Calculated Risk

I received the ARC of this book directly from the author as part of her ARC team. Obviously, I am a fan of this author and her new series did not disappoint. For the new books, they will concentrate on the same main characters and I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes.
The book starts with Bree Daniels, a single woman on the run and taking care of her cousin’s twins. She ends up in Risk Peak, Colorado, and meets Deputy Tanner Dempsey. From the moment they meet, you can feel a connection between them. As the story unfolds, Tanner learns a bit about Bree’s past and why she is hiding out in his town. From there he works to help her not only with the twins, but to get away from the people that are causing her to run.
The backstory of Bree’s life originally made me this of Christian Scientists but with a tech expertise. Her past and her current situation kept me on the edge of my seat. It is a great action and adventure story with very likeable characters. The way the whole town pitches in to help Bree and the twins builds a great backdrop for the start of the series. Tanner is the golden boy of his hometown and fits perfectly in this idyllic town. Cannot wait to see where the story goes from here.

Fantastic book with a frighteningly believable premise. Bree is a brilliant woman with a knack for computers. She has been in hiding for years after escaping from a terrorist organization that had been grooming her to work for them since she was a child. When she realized what they were doing, she destroyed what she could and ran. She keeps a low profile and moves often. But when a blast from her past arrives with a warning and a plea, Bree knows she has to run again. This time she has the added complication of her cousin’s newborn twins whom she has to protect. Completely overwhelmed and out of her element, Bree eventually ends up in Risk Peak, where she is caught trying to steal diapers and formula.

Tanner is a law-and-order guy, but he can’t bring himself to arrest the desperate looking young woman. He can tell she is running from trouble, something he doesn’t want coming to his town, but he still wants to help her. I liked what he did for her, even though he hoped she would keep going on out of town.

There is an instant attraction between Bree and Tanner, but there is also suspicion and distrust. Bree hasn’t trusted anyone in years, always aware that word of her whereabouts could get back to The Organization at any time. Bree is very self-contained, doesn’t share her feelings with anyone, and keeps everyone at a distance. Tanner is suspicious of Bree from the moment they met, more so when she resists any attempt to unlock her secrets. As Bree is taken in by the town and given the help she needs but doesn’t want to admit, Tanner realizes that Bree is more in trouble than trouble itself. He can’t stop thinking about her and worrying about her, even while suspicious. He’s determined to wait her out, using kindness and patience to work past her walls. I liked that Bree was able to trust Tanner enough to ask for help when she needed it. Working together allowed them to get to know more about each other and become friends. It’s easy to see that there is the potential for more, but there is no rush to declare love. With a four book series with the same couple, there is a much more realistic feel to the progression of their feelings.

The suspense of the story is gripping and scarily believable. A terrorist organization has plans to dominate the world, and they are going to use people’s cellphones to do it. As a child, Bree’s computer brilliance was used to advance the software to do it, but when she eventually realized what they were doing, she took steps to stop them. However, they want her and her brilliant mind back in their clutches. Bree is determined to stop them, and the intensity of the story builds as she races against time to find a way to do so. I loved seeing how Tanner stepped up to help, also getting his Special Forces brother Noah to help. I liked the connections to both the Linear Tactical and Omega Sector books. There are some hair-raising twists and turns on the way to the final confrontation. I loved the brilliance and strength that Bree exhibited as she faced off against her nemesis. The ending was immensely satisfying and left me wanting to see more of Bree and Tanner.

I loved the small town of Risk Peak and the way that the people look out for each other. Tanner showed it by his determination to keep his town safe from trouble. I loved the café owners, Dan and Cheryl, and the way they took Bree and the twins in, no questions asked. It was fun to see how the townspeople would congregate in the café just to play with the twins. I laughed out loud at the hell they put Tanner through when they thought he ran Bree out of town.

Calculated Risk, by Janie Crouch, is the first in the first four book continuity series Harlequin has published in the Intrigue line. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Bree and Tanner characters a little more even as their story develops. I expected a cliffhanger on the overarching mystery also, but Crouch wraps that up nicely at the end. I don’t know where we are going from here, but I am along for the ride…I just wish it started already. This is a series that is made for binging…only you have to wait a month between books.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.

Janie has returned to Harlequin Intrigue beginning a brand-new series, and she’s innovating a new concept. I discovered her when she launched “Primal Instinct” (her first book in 2014 with Intrigue). As she has continued her writing and garnering many fans since then, I have read each and every book with anticipation and great pleasure.

“Calculated Risk” is her latest and the first in a new series entitled “The Risk Series: A Bree and Tanner Thriller”. It has a unique premise that sucks you into its believability. Also, as far as I am aware, it is the only series of this type with Harlequin Intrigue or their Romantic Suspense line. There will be a total of four books in the series. Each book will continue with the two lead characters featured in “Calculated Risk”. I really like Janie’s theory which will take a standard-size Harlequin and then provide the reader additional plots throughout her next three books. I believe we will see more character growth and insight with Bree and Tanner as they continue their journey together professionally and personally in the upcoming releases.

As with every Janie Crouch novel, “Calculated Risk” is very well written with all of her signature trademarks—suspense, action, mystery, and growing romance. It captures your interest on every aspect and holds it tightly from beginning to ending. Her inclusion of several characters from “Omega Sector” is welcomed and appreciated as they contribute their expertise. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and am quite anxious to dive into the next three! As always, “Calculated Risk” is a fully-contained novel and doesn’t end on a cliffhanger—yet leaves you wanting more.

“Security Risk” and “Constant Risk” are slated to be released for August and September for e-books and late July and August for paperbacks. The final book “Risk Everything” does not yet reflect a release date, however, it will hopefully be in October.

If you haven’t read any of Janie’s other Harlequin Intrigue novels about “Omega Sector” or her amazingly awesome current series “Linear Tactical”, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ALL OF HER BOOKS!! And ~ don’t miss the beginning of this brand-new series with Harlequin. It’s a winner!

Many thanks to Janie for providing an ARC to read and review! All thoughts and comments are entirely my own.

Calculated Risk by Janie Crouch is book 1 in a new series “A Bree and Tanner Thriller”. Bree is a girl on the run from this shady organization. She had hid pretty well for years until a ghost from her past showed up and left her life in a complete mess. Bree took off running again, this time with twin newborns with her and ends up in Risk Peak, Colorado. It here she meets lots of lovely people who are willing to help her— yet for one stubborn cop who is bound and determined to prove she is hiding something. Tanner can look right at Bree and see she is in trouble yet she won’t tell him what kind of trouble she is in. So he can only imagine what kind and boy he lets his mind go there.. he worries that her troubles will come to his town’s doorstep and that isn’t their problem. He starts following her or as he terms it “keeping an eye on” and then Tanner begins to see Bree in a different light. But still he wonders why is she running from her past and what troubles is she in?
Bree is a beautiful and sweet woman who had a pretty bad situation in her past. Without giving anything away from the story, my heart hurt for her. She was trying to do the right thing for the babies and to have Tanner treat her like a criminal drove me nuts. Their story was a slow burn and soon Tanner goes from being suspicious to protective and wooing Bree. Without giving anymore of the book away, I enjoyed the characters and the sweet chemistry. I liked knowing that, even know this is a HFN that we will get another book with Bree and Tanner so their love story isn’t over. It’s just starting. Good start to a great new series.

My Rating: 4.4 stars *******

An action packed adventure from the start to the finish! It was filled with suspense, drama, and secrets! I’m just about to dive into Book #2!

Great start to the new series. These two were hot and cold with one another. Their lives revolve around trust and neither can trust each other. Once Bree is attacked Tanner goes into protective mode. Can’t wait for more!
I received an ARC for an honest review.

I was given an ARC for a honest review. I love Janie Crouch’s books, and this one did not disappoint. Liked both of the main characters.

Wow, what an intense story. I loved it! The main characters were great. The depth and complexity of Bree and her life was off the charts! The emotions of her playing hide and seek was so well done that I could almost taste it. But this child’s game of hide and seek was not really a game because there was SO much at stake. The other well developed part of the story is the emotional stunting that Bree is well aware that she suffers from. She has no idea of what normal is because she’s never lived it. To give you an idea about that, she finds it hard to even let someone hug her. She hadn’t been hugged herself in years. Running? Yes, she knew how to do that. She was an expert at that as well as being a super genius.

Tanner was a really good counter character for Bree. He was an honorable man. Although he was persistent about finding out her “story”he reached a point where he knew he had to be patient, kind and gentle with her to earn her trust. He likened her to a skittish horse who needed those qualities of kindness. Kindness was something she didn’t know what to do with.

Action, action, and all the action you could imagine keep this story moving. Also trying to keep one step ahead of the organized dangers made you wonder how in the world these things could be stopped. I also have to say that the idea of what the evil guys wanted to accomplish was kind of scary. But I’m not saying any more about that. Read it yourself and learn.

There is a surprise when it comes to someone closer than anyone imagined. Someone who did NOT have her best interests at heart. It was someone who I had just begun to have questions about in my own mind. So when it is revealed I had no one to high-five with so I just did it mentally.

I also have to add that there were quite a few good people in the story as well. The community that Bree tried to shoplift in had a lot of good people and I enjoyed the characters that were that part of the story. But there weren’t so many that it made it too hard to keep up with.

The ending has an awesome twist and had me almost clapping my hands. And I loved how the loose ends were pulled together for the people in the story and not JUST Bree and Tanner.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Awesome, awesome I can’t say it enough, awesome. Danger, intrigue covert operation going on in front of your face. Absolutely fantastic. I received a complimentary review copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving a honest review.