2026
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

Kace Elliott is the hockey player with a genius IQ and a secret side hustle in applied physics. He’s falling for his research partner, but she doesn’t know who he is outside of the lab. Now, the closer they get, the harder it becomes for him to keep his two worlds from colliding.

On the ice, I’m Kace Elliott—starting goalie for the Pittsburgh Titans, fighting to prove myself in the playoffs. Off it, I’m William—a scientific researcher, quietly holding on to the academic world I’ll return to when hockey is over. Both versions are real, they just aren’t meant to overlap.

Until Dr. Laurel Kent.

Laurel is brilliant, principled, and deeply rooted in a world where transparency matters. She knows me online as William, her intellectual equal, the man who shares her passion for data, late-night collaboration, and easy, unexpected chemistry. William is very much her type whereas athletes are not.

I need her to like the bigger part of me—the hockey player. When she meets me in person, as Kace, I make the choice to let her see the type of man she’s sworn off from ever dating. She gets the Titans goalie and all the craziness that comes with the playoffs. But here’s where it gets complicated: I make the dangerous decision not to tell her Kace and William are the same person.

By some stroke of luck, Laurel agrees to give Kace a shot, and our time together is more than I ever hoped for. The closer together we grow, the less she talks about William, and I convince myself I’ll tell her the truth when the timing is better, once I’m able to prove I’m more than the label she’s written off. But timing has a way of unraveling even the best intentions.

As the pressure of the playoffs intensifies, the boundary I’ve relied on becomes impossible to maintain. When Laurel discovers how closely intertwined my worlds really are, I’m faced with the cost of asking someone to love only part of me.

And winning on the ice means nothing if I lose the woman who made me want to stop dividing my life in two.

A hockey hunk AND a smarty pants?? Yes please! Kace is quite the adorable over-achiever! Bennett delights her Pittsburgh Titans series fans with Kace’s story. He’s not just an ace hockey player, but he’s also got a serious brain on his shoulders and the tenacity to want to achieve greatness all the way around. The book is fast paced and both main characters are very easy to like and their connection is a fun one. He keeps his truth a secret for longer than he should, but she has her own moments of doubt, but I enjoyed them a lot, and the only thing that would have made it all even better is some type of team reveal that showcased his secret life. I’m not sure if this is the final book of the series or not, but I’ve loved the entire series and will keep reading forever if Bennett wants to keep rotating new guys in!

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who enjoys a hockey romance with lots of heart, humor and emotion. The series came to be from a tragedy, but the heart they all put into forming a ragtag team worked out beautifully all the way around.

KACE
Sawyer Bennett
Release Date: April 7

Blurb:
Kace Elliott is the hockey player with a genius IQ and a secret side hustle in applied physics. He’s falling
for his research partner, but she doesn’t know who he is outside of the lab. Now, the closer they get, the
harder it becomes for him to keep his two worlds from colliding.

On the ice, I’m Kace Elliott—starting goalie for the Pittsburgh Titans, fighting to prove myself in the
playoffs. Off it, I’m William—a scientific researcher, quietly holding on to the academic world I’ll return to
when hockey is over. Both versions are real, they just aren’t meant to overlap.

Until Dr. Laurel Kent.

Laurel is brilliant, principled, and deeply rooted in a world where transparency matters. She knows me
online as William, her intellectual equal, the man who shares her passion for data, late-night
collaboration, and easy, unexpected chemistry. William is very much her type whereas athletes are not.
I need her to like the bigger part of me—the hockey player. When she meets me in person, as Kace, I
make the choice to let her see the type of man she’s sworn off from ever dating. She gets the Titans
goalie and all the craziness that comes with the playoffs. But here’s where it gets complicated: I make
the dangerous decision not to tell her Kace and William are the same person.

By some stroke of luck, Laurel agrees to give Kace a shot, and our time together is more than I ever
hoped for. The closer together we grow, the less she talks about William, and I convince myself I’ll tell
her the truth when the timing is better, once I’m able to prove I’m more than the label she’s written off.
But timing has a way of unraveling even the best intentions.

As the pressure of the playoffs intensifies, the boundary I’ve relied on becomes impossible to maintain.
When Laurel discovers how closely intertwined my worlds really are, I’m faced with the cost of asking
someone to love only part of me.

And winning on the ice means nothing if I lose the woman who made me want to stop dividing my life in
two.

Buy Link:
https://geni.us/SB_Kace

Meet Sawyer Bennett:

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life
experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary
romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just
about everyone.

A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur,
stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to
her wonderfully naughty dogs.

If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter
(sawyerbennett.com/signup).

Connect with Sawyer Bennett:
https://geni.us/SawyerBennett