This is my fifth book that I have read by this author.

Firstly – I’m surprised at myself that it took me a good long while before I caught on to the title. Well, maybe not surprised, since I wasn’t really paying attention to the title. ‘Worth the Risk’ – I was seeing it, when I briefly rarely thought of the issue, as ‘is the proposal by the person who wishes to pay a million plus dollars for a horsie worth the risk?’ And yes, there is a connection between the two – the proposal and the book title. But then there’s also the other type of risk. The one I might have caught on to quicker, or at least caught the connection to the title, if I had been paying more attention – ‘is this person worth the risk to break through the barriers that I have put up around myself?’ – and before you ask, that question goes to both characters.

At a relatively young age, Jamie Callahan was caught making out with another female by her parents. Neither of whom approved of the activity. And let Jamie know. The step-father, though, took the ‘punishment’ rather far. Then the mother abandoned them. And, eventually, at the age of 15 Jamie broke away with her younger sister to attempt to both protect her sister, and attempt to do something approaching a better life. She put herself through college, got a job, one that she was/is highly successful at. Though she’s something of a large shark in a tiny pond because she’s staying in the Portland area instead of attempting to make it big in one of the larger financial sectors of the nation (like, say, New York and possibly Chicago). To a large extent she’s stayed a large shark because she has a kid to raise who has ‘special needs’ (which is both true and misleading, depending on how someone interrupts my use of that phrase). Let’s be clear – her niece is in a wheel-chair; Jamie is raising her because the mother is dead; Jamie, somewhat, blames herself for both the need for the wheel-chair, and the death of the child’s mother; having to grow up fast, she’s not emotionally equipped to show love – neither to her sister, who she raised since she was 15 (and the sister was . . . 10?), nor to her niece. So, she has work that distracts her and many one night stands. She doesn’t think she’s equipped for more than that. But, is it worth the risk to have more than just sex? More than just a one night stand? With Kate Brown?

Kate Brown’s parents raised her to always be striving to go as high as she can socially. To be a social climber. They left their homes in Kentucky, and put on airs of being more than they were so that Kate could push higher (by the way, the mother doesn’t like the name ‘Kate’ as she thinks it’s too . . . mundane? Something). And Kate has fallen into the trap that she wants to both protect her parents (reputation? Something else?), and advance herself. So, when the opportunity came to reach higher than she currently resides in the horse jumping world, she jumps at it. The opportunity involves a horse, a million dollar horse, which will allow Kate to reach the heights of the field, maybe even an Olympic medal (the maybe even part might need to be stricken from the sentence). Kate works hard to get the financial backing to get the horse. She has a proposal in at Davison and Burke, and Jamie Callahan has been assigned by D&B to investigate the proposal. The ‘is it worth the risk’ for Kate is two-fold – is it worth the risk to break away from her parents desires and strive for her own (i.e., she found happiness in her own situation – a barn, (a) good horse(s), teaching students (some of whom require special teaching methods, like those who are autistic, or use wheelchairs, or have M.S.)), and/or is it worth the risk to see if there’s more that could develop between her and Jamie Callahan?

The conflict, stress, turmoil involved, found within the story seems, at a first read glance (which is good enough for me, I rarely do more than one read) to be largely in keeping with the characters and story-line. And yes, there is conflict, there is drama, angst, and ‘issues’ that come up. Barriers that have to be breached. Issues that have to be tackled. Emotional growth that needs to occur.

I think I just wrote a teaser instead of a review. Hmms. Mmphs.

Well, I rather enjoyed the time spent with the horses, the time spent between Kate and Jamie, even when both were trying to be professional; the time they spent when they weren’t trying to be professional; the various competitions; the growth shown by Jamie in various areas. The sex.

March 17 2016 ( )

3.5 ( )