RAFE (Arizona Vengeance 6.5 / 1001 Dark Nights) by Sawyer Bennett Review & Excerpt Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 28, 2020.
I was living my dream until one phone call changed everything.
As the second line center for the Arizona Vengeance, my mind has been on one thing—helping my team bring home a championship. But that all changed when I found out my dad had cancer and only months to live. In that moment, nothing mattered more than getting home to North Carolina to be by his side. That meant asking for the unthinkable—a trade to the Carolina Cold Fury.
Now I’m home and when I’m not on the ice with my new team, I’m helping care for my dad. And in the midst of my grief, I find comfort from the one person I never expected.
Calliope Ramirez stole my heart at a very young age. The beautiful, smart, headstrong girl next door, she was my first… everything. She has never forgiven me for leaving her, believing that I chose hockey over a future together. What she doesn’t understand is that every decision I made was for her, and I’ve never given up hope that one day we’d be together again.
Watching my dad slip away is a harsh reminder of how short life can be, and having Callie by my side makes me realize I was a damn fool before. That changes starting right now. Calliope Ramirez is mine and I’m not going to waste the second chance that I’ve been given.
•••••••••
REVIEW: RAFE by Sawyer Bennett is novella 6.5 in the author’s contemporary, adult ARIZONA VENGEANCE erotic, romance hockey series,and the latest instalment in the multi-authored 1001 Dark Nights series. This is twenty six year olds, former Arizona Vengeance center Rafe Simmons, and nurse Calliope Ramirez’ story line. RAFE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Rafe and Calliope) RAFE follows Rafe as he asks for a late season trade to the Carolina Cold Fury, in the aftermath of his father’s end stage cancer. A return home means facing the woman he has never stopped loving, the woman whose heart he destroyed years before. Enter twenty six year old Calliope Ramirez. What ensues is the rebuilding romance between Calliope and Rafe, and the potential fall-out as Rafe wants more than Calliope is willing to give.
Calliope Ramirez was destroyed eight years earlier when the man that she loved left as he embarked on his professional career. Fast forward to present day wherein Calliope struggles to forgive the man that broke her heart. Rafe Simmons never expected to come face to face with the woman he left behind but Calliope will become a bigger part of his life when she reveals she is helping his father in his final days.
The relationship between Calliope and Rafe is one of second chances; a rekindling romance between two people who never stopped loving one another but whose futures went in opposite directions. Calliope never understood why the man that she loved left her behind, and eight years later Rafe is hoping to begin where they left off. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
We are re- introduced to several of the Carolina Cold Fury whom we met in the previous series, as well as welcoming Rafes parents Brenda and Jim, and Calliopes parents Mateo and Danielle.
RAFE is a story of family and grief; second chances and love. The character driven premise mainly focuses on the rekindling romance and Rafes history with a man who is going to die. The premise is engaging and real; the romance is seductive; the characters are colorful and proud.
Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Bishop
Erik
Legend
Dax
Tacker
Dominik
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
➣ Follow Sawyer Bennett on Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sawyer-bennett
I left him at his parents’ house not more than an hour and a half ago. There was no kiss goodbye, only a promise to call me later. I didn’t know what to—or if I should—read into that. The kiss would have implied some lingering affection; the lack of implying the sex was a one-time-only thing, and perhaps a mistake. Yet the promise to call spoke to wanting to see me again. Or maybe we’d just go back to being tentative friends.
Ugh. So confusing. In the moment, the only thing I can think to say is, “What are you doing here?”
“I missed you, too,” he replies with a sly grin, pushing his way into my apartment.
“Why don’t you come on in?” I mutter sarcastically and close the door, noting how good he smells as he passes me. “But, seriously…why are you here?”
Rafe takes a moment to survey my small apartment and then moves into the kitchen. He holds up the grocery bags. “I thought we could hang. I brought all the makings for tacos, and we can watch movies or something. Really great apartment, by the way. It’s totally you.”
I pad across the small living area and rest my forearms on the counter that separates it from the kitchen. He starts unloading the bags—ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, a six-pack of beer.
“Dad’s sleeping, and Mom’s doing some spring cleaning,” he explains as he moves to put the items in my fridge. “She shooed me out of the house, and I thought we could hang.”
“Hang?” I ask skeptically. What does that even mean?
And then it dawns on me.
“Oh,” I drawl in amusement. “You want sex again?”
Rafe pops straight up, looking at me over the refrigerator door, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “You offering?”
“Um,” I reply, unsure of myself.
He grins at me. “As much as you totally rocked my world today at the pond, Poppy, I really just thought we could hang out. Get to know each other again.”
My eyebrows draw inward, and I’m more confused now than ever. I rocked his world? Really?
Why I flush with pride is beyond me, but what makes a girl feel good is what makes a girl feel good.
Rafe shuts the fridge and moves around the kitchen counter to me. He takes my hand in his, covers it with his other, and brings them to his chest, his expression somber. “I know I can’t possibly hope for you to understand what I did to you eight years ago, and I know it’s likely a lot of wishful thinking that you could forgive me completely. But right now, we reconnected, and I want to see where this goes. Today with you has been the best day since I found out about my dad. I guess I just want more of it.”
Since the release of her debut contemporary romance novel, Off Sides, in January 2013, Sawyer Bennett has released more than 30 books and has been featured on both the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists on multiple occasions.
A reformed trial lawyer from North Carolina, Sawyer uses real life experience to create relatable, sexy stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From new adult to erotic contemporary romance, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.
Sawyer likes her Bloody Marys strong, her martinis dirty, and her heroes a combination of the two. When not bringing fictional romance to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to a very active toddler, as well as full-time servant to two adorably naughty dogs. She believes in the good of others, and that a bad day can be cured with a great work-out, cake, or a combination of the two.
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Great review, Sandy. Looks like an excellent story line. Thanks.
Terrific review, Sandy. Another great addition to this series.
Another wonderful review and excerpt, thanks Sandy.
Thanks for another great review. Congrats to Sawyer on the new release.
Thanks for another great review and excerpt Sandy.
wonderful review, sandy. sounds like a great story.
Another great review and excerpt, Thanks Sandy.
Looks great, thanks for the excerpt.
Thanks for another great review.
Great review, Sandy. Sounds like a terrific series.
Great review, Sandy. Looks like a terrific story line.