*This is a romantic comedy with a Christian worldview.Allegra Spencer has been living a careful life. Her safe job as an accountant is bookended by going to church and the gym. Okay, sometimes the gym. Fine. She goes to church. And the coffee shop. She avoids risk at all cost, preferring to stay safe in her cozy condo. Until her accounting firm goes belly up and she’s out of a job. Tyler Hawk had …
Tyler Hawk had a glorious career as a star NFL tight end. He retired on a high note and now lives a second dream of owning his own business and leading others on extreme outdoor adventures. But he needs help with his books—and his heart. When Allegra takes the job, sparks fly.
It’s a case of safety zone versus danger zone, and in their minds, never the two shall meet.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! It was my first read by Mikal Dawn but I’m sure it won’t be my last. I loved that while there was certainly a fair amount of conflict, humor was ever-present and was the perfect medicine to help the characters along their journey.
Have you ever pushed a friend further out of their comfort zone than they were really capable of and it came back to bite you? Or have you ever had it happen to you? Even though his intentions were good, it took a while for Tyler to understand how his “encouragement” was affecting Allegra. Having nearly opposite backgrounds growing up in relation to “living safe,” Tyler genuinely thought he was helping his new friend. I savored being a part of his journey toward understanding and growth as a person so that his concerns were no longer about what he would want for himself, but understanding what was best for others.
Just being honest I have to admit that I can be an Allegra. I have no desire for death-defying adventure particularly when it comes to heights. I have trouble breathing and tense up just driving or riding across a bridge. I’m not a big risk taker. I’d rather stay in my little safety bubble. I really adored seeing Allegra step out of her comfort zones to try new things and in many ways I resonated with her use of sarcasm as a cover-up for her real emotions.
This is truly a book that Rom-Com fans are sure to love. Mikal Dawn is absolutely an author I plan on following in the future. The next in this series is a novella called If She Dares, which I have on my shelf to read when I need my next pick-me-up (I have a few tearjerkers coming up in my lineup). I highly recommend this book!
A wonderful debut by an author who quickly became one of my favorite romcom authors! The characters come to life with Dawn’s fun style and voice.
This was my first book by this author, and it will definitely not be my last. First of all, Seattle is a fun setting since it lends itself to all sorts of adventures. The two main characters are definitely opposites. Allegra is cautious, and Ty is a risk taker. How they learn to adjust to their differences makes for a fun read. Many times I laughed out loud with this one. Fear and grace and moving forward are all wrapped up into the plot of this book. The ending was definitely unexpected. For me, it was a reminder that I need to look beyond differences to find common ground with the people that I meet.
P.S. Warning: she hinted at the story that happens with two other main characters. After reading book 1, you will definitely be putting her intended book 2 on your list!
Probably more like a 3.5 for me than a 4. I decided to read this book because the back cover blurb made me chuckle, and for the first little bit of the book, I enjoyed the book. I liked the banter between Allegra and Tyler and I liked both of them as well. (Spoiler Alert!) But if I’m going to be honest, when Tyler started treating Allegra as if she needed to be fixed because she wasn’t the adrenaline junkie he was, I almost put the book down. He came across as very unyielding and arrogant in his stance on that. I found his attitude to be rather condescending, insulting, and judgmental to those who greatly enjoy God’s creation in many ways without being into the kind of outdoor activities he was into. So for much of the rest of the book, I just found him to be a bit of a jerk. He did have some moments where his attitude seem to begin to change and he began to redeem himself, but I had a hard time fully believing that he didn’t still hold to his theory to an extent. The ending was satisfactory, but not something that just made me feel in love with the characters or the book. Overall, it was a light, enjoyable read, but just not one of the most satisfying reads for me.