Baden: A Pittsburgh Titans Novel

Baden is the first book in the new Pittsburgh Titans hockey series. If there is one thing I know, it is that Sawyer Bennett knows how to write hockey books and this one was no exception. Baden Oulett was playing for the Arizona Vengeance when his entire world changed. His act of heroism helping a woman who was being attacked, got him injured to the point where he was paralyzed from the waist down and wasn't predicted to walk again, let alone play hockey. When a devastating plane crash kills all but three players from the Pittsburgh Titans hockey team, Baden is asked to come be the new goalie coach. Is it something he can really do? Does he want to? Sophie Winters was the woman who was attacked that fateful night in Arizona. She lives in the Pittsburgh area and the attack has left her with paralyzing fear, anxiety and while she's making progress, it's very slow. She's pretty much homebound at this point due to the fear she deals with. When Baden shows up on her door step, things begin to change. Will he be able to pull her out of her shell? Both Baden and Sophie share a connection that most could never (and wouldn't want to) understand. It's obvious from the beginning that they not only share the connection from the attack, but they are attracted to one another as well. Will they be able to help one another continue to grow and find the "new" normal that each of them are searching for? I enjoyed this a lot. I liked both Baden and Sophie and they were both strong characters even though they went through something that broke them all the way down and they had to rebuild. I did feel like the book ended pretty abruptly. It felt like there should have been something more there, but maybe we'll get it in the next book in this series. I look forward to what's next with this new group of hockey players.

A great start to a new spin off series. I really enjoyed this slow burn with scorching hot chemistry. Two broken souls find friendship then love after a horrific tragedy. This one will grab you from the get go and you won’t want to put it down. I enjoyed Aiden Snow and Lessa Lamb’s narration.

This book is a spinoff from the Arizona Vengeance series. While Baden Oulett was on the Arizona Vengeance hockey team he came to the defense of a woman being attacked. Little did he know that this event would end up turning his life upside down. Even though all of the doctors thought his chance of walking again was slim, they never expect Baden to be at the level he is now. Just when things in Baden's life are starting to look up, his best friend from childhood, Wes, is killed in a plane crash along with the most of the Pittsburgh Titan hockey team and staff. While Baden is in Pittsburgh for the funeral, the Titan's owner, Brienne Norcross offers him the goalie coaching job. Now Baden just has to figure out if he can accept giving up his dream of playing again. After Baden accepts the coaching position he goes to visit Sophie Winters, the woman he saved who was being attacked. Sophie was extremely surprised to see Baden walking, while Baden was extremely surprised to see the mental toll the attack had taken on Sophie. He tells Sophie that he is moving to Pittsburgh and that he would like to be friends. Of course the more time these two spend together, the closer they become. They are each helping the other with lingering issues they both have from the attack. Before you know it, these two are taking their friendship to another level. Just when it looks like these two are going to get their happy ending, the past comes back to haunt Sophie and throws a wrench into things. It will take a lot of soul searching for Sophie to get past her issues but she does it in a spectacular way. I enjoyed this new sexy, hockey story. I really loved Baden. He was such a strong willed fighter. I can't imagine going through all what he did and still end up being whole. I liked Sophie although at times I couldn't understand why she did some of the things she did. Overall this was a great start to the new series. I'm hoping the ex-goalie Drake McGinn comes to play for the Titans. Looks like he would be a great match for the owner, Brienne! ;)