Jaden King was raised in Boston to a wealthy family that taught him what love and hard work is. He has a challenging and rewarding career until everything was turned upside down. What was once a promising future has quickly become a frightening and unknown reality. After months of dealing with the fall out on his own, he decided getting away--or more realistically, running away--to White Acre and his best friend sounded like the perfect plan.
Danny Keegan is a laid-back man with simple tastes and an even simpler life. He adores the little town of White Acre where he grew up, he loves his parents, and he enjoys his uncomplicated life. He’s always told himself the fact that he’s a closeted gay man in a conservative, parochial town wasn’t an issue and coming out of the closet wasn’t necessary. But with the addition of Jaden in his life he realizes as happy as he is, he could be happier and the future of a love of his own doesn't seem so out of grasp as it always had.
When Jaden and Danny meet, their chemistry is undeniable but playful flirting doesn't mean anything. They start spending all their free time together, and what started as a simple friendship quickly turns into something much more than either saw coming. But, Jaden carries a secret that could end it all before it even begins. And though Jaden is scared to tell the truth and risk everything that has come to mean so much to him, he knows that he can’t go on without laying himself bare, leaving Danny with an important, life changing choice to make. His content little life or what could be the love of his life.
Will Jaden’s truth be too much for Danny, or will Danny decide a life out in the open, full of love, laughter, and passion is worth risking it all?
I'm going to just jump right in and say though Danny and Jaden didn't quite burrow into my heart as deeply as Mac & Bennet from A Different Light, they definitely gave the first couple a run for their money. I just wanted to wrap both men up in a bubblewrap until I could make them see that as difficult as life can be they are safe to be who they are. As I am not a gay man I can't say I understand their fears, especially Danny but I can sympathize with him about being himself in a community that is less diverse than the big city and his fears of rejection from his family. Sometimes as it is with so many things in life it all comes down to a matter of timing. When he meets Jaden the time might be right to be true to himself, but whether he does and/or what the "fallout" may be is something you'll have to find out for yourself. Trust me, you will definitely want to find out.
That's not to say Risking it All is all about Danny's fears, Jaden has healing and discovery to do too, after all its part of why he ran to White Acre. But I won't touch on his part of the story either because its just something I really feel that you have to experience for yourself to truly appreciate the character's journey.
A Different Light was my first read by Morningstar Ashley and as much as I loved it and had made an internal pact to read more of her work, I'm afraid time just was not on my side so Risking it All is just my second foray into her list but I can definitely say it won't be my last. Character driven dramatic romances are not for everyone, some need more spice in their gravy to go with their meat and potatoes and hey, I love a well seasoned gravy but I don't have to have the added ingredients of murder, espionage, failing businesses, etc to make the story pop. Risking is a prime example of an incredibly well written story of friendship, romance, becoming who you're meant to be, and finding your place that hooked me in from the first page.
If you are wondering whether you need to read A Different Light first, I'd say yes. Is it necessary? Probably not. I laughed, I cried, I wanted to bang heads together, and I wanted to wrap them in huge bear hugs all at the same time but it was the friendships between Danny and Jaden and Bennett and Mac that held it all together. I know personally I felt it all just meshed together better and more naturally having known Mac and Bennett's journey from the first book. Not sure where or if the author is going next with Begin Again series but I loved it and will be right here eager to read more. Definitely a win-win from beginning to end.
RATING:
Author Bio:
Morningstar Ashley is a transplant from the Yankee-controlled territory of New York, and now finds herself in the heartland of cowboys and longhorns—Texas. Armed with her imagination, wit, and trusty sidekicks in the form of her two crazy kids, devoted dorky husband, big lap dog, and rambunctious cats, Morningstar spends her time reading the books she loves, crafting her own characters, and arguing the merits of hot chocolate over the bitter brew known as coffee. (Hot chocolate wins, FYI.)
After a lifetime of trying to get people to realize her first name wasn’t Ashley, Morningstar decided the best way to settle the debate was to put her name on a book cover. Now she finds the accomplishment of publishing so satisfying her mind won’t stop creating stories of love across the spectrum of LGBTQA+.
After a lifetime of trying to get people to realize her first name wasn’t Ashley, Morningstar decided the best way to settle the debate was to put her name on a book cover. Now she finds the accomplishment of publishing so satisfying her mind won’t stop creating stories of love across the spectrum of LGBTQA+.
EMAIL: morningstar.ashley.author@gmail.com
Risking it All #2
Begin Again Series
Such a gorgeous cover 💜
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