Locke by Sawyer Bennett | Audiobook Review • Ana's Attic Book Blog

Locke (Portland Wildfire 2) by Sawyer Bennett

Narrated by Alistair Haynesbridge and Samantha Summers

Hockey Romance. Standalone in a series.

ALC received from the author. All thoughts are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Since I work for Sawyer Bennett, I don’t formally rate her books, but I still like to share my thoughts when I read them. I’m really glad I got in on the Portland Wildfire series from the beginning. Though each book stands alone, I’m enjoying watching this expansion team come together from the start.

Dr. Livia Cross is brought in as a high-performance consultant to work with the Portland Wildfire team, but her biggest challenge is Locke Donovan. He’s angry, closed off, and leads the team in penalties, earning himself a reputation for being a problem. He has absolutely no interest in opening up to Livia, but the team owner has mandated that he attend sessions with her. As Locke slowly starts to open up, Livia realizes there’s a lot more going on underneath all that anger.

I really liked Locke and Livia together, especially as we learned more about what was behind his behavior. I did have a bit of a hard time with Livia risking this amazing job she worked so hard for when Locke had so much less to lose, since they would never fire a player. This bothers me in a lot of sports romances, especially when the woman has fought to earn her place in a male-dominated field. The stakes just seem so much higher for her.

I’m also really enjoying the way the Portland Wildfire is starting to come together. Billionaire owner Patrick Rowe is determined to give this team the best of everything, and every time we get another little glimpse of him, I want his story even more. I REALLY hope we get that man’s book! I’m enjoying getting to know the other players too, and I love watching the friendships develop as the team finds its footing.

The Narration:

Alistair Haynesbridge and Samantha Summers are new, or at least fairly new, to me, and I thought they were fantastic. It’s nice to hear some new talent for a change, and I hope to hear more from both of them. This is dual narration (not duet), but they both did a great job voicing each other’s characters.

The Down & Dirty:

Locke is the second standalone in the Portland Wildfire series, but I’m really glad I started with Crosby so I can watch this team grow from the beginning. Locke’s growth throughout the story felt hard-earned and real, and I loved the lighter moments the secondary characters brought to the story. One thing Sawyer does so well is make each book in a series feel different, going from lighthearted to emotional to suspenseful, so you never quite know what you’re going to get. Locke definitely packed an emotional punch, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us with Arch, the next book in the Portland Wildfire series.