Publisher: Entangled
Where did you get the book: e-ARC and purchased
Release date: Out now
The greater the risk, the hotter the reward…
Homicide cop Troy Bennett had a reputation with the Chicago PD for being fearless and in control—until the night his daredevil partner is killed during a raid. From that moment on, he swears he’ll never again be responsible for the loss of a loved one. To escape his demons, Troy transfers to the NYPD, bringing him up close and personal with Ruby Elliott, a beautiful, street-savvy pool hustler.
Reckless and stubbornly independent, Ruby embodies everything Troy’s avoiding, but when she walks into the pub he’s at with his new coworkers and blows his carefully laid plans to hell, Troy knows he has to have her—risks be damned. But there’s a connection between Ruby’s shadowed past and a case Troy’s working involving a notorious Brooklyn felon, throwing her safety into jeopardy. Confronted with his biggest fear, will Troy push Ruby away to keep her safe or fight to keep her in his arms where she belongs?
*blurb taken from author’s website*
Lou: Has demanded that I read HIS RISK TO TAKE because of a certain scene involving a cue stick and because the hero was deliciously, smutty mouthed. Troy was dirty mouthed and he was raw and gritty in his smexing. Ruby is a confident woman who connects with Troy’s dominance in the bedroom, but gives him a run for his money outside of the bedroom. She’s a pool hustler but she’s trying to make a new life for herself that doesn’t involve criminal activities. Yet she still hustles because she has to make money and it’s all that she knows.
I loved the first half of the book because the tension between Troy and Ruby was very intense. Unfortunately, outside of the hot smexing, I got irritated with Ruby’s character and her TSTL moment when she interferes in Troy’s investigation.
Has: I really enjoyed Tessa Bailey’s His To Protect, because she had a fun and compelling voice with engaging characters who were full of snark and smexy talk. His Risk To Take also has similar elements, and lets just say that Troy the hero is one very sexy but dirty sweet-talker which really made the pages sizzled for me.
But I have to agree with you about the ending which had the TSTL moment. Although it wasn’t as bad as the first book for me. But I wished the circumstances for the heroine to lead to that moment was not a forced plot point because it was a kind of a let down for me too.
Lou: The intensity between them was fantastic and I nearly blushed at the cue scene where Troy makes Ruby squirm. I agree that the suspense part felt a little forced and I wondered at times about the conflict of interest Troy had as a police detective to Ruby’s activities and her ex-contacts. Not a lot of time was spent on their emotions outside of the bedroom and other than being a hustler and Troy’s dirty talking, I didn’t know much about them as characters. When Evie decides to involve herself in the investigation to try and get Driscoll arrested by Troy, I knew instantly that this was TSTL territory and I ended up being irritated with Ruby because she was at fault. When Troy offered her protection, she blithely ignored it and became arrogant in ‘shrugging’ them off.
Has: Ohhh I loved the sexual tension between them and I agree the intensity especially with the love scenes was built-up fantastically. I melted with their first encounter which had Troy playing more hard to get which was a nice role reversal and I have to say that it was one of the best foreplay/non coital scenes I ever read. It really ratcheted up the heat factor and Troy was such a fun but sexy hero.
But I agree with you about the TSTL decision at the end although it did make sense why she would go to get more information for Troy but I wished this better approached because it was a bit ham-fisted about how Ruby got herself into that decision. I did like that Troy was willing to sacrifice their burgeoning relationship to protect her instead of taking advantage when he found out about her connection with Driscoll. I think Tessa Bailey really does alpha heroes really well and they don’t fall into the ass-hole territory. But I did enjoy the grovelling scene at the end with Troy trying to win her back. I did think he also messed as well although he was trying to protect her.
Lou:Her heroes are very growly and rawr so I kinda want the heroines to be their match and not have TSTL moments. Troy did flare up easily in anger around Ruby but I kept thinking, dude, you know she cons people out of their money? Why do you get so riled up when she doesn’t fall into what you do or say.
All in all, His Risk to take is a sexy novella that heats up the pages but I would have liked more emotional outside of the bedroom. I give it a B-.
Has: I found His Risk To Take a much tighter story than the first book in the series, and although there were similar issues with the ending and decision by Ruby, I enjoyed how it ended which was much more satisfactory. I think Tessa Bailey is one of the best debut writers who has an engaging voice for me this year and I think she will have a great future.
The smoking hot love scenes and fun and flirty banter made His Risk To Take a sexy and enjoyable read! I also give it a B-
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