The Risk - Book Review

By Skye Jordan

Synopsis

Former Olympian turned physical therapist to the elite Julia Quinn knows all about pushing the limits. But when a sexual harassment suit costs her a dream job—not to mention her reputation—she takes on the biggest risk of her life. Rehabilitating the X Games’ most notorious bad boy might be just what she needs to secure the funds for her own treatment center. Problem is, the only kind of recovery her new client is interested in is under-the-covers freestyle—gear optional.

Daredevil snowboarder Noah Hunt is a rock star—on and off the slopes. A recent accident might have him down, but he’s far from out. He doesn’t care what the sexy therapist with the sweet curves says. He’s got sponsors to impress and trophies to collect, and taking things slow and steady just ain’t his style. A little dirty talk and a sizzling night later, Julia learns just how fast and hard he likes to play. Too bad for him, his heart goes all in, and one wrong move could cost him more than just his career.

Review

Julia had once been the physical therapist to many high-profile sports stars until her repuation and career were ruined by one star who didn’t like being told “No”. Her reputation in tatters, she’s only able to find work helping the elderly, until a former industry contact hands her the job she needs but doesn’t want to take. But she’s bordering on broke and beggars can’t be choosers, so she reluctantly takes the job. A terrible start with professional snowboarder, Noah Hunt, has her quitting on the first day. She’s convinced to stick it out for the duration and after spending time together, Noah realises his impressions of her were way off base and his recovery moves at a pace that stuns even him. But when she has concerns about his recovery and requests that he postpone his return, a move that could potentially ruin his career and kill his sponsorships, he believes her motives are less than honourable and sends her on her way.

I did enjoy The Risk and I would read the next book in the series. I found it to be a light and easy read that flowed well, but I did have some issues with the main characters. I didn’t like Noah’s sexist thoughts toward Julia at the beginning about how she obtained her success and was disappointed that he never acknowledged that he was wrong about her. I also felt let down with the lack of backstory when it came to both Julia and Noah’s pasts. Past events were mentioned but not really discussed in depth which left me with questions. And while Julia has no problem being strong and confident with her clients in order to get them back in peak performance, she’s apparently too weak to go after the men who have ruined her and left her with nothing. The whole reason Julia lost her job barely felt like a blip on the radar, and when she eventually ran into her ex-client, I honestly couldn’t see the point of even bringing him in at that point. Nothing really happened nor was he held accountable for what he’d done. Just nothing. And I was expecting to read about Julia experiencing regret or guilt for tossing her golden rule out the window, but she seemed totally fine with potentially ruining her reputation again just to sleep with Noah. Like I said, I did like The Risk, but I think there were some weak points and character development that probably should have been improved on.

Julia: It just seemed wrong that such an arrogant jerk had pulled such a great hand in the deck of looks.