Someone is stalking Charlotte “Charlee” Tanner. It is now the job of Lieutenant Hunter Boudreau, Florida Fish & Wildlife, to figure out who is the culprit.

1) I don’t really care about the make/model of your gun.
2) There are too many people for my brain to keep track of.
3) Acronyms suck.
4) Is the enemy an alligator? Or bullets? Or rattlesnakes? A stalker? (Answer: all of these)
5) 97 times the hero calls her “cher”
6) Cupcakes. Lots of cupcakes.

Lots of action, suspense and mystery. 2 ½ Stars

Connie Mann has penned a fast-moving murder mystery/family melodrama in Beyond Risk.

Charlee Tanner is a former Fish & Wildlife officer in Florida. Hunter Boudreau is a current officer, a lieutenant & her best friend. Hunter has been promoted over Charlee's brother, Josh,  there is tension surrounding this. A year to the day after a rafting accident claimed the life of a teen, Charlee again experiences a river accident with another group of teens & they are shot at.  Hunter takes charge of the investigation. The mystery deepens quickly as lives get threatened. Charlee & Hunter are forced to deal with their attraction for one another.

Credit is due to Ms. Mann for creating an explosive opening, thrusting Charlee into danger & forcing Hunter to guard her. However many characters are introduced in the opening chapter, and it's hard to tell who the main characters are. Its an enormous cast anyway with heroine's large and nosy family, friends, 2 sets of teen victims from 2 different river accidents 1 yr apart and their families, the other F&W officers, Sheriff, and the villain(s). As the story develops, details are hard to follow & I found myself re-reading several sections & backtracking. I had trouble keeping the cast straight.

I found it hard to bond with the heroine. Charlee is a tough, independent woman, yet her family hovers like they expect her to go through a nervous collapse any moment. Which is it? Yes, the accident a year ago traumatized her, but her helicopter siblings seemed excessively skeptical of her ability to take care of herself and the only barometer of her coping ability is that when she can't sleep she stays up and makes cupcakes, which she donates to her friend's coffee shop. She donates a lot of cupcakes.

There were a couple puzzling plot points. Although Charlee  is a former Fish & Wildlife officer, she is a now civilian, yet Hunter allows her to tag along as he investigates the events that start unfolding around Charlee. And would a Florida Fish & Wildlife officer investigate crimes having nothing to do with fish or wildlife? I don't want to say more lest I spoil the plot. In my waters-bound state, they would not.

I enjoyed the relationship between Charlee & Hunter. They worked well together even if some of the details were far-fetched. The love scenes were sensual rather than explicit. Ultimately,  the complex plot was too hard to follow to warrant more than 3 stars from me.

Arc provided by Net Galley.

A well written read. Will Charlee ever learn to trust Hunter? This is not a story of romance but one that will keep you wondering just who the real murderer is and how soon he will strike again. Why did JJ die? Why kill Brittany? Whose bloodied shirt was found? Many twists in the story that will keep you page turning till the end. Highly recommend this book.
This book was sent to me via Net Galley for review by the author.

Beyond Risk had my heart racing, my hairs standing up on end and my mind working overtime to try and figure out who was on a muderous rampage in this romantic thriller! This book kept me up all night reading as I tried to figure out who was out to kill the heroine, Charlee Tanner, and why.
Charlee is a strong independent woman who now has a vulnerable side as she harbors a secret that fills her with guilt and doubting her instincts. The hero, Hunter Boudrous, an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commision, is a rugged handsome man who has a protective streak when it comes to Charlee. Especially now that she’s in danger.
This book is character driven and there are so many secondary characters that are as well developed as the two main characters. You’ll feel as if you’re in the book as one of the characters joining in on the action.
There are several plots running concurrently throughout the book but author Connie Mann weaves them together seemlessly. Ms. Mann also gave us so many viable suspects that you’ll be guessing and then second guessing about who has a motive for this maddening and sick crime spree.
There’s a slow sexual tension between Charlee and Hunter. When they finally come together the sex scenes were mild, which I appreciated.
Beyond Risk will keep you holding on to the edge of your seat until the very end.
This is a stand-alone book with a HEA.
I highly recommend it. I was graciously given a copy of this book in an exchange for my honest review.

Really enjoyed this new series, looking forward to reading the next book. Lots of good suspense and romance.

"Beyond Risk" is a romantic suspense that follows Charlee and her best friend (and desired boyfriend) Hunter. Charlee is a former agent of the Fish and Wildlife Commission, and Hunter is a current agent. Charlee stepped away from the life after an event where a teen boy drowned on her watch. Now, it seems history is repeating itself on the one-year anniversary, and Charlee seems to be in the crosshairs. Hunter is on the case, working to figure out who is after Charlee and why- and Charlee is tagging along. The more time they spend together, the harder they find it to resist each other.

While I liked the idea of the book, I found this really hard to get into and follow. The book launches with a bang and without enough introduction into the characters. I kept thinking this must be at least a second book in a series, but it is actually the first. Things were not explained well enough that I got what was happening, and there were a lot of references to past events and people that were slowly expanded upon as the story continues. I usually don't have an issue with that, but there were so many things to keep in mind while reading that I kept needing to go back. We also get introduced to a lot of characters that are not fully introduced until later, so it was a lot to keep in mind with such a fast build.

The romance was the strong part of the book, and I really liked Charlee and Hunter as a couple. The suspense was alright, and I was invested in solving the case. However, the scenes from the perspective of the killer were a little cartoon villainy at times. Also, I was surprised that they would let Charlee tag along and interview witnesses and suspects, considering that she was the attempted victim. It seems to go against anybody's protocols. On top of that, I am surprised that Fish and Wildlife is in charge of the murder investigation. As far as I know, they mainly deal with environmental crimes and endangered species, etc. They occasionally loop in the sheriff's department, but I would assume that the sheriff's department would be handing and Fish and Wildlife should be the one getting looped in. I mean, maybe I don't know enough about it, but it seemed a little unbelievable (I can suspend some belief, but it was a lot in my mind).

Overall, I found it a little hard to follow and get into the suspense. The romance was the strong part. I feel like it needed a few chapters at the beginning (or a prequel book) to give introduction to all the side characters (not relevant to the investigation but the family, friends, network, etc.) and Charlee's past. I read it within 24 hours, but it may not be a good book to put down and pick up due to the many storylines to follow. Everything was wrapped up in the end, and it was a good romance.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Charlee Tanner is a river guide for her families business. A year ago a client died on one of her trips. Charlee still hasn’t recovered from the guilt she feels. On the anniversary of the fateful trip someone shoots at her group and another client almost drowns. It turns out the first incident might not have been an accident.

This book is the start of a new series for this author. I enjoyed the story and look forward to more books in the series. There was plenty of suspense along with a romance. If you enjoy romantic suspense this is the book for you. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

As one would hope, there is Lots of action with good pacing. The romance was solid. I didn’t much care for the final conflict/resolution. It seemed like a whole lot of effort expended by someone when there would have been an easier method, but this didn’t harm the story.

This book is a great beginning to a series that promises to keep the readers on their toes while still having a good supply of romance.
The story centers around Charlotte/Charlee Tanner and Hunter Boudreau. Charlee, a former FWC (Florida Flish and Wildlife Conservation) officer, had her life change a year ago after a kayak accident resulted in a drowning. She left her job and is managing her family’s outpost. But her fears are still real, and her trust and confidence is shattered.
Hunter, a former Marine, and friend of one of her brothers, is now the acting Lieutenant of FWC. A position one of her brothers thought was his. So there is friction in that department.
While accidents and near drownings escalate, so does the attraction between Charlee and Hunter. They both admire each other, but past experiences have them not giving all of their hearts and Charlee also has trust issues.
The plot is engaging filled with intrigue, an unknown threat, and whodunit. Meanwhile, the characters are complex and intriguing.
For me, the only con in the story, is the cast of characters in the two major incidents that affect the plot. At times I had a hard time figuring out which minor characters belong to which kayak trip and the relationship amongst them.
That said, the story was well developed and the action continued till the end. Being a Florida resident for almost 35 years, I felt right at home and really connected to the locations of the story.
Can’t wait to see what else the author has in store for us. Definitely another well written story by this talented author.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

Wow, Beyond Risk, is packed full of mystery and suspense. I was kept in the dark guessing throughout the whole book. Poor Charlee, just how much can a person be put through before they fall apart. She sure is made out of strong stuff. Hunter plays second throughout the book. I liked that the main focus was on Charlee.

If you have never read a book by Connie Mann this is an excellent place for o start. It is the beginning of a new series that is sure to be a resounding success. Charlee and Hunter are drawn into solving a crime that is somehow centered around a past incident involving Charlee. The story is filled with mounting suspense as each clue is revealed, tested and kept or discarded. As more people’s lives are put in danger the tension ratchets up and the suspect pool continues to grow.

The author does an excellent job of building and heightening the suspense and drama as the plot builds to a crescendo. The clues to the Gillian are kept away from the reader almost to the last 2 chapters which is an amazing feat. You get thoughts of who it might be but you are never sure until Hunter and others make the call.

Of course this is also a love story between Hunter and Charlee. It is built on rock solid friendship and respect for each other.after all the issues are cleared with the case they are able to fully focus on building a life together.

3.5
Good story and characters. The “cupcake” opening had me a bit nervous but the story takes off quickly after that. I thought I had this figured out a couple of times but I was wrong. I like the best friends to romance stories and this one didn’t disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for a copy in exchange for a review.

Charlee Tanner is a former fish and wildlife officer. Last year a boy drowned while she was guiding for the family business. What she thought was an accident wasn’t. On the one year anniversary of the drowning, she finds herself in an eerily similar situation.

Hunter Bourdeau is Charlee’s best friend. He is the first on the scene when she is being shot at. He is a lu Now he is charge of finding out who’s out to get Charlee before it’s to late. I loved this book. It had plenty of mystery, romance, and adventure.

BEYOND RISKS Connie Mann. Florida Wildlife Warriors.
Another night she couldn’t sleep and ends up making cupcakes to take to the cafe.A year ago her life changed, from law enforcement,and now to pretend today was like all others. Hunter had come into her life six months ago becoming her best friend. Standing between her and the world, protecting her,and giving her the space to heal. Both trying to live with the regret, and guilt, and. the failure that had happened in their lives. She had a kayak tour to lead today. Brittany dropped her phone and dived into the water. Then a nightmare began, trying to get her out of the water, then a rapid fire of bullets began. Bullets struck , would they survive,only for murder to happened to
one of them at the hospital. The threats, are they nightmares or real. This is a fast action script, that keeps one guessing to the.end.. Was it simply a case of revenge from a year ago or more. The cast of characters and the family unity was good, description of them and jobs they held was good The protective feeling for Charlie I liked. I have read the author’s other books and this is another winner .Given ARC by Net Galley and Sourcebooks for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet suspenseful romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

This book really dives straight into the action and suspense. So Charlie is back at work trying to get her life back on track after a tragedy happened on her watch a year ago. Now another incident happens and it looks like someone is out for revenge. There is several suspects and Hunter, a Cajun with a sexy accent, will do anything to protect Charlie.
ARC generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review.

This is the first book I've read by this author, and I enjoyed it. It has a lot of action and suspense, plus a nice undertone of romance between the two lead characters, Charlee and Hunter. There were times early on when I felt like I was missing something, like maybe there was a book before this one, but nope, this is either a standalone or the first in a new series, I guess, and the things that are mentioned in passing early on that made me think I was missing something are all dealt with throughout the book; I just had to be patient. I hope this is the first in a new series; if so, I will definitely read the others. If you like romantic suspense, give this one a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing an ARC for review.

I was drawn to this book because of the recommendation by Debbie Macomber on the cover and I’m so glad I was approved to read it

The first few pages have you thinking “well this is a nice start....our female lead is making cupcakes, it’s all very pleasant” then bam....your thrown into the middle of the drama and it doesn’t let up until the end, there were some red herrings put in cleverly by the author that makes you convinced you’ve worked it out but you haven’t....I was exhausted by the end of it, but in a really good way

I haven’t read anything by this author before but will definitely be on the lookout for more books. Charlee has a big family and I’m hoping they will each get their own book

A must read