THE RISK (Briar U #2) by ELLE KENNEDY

‘A lot of athletes maintain an active roster of chicks who are perfectly content with 1) hooking up, 2) not being exclusive, and 3) always coming second to whatever sport the dude plays. But I’m not one of those chicks. I’m not averse to hook ups, but number 2 and 3 are non-negotiable.’

We can never have enough of Elle Kennedy’s hockey romances. This Author literally nails every single one with both humour and heat as well as brilliant characters that all have a smile inducing wit and an adorable quirkiness about them. We can always rely on Elle Kennedy to make sure we connect with every single character and their lovable personalities. Even the secondary characters make up a huge part of the overall enjoyment of her stories. And of course, she writes a storyline that’s addictive, sexy and sometimes a bit silly. The best thing about this Author is that she never fails to include that rush and excitement of the sport. It truly is a hockey romance and we feel a part of the lifestyle, the losses and the wins in equal measure as we experience the high’s and low’s.

‘He’s completely unfazed by my mockery, and that’s one of the things I’m grudgingly starting to like about him. He possesses a steely confidence that I genuinely admire. Nothing rattles this man. He’s so sure of himself, of his masculinity, his skill. Jake Connelly doesn’t have an insecure bone in his body.’

Brenna and Jake are from rival universities. Briar vs Harvard. Not only that, Brenna is the daughter of Briar’s coach, the arch enemy to Harvard’s coach. There’s a story there. We loved the tension between these two teams and felt like we knew all the players on opposing sides, therefore unable to pick a favourite. We loved the shenanigans, the banter, the rivalry, the cheesy one liners and the time spent on the ice. Elle Kennedy writes hockey romance in such a wonderful way that every time we pick up one of her books it feels fresh no matter how many times we pick up one of her books.

“So, you want a date on Friday night—“
“A fake date,” I amend.
“Well, in return, I want a real one.”
“A real what?”
“A real date. You get a fake date, I get a real one.”

Brenna comes across as a strong sassy girl with a dream of working on a sports network, which is sadly a predominantly male-oriented career, with chauvinistic penis peacocking. When an opportunity lends itself, she seeks out the gorgeous and talented much sought after, Jake from the rival Harvard team. Jake doesn’t take much convincing as he is completely smitten! Have they both misjudged what seems an instant superficial attraction for something that is so much more than that?

 ‘The arrogant gleam in his eyes is such a turn-on for me. I like guys like this. Direct, assertive, and self-assured. Alpha, but not the kind of alpha that orders you around and gets too overbearing. Jake possesses an easy confidence, a surety about who he is and what he wants.’

Brenna has a back story and it’s one that involves her hard arsed dad, Coach Jensen. As we live through a moment between the two we’re privy to what came before this reluctant father daughter relationship and the emotion stemming from a face to face had our hearts clenching.

“Sometimes people don’t like each other, Peaches. Get used to that, because it’s a fact of life. People are going to hate you because you hurt them, either intentionally or inadvertently. People will hate you because they don’t like your personality, or the way you talk, or whatever superficial bullshit some idiot can’t get past. There’ll be people that just hate you on sight for no good reason – those are the strange ones…But at the end of the day, that’s the way it is.”

Jake Connelly was just luscious, with a strong sense of commitment and a brilliant sportsman attitude, though he still had that funny and sexy trademark we’ve come to love. Jake has a dream, a much-wanted future in hockey and he’s reluctant to let that become secondary in life. But what happens when priorities become muddled up with love? Jake was as perfect for Brenna as she was for him. Serious swoon! We do also have to mention Hollis and Rupi!!! We were in stitches and need their book! We read The Risk in one indulgent sitting, unable to stop this wild, crazy, funny and sexy ride. We are so in love with all the characters and everything about the hockey that we’re clamouring for more, so much more.

“If you want me to beg, I’ll beg. If you want me to jump through hoops, bring them on. I’ll spend every waking hour until I have to report to training camp proving to you how much you mean to me. Proving that I’m worthy of you.”