The Risk | Briar U Series by Elle Kennedy

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.

Romance | New Adult | Contemporary | Sport & Academic Romance

At this point it shouldn’t surprise me that everything Elle Kennedy releases is just amazing. And I do mean… goryhell amazing. The Risk is definitely no different. I am not sure what else to say to make you read this author – she writes good stuff. You should read it all. Why? Well….

Jake was exactly what I expected. Especially after getting so many glimpses of him from The Chase, I just knew he would be this cocky, overly confident piece of man meat that was just oozing deliciousness all over the pages. Seriously, dead. Me, I melted. Yep. He was just a gem. I absolutely loved everything about his character; how he carried himself, handled situations and more importantly, how he handled and treated Brenna. He just had this fun presence, on one front he has this cold, almost fierce attitude towards everyone but really he was just a swoon worthy kind of guy with a bit of a sweet heart in the shadows. I couldn’t help but to gush.

And speaking of Brenna, yea, you bet your bottom dollar I flipping loved her character. As a female lead – guys she knocked everything out of the rink with this one. Not only was she this passionate, fierce character, she was free and still carried the weight of her emotions on her shoulders. Best part, she owned it. She owned all her flaws and worked it. She was beyond empowering with how she was in terms of everything around her, she sure as hell did not let anyone push her around. Probably what made her character so real was that fact that Kennedy made it very apparent that her red lipstick was her armor, she was a layer of many things but when that lipstick was on, she was closed. I loved this about her. Getting to know Brenna’s past, her overall growth as a person was just powerful to say the least. Even in the midst of Brenna being quite the stubborn little ox, she at no point did not own up to her faults, she took the action head on with a smile on her red lips and her head held high – just riveting. 

Then you have that chemistry…. oh my lanta. Can we get me a fan? Please. Hands down, Brenna and Jake were completely a match in all aspects; from their mental standpoints, emotionally and just intellectually. I adored their banter and ultimately their connection with how it went from this business agreement to full on relationship with the feels. They melted the pages, and when they weren’t doing that they were dragging me along for the laughs.  

As always too, the supporting characters from the previous books – thank you! I always need these crazy goons in my life. Summer is definitely a keeper, I just find her to be adorable.

Well tits, what else can I say at this point to make you swoon over Elle Kennedy the way I do? Because I do. I am head over heels in love with her writing style. Now I cannot decide if I adored Off Campus series more or now, with all these new characters Briar U Series is jumping up in my obsession. I definitely will not stop gushing about how much I enjoyed the characters this round; again Brenna – just a beautiful human in general. Everything about her character just screamed relatable female lead, someone a person can just sympathize for while swooning at the same time. The Risk was definitely a high point, Kennedy, I expect nothing but greatness, please continue.

Now…. to wait, painfully so for The Play. Because I need more of this series in my life.