The Risk by Elle Kennedy

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Title: The Risk
Author: Elle Kennedy
Series: Briar U #2
Published by: Indie
Release Date: February 18, 2019
Format: eARC
Pages: 432
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Sports Romance
Source: Nina Bocci PR
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 AtoZ Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER Winter 2018
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks
My rating:

Blurb:

A sexy standalone novel from New York Times and international bestselling author Elle Kennedy. THE RISK takes you back to the world of hot hockey players, feisty heroines, bro banter, and steamy scenes...

Everyone says I’m a bad girl. They’re only partly right—I don’t let fear rule me, and I certainly don’t care what people think. But I draw the line at sleeping with the enemy. As the daughter of Briar’s head hockey coach, I’d be vilified if I hooked up with a player from a rival team.

And that’s who Jake Connelly is. Harvard’s star forward is arrogant, annoying, and too attractive for his own good. But fate is cruel—I require his help to secure a much-coveted internship, and the sexy jerk isn’t making it easy for me.

I need Connelly to be my fake boyfriend.

For every fake date…he wants a real one.

Which means this bad girl is in big trouble. Nothing good can come from sneaking around with Jake Connelly. My father would kill me, my friends will revolt, and my post-college career is on the line. But while it’s getting harder and harder to resist Jake’s oozing sex appeal and cocky grin, I refuse to fall for him.

That’s the one risk I’m not willing to take.

My Review:

I received a free copy through Nina Bocci PR in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4 stars — I’m not always a big fan of enemies to lovers, but this one worked out okay for me.  I think part of it is that there wasn’t any genuine hostility, they just enjoyed being rivals and giving each other shit.  So there was a lot of little taunts and jabs, but it never felt mean-spirited.

Both characters were unlike any I’ve really read before.  Brenna had SUCH a hard shell around herself.  As the story went on and we learned more about her and her past, I feel like I totally understand why she is the way she is, and it makes sense.  And it wasn’t just that she kept others at bay, she was tough on herself as well…except, not.  Like, she was this weird mix of self-assured, confident woman, with a little kernel of self-doubt and shame…mostly coming from her relationship with her Dad.  I really appreciated the way her relationship with her Dad played out at the end…it felt believable, and realistic.  Sometimes I have a harder time with heroines who are so…hardened??  Not quite what I’m looking for.  But it makes it harder for even the reader to connect with her at times, and I felt this a teensy bit with Brenna.  I liked her, I admired her, I thought she was hilarious, and my heart hurt for her past…but I couldn’t relate necessarily.

And then there’s Jake.  He was his own bit of conundrum.  He’s SUPER confident, cocky even, though genuinely talented, and more importantly hard-working.  I admired his drive and ethic.  And he was very guy-y.  Like he enjoyed the spoils of being a hockey player, and getting all the action off the ice so easily.  But I didn’t feel like he was a playboy necessarily…more just that that was what was happening in his life, that was what fit around his hockey schedule, but I never felt any judgement from him over the girls he slept with.  I think that’s one of the number one things I love about Ms. Kennedy’s writing (and authors like her): the complete lack of slut-shaming.  OH GAWD, SO REFRESHING.  I’m not saying our characters don’t have problems, but at least the book isn’t full of judgement.  (sorry, been running into that a lot)  ANYWAYS.  I really kind of loved watching Jake fall for Brenna.  I LOVED that he appreciated (and was turned on) by her confidence.  And I loved that while he was like a confused rabbit dealing with his feelings, he didn’t run from them like so many heroes do.  Well, not exactly.  He acknowledged them, he just got overwhelmed.  Again, ahhhhhh…refreshing.

The two of them together were pretty funny.  They really did rag on one another with abandon.  And I definitely felt their chemistry, though perhaps not always as much as previous couples.  I really believed their feelings, I was just missing something there that I can’t seem to pinpoint.

The hockey stuff was great.  Loved the in depth descriptions of the big match-up.  As a HUGE Edmonton Oilers fan, and someone who lives there now, I was both excited to get a mention, and dismayed by the “Edmonton is cold” misconceptions.  *sigh*  It’s a dry cold!  It’s not like that all winter!  😉

The Hollis side storyline was completely unexpected and amusing, if a bit OTT at times.  I kinda wanted his book, so I’m not sure if this means he’s not getting one, though I expect not.  So that was both a plus and a minus, it left me feeling torn.  I also appreciated the way Hunter’s story ended up.  So there were lots of good things coming for our boys, but I didn’t connect with any of the side girl characters really.  Hazel’s storyline was unfortunately cliche, so it was hard to connect with her.

So yeah.  Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining, with undercurrents of seriousness here and there.