(previously titled: Worth the Risk)From New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg comes a new, sexy standalone about taking chances and finding love when it’s least expected. Or wanted.This whole contest was supposed to be easy. I know, I know. Famous last words.It’s a long story, but I messed up at work. Big time. To earn back the trust of my boss, I promised to save one of our magazines. … time. To earn back the trust of my boss, I promised to save one of our magazines. Yep. That Hot Dad contest you’ve seen advertised all over the place was my idea. And if I’m successful, if I’m able to increase our online readership, then I get a shot at my dream job.
But the one thing I never expected to happen, happened: Contestant number ten, Grayson Malone. Hello, Mr. Difficult. And did I mention sexy as hell?
Unfortunately he knows me. The old me, anyway. And while we might be older now, I remind him of before. Of the woman who broke his heart, who hardened him, and who left him alone to raise the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen.
But I don’t want a relationship. And I definitely don’t fall for single dads with baggage. Even ones with chiseled abs and killer smiles.
But he got to me. They got to me.He and his son and their messy, crazy life. But I got to him too. I see the stolen glances. I feel the walls he built start to crumble. I recognize that there’s an unexpected beauty to the chaos in his life.
And now that the contest is about to end, we’re left to decide whether the last six months were just fun or if what we have is worth risking it all?
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Grayson ‘Make Me Moan’ Malone
I loved Grayson and Sidney’s story. I really enjoy Kristy’s books because you can feel every emotion while reading. Some things are just WORTH THE RISK!
So…I have to admit when I signed up to read Worth the Risk I didn’t pay much attention. I saw K. Bromberg and immediately signed up. To avoid spoilers and maintain the mystery behind the story and characters, I try to avoid reading the blurb. To my surprise, after a couple chapters in I learned this story involved was the youngest Malone brother who has appeared in the Everyday Heroes books about his brothers, Grant and Grady in, CUFFED and COMBUST. He was the brother I was most curious about. I can’t resist a single, hot dad who’s career is to save lives – could you?
With Grayson Malone, he was badly burned after his last relationship and though he’s wiling to take risks daily as a medivac pilot – but risking his heart?? That’s not an option for him… Opening his heart, his home and his son’s life to someone – anyone – is just far beyond his scope of possibilities and when Sidney Thornton comes to town, she was the last person he expected to successfully get through those barriers.
Sidney Thornton arrives in town with her only objective being to complete the task she’s been assigned so she can have her dream job. She’s loved her life, the big city and returning to small town life isn’t an experience she’s looking forward to… but life is what happens when you make plans.
These two opposites are nothing more than a combustible ball of attraction, angst and sexual tension. All making for a perfect book to cuddle up with and devour, like I did. And even when the grown ups have trouble making sense of everything, you can always count on the innocence of a child, Grayson’s son, Luke, to be exact, to put things in perspective.
This was the perfect HEA for the last of the Malone brothers, whom I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know and falling in love with. As with any other K. Bromberg novel I’ve read, I was entertained and pleased with the characters I met and their story I got to experience.
4.25 stars–WORTH THE RISK is the third instalment in K. Bromberg’s contemporary, adult EVERYDAY HEROES erotic romance story line. This is publishing heiress and journalist Sidney Thorton, and single father/rescue pilot Grayson Malone’s story line. WORTH THE RISK can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Grayson and Sidney) WORTH THE RISK follows the acrimonious relationship between publishing heiress Sidney Thorton, and single father/rescue pilot Grayson Malone. Sidney Thorton screwed up, big time, but she wasn’t in a position to reveal the truth to the man in charge. Hoping to teach his daughter a lesson, publishing magnate Frank Thorton offers his daughter one last chance to prove she is worthy by sending her to the small town of Sunnyville, where she was born, to pick of the pieces of ‘Modern Family’ a dying magazine within the Thorton Publishing family. Enter Grayson Malone, single father and rescue pilot, and the man with whom Sidney would fall in love. What ensues is the contemptuous relationship and romance between Sidney and Grayson, and the potential fall-out as Sidney’s time in Sunnyville, draws to an end.
WORTH THE RISK is an enemies to friends romance. As a teen, Sidney Thorton was a snob; a rich girl who looked down on those she deemed less worthy including our story line hero. Sidney is desperate to improve the circulation of ‘Modern Family’, and a ‘Hot Dad’ contest is just the thing. Discovering Grayson Malone was a ‘Hot Dad’ finalist, Sidney is tasked with persuading Grayson to remain in the running. Growing up in a hard working, blue-collar family of first responders Grayson Malone knows life can be hard to the people left behind but getting reacquainted with the woman that reminds him too much of his past, is something Grayons refuses to acknowledge.
The relationship between Grayson and Sidney is slow to build as Sidney is tasked with convincing Grayson to accept his placement in the ‘Hot Dad’ contest. To get involved with one of the competitors could mean disqualification for Grayson, and the potential loss of respect and Sidney’s job but the sexual attraction is heavy and hot. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
The secondary and supporting characters are colorful and fun. We are re-introduced to Grayson brothers: police officer Grant and his wife Emerson (Cuffed #1), fire fighter Grady and Dylan (Combust #2) as well as Sidney’s co-worker and editor in chief of Modern Family Rissa Patel, her best friend Zoey, father Frank, Grayson’s parents, and his adorable and heart breaking son Luke.
WORTH THE RISK is a passionate story line; a tale of one man unable to let go of the past, and one woman who is desperately trying to prove she is worth a second chance. The premise is emotional and realistic; the characters are spirited and energetic; the romance is captivating and intense.
Another emotional, heartwarming and absolutely beautiful story. This single dad, enemies to lovers romance will give you all the feels you are looking for in a book and will leave you with a huge grin on your face.
I was waiting for this book since Cuffed and I was so impatient to get to know Grayson and his cute little boy. And man, did they steal my heart? I absolutely fell in love with these Malone men and their story captivated me from the very beginning. And the title couldn’t be more perfect because they were indeed WORTH THE RISK.
Grayson – another broken hero and Kristy Bromberg definitely can write those like no other. His story was heartbreaking and I felt his pain and anger the whole time, but I was also in awe of the way he raised his son despite the circumstances. He was proclaimed a hero in his town for saving a lot of people as a rescue pilot, but he was trying to avoid all unnecessary attention for the sake of his child. It was simply impossible not to fall in love with him.
He had a lot of pent-up bitterness and he certainly had his reasons to close himself off from the world and not let anyone near him or his son, but sometimes you just have to take the chance and open yourself up to the possibilities ahead of you and hope they will be worth the risk.
Sidney – she was an ambitious girl from the big city determined to get her dream job. I have to say I wasn’t her biggest fan from the start. I admired her resolve to get what she wanted, but it seemed to me she was missing the big picture and not living her life to the fullest. Little by little she discovered herself and I loved the way her character evolved. Her development throughout the book was remarkable. It was impossible to resist these Malone men and eventually, as expected, she fell under their spell.
And Luke …OMG! This little boy completely stole my heart with his innocent comments, sensitivity and boyish charm. He was like the glue to put together all the pieces in this story. I felt his pain and struggled with him, but I had some good laughs at those son-father talks. He was adorable and his presence added to the story and made it that more emotional and heartwarming.
Grayson and Sidney didn’t have a good start. And at the beginning, it seemed like this was the impossible relationship. They were like fire and ice and frustrated the hell out of me. But you could feel the sexual tension flowing in the air and even when they were mad at each other they were like a firecracker ready to explode. The passion and chemistry were off the charts hot. And even though they were trying to fight their attraction for various reasons, it was impossible to ignore for too long.
And then when they finally gave up to the temptation they were like an explosion meant to happen. It was intense, it was mindblowing and just simply took my breath away. I was fanning myself on some of those steamy scenes.
But there was so much more to this story than the hot passion flowing from the pages. It was a story of slow self-discovery for both of them and I enjoyed watching them overcome their fears and take the chance at love. I also loved the small talks with the rest of the Malone family and the banter between the brothers, the little glimpses of the lives of the other couples. It was so good to be back in this world. And the writing was immaculate as usual. Perfect mixture of drama, laughs, hot steamy scenes, explosive passion, painful moments, intense situations, anger, fear, but most of all love – unexpected, never meant to happen, but healing. Love that was WORTH THE RISK. This story was definitely so worth the wait and worth the read and you should just jump straight in and enjoy the ride.
p.s. This cover is simply gorgeous. And I can’t wait for Desi’s story.
“You should have let me have a choice in the matter whether or not I fell in love with you. But you didn’t. And now it’s for nothing.”
This was one of the most beautiful, most emotional single dad romances I’ve read this year! K. Bromberg is ONE OF A KIND when it comes to this genre! I would follow her anywhere! I knew Grayson Malone’s story was going to break my heart, but I had no idea that the connection between myself and the characters would be so fierce. They frustrated me. They made me feel so much. They made me think. They made me cry. They made me fall for them over and over again. With flawless writing and an unforgiving emotional pull, Bromberg has done it again! She’s held me captive, fueled my addiction, and blew me away! Grayson, Sidney, AND Luke will absolutely MELT your heart!
What a beautiful and emotional story. It was sweet, sexy and all around wonderful love story. I really enjoyed seeing the journey that these two characters went on and the Epilogue was great. What a way to end it. And the audio version is just as a wonderful as well.
I definitely recommend this book, this series and this author.