Risking It All #1
By: Rachel Lacey
Releasing August 30, 2016
Forever
Link to Follow Tour: Tasty Book Tours
Goodreads | Goodreads Series
Blurb
ONE LITTLE LIE. A WHOLE LOTTA TROUBLE.
Moments after meeting the most gorgeous guy ever, Gabby Winters promptly gets stung by a zillion yellow jackets and falls-not gracefully-into a stream. Yup, Ethan Hunter is trouble with a capital “hot,” and Gabby definitely needs to keep her distance. Except in the small town of Haven, there’s nowhere to hide from Ethan’s sexy, infectious grin . . . and all the residents are conspiring against her.
At the center of the town’s matchmaking is Ethan’s grandmother, who’s convinced their relationship is a done deal. Rather than break her heart, Gabby and Ethan find themselves cornered into pretending to be falling in love. The problem: there’s serious sizzling attraction between them. And if this charade continues, they won’t fool just the entire town – they might fool themselves too . . .
Gabby was having some kind of day, and the “cute-meet” between her and Ethan was way more painful than it was pretty. Had it not been for Ethan’s laid-back, chilvarous personality, she may have been some kind of super embarrassed. But it’s hard to worry about what someone thinks of you when you’ve become breakfast, lunch, and dinner to a bunch of yellowjackets. And if the water hadn’t been so cooling to her burning skin, she may have wished she’d drowned when she fell in that lake – especially since the handsome Ethan witnessed the whole thing.
Gabby is on a mission. She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and her need to prove it is an enemy to Ethan’s need to save someone. It’s a good thing they’re both somewhat flexible and very understanding. He’s dealing with some terrible guilt from a situation in his past, despite the fact that what happened was not his fault, and he was only a kid at the time. They both have some deep emotional baggage, but as it turns out, they are just what each other needs.
I love Gram. She’s feisty, fun, and fair. She’s dealing with the same tragedy Ethan is, but she- unlike Ethan- understands who’s to blame. She raised Ethan and was also a grandmother figure to his two best friends, and the love between them all is obvious and heartwarming. The characters are all connected one way or another – a result of living in a small town. I love stories involving close-knit communities, and Gram and her crew delivered.
I grew attached to Ryan and Mark (the best friends), and I’m definitely going to follow up with them. I’m sure I know who each will end up with, and I’m curious about how they’ll each snag their woman (or how their women will snag them 🙂 ).
The story is a little fast-paced, but considering the relationship had to be rushed due to the circumstances, the pace is understandable and fits the story. Although I understood Gabby’s need to do things on her own, a couple of times I got a little bothered. What saved my good opinion of her from transforming into something negative was the fact that she owned up to her actions and immediately felt remorse. Mistakes happen, and hers made her more believable. I would’ve frowned if she’d come through without a scratch -so to speak.
All in all, it’s a good story with enough tidbits to get readers anxious to read the next in the series. I really enjoyed it.
Rating system: Cups of Coffee (the less the better)
0: You won’t need any coffee to stay up for this one. It’s intriguing enough all on its own.
1: You’ll stay up late, but not all night. Brew one cup.
2: You’ll read as long as you’re not tired. If you are, two cups should do the trick.
3: I hope you got plenty of rest; you’ll need it, or at least 3 cups.
4: If the cable goes out, read the book. It’s better than nothing, I guess. Oh, don’t forget your brew!
5: Find anything else to do- it doesn’t matter what it is. Don’t waste your coffee. Too much caffeine is bad for you.
My rating: 1 cup of coffee
Buy Links: Amazon | B & N | Google | iTunes | Kobo
Author Info
Rachel Lacey is a contemporary romance author and semi-reformed travel junkie. She’s been climbed by a monkey on a mountain in Japan, gone scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, and camped out overnight in New York City for a chance to be an extra in a movie. These days, the majority of her adventures take place on the pages of the books she writes. She lives in warm and sunny North Carolina with her husband, son, and a variety of rescue pets.
Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads
When Ethan awoke, sunlight was streaming through his window, and based on the tent in his sheets, Gabby was still on his mind. He closed his eyes and started counting backward from fifty, his morning tradition to relieve the pressure so that he could leave the bedroom without being indecent in front of Gram.
His dick was just starting to relax when his phone pinged with an incoming text. Welcoming the distraction, he reached over and grabbed it off the nightstand.
The text was from Gabby. Thinking about you this morning and hoping that problem we talked about hasn’t gotten too hard to handle.
She’d inserted a little winking emoticon at the end, followed by a sunrise and a tree. Morning wood. And yep, that problem had just gotten really hard again.
Killing me. He texted back.
That bad, huh?
Oh yeah, it was bad. Getting worse by the second.
I’d be happy to help you with it if you want to stop by… This was followed by several colorful hearts.
His poor cock ached at the thought. But… No can do. Gotta take Gram to an appointment.
Oh. Bummer.
No kidding. Gotta go. Chatting with you is not helping the issue.
He thrust his phone back onto the bedside table and lay there, concentrating on the sounds of Gram moving around in the kitchen until his dick finally accepted defeat. Then he went down the hall and took a long, cold shower.
Lovely review. Thank you for hosting RUN TO YOU today!
Crystal, Tasty Book Tours