risk everything on itRating: 4.5 stars
Buy Links: 
 Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Jax Conlon is a former child actor who is struggling in his adult career. He has a chance to work with a great director and is willing to do whatever it takes, even learning how to care for a baby to make himself believable in the role. When he meets Oz Parsons in the baby store, the heat between them flares immediately and the two have a hot hookup in Oz’s car.

Normally that would be the end of things. Jax has hookups, but he is in the closet due to his career and so dating is pretty much out of the question. Not to mention that his job has him traveling all the time. And Oz is the recently divorced dad of two small girls. He doesn’t’ have the time to add dating to the mix. So one night should have been the end, but the two somehow can’t quite stay away from one another, and pretty soon they have a friends-with-benefits thing going on that is a regular as they can make it given both of their jobs and obligations.

The chemistry between them is so strong, however, and soon feelings begin to develop. Jax and Oz must figure out if there is any way they can take the feelings that have been growing between them and make something more, or if their lives are too complicated for them to find love together.

Risk Everything On It is the second book in K.A. Mitchell’s Ready or Knot series. The series features four college friends, each book highlighting one of their stories. This book’s timeline overlaps the first, Put a Ring On ItWhile the first book goes into more detail on establishing the friendship between the four men, I think you could easily read this one as a standalone, although as I said, there is some overlap so we see some scenes from the first book repeated here from Jax’s POV.

I really liked this story and watching these guys struggle with their feelings in the face of their obligations. Both of these men have reasons why they should keep things casual. But at the same time, the chemistry between them and the growing feelings they share make it difficult to remain in the friend zone. I enjoyed watching them work through their issues and figure out how to make space for each other in their lives as they grow to realize they don’t want to live without one another. Jax, in particular, grows up quite a lot here as he learns to become part of a family with Oz and his kids. These guys are grown ups dealing with adult problems and Mitchell does a great job really showcasing that.

My only small issue here is that the ending felt a bit rushed. The guys jump into bed together right away, but the emotional part of things and the relationship development take more time, as they should given their situations. But once they move into a serious commitment, it seems to come kind of fast after such a slow build.

I am a huge K.A. Mitchell fan and this is another wonderful addition to her list of fabulous books. It is a great story with likable, well developed characters. There is a lot of heat between them, but also a lot of warmth and real emotional connection. I enjoyed it quite a lot and would definitely recommend it.

A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.

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