Stone by Sawyer Bennett Release Blitz

Minor league player Stone Dumelin lost his younger brother when the Titans’ team plane went down. He never expected the phone call that followed.

After a shoulder injury put my NHL career on ice, I resigned myself to the fact I’d never see my way out of the minor league again. As my career faded, my estranged brother’s star shot into orbit as the first line left winger for the Pittsburgh Titans. But when the team’s plane crashed returning home one night, his light was snuffed out, and I was given the opportunity of a lifetime.

Now I’m in Pittsburgh, playing for the Titans, and face-to-face with my dead brother’s ghost at every turn. His locker, his legacy, his persistent and annoyingly gorgeous attorney who won’t stop contacting me about his estate, even though I’ve demanded she leave me alone.

Harlow Alston would be extremely appealing if she wasn’t so aggravating. Only…that’s a complete lie. She pushes all the right buttons for me, and as much as I want her to quit pestering me about Brooks’s estate, I find myself intrigued by the fiery redhead who can’t take no for an answer. And the more I learn about Harlow, the more I find she might be the key to understanding who Brooks really was, and who I want to be.

I’ve got a second shot at a career I thought I’d lost and the opportunity to build something real with Harlow, but can I find strength to move forward or will my past dictate my future?

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Pittsburgh Titans series!
For book one, Baden, click HERE.

 

 

Book 2
Buy Links

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance, Sports
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Stone is getting a second chance at being in the NHL. However, he isn't sure if he's getting that chance because of what he can bring to a team or because of his family tragedy. Stone isn't going to let his family come between him and playing again. When he finds himself being dogged by an attorney after his brother's death, he isn't happy. In fact, he wants her to leave him alone. He doesn't want anything to do with his brother's estate at all. He knows that his mom and dad will want it all and he is done with them.

Harlow can't believe her best friend is gone. Having gotten to know him over the years, she knows that he has a lot of regret when it comes to his relationship with his brother. Harlow is asked to do the unthinkable – make sure that Stone reads his brother's journals. She knows it's going to be a battle when Stone comes barreling into her office, all smoke and hot air.

What follows is a fantastic friendship that can only be described as blossoming. You get to see each of them figure out whether or not they can truly be friends – or more – and you get to see Stone's brother's life through Harlow's eyes instead of his terrible parents' eyes.

I wanted to see more happen to the parents. It seemed like they got off too easily. However, the other aspects of the book were great! I can't wait to see more from this series. You won't be disappointed. This book makes you believe in friendship and redemption after all. The characters are well developed, strong, and able to show vulnerability, they have their own lives, and are able to co-mingle each of their lives to become one. I really enjoyed this story.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
Can I say how much I love the Pittsburgh Titans series? I do and I'm only on book two of what I hope to be a seven to eight book series. The way Sawyer Bennett can craft original stories, and add hockey to the mix, is amazing.

Stone Dumelin is a man in pain. Not the physical pain from playing hockey, but the emotional pain that comes from being raised by manipulative parents and an estrangement from his younger brother. He loves his younger brother, Brooks, but somehow, they both have let their father's comments and innuendos create a divide between them. And the pain of that estrangement is magnified when the plane carrying the Titans hockey team crashes and Stone loses any chance of reconciliation.

Stone's heyday in the majors is done, he's battling it out playing minor league hockey, his parents have ignored his grief, and if it wasn't for his aunt, he would truly be alone. Now, an unexpected offer from the Titans has him back playing in the majors and all he can think is that it's a pity offer, people will think he's trying to take Brooks’ place and will find him lacking.

Harlow Alston is also grieving Brooks’ death. The pair had been neighbors for a couple of years and have helped each other stay on the sober path. She's never met Stone, but she knew that Brooks adored his brother, even if he couldn't tell Stone his truth.

Stone's emotional baggage creates obstacles in his life in Pittsburgh, and that includes Harlow. Once he realizes that Harlow was a good friend of Brooks, he realizes that getting to know her will also allow him to know his brother.

What starts out as friendship has the potential for more, if only Stone can work through the layers of emotional abuse caused by his parents.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in this series – I would recommend that you read Baden first, as it will give you a good grasp of the task that faces this newly assembled team. If you are a fan of the Arizona Vengeance series, you will know the catastrophic event that led to the Titans being a newly formed team.

This story runs pretty much concurrently with Baden, giving us Stone's story. His brother, Brooks, died in the plane crash, and now Stone has been called up from the minors to join the team. As we learn more about the relationship between the brothers, we also understand more about Stone's demeanour. Adding to Baden's insight into the team being rebuilt, now we are on the ice with the front line. We learn no more about Coen's mindset... and that is so tantalising!

I loved that Harlow had so many of the answers; having been Brooks’ closest friend, she has a lot of ability to support Stone, and yet was sensitive enough to be patient and consistent for him. It was also great fun that her dog, Odin, made Stone work for the friendship that he nearly blew on day one. What was even more perfect though, was that Harlow was not without faults, and was prepared to be open about them.

The combination of hockey, romance, and dealing with the loss of an estranged brother make this book both exciting, passionate, and emotional. I highly recommend it.

 

 

 

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, click HERE to sign up for her newsletter.

Sawyer also writes general and women’s fiction under the pen name S. Bennett and sweet romance under the name Juliette Poe.

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Facebook Group: Sawyer Bennett's Never Ending Party

 

 

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Stone (Pittsburgh Titans #2) by Sawyer Bennett to read and review for this tour.