The Risk by Elle Kennedy | Review

Publisher: self-pubbed
Release Date: February 18, 2019 (out now!)
Source of my copy: author
Series: Briar U #2
My rating:

Synopsis
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.

Going back to Elle Kennedy's Briar U is always such a treat, and The Risk let me hang-out with all my faves again. I inhaled this book, you guys, and I mourned when I turned the last page because it's going to be many months again before I can go back to Briar U.

In The Risk we're following the sexy and confident Brenna Jensen (Briar's hockey coach's daughter) who we met in The Chase (my review) and hockey phemon Jake Connelly who is currently Harvard's (Briar's rival) team captain but he's already drafted and will be playing for a top pro-hockey team after he graduates. I loved Brenna and Jake right away--on their own and together. Brenna was so sassy and not afraid to be sexy and use her charms to one-up Jake. Jake was hot and down-to-earth and take-charge, but always respectful and always thinking about Brenna's pleasure first before his own. They just complemented each other so well and I just love them.

I found it refreshing that there was a lot of scenes of them hanging out with their respective group of friends and family since we rarely get this in other new adult or romance novels once the couple gets together. But, when they're together, their chemistry fairly sizzled off the page! The banter between them where they give as good as they got--LOVE!! The mix of hate-to-love and fake dating and rivalry tropes was everything!

I also love the side plot about Brenna and her dad, Coach Jensen. I guessed long before the big reveal about what happened to Brenna in the past to change her relationship with her father, but their resolution gave me the warm and fuzzies.

My new favorite, though, is Weston "Bubble Butt" (best and most hilarious scene!) Brooks, who I was unsure of in The Chase but now... Well, he absolutely needs his own book!

If you haven't picked up The Risk already, you are missing out on NA gold. You do not need to read The Chase first to enjoy The Risk, but trust me, you're going to want to pick it up anyway. Highly recommend!

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