Review: The Risk by Elle Kennedy ~ Smokin' Hot Book Blog

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...

THE RISK by ELLE KENNEDY

Publication date: February 18, 2019

Series: Briar #2

Genre: new adult romance

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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.

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Praise for Elle Kennedy's The Risk

"Elle Kennedy writes the best sports romances! The Risk was an unputdownable, funny, steamy novel that now has me hooked on reading about hot hockey players!” — New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward

“Elle Kennedy is the queen of hate-to-love-you sexy romance! A 2019 favorite!”
— Vi Keeland, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Briar U just keeps getting hotter!”
— Sarina Bowen, USA Today bestselling author of Brooklynaire

“The Risk is the perfect combination of humor, heart and heat. No one writes deliciously sexy and laugh-out-loud funny better than Elle Kennedy. I loved this book!” — USA Today bestselling author Nikki Sloane

About Elle Kennedy

A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

You can find her on:

Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Blog

REVIEW

The Risk by Elle Kennedy
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Elle Kennedy is really talented when it comes to not only creating intriguing secondary characters, but building excitement for who they are going to be matched with in future books. That's definitely the case when I read The Chase and saw the friction between Brenna and Jake. Although I didn't love the first in the series, the potential enemies to lovers story had me clamoring to get ahold of their book. This author does snarky dialogue and banter like no other, and she created two characters who couldn't have been better matched on the sarcasm front. Brenna is full of fire. She's blunt, bold, and outrageous. Jake Connelly, the hotshot forward on Harvard's team, enjoys nothing more than teasing and getting a reaction out of her. When they went head to head, all you could do was sit back and enjoy the show.

Connelly is the captain of the Harvard hockey team, AKA, THE ENEMY.

Even from the very beginning, it was obvious that neither disliked each other. Drawn? Attracted? Yes. Even when she was laying into him with a well-crafted insult. Instead of getting offended by her snark, he admired her even more for it. Not only did he think she was drop dead gorgeous, confident, and funny, he respected her assertiveness. She knew what she wanted, and she went after it with everything she had.

Melodic laughter spills out of her throat. I can’t deny I like hearing it. No, I like knowing that I’m the one who made her laugh.

Jake is the kind of guy that has charisma coming out of his pores. You can't help but like the guy, as personable and outgoing as he is because he isn't full of his own importance. Even though he's almost secured a spot at stardom in the professionals, he's still grounded and hasn't let it get to his head. There really isn't much conflict revolving around him, it's mostly related to Brenna. She carries around some heavy baggage that she doesn't allow anyone to see. A broken relationship with her father and a disaster of a past romance in high school that continues to weigh on her life occupy a lot of her headspace. She's come a long way from the rebellious teen that she used to be, but she can't seem to fully put the past behind her. She's worked hard to improve herself and reach for her goals, but in the eyes of her father, she's still the same disappointing person who can't be trusted.

I wonder how other people cope with the knowledge that their parents are ashamed of them. The weight of my father’s shame has been pressing down on my shoulders for years, and I’ve yet to find a way to deal with it.

Her one and only serious relationship failed, and it failed epically. Since then, she's lost all desire for emotional entanglements. After all, her ex wasn't capable of being there for her at her lowest and darkest. Why should she risk her heart again if it was all in vain? She had a goal to make it in the sports broadcasting industry, and nothing was going to stand in her way. Thing is, it was a little hard for her to get her foot in the door when her potential boss at her dream job was a sexist pig. That's where Jake comes in and things get interesting. As her internship interview is clearly tanking, she drops Jake's name and the next thing she knows, she's agreeing to bring her "boyfriend" to his house for dinner. Could annoying, cheeky Jake be the key to getting her big break?

Based on the synopsis, I thought there would be more involved with their "fake relationship" but it was literally one fake/real date and that was it. There wasn't any slow burn involved with these two, though there was definitely some resistance involved. As the captain of the team, he didn't want to become distracted at a crucial point in the season. She had trust issues a mile wide, and a fear of getting too close because he was on a fast track to stardom after Harvard. In a few short months, he'd be gone.

Jake steadily broke down her walls and it didn't take long for him to want to explore where they could go. He supported her as she worked for her internship and listened when she was ready to open up to him about the guilt that was still ruling her. His friend Hazel wasn't the most supportive, and that was really the only drama added in on his end. Hazel didn't trust Brenna and wasn't afraid to say it. She was not very likable for a lot of the book but I still understood where she was coming from, and in the end she saw the error of her ways.

Brenna and her dad's heart to heart was one of the best parts of the book for me. She needed to find the courage to confront him about the distance they couldn't seem to bridge since her teens. Once they were able to communicate and be honest with one another, it was a beautiful thing to see their relationship bloom. As usual, Elle Kennedy had me so entertained that an over 400 page book felt like it flew by way too fast. The bubble butt scene in particular had me choking in hilarity. The boys' conversation...the coach's reaction when he walked in? Pure gold. By far, this is my favorite out of the first two in the series. This couple was so well paired and there was relatively no excess drama to be found. There's something about this author's writing that keeps me coming back for more every time. If you're looking for a light and fun NA read with a healthy dose of steam, look no further.