Review: SWEET ROMANCE FROM HILDENBRAND
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 26, 2013
I have heard nothing but great things about Heather Hildenbrand's phenomenal paranormal books so when the opportunity came to read and review her upcoming contemporary new adult romance I just knew I had to jump on the opportunity. After reading A Risk Worth Taking, I can see why so many readers have been so impressed with her writing."What if I got hurt? What if I hurt him? The only truth I knew about love anymore was the pain it caused."Feeling hurt and betrayed by her parents pending divorce, Summer Summer  is still reeling from the fact that her mother can just walk out on her marriage and family after twenty plus years. The devastating news leaves Summer questioning everything she has ever believed about love and marriage. But after months of avoiding everyone, Summer decides to put her future plans aside and goes back to her small Virginia hometown to help her Dad out at the family farm. Meeting someone wasn't in her plans but when she meets her Dad's newest intern, she's left wondering if falling in love is a risk she's willing to take."I'd never met anyone who saw the world quite like her. It made me question where my own lens came from."Ford O'Neal is the type of guy who lives in the moment, doesn't make plans, and likes to live his life uninhibited. As the oldest son of hippies, Ford has been roaming around the country, dreams to be well traveled, and experience as much of this world as he can. Being tied down to one location let alone to one person is not something Ford plans to see in his near future. For Ford, his herbs and creating something to help millions of people around the world is what's most important to him. But when Ford meets Summer he's suddenly hit with the idea that settling down might now be such a bad idea. Especially, if it's with Summer Stafford. But is the possibility of a happily ever after with Summer enough to put his dreams aside or will he regret not chasing after dreams?"So you think it's worth the risk of getting hurt?""I think the only thing that makes it true love IS the risk."I found Summer and Ford's relationship to be really interesting. Even before they were a couple, Ford had already placed an expiration date on their relationship. Being in the fragile state that she was in, I was really proud of Summer for jumping in and taking that risk even though she knew that by the end of the summer Ford would be leaving. Summer and Ford were both cynics when it came to love but the short life span of their relationship made them really appreciate what they meant to each other and the beauty of finding that someone to make them whole. Love was something that neither one of them had planned on finding in their lives but something they easily accepted once it was given and received. And while I found Ford's reasons for leaving to be kinda childish I understood where he was coming from. At his age, I would have found the way he lived his life to be exciting but in reality I think he was just as lost as Summer was. He just needed a reason or in his case that someone to set him on his new path in life."When she looked at me like that, "forever" seemed like the most reasonable thing in the world. Or the most natural. With Summer, it was easy to think past today."While I really enjoyed A Risk Worth Taking, it took a while for the story to really take off. At the beginning my heart really ached for Summer as she was trying to work through her feelings about her parents divorce. I totally understood where she was coming from and I would have felt the same things if my parents had dropped that kind of bomb on me at her age. But as Summer was grappling with this issue, I found myself more interested in the reasons for her parents divorce than I was with Summer and Ford's budding romance. Summer carried so much hatred towards her mother and the reasons for the divorce seemed to be so well guarded that when everything was out in the air, I was left thinking, "that's it?" Maybe I've read so many angst and drama-filled stories in the past that I was hoping for something a little more juicy and gut wrenching."You make me feel like I'm dreaming while I'm awake."Overall, A Risk Worth Taking was a really enjoyable read. While I would have preferred a little more angst or drama, Heather Hildebrand created a story that totally had me engrossed from the very beginning. The writing was phenomenal and and Heather has a really great way of making you feel each and every emotion that her characters felt. There were times where I felt like I was the one suffering Summer's emotional pain and Ford's longing for life full of adventures. I can see why so many readers connect with Hildenbrand's writing, she really gets to you by making you connect with her characters. A Risk Worth Taking only wet my appetite and I hope that Hildenbrand plans on writing more contemporary romances in the future because she most definitely has made me a fan.