Review: Story totally lives up to the great cover
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 14, 2013
4.5 StarsI have to be honest, the minute I saw the cover of this book I just fell in love with it and wanted to read it, and this is one of those times that the story inside met every hope and expectation that I had based on the cover, something that doesn’t always happen.  A Risk Worth Taking is one of those love stories that is just plain good.  It’s not overly dramatic or cliché, yet has enough drama and hot sexy moments to make it sizzle, being light enough to just sit back and relax while you laugh, smile, and sometimes get a little angry and sad right along with the characters, all the while just enjoying the journey.  I’ve kind of labeled books like this as my “Vacation Day Books,” thinking of them as sort of like a vacation day – one in which you have the day off to just sit on the beach, or your front porch in the mountains with no phone, no interruptions, just kicking back enjoying the scenery and having a good ole relaxing time.After being blown away by the fact that her parents were divorcing, upon graduating college, Summer Strafford decides that she wants to come home to Heritage Plantation to help her dad by running the business side of the farm, not because she has to, but because she really wants to.  She’s very angry with her mother, frustrated with her dad for not being angry, which subsequently causes her to be even angrier.  Summer is a black and white type person and her definition of love, whether she realized it or not, was based on the relationship she thought her parents had.  Ford O’Neal, oh my, what a hottie he is.  He’s working on an internship that has led him to Heritage Plantation for five months.  He’s living his dream and seeing what he can of the country while doing what he loves.  He describes his parents as hippies.  They married young because his mom was pregnant, and Ford has always believed they sacrificed their dreams to raise a family, settling for the mundane 9 to 5 instead of an adventure, despite their constantly telling him otherwise, trying to convince him that dreams change.Neither Ford nor Summer are looking for a relationship, yet, when these two see each other, the sparks fly and the chemistry between them is as obvious as a bonfire in the middle of a corn field at night.  With a little prodding from her best friend Casey, who she refers to as a brother, and who has been her partner in crime since they were toddlers, Summer gives into her desires and the two of them begin seeing each other, not labeling what they have because Ford has made it clear he’s leaving and Summer has made it clear that isn’t what she wants.  Love rises up, however, and doesn’t let Summer or Ford be the boss of it, and instead decides to take over.  They both learn so much from each other and about each other, having a bushel of fun along the way, but as the five months come to an end and it’s time for Ford to leave, they both question everything they “thought they knew,” and must each decide for themselves if true love is really a risk worth taking.As I said above, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  It is a wonderful story with great romance, lots of fun, plenty of steam, the main characters are awesome and I loved the secondary characters also, especially Casey, among others.  Another thing that I really enjoyed about the novel was the way it was written.  The author begins each chapter with a quote of some sort from various sources, and for me, it added so much to the story.  One of my favorites that she used was from C.S. Lewis and it says, “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”  I think that sums things up pretty well.  I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did.