Unabridged Audiobook
I am voluntarily writing this review after listening to a gifted ALC of this novel via The Author Agency. KACE is Book 20 in the PITTSBURGH TITANS series by Sawyer Bennett. Kace Elliott leads a double life as a professional hockey goalie and a scientific research assistant. He falls for Dr. Laurel Kent, a brilliant physics professor for whom he works remotely. Determined to have Laurel fall in love with the professional hockey player before revealing his secret identity, Kace finds himself tangled in his own web of lies and afraid to lose the woman who had stolen his heart. This is a spicy, open door, first person, dual POV, contemporary sports romance with tropes like hockey romance, women in STEM, slow burn, he falls first and harder, secret/hidden identity, found family, workplace romance, brainy heroine, and swoony hero. I really liked this new volume in the series about the Pittsburgh Titans hockey team. I found Kace’s dual identity of professional athlete/physics researcher and MENSA level IQ fascinating, and appreciated the point that being a jock doesn’t mean you aren’t smart. I loved having a front row seat as the author challenges Laurel’s preconceived assumptions that she would have nothing in common with an athlete. While Kace made mistakes during his courtship, I did understand his thought process, which was validated by Laurel’s initial response to him. Both main characters were likable and showed growth by the end of the novel, Laurel having made positive changes in more than one area of her life. I always love a hockey romance because of the found family aspect of the team, and this novel follows that norm. The narrators, Aiden Snow and Isabelle Ruther, did a really good job bringing these characters to life, including distinctive voices for the various secondary characters. The recording played well at a number of different speeds. I definitely recommend this audiobook for listeners who enjoy contemporary hockey romance and women in STEM.
ALC AUDIO REVIEW How are we 20 stories into this series!! It is so baffling to me. I feel like it was just yesterday that tragedy befell Pittsburgh and now this team has risen from the ashes. Kace and Laurel are a match made in heaven. I could tell from the very beginning that Kace's plan was going to blow up in his face, but cheered him on nontheless. I loved revisiting the bond between Kace, Lucky, Penn and Atlas. These guys are always there for one another even if they give bad advice :) I love that Kace could related to Laurel on so many levels, even if she didn't realize it. These two were the perfect couple to end the series, if this is where we are at. The narration for the one was great. Aiden Snow and Isabelle Ruther do a great job bringing their characters to life. So much emotion and I felt like I was watching a TV show versus listening to a book. I can't wait to see where Ms. Bennett leads us next!
I listened to the audiobook version of this story and I love how sweet these two are to each other. Kace and Laurel are both brilliant, super smart people and I love that in main characters. I loved the fun feel of this story and although, yes, we could easily predict exactly what Laurel's reaction would be to finding out Kace and William were the same person, Kace's reaction to the situation was refreshing and mature, and I loved that. These two had such amazing chemistry it's impossible not to root for them and the time they spent around the rest of the team and the WAGs was so fun. The one thing I never really understood was Laurel's pov of "my family doesn't really understand me cause I like science". That being said, I loved her mom and dad and how they treated her and Kace. The narration by Aiden Snow and Isabelle Ruther was excellent, especially Aiden as Kace. OMG I love that man's voice. All in all, this is a great hockey goalie romance and I loooooooove goalies!!!
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