A second chance may be just what James Steele needs… I might be one of the older players on the Arizona Vengeance, but I like to think that also makes me one of the wisest. Or at least I used to.Turns out, I’ve been a bit selfish. I’ve been married to hockey and my team for years, which hasn’t left much time for my actual wife, Ella. Now I’m juggling a separation I never wanted, the pressure of … of being a single dad to our teenage daughter, and the career I sacrificed it all for. While my game on the ice might be on fire, the game in my personal life is clearly lacking, as evidenced by the fact I just saw my wife on a date with another man. If I have any hope of saving the family I love, I need to re-prioritize, and fast. So it’s time for me to get back to fundamentals, just like I did when I learned how to play hockey. I’ve never backed down from a challenge, and romancing my wife is a challenge I am very much looking forward to. Time to put on my game face, because I’m in it to win it.
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4 Stars!
James Steele is a professional hockey player for the Arizona Vengeance in Phoenix. His career is at an all time high, but his personal life has hit rock bottom. He’s been crazy in love with his wife Ella since they were in high school. They had sixteen years of history between them, and planned to be together forever, but have now been separated for the last six months. He’d been blind to the fact she was unhappy and felt invisible. He’d crushed her heart when he’d been too focused on work instead of family. He’d let her and their thirteen year old daughter down by not making them his top priority.
Their still legally married, but she was no longer his. He can’t let her go, and is determined to prove he’s changed, and can be the man she needs. He’s committed to saving his marriage, and is ready to show her he’s serious with his actions. It’s time to up his game and woo her. Show her she’s the center of his universe and remind her of the good times. It’s time to be bold, reconnect, regain her trust, and fight for her, but is it too little too late?
Steele (Arizona Vengeance #9) by Sawyer Bennett is an emotional second chance, sports romance about true loves, trust, forgiveness, and unbreakable connections. I loved Jim’s alpha character and how he’s all in with winning back his wife’s heart. He pursues her relentlessly, and there’s nothing he won’t do to remind her how magical they are together. This story was super sexy, and packed with romance, humor, and passion!
4 “Determined” Stars
Jim Steele is swoony, bossy, and sexy! He wants his wife Ella back and he is ready to first understand why she left him and then to pull out all the stops to fix the issues and win her back. Jim and Ella clearly still love each other and once Jim puts his mind to it, Ella has no chance against him. Jim also has some work to repair his relationship with his daughter, Lucy. Lucy was great, I loved her sweetness and maturity and adored the dog outcome. Steele is another stellar contribution to the Vengeance series. I really enjoyed Steele and devoured it in just a few hours. I highly recommend!
*ARC generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
AMAZING! This wonderful addition to the series is all about Jim Steele and his wife Ella. They’ve been together since high school. They had a good thing going until they didn’t. The story revolves around their marital issues and I imagine they are very similar to the real issues faced by professional athletes in relationships. I found this to be a very realistic interpretation of how things can so easily fall apart in a marriage. What made me fall in love with this book so hard is 100% Jim’s character. His fight and determination to take back what he lost just warmed my soul. There’s few things sexier than a man realizing his mistakes and making an effort to correct them.
Most of the other books in the series revolve around new found love. I absolutely loved that Bennett wrote a story about a couple that went into the league together and have stayed together for the long road. I just can’t say enough about this book and the entire series! Must reads for sure!
This….. This was great. Sometimes in life you get so caught up in life that you forget the most important things are, the people you live with and love the most.
Jim Steele found the love of his life when he was young. He was chasing his dream to play hockey. He put his family on the back burner and was focused on hockey, this allowed him to provide for his family. He got a little lost and forgot that you have to work at. relationship and foster it for it to grow. He found out he hard way when his wife asked him to leave…… sometimes learning about yourself is hard, but when you take the time to listen and hear how you have let someone down, you learn a lot and if you are willing to make a change, and prove that you are all in, amazing things can happen.
I loved this book. Ella was strong and was up front with what she wanted and why. Lucy was a fun part of this story as they impacts on kids is always a part of the story.
It was fun to read about Steele in past books and se how his teammates were just as invested in him finding himself and what truly makes him happy in life. It does sometime take seeing your friends with someone to remember what it was like to have that and push you to do the right thing and find it again before it is too late.
Great add to the series.
I think anyone who has been in long term relationship can relate to this book. Although the series is hockey based, this book can be read as a stand alone. It’s brilliantly written. Sawyer can keep any reader hooked from start to finish. I really hope she continues this series.
We’re nine books in, and I still can’t get enough of this series. Each book has its own flavor – some are extra spicy, some come with edge-of-your-seat thrills, and some – like this one – are just a simple, sweet, sexy love story that fill your heart in the most satisfying way.
I will be the first to admit that romances about married people – particularly those trying to salvage a relationship – are not my favorite. They often feel a little too real life to me. I read to escape and for me – that’s capturing the thrilling butterflies of budding romance. Falling in love for the first time – over and over and over again. That said, every once in a while I pick up a book about a struggling marriage and it is absolute romantic perfection. It delivers on the butterflies, it settles into my heart, and it’s everything I look for in a romance novel.
Steele was like that. It’s relatively low angst. Jim and Ella are two real, honest people who have already lived a lifetime together. There are no games or unnecessary drama here. Instead it’s an earnest story of two people rediscovering the reason they pledged their lives together. It’s a man wooing the heck out of his woman. It’s a woman opening her heart to the second chance. And tossed into the middle of that are a wise-beyond-her-years teenage daughter, and an adorable puppy.
Needless to say, my heart is very happy. Steele was the perfect decadent treat for my heart. It’s a quick read, but it felt like a snippet out of time in their relationship – which felt so real to me at every tender moment, every sizzling encounter. This was another fantastic date with these wonderful Arizona Vengeance guys – and even all these books later, I’m still ready for more!
This is definitely different than any of the other books in this series but no less entertaining and endearing. It was refreshing to see what comes after the “happily ever after”; its not always as happy as we assume it is. Ella and James (Jim) have been married for years but they separate. They embark on an emotionally heartbreaking but beautiful journey trying to repair their marriage. I enjoyed every poignant moment of this story. Sawyer Bennett never ceases to amaze me.
I really enjoyed this one. I liked Steele and Ella a lot and felt like I already knew them because of the previous book (Kane). It was a sweet story and I was really rooting for them. I also loved the steamy parts! What I did not love was that this was not labeled a marriage in crisis romance. That to me is different than second-chance and is typically NOT my type of story. I read it anyway because I love Sawyer Bennett and I love this series. I do recommend it for romance fans and recommend the others in this series as well!
Jim Steele is nothing like his last name .. he is a hot, sexy, big teddy bear, down to earth family man so when Ella asks him to leave there family home he has NO idea or clue why ?? He had no idea Ella was unhappy until he sees her trying to move on and that ugly green thing called jealousy rears his ugly head and FINALLY make Jim see what he hadn’t seen before.
Jim thought HOCKEY was suppose to be enough but when you loose the most important thing you take for granted .. YOUR FAMILY .. you have to try and turn your life around to get it back before it is too late !!
Ella loved Jim with ALL he heart but when he misses important things in there marital and family life .. Lucy piano recital, school functions .. to hand with the guy and play more hockey .. yes that is his job but sometimes family is more IMPORTANT and Jim fines that out BUT will it be too late to get them back ??
Jim vowes to win Ella’s heart back but he know he has to win Lucy back also in the process .. they are a package deal and he will do ANYTHING for his girls !!
The emotions are off the charts in this book !! You go from screaming at Jim to .. singing his praises on the things he does to wooooooo Ella and Lucy back !! Jim has my vote as Dad of the year !! LOVED IT !!
Fantastic, second-chance romance.
”I love you…For all the days of our past together, and all the days of our future.”
When Jim Steele sees his estranged wife out on a date, he realises that he needs to do something to win her back. He may not have fought for his marriage before, but there’s no way he’s going to let it go so easily again. However, not only does he need to win his wife over again, he also needs to win back his teenage daughter.
This story really resonated with me. Jim and Ella have been together since they were teenagers. They’ve grown together and built a life together, all while Jim found success as a hockey player. However, he grew complacent with his life with Ella and took her for granted, and after a while Ella felt unseen, leading her to ask him to leave. I loved following Jim’s efforts to win her back. I adored his romantic efforts to show Ella how much he loved and cherished her. They worked through their doubts and differences and came out the other side stronger. This was a wonderful, really sexy, second-chance romance about love, family, compromise, and never taking the good stuff for granted.
This is the ninth book in the Arizona Vengeance series but can easily be read on a stand alone basis.
I have to say I was expecting a bit more humour from high jinks and a little more drama than we got (after the introduction to this couple from the last book) but that said, this was a lovely sweet romance. It was a nice easy read, had a dash of drama and I loved how this couple had fantastic chemistry between the sheets. Overall it was a real feel good romance.
Adored this book! Jim Steele is so sexy and loveable you can’t help but pull for him to get his second chance. Ms. Sawyer has given us a different kind of romance from the others in this series. Steele is quite the family man which is unique in this series. His marriage has hit a major bump in the road but he will do whatever it takes to get things right again. It’s a fun ride and one you don’t want to miss. I highly recommend it.
5 stars!
Steele by Sawyer Bennett is book #9 in the Arizona Vengeance Series and for me is a top favorite in the series! I totally swooned over Jim Steele and his pursuit to win his wife back.
From the outrageous scene in Kane’s book of Jim and Kane stalking Ella on a date with a new man I have been dying to get his story.
Steele is a veteran player on the team. He has been on the team from the beginning, being traded from the Quebec Royals and is a left winger on the team’s second line. Jim is rugged, and handsome, charming and passionate. He has recently lost his way with his wife and they have been separated for the past six months. That is until he realizes his wife is dating and he could potentially loose her forever.
I loved this story because it isn’t often we get stories about a married couple that are in need of repair. It makes it a real and relatable story because it can so easily happen becoming complacent in a marriage and not appreciating one another.
Jim pulls out all the stops to win Ella back. His persistence and refusal to give up on his marriage I adored. I loved his sweet romantic gestures to prove to his wife he is in it for the long haul and his eyes and ears are open when it comes to the things that were not working in their marriage before their separation.
Ella is so down to earth. She is sweet and caring but also bold and passionate. She works hard and has been Jim’s number one fan throughout their marriage. Jim was not only her husband and partner but also her best friend and their separation was devastating to her but she knows her worth and knows that she deserve to be happy and she wasn’t going to accept anything less.
As Jim and Ella begin to reconnect she wasn’t quick to trust him again but from the beginning it is evident that she loves and adores Jim so much and her resistance was to protect her heart more than anything.
Jim and Ella are high school sweethearts. They fell in love young, married and have a daughter all before 20 years old. Lucy, their now 13 year old daughter plays a big part of this story and the moment Jim gets back into daughter’s good graces and becomes an ally in trying to help her Dad win back her Mom was just the sweetest.
I say this with every review in this series but it bears repeating. The Arizona Vengeance are not just a hockey team. They are a family. From the team owner, to the coach to the players and their wives and children they come together for each other in times of need. I loved how the wives welcomed Ella into their close knit circle so easily and of course she fit right in. I loved getting to know more about Baden, and his injuries, Jett and a potential new love interest, and prickly Riggs and his sister that he looking after and I need more asap!
Sawyer Bennett is an incredible author. Even after nine books in the series I will never tire of these characters. Steele is another fabulous read that left me satisfied and my heart full.
*Advanced reader copy generously received by the author in exchange of an honest review.
This is another great addition to the Arizona Vengeance stories! Ella and Jim Steele are having marital problems and decided to live apart. Ella has started to move forward, leaving Jim behind to ponder on their issues. Can he convince her to give their marriage another try? Is he willing to make the necessary changes to have his family back? This different type of second chance at love is refreshing and shows how the characters have to take stock of their lives and the individual changes they have to make as well as their relationship changes. I love this series, where each member of the team bring something different and create a great support system for each other. I volunteered to review this story.
Wow I just finished this book. My heart is so full. It is a beautiful story on taking a second chance after a split.
Jim (Steele) our Vengeance hockey player has an awakening. He see his estranged wife Ella out with someone else. It is the kick in the pants he needs to decide he wants his family back.
This book is a wonderful romance but it takes a close look at the challenges of marriage. When do you draw the line? What are the priorities in your relationship? How do you honor each other’s needs?
I loved how Jim changed who he was as a husband and also a parent. He didn’t change who he was as a person, just the behaviors that let his family know he was all in.
Ummm you get some spicy in this book. Holy heck, you will see the marriage issues did not include sexual incompatibility. Ella is impressive not only with her openness to sexual play (Wink) but also in what her hard limits are in a relationship. When she is wrong though she isn’t afraid to apologize. Sigh.
Lucy the 13 year old daughter is a beautiful addition and makes this story even more authentic. Love the puppy storyline.
So YEA! I love this story and cast of characters. If you read this series, you will be pleased to know other characters from this series show up, especially the wives Eek. Love it. Touching, steamy, sweet and heartwarming are all words I would use to describe this sports, second chance romance. Happy Reading Everyone!
I liked Steele. It was nice, easy read. Ella, Jim, and Lucy are a lovely family and it was fun to spend some time with them.
**ARC provided for an honest review.**
This is book 9 in the Arizona Vengeance series and I would read at minimum the last couple of books because some of the lead in to this story is mentioned in those books. In this one we get James Steele and his wife Ella’s story. Steele and his wife are separated. His dedication to his team and his profession has left little time for his wife or daughter. He thought he had the perfect relationship, until Ella blindsided him with a separation that he never wanted. Now he is trying to figure out how to be a single dad to his daughter while trying to figure out his new normal. But when he see’s his wife out with another man, he knows he has to figure things out quick. Especially if he wants to save the family he has always wanted. But that also means learning to prioritize and showing his family that he is capable of truly being there for them when they need him to be.
I absolutely loved this story! Steele is not at all what I was expecting. Honestly I thought he would be this man that didn’t really care and just wanted to do the things he wants with little regard for anything else. The fact that he is truly clueless until he is smacked in the face with it? I loved that! He isn’t a bad man, just a clueless man. And when he finally realizes that he could lose the people that he loves if he doesn’t make changes, he actually steps up and does so! I completely get why Ella had to make a change. I think we have all had the same feelings she has-the difference is that she was brave enough to step up and decide she was worth more than she was getting. Her strength and courage were beautiful! These two have a chemistry that is beyond hot but the fact that they also truly love each other was beyond beautiful. I loved every part of this story!
I think every time I read a book by Ms. Bennett, this is the best one yet! I have read all the Arizona Vengeance books and feel like I know the team well. This book gave me hope for two people who are so in love, but have let time and circumstances pull them apart. Sometimes we don’t realize what we have until it is gone. Steele who loves his job as a hockey player, finally sees how much he loves his wife more. Steele is devastated when his wife Ella asks him to move out. This is not something Ella wanted to do, but she feels Steele puts his hockey and team in front of her. She feels invisible and needs more. It is wonderful how his teammates stand by him and are rooting for him to win his wife back. I loved seeing all the little things he did for his wife to show her that he is changing for her as he loves her and his daughter so much. This book touched me in so many ways. I loved it and strongly encourage you to read it. I was given a copy of the book and voluntarily wrote a review.
A second chance may be just what James Steele needs…
I might be one of the older players on the Arizona Vengeance, but I like to think that also makes me one of the wisest. Or at least I used to.
Turns out, I’ve been a bit selfish. I’ve been married to hockey and my team for years, which hasn’t left much time for my actual wife, Ella. Now I’m juggling a separation I never wanted, the pressure of being a single dad to our teenage daughter, and the career I sacrificed it all for.
While my game on the ice might be on fire, the game in my personal life is clearly lacking, as evidenced by the fact I just saw my wife on a date with another man. If I have any hope of saving the family I love, I need to re-prioritize, and fast. So it’s time for me to get back to fundamentals, just like I did when I learned how to play hockey. I’ve never backed down from a challenge, and romancing my wife is a challenge I am very much looking forward to.
Time to put on my game face, because I’m in it to win it.
Loved Ella and Jim’s story! Great 2nd chance romance. I freaking loved reading how Jim salked Ella’s while she was on a date! Enjoyed every page of this book!
I have been waiting for this one, and it couldn’t have been better! I love Jim and how he took accountability for what he did wrong, and works to prove he won’t be that husband again. Ella doesn’t just fall back into his arms, which is awesome, because he needed to work for that second chance. Romantic, sexy, and sweet too, this is a really great book!