Slick's review posted on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews 
 5 STARS 
 Review copy provided for an honest review 
 This is my first book by author Sawyer Bennett but it won't be my last, I am hooked. In the last few months I have found myself reading a whole slew of hockey related romances and while I still have yet to see a game; I feel I understand the game better because of these books. Alex by Sawyer Bennett is the latest in my hockey-love fest and it is a complicated but remarkably fascinating story of a talented player who doesn't love the game and a woman who until she met him had no idea who he is and has never seen a game in her life. This is a romance between someone who has no idea what love is and someone who is eternally optimistic despite everything she's overcome; it is inspiring, it is heartwarming, it is heartbreaking, it is hopeful, and most of all it is proof that it just takes one special person to fill your life with the light you need to overcome your darkness. This is way more than a hockey romance and I am blown away by this book and this author. 
 Alex Crossman is considered one of the best hockey players in the NHL but he's a hockey player that hates the game. He plays because it is the only thing he's good at and he intends to play for as long as he can and save as much as he can for when his career ends. It is simply a means to an end. He doesn't interact with his teammates or the fans and he's widely known at the Cold Fury's MVP (Most Valuable Prick) and he's okay with that but the team management isn't and so he gets a special assignment to help with a substance abuse outreach program; one he must give his all to or he'll be subjected to some heavy duty fines and reduced playing time. The minute he meets Sutton Price he knows she's different, he knows he wants to bed her, but he has no idea how much they have in common or the many ways she will change his life. 
 I'll be upfront and honest Alex really is a prick but it becomes evident pretty quickly that it's an act, a persona that he's created to hide behind. He suffered through some pretty awful things in his childhood and he's never dealt with it and it has affected everything in his life. Sutton's early life was far from pretty and as Alex begins to get to know her he can't understand her sunny outlook on life. He doesn't understand her optimism or why she isn't bitter but he does know that she makes him feel things he's never allowed himself to feel before. 
 I really loved these two together and it was remarkable watching them both grow and learn to accept the flaws and idiosyncrasies of the other. Their chemistry from the first time they met was off the charts and only got hotter as they spent more time together. I also loved how once Sutton started breaking through Alex's tough exterior he began to let other people in including a teammate and Sutton's family. It was pretty amazing watching their relationship change and watching Alex struggle to accept those changes. I give Sutton so much credit for the great amount of patience and understanding she had as she watched Alex struggle to understand everything that was happening to him. 
 I really could go on and on and on about this book but I'm going to just stop and encourage you to run right now and go and buy this book because you will not be sorry. This is my first book by author Sawyer Bennett but it won't be my last, I am hooked. Emotional, sexy, complicated, and simply amazing Alex is a book you do not want to miss!