Steele (Arizona Vengeance #9)

3.5 Stars This has quickly become one of my favorite series. I’ve loved every book. This one was good, but not one of my favorites. Steele was different from the earlier books. He has already found his happy ever after. He got overly comfortable with the relationship he had with his wife. Now he’s set out to win her over again, and show her he has heard everything she’s said, and he can change, become a better husband and father. Jim and Ella were high school sweethearts. They fell in love early. Married when Ella got pregnant. She followed him wherever his career took him. Understood that a professional hockey player traveled a lot and had team commitments. But when he starts to choose his team and teammates over her and family time, she’s had enough. Asks him to move out. They formally separate. After six months, she’s ready to try again, to move on. She starts dating another man. When Ella asks Jim to move out, he’s stunned. Absolutely oblivious to any problems they are having. As far as he knew, they were both happy. Ella never complained, they had a great sex life, all was good in his world. He finally wakes up and hears what she’s been trying to tell him for years, he doesn’t really “see” her. She feels invisible in their relationship. When he sees her on a date, he decides he’s going to win her back. No matter what it might cost him, he’s going to show her nothing is more important than her and their daughter. This was a very sweet second chance, win your wife back, story. There is not a lot of angst, or back and forth between Jim and Ella. A tiny bit of drama. Just a nice eye opening story. To me it felt like their story was the thread used to revisit all of the past couples and introduce the next players in coming books. There was a lot of time spent on retelling bits and pieces of past couples books. I think Jett might be in a bit over his head with the woman he’s set his sights on, and Rigg is interesting, intriguing. Can’t wait to see where they go. The one thing I love about this authors hockey books, is that normally, she includes lots of hockey, lots of locker room banter and on ice time. There was not as much of that in this book. I missed it. But I will buy the next book. They are well written. Told in dual points of view. Despite the separation, there is no cheating. And they do reconcile in the end.

The Arizona Vengeance series is a very good one and the addition of Steele, just strengthens it. Jim and Ella Steele are high school sweethearts that have been married for more than a dozen years and they share a teenaged daughter, but they are currently enduring a separation. Ella asked Jim to leave about six months earlier because he seemed to be choosing everything else over her and their daughter, Lucy. To put it simply, he was being selfish. Now that Jim has had time to reflect on what Ella has been telling him and also as he thinks back to his behavior, he realizes that she\’s right and if he wants any chance to get her back, he\’s going to have to make some changes. While Ella has taken steps to begin to move on, will Jim be able to change her mind and show her that their marriage is worth another try? It\’s rare you encounter a second-chance romance where the couple is married and fighting for their relationship, but I loved it. We saw the push and pull from both sides and how they both had to look inwardly to take stock of what they both wanted. I also liked how their daughter Lucy fit into the story, as well as the WAGs; they gave Ella some great advice. Another great addition to this series!

This book is a second-chance romance at its absolute finest. Hands down, this is my all-time favorite book in the Vengeance series. We got a little backstory into Jim Steele in the previous Vengeance book, we learned that he and his wife had separated, but he vows to win her back. He pulled out all of the stops in his story. I loved how determined Steele was to win Ella back. He was sweet and romantic, but he was also dominant at times. I also loved watching him come to certain realizations through conversations with Ella about why she asked him to leave and how his actions affected her. As for Ella, she wasn’t afraid to stand her ground, and she wouldn’t just let a few of Jim’s romantic gestures blind her to why she asked him to leave in the first place. She was such a strong female lead, and the back and forth between the two was the absolute perfect amount of sugar and spice. Sawyer Bennett has once again created a story that was so easy to fall in love with. I really loved watching Jim and Ella fall back in love again, while not without complications, it was truly beautiful. I also love that we got to spend some time with the core women of the Vengeance, as well as their men! I swear the Arizona Vengeance books get better with every book. Just when I think she can’t top what she wrote last, Sawyer somehow manages to! I’m so excited to see what’s next for the Vengeance!

Absolutely loved this book. Loving the whole series. Loved the connection Jim and Ella had together. Lucy is adorable. Such a loving and passionate young girl. So glad that Jim got his second chance with Ella although I don\’t think she ever really let him go. Love this whole series. Waiting for Jett now.

Steele’s story was certainly worth the wait and loved his wooing of Ella. I did laugh and cry with this book and I just adored Lucy. I can read the books in this series over and over and get pulled in each and every time.

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