Coen

Coen is a disgrace to his team and a terrible person to everybody. One day while on a trail around his cabin he meets Tillie. Tillie is a sweet artist with a dream. She is strong willed, stuborn, has a group of childhood friends to surround her and help her. What started out as neighbourly hate, soon will turn to something else. Their journey to an HEA is not easy and without obstacles along the way, but these obstacles are Coen's own guilt about the crash and in his mind betraying a friend . An emotional story of loss, guilt, heartwarming sweetness and scorching hot at times.I can't wait to read what's next for the Titans and their owner... I volunteered to review this story.

4.25stars—COEN is the fourth instalment in Sawyer Bennett’s contemporary, adult PITTSBURGH TITANS, erotic, hockey romance series focusing on the NHL’s fictional Pittsburgh Titans. This is star player Coen Highsmith, and artist Tillie Marshall. COEN can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story.

SOME BACKGROUND: Several weeks earlier, a devastating plane crashed claimed the lives of the entire Pittsburgh Titans hockey team including coaches and staff. Rebuilding the team, owner Brienne Norcross, offered positions to one-time professional and semi-pro players, including our story line hero.

Told from dual first-person perspectives (Coen and Tillie) COEN follows in the wake of hockey star Coen Highsmith’s suspension from the NHL. Since the plane crash that killed his former team, Coen has struggled with survivors remorse and personal guilt, a struggle that was about to spiral his professional career. Taking his anger out on fellow players and officials, Coen finds himself sidelined as the team is about to head into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Determined to quit hockey, Coen buys a cabin in the woods, preferring to become a recluse, all by himself but Coen never expected to come face to face with his closest neighbor, a woman who wants to change the landscape to further her art. Enter Tilden ‘Tillie’ Marshall, and the woman with whom Coen will fall in love. What ensues is the building but acrimonious relationship between Tillie and Coen, and the potential fall-out as Coen must come to terms with the loss of his friends, and the remorse that often threatens to overwhelm.

Tillie Marshall knows loss first-hand but has battled all of her life to fit in and belong. Bullied since childhood, Tillie empathizes with her new neighbor, a man who is currently struggling to fit in where he doesn’t feel he belongs. Coen Highsmith wants to be left alone but his new neighbor is determined to take down the trees between their mutual cabins. Threatening a lawsuit , Coen must battle between head and heart when he begins to fall for his new found enemy.

The relationship between Coen and Tillie begins acrimoniously when Coen discovers Tillie has plans to remove several trees. In an effort to stop Tillie from changing the landscape Coen hires a lawyer to stop the woman with whom he is falling in love. Love is about to change our story line hero, love that breaks through the grief and sadness of a man who is unable to forgive himself. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including most of the previous story line couples and characters, as well as Tillie’s closest friends, and the requisite small town bullies and gossips.

COEN is a story of loss, grief, guilt and sorrow, forgiveness and moving forward. The premise is captivating; the romance is seductive; the characters are battered but starting to thrive.

𝟰 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗳𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗢𝗘𝗡 𝗯𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘁

"𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐?"

COEN is Coen and Tilden’s story and the fourth book in the Pittsburgh Titans series.

Coen has had enough of hockey and everyone to do with it so he moves to a secluded cabin in a small town hoping for seclusion. Everything was going as planned until his neighbor wants to change the tree line between their properties. Tilden will do whatever it takes to break down Coen.

Coen and Tilden have some great banter between them leading up to them giving into their mutual attraction and burning chemistry. I love how Tilden was able to help Coen battle his demons and return to the old Coen, prior to the crash.

Aaron Shedlock did a great job as Coen. I am still on the fence about Lucy Rivers as Tilden. There were points I enjoyed her narration and there were points that sounded too much like she was reading a book instead of telling a story.

COEN contains… sports (hockey), frenemies, neighbors, opposites, and dual first-person point of view.