I wanted to be the friend by Summer’s side, helping her process situations and deal with the drama. It was hard to witness her inner-turmoil and self-doubts, while also still questioning and contemplating HOW she could have those doubts. I mean, she has money and good looks. Doesn't money and good looks equal happiness?

Elle Kennedy's The Score is on my Romance Favourites shelf, and now I am adding The Risk to it. (The Chase was also a very good read. Loved Summer and Fitz!) Elle Kennedy just gets better and better: a welcome relief from the growing trend where some seasoned romance authors decide to rest on their laurels and start phoning it home. I also absolutely ADORED Summer's friendship with Brenna. Summer is a true girl's girl, and I loved the genuine friendship these two forged. I'm also absolutely DYING for Brenna's book now. The potential set up there sounds utterly delicious. The book also introduced our next couple and all I can say is WOWZER!!! This next book is going to be an entertaining ride. Maybe even more so then The Chase - all I can say is enemy to lovers!!! I think that there might be some who can relate to Taylor, but her narrative completely missed the mark. It’s neither powerful nor uplifting.Brianna has always wanted to become a sports journalist but with it being dominated by the male gender it's going to be hard getting her foot in the door. She's majoring in Broadcasting and Journalism at Briar. I was hooked on The Chase right from the start and devoured it in less than 24 hours! Gosh I miss being in this world with these characters and all their shenanigans. Speaking of characters, I already have a favorite character in this series and her name is Brenna Jensen! I swear, Brenna is my soul sister because we are one in the same. She’s a little rough around the edges but she’s a great friend to Summer and I can’t wait until her books releases! OW/OM drama: Yes There is another roommate (that is also a teammate of the H) that likes the h and causes some drama for the couple. Elle Kennedy has done it again. She's one of my favorite NA/sports romance authors out there because she writes books like this. As much as I loved The Chase, I loved The Risk even more. Brenna and Jake were everything!!

Reading an Elle Kennedy book is like eating your favorite ice cream; it's a sweet treat that feels slightly naughty and you just love every minute of it. So what can I tell you about The Risk? I loved it! It was enemies to lovers goodness that I devoured from start to finish with a goofy smily on my face the entire time! But the volley of wits and humor isn't confined between Jake and Brenna but to the secondary characters as well. This isn't a long book but somehow, the author managed to give all the secondary characters personalities that makes you want to know more about them. Every character interaction served to further the plot and the characters' development. The Chase set the stage for an amazing new series from one of my favorite authors and I already can't wait for more. If you're a fan of sizzling New Adult romance, this is a book that's not to be missed! Summer Heyward Di Laurentis is Dean’s younger sister. If you don’t remember Dean from the Campus series, maybe you’ll remember good ole Garrett? Anyway, Summer possesses 1/7th the amount of endearing Dean possessed (and Dean wasn’t even all that endearing). All fractions aside - Summer’s character fell flat for me. She came across as exactly what she was striving not to be, aka hella vapid. Also I’m tired of all the 5’11 slim blonde female leads and 6’2 Abercrombie model dudes. It’s 2018, does anyone really care for the detailed descriptions? Summer’s main inspo is Coco Chanel and she loves Vera Wang with a dash of Marc Jacobs / Tom Ford ... Oh yes! Please do tell me more this is truly tantalizing (that was sarcasm). Summer’s details of feminism were hypocritical and pointless (IMO). I’m not even sure college experiences as well as sorority and frat houses are anything like what this book portrays anymore. Maybe to some extent. In any case, I think I’ve outgrown high school/college romances. Gimme the real deal cause this ain’t it!Even crazier, now he wants to keep pretending. Turns out Conor loves games, and he thinks it's fun to pull the wool over my frenemies' eyes. That’s my 1 word summary. If you’ve been around for a while you’d know Elle Kennedy reads are like my kryptonite. And good old uni themed ones with hot athletes? Count me in. However, there are two things that dragged down the rating for me. One was about Taylor's weight. The other one is a spoiler so I'm save that for last.

I liked both characters but at times they were frustrating. The length of time it took for Fitz and Summer to finally admit their true feelings for each other was almost mind-numbing. Also, there were just too many side plots going on that it was almost exhausting. Where romances can often come hyper-focussed on the romance sans all else, I respected that both Summer and Fitz have their own lives outside of each other. The college setup was great. I loved the secondary character engagements and the dialogue. Fun, light and witty, with excellently placed exceptions of glee and humour. It does bear repeating that the story coverage can and does lose its focus in places. There's a lot of created space for a supporting cast as they make their introductions for what will clearly pre-empt their forthcoming stories but by dallying in those places, it can divest the book of its central romance, which does seem to fall behind. There is a quasi-love triangle at play here but nothing legitimately worrisome since it's clear from the outset who the hero is and who the heroine really wants. Fitz is the main attraction for Summer. Even still, it was nice to have that interplay with Hunter, especially since Fitz was, you know, busy being brooding Fitz. I whisper-confess that I may have sometimes very secretly desired for Hunter to be Summer's love interest. Oops. The pace itself does suffer in large part to the prolonged phase of denial, and the indecision on both parts meddles with story's stride. The subplots and intervening themes both did and didn't always make the best out of the story. There's a relevant theme that challenges common stereotypes the entire way through, and Summer's the recipient of several biases for being the beautifully unreachable, privileged rich girl. Both with elder gen side characters bearing their own complexes and people from her own peer group. For all frankness, I think the author could have played more tactfully with the social messaging over typecasting because as much as Summer does engage in admirable dialogue over feministic values and viewpoints, her arguments can be inconsistent as much as they slump against themselves. For the most part, she was great fun. She's so engaging that maybe I was in her 'orbit' too. See Fitz? This is how you appreciate someone. The Risk proves that no matter how many times a trope has been done to death, at the hands of a skilled writer, it will still feel fresh and new every single time. This book is Elle Kennedy in her element.The Risk is far from perfect though. There were some personal pet peeves that I still found irritating but there was just so much goodness in this book that I could really ignore those minor irritants. 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.