I was so excited to jump back into the Cold Fury world. I love this team! Hawke is a decent addition to the series, and Hawke as a character is an awesome character that I really liked getting to know. The story itself didn't wow me like I was hoping though. It moved at a staggering pace at times and I didn't see as much progression with the couple or their story like I would prefer. And, I was also a little disappointed at how little we saw of the other couples, which is always something I like to see in companion novels. 
 Ever since the beginning of the book, I couldn't really connect to Vale and what she did to Hawke. It was all just so sudden and I could easily tell it was out of anger and immaturity, so I didn't like it at all. Later on, when the truth comes out (which I kind of sensed from the beginning) I sympathized with her situation, for sure, but her reasoning and logic just made me shake my head. Even as a proper adult, she rubbed me the wrong way with her logic and way of thinking. She knew what she did or how she handled things was wrong, yet she still harbored resentment towards a guy who had no clue what was really going on. It would be one thing if the guy ever did anything to her in the past to make her feel like he would or could be a jerk, but Hawke was a loving and thoughtful boyfriend. And it's not like she had a horrible past that would make her distrust me easily or anything like that. I just couldn't see where her feelings were coming from. I felt like she didn't grow and develop enough for me to appreciate or like her much at all. I will say that at the very end she showed that she matured a bit, so it redeemed her character for me. 
 (view spoiler)[Yes, their love was consuming, but using that as a reason why she didn't know she was pregnant and how that's the reason she taught they were good for each other is just BS to me. The way she handled the situation was very immature and the reasoning why she didn't tell Hawke about the miscarriage, because he wanted to hang out with his friends, just made me mad. She knew he wasn't like that, that he cared for her deeply, yet for some reason, she wanted to blame him and turned against him. For being in such a "consuming" and loving relationship, I found the way she handled it very odd. 
 Also, RANT And as much as I love and respect Bennett and her writing, I was a bit put off with the whole issue of Vale's doctor telling her it was her fault that she miscarried. I can't speak for all doctor's, but it's pretty much drilled in our heads that miscarriages are your body's way of getting rid of a bad pregnancy, and it's not the woman's fault. Yes, there can be factors that affect it, but if the pregnancy was meant to happen, it would and anything that the mother does during the pregnancy would just lead to birth defect and the like. Even though Vale looked like an irresponsible junkie, a good doctor would not just assume that, especially not before asking about their social history. I guess Bennett is trying to point out the factor that Vale had a bad doctor and she was an impressionable and clueless youth, but still. END RANT (hide spoiler)] 
 I still love this series whole-heartedly, but Hawke was definitely not my favorite book of the series. Hawke himself was great, but also not my favorite Cold Fury guy. As far as second-chance love stories goes, this one kind of veered off the mark for me. In any case, I am very curious about Max and am so happy to hear that there will be a book on him. I can't wait!