Neenah’s life plan was to be a cop and steer well clear of romance.
She’s forced to reconsider her plans at the age of thirty-two, when an injury forces her out of her job and when she becomes guardian to a teenager on the same day. Fortunately, her best friend, Cody is around to help … (yes, it’s pretty obvious where this is going, and isn’t that the fun of reading friends-to-love romances?)
Cody has had feelings for Neenah for years but she turned him down flat the one time he dared ask her on a date.
Worse, she told him never to ask again. He’s honoured her request and instead the two are partners and best friends. At least, until she was forced out of the police force. Meanwhile, Cody has his own problems, involving this boss and father, who doesn’t want to promote him to detective no matter how hard he tries, and his latest case: the mysterious yeti stealing Christmas decorations from homes around Redemption Ridge.
Risking His Heart is a quick and easy read that gets into a surprising amount of depth considering the relatively short length (or maybe that’s more a reflection on how quickly I read it). Neenah and Cody both have issues they need to work through separately and together, and throwing a mourning fifteen-year-old and a yeti (!) into the mix makes that easier and harder.
I’m a big fan of friends-to-love stories, especially when the guy falls first.
Risking His Heart delivers on what fans of this trope expect, with a little more. It really shows what both Neenah and Cody have to lose if their relationship fails, but it also has a beautiful scene that convinced me (and Neenah) that’s not going to happen.
I especially liked the fact that both Neenah and Cody were Christians, and their faith was an important part of their romance.
Risking His Heart is part of the Redemption Ridge multi-author series set in and around the town of Redemption Ridge. The books are all standalone contemporary Christian romances featuring some common characters.
Recommended for contemporary Christian romance fans, especially those who like law enforcement or friends-to-love plots.
Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.
About Emily Conrad
Emily Conrad writes Christian fiction. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two 60+ pound rescue dogs. Some of her favorite things (other than Jesus and writing, of course) are coffee, walks, and road trips to the mountains.
Find Emily Conrad online at:
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About Risking His Heart
Falling for her best friend is not on her (forced, way-too-early, medical) retirement bucket list.
Career-driven cop Neenah Casper is forced by an injury to turn in her badge at age thirty-two. The same day she’s named guardian of an orphaned fifteen-year-old girl. With all her plans in pieces, it’s no wonder she starts feeling more than friendship for her supportive best friend Cody. But life’s taught her nothing lasts forever, and surely these feelings will pass once she finds a new life’s purpose.
Though Neenah friend-zoned him years ago, Officer Cody Adams has never stopped watching her back and hoping for more. Helping with her new ward could be just the opportunity to show her how much more he could be. Meanwhile, he’s also fighting to earn a promotion and impress his unpleasable police chief father by catching a home burglar and a Christmastime prankster. Neenah’s newly minted neighborhood watch might help him save Christmas and earn the job, if only the group didn’t bring complications of its own.
As Neenah and Cody wrangle octogenarian vigilantes, Christmas bandits, and complicated families, the chemistry between them only grows. But if they act on it, they won’t be able to go back. With their friendship and careers on the line, is love worth the risk?
I write inspirational romance with an international twist, with stories that uplift and encourage. Heroes with honor and integrity and strong, can-do heroines are my thing. And the good guys always get their happy ending. My fiction reflects my Christian faith.
A Carol award finalist and Selah award winner, Sarah Monzon is a stay-at-home mom who makes up imaginary friends to have adult conversations with (otherwise known as writing novels). As a navy chaplain’s wife, she resides wherever the military happens to station her family and enjoys exploring the beauty of the world around her.
