While the synopsis is very interesting and intriguing, I find myself not really into this book. The main characters were okay, I was just not impressed with the "development" of other characters (a quick 180 near the end). The ending was not my favorite, as well, it felt was rushed (compared to how the story was dragged on before the trial) and easy.

I went in not sure what to expect from this book, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised? The romance was a delicious slow burn, and I liked the quiet living of it all.

I went into this book with a lot of hope AND a lot of trepidation. As a military veteran from a military family, I've found that it's often really hard for authors without an actual military background (which, it doesn't appear Koz has, I tried to look it up) to realistically portray the environment without being either completely kitschy or derogatory. Risking It All was a pleasant surprise on that front! While the action takes place at a military prep school, not in the military, it was fairly balanced and neutral in attitude. There was no political agenda (either to the left or right).

Paige was awesome - uptight, but awesome. I loved her so much and could totally identify with her attitude and her heart. It IS really hard, especially at that age, to learn to balance career aspirations and relationships. Logan was cute, if kind of hard to sympathize with...he really got himself into his original mess, and let himself be taken advantage of...but then had a giant chip on his shoulder. Eh, puppy love, I suppose. He was adorable AND had amazing guitar skills, so that kind of made up for it.

Overall I gave this book 4/5 stars. Recommended for cute teenage romance and interesting/unusual setting for a YA novel!

I participated in a blog tour for this one a little bit ago where I also received an excerpt. While reading this excerpt, the male MC rubbed me in the wrong way and I no longer felt interested in the book The male MC speaks like a hormone-raging teenage boy and it just got on my nerves :/.

I haven't read a lot of military academy YA books, and not only did I learn a lot (the author notes in her acknowledgements that she talked to many military family members and friends), but I found it very interesting. Although I like routine, I would never have lasted with such early mornings.

I automatically loved Paige, the hard-working, honest, goal-driven, cadet who is on her way to joining the US Air Force. On the other hand, I automatically disliked Logan. Although loyal to his friends, he was lazy and extremely rude. When Paige is asked to mentor Logan things get interesting. Not only did I enjoy watching Paige and Logan's friendship grow, seeing them work through their own feelings and grow themselves made them seem very realistic. The novel is told in dual POVs from Logan and Paige, which I think enhanced the story.

Although the novel wasn't perfect, which is rare to begin with, Risking It All was an enjoyable read. My only complaint is that sometimes the transitions between scenes were nonexistent, and I would have to go back and reread a few lines to ease my confusion.

The Bottom Line: Risking It All is a cute read with an interesting setting and realistic characters.

If you’re looking for a new setting in YA, this is it!

Within a military academy, we meet two unlikely people who are thrown together. This creates an enemies-to-lovers scenario that I found to be quite entertaining.

There is a big jump in character development within the story that I feel was done nicely. It encompasses the teenage changes that we tend to see within YA characters and creates that typical contemporary feel.

Overall, I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. My favorite part was the setting. It showed the clash between a strict personality and the care-free, almost bad-boy vibes. There’s strength, friendship, discipline, and all-over themes that are great for YA readers.

This book is a dark horse. It slowly snuck up on my heart and left me crying TWICE, plus gave me more confidence in myself. So if you take nothing else from this review, let it be that Risking It All is inspiring af.

The story is a hate-to-love YA romance, but it seemed like so much more. Paige is a student officer at Wallingford and has her life all planned out. She plays by the rules and holds the Honor Code above all. She also comes from a military family, so she lives and breathes the lifestyle. Enter Logan, an 18-year-old sent to Wallingford Academy in an effort to avoid a jail sentence that he doesn't really deserve. He's lazy and unambitious, but he is loyal to a fault. (Literally to a fault.) Thrown together as mentor and mentee, they will both test each other over the course of a few (glorious) months.

I don't even know how to explain how much I loved this book. Maybe because it wasn't big and flashy, but instead took the tortoise approach to both developing the plot and Paige and Logan's relationship. Maybe because it showed such great personal growth on both Paige and Logan's part. Maybe because Paige was shown to be the badass, while Logan was the caring, romantic one that helped Paige open up, which was a massive role reversal from "the norm". Maybe because Paige was actually the same height as (if not a bit taller than) Logan, and this wasn't a big deal.

It's all of those things really.

And ultimately, I loved it because it made me feel stronger. I read this and wanted to be a better person, to be stronger and tackle confrontations head on (I hate confrontations). While I'd already had the idea to train for a 5K by the end of September last week, reading about how Logan was able to develop exercise as a habit (even a way of life) gave me the push I needed to get out today and run. Ok, fine, mostly walk, but I'll get there, just like Logan did.

So I want to say THANK YOU to Koz with my whole heart. Thank you for making me believe in myself by showing that Paige and Logan could both become better. And thank you for that wonderful camaraderie scene towards the end that made me weep.

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There are specific parts of the book that I want to call out. These are spoilery, so here's your warning.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

SO. Logan is at military school because his girlfriend did a hit and run, then convinced Logan take the fall. He's threatened with a year of military school with the potential of prison time, and he just rolls with it for her sake??? What??? And then she doesn't seem to be grateful at all, even as she learns what he's going through at this school? This smart guy sacrifices his future for you, and you're just cool with it?? This just made me so mad at both of them – him for jeopardising his future, and her for being an all-round terrible human being. The more I read about her, the angrier I became. I know she's fictional, but I hope karma came for her eventually!

On a more positive note, there's a specific scene in the book that made me want to stand up and give a round of applause to Koz. Logan and Paige are working on something together, and Paige points out that Logan seems to be coming around. In response, Logan makes a comment about being worn down and hitting rock bottom, which is where he thinks everyone wants him to be so they can then mould him into whatever they want. While Logan approaches being ridiculed until he's lying in the foetal position crying like it's a joke, Paige takes this very seriously, even suggesting they go to the nurse. I loved this. I also felt called out, as I used self-deprecation as a way of hiding how much I'm struggling.


"Mental health is not a joking matter."
His face becomes more serious. "You're right. Sorry."
"There's usually some truth to what people say when they're trying to be funny."


Let's also mention Logan's strenuous relationship with his dad, which I related to far too much. His dad cheated on his mom, and this book didn't attempt to "fix" this or show them reconciling in a Big Moment. I really appreciated that, yes, Paige pointed out that he should try to find a way forward, but sometimes parent-child relationships aren't great, and problems can't be swept under the carpet or addressed all in a few months.

Anyway, that's the end of my random rants. Hope you enjoyed haha.

Straight-laced Paige is on her way to the Air Force Academy. She's done everything right at her military high school, when she's assigned a new delinquent to mentor, she finds her simple life upended. Logan is a challenge—disrespectful, rude and arrogant. Can she help him adjust to life at Wallingford Academy? Or will she develop feelings first?

Lemme be the first to say, I need to give up reading books with the military written by civilians.

I'm existentially tired of the stick-up-her-ass military woman learning to "loosen up" after being assigned a rowdy male mentee. Yes, this is a trope that exists outside of military fiction. It's an insult to women in the military and it's an insult to women in general—that ~feelings~ will happen when a hetero man and hetero woman are assigned to work closely together.

Granted, that is the entire plot of the book...but still. It is fraternization, even if this is a high school military academy.

As for the military academy aspect, having never been to one, high school or otherwise (being medically disqualified from the Naval Academy was the best thing to happen to me (view spoiler)), but there were some things that were confusing as hell.

Okay, a couple things.

Two things.

One is the cadet ranks. At OCS, we were given "ranks" for the billets (jobs) we were assigned, but the unreality of these ranks in the real (military) world was embedded in the title. For example, Candidate Platoon Commander. Paige and Alex were addressed by real Naval ranks without cadet attached to them, which felt weird. Also, instead of being called "sir" or "ma'am," every time someone addressed them it was by their rank and name. To me as a Marine Corps officer (it's similar in the Navy...dunno about the other services), being addressed by rank and name (or rank) is rude as fuck unless someone is trying to get your attention from a crowd of officers. Just say "ma'am." Seriously, this is a thing. So seeing everyone say, "Yes Lieutenant Commander" had me constantly thinking, "Damn, these people are rude as fuck" and "but she's a damn cadet put that in the rank to differentiate her from the instructors." But maybe high school military academies are just weird? (view spoiler)

As to the instructors. Apparently there is a Rear Admiral teaching at this place? And Paige addresses him as "Good morning, Rear Admiral"? Errrrrr, should be "Good morning, Admiral" or "Good morning, sir." C'mon. Basic military. Also, somehow the dean is a colonel despite serving in the Navy as a SEAL alongside Paige's dad and also being the dean of a Navy high school military academy. Riddle me that, Batman, because I have no clue.

Okay, enough nit-pickiness.

Overall, I just did not enjoy this book. From the premise that being career-focused to the extreme is a bad thing, to the need to loosen up and learn a little white lie here and there is okay (ummm, not in this case), to Logan in general, I just found myself shaking my head or rolling my eyes constantly.

Logan in general is a real catch. He's misogynistic, constantly reducing Paige down to her various body parts, calling her mean/uptight/frigid because she's being professional, and (view spoiler) I think the one okay thing about him was that he wasn't taller than Paige and came in a little pudgy and out of shape (although this miraculously changes—not the height thing—after a gruelingly misguided work-out plan...because you need to build up the endurance and strength of a couch potato instead of launching them straight into 5-mile runs with punishment laps built on top of it. How Logan avoided stress fractures and brutal shin splints from going from sedentary to 5+ miles/day is beyond me.

Sure, I guess he changes a little bit, but overall he's still convinced that loyalty to your friends is paramount above all else despite all evidence to the contrary slapping him in the face time and time again like a 3-day old stinky fish. (view spoiler)

Anywho, I suppose other people will probably enjoy this, but please don't leave this book with the takeaway that all women in the military are uptight and driven and just need a little bit of romance in them in order to loosen up and become human. Also the fraternization thing. And the not-like-other-girls thing.

I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if I hadn't been in the military.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Paige has been the best cadet she could possible be at her military boarding school, on the fast track to a career in the armed forces just like her father. When she is assigned to peer mentor the new delinquent student Logan, she feel she may be in over her head with him. She could never have predicted the level of sarcasm and eye rolls contained in one lazy boy but she is determined to whip him into shape. Logan strives to spend his days playing video games with his friends, never expecting himself to end up at a military boarding school to avoid prison. Hopefully the two can survive their interaction...

I think my favorite thing about this story was the personal growth that we get to see in Logan. He went from a lazy boy with no ambitions to a hardworking almost man who wanted to prove himself and strive for more. I wanted to cheer him on every time he made the right choice in a situation, including spending his free time running laps. It was interesting to see that he went from doing the right thing because he thought it would make his court case easier to choosing the right thing because that is what his brain/body wanted to do. I think Logan was my favorite character overall and even when he wanted more he still kept his good heart and sense of humor.

Keep in mind that I liked Paige a lot too, she was the straightest of arrows with the best of moral compasses. I appreciated Paige's steadfastness with the code of ethics, her lack of ability to lie led to the most interesting of situations. There was no lying to get out of trouble or self preservation, instead she told told it like it was with no guile, regardless of how the story would play out.

"Other than holding hands, it’s like usual and doesn’t even seem like we just agreed to be more than friends. I guess that’s the best type of relationship, though— one that so effortlessly morphs from friends to more you don’t even notice it happening."


While I would easily classify this as YA contemporary romance, there was only a little actual romance on the pages. We watched the characters go from almost enemies (mainly on Logan's part) to really good friends over the course of time, with the romance only slowly building towards the end of the book. I loved watching their relationship unfold page by page, allowing me (and each other) time to get to know and understand the characters. Also I appreciated the realism that is the ending, with a HEA- for now, since this is only high school after all.

Squee! When I heard S.M. Koz was releasing another book. I could not wait to know more. I loved her book "Love Me, Love Me Not". So, I had some expectancy. This book surpassed my expectations.

Enemies-to-lovers. There's your theme. As someone who remembers the 90s and early 2000s, this book kinda reminded me of Cadet Kelly (starring Hilary Duff). Mostly because it takes place in a military academy. That's the only connection I have, but I loved it! Logan and Paige. Whoa. There was a lot going on. Paige has herself together. She knows what she wants for her future, and then Logan swoops in and messes with that vision. I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to read. The characters were great.

Thank you NetGalley!

Well, this was just a joy to read. Rules following cadet at military school, with unbreakable focus, set to be a pilot is paired with the delinquent guy, who is overly sarcastic, can barely run and is very much against following any rules. :)

She manages to turn him in rule following cadet, but the road to that is long and very bumpy. I love the setting of the military school, all the rules and regulation and how well it all worked. Enter self-proclaimed couch potato, who would rather spend days watching tv and playing video games than run drills. But his trial is coming soon and had to do anything he can, so he will avoid jail.




I love the dynamic between them and their banter it was very entertaining. Also, I love the way the brought the best of each other. She made him believe he is made to be different, better and he got to loosen up and actually enjoy life for once.

I was glued to the pages and loved every minute of reading it!!

Paige has had her whole life planned out for as long as she can remember. All she wants in life is to follow her fathers footsteps...well, almost. Being a student and cadet at Wallingford Academy is everything she could ask for to help her achieve her dreams. While Logan doesn't have his whole life mapped out, or really any of it, Wallingford is the exact opposite of what he wants. His bad attitude could really hurt his chances in court, but how else is he supposed to respond to this torture?

Paige and Logan are as opposite as can be, but that's the best part. The more time they're forced to spend together, the more those differences help round out each other's personalities. They are able to learn things from each other that neither expects. The character growth in this story is absolutely captivating to watch--and it really feels like you're right there in the sidelines, watching. As each hurtle comes, Paige and Logan find themselves learning more and more how to loosen their closed hands and open themselves up to new perspectives. 

I've read one other book by Koz, so I was not surprised how engaging the writing was. The military aspect of this story was a very cool addition; I haven't read any books about this career area, but it was quite the enjoyable premise. It allowed for situations that really helped flesh out the characters and helped me connect with them. I was on board from chapter one. There were moments where I would get frustrated at Logan for not coming clean, and therefore digging himself in a hole more and more. But if he had come clean, we wouldn't have this beautiful story between him and Paige. This hate-to-love is a win for me.

This book is fine - the low rating is mostly because it seems like a paint-by-numbers YA. I felt like I could still see the bones of the outline, the movement from hate to friendship to romance to falling out etc. being prominently addressed as if they were points on a checklist. There was also a disappointing patness, not only in the lack of nuance or complexity when dealing with the military or prison in the US, not only in the wrapup of the various plotlines in the last two dozen pages or so, but in the characters themselves. It felt like everyone could be described with one main trait rather than being fully realized.

Honestly though, the book really is fine and if you're looking for a slightly formulaic romance, this will be great for you.

Risking It All by SM Koz. This was a fun read. I think my students will like this one especially the girls. Nice to see a woman in position of power in the military. Paige has been focused all her life on the military and aims to go far. Then she meets Logan, a cadet with an attitude she has to lead in the right direction. Paige thought she had it all planned out, but her attraction to Logan may make her risk it all.

Paige Durant is one of the most ambitious officers at her military school, Wallingford Academy. A Lieutenant Commander, an ace student, partakes in multiple activities, and a dream to fly fighter jets. The only problem? She wants to go Air Force. Which is hard to explain to her Navy SEAL father why she doesn't want to continue in the family Navy tradition. Which is why she hasn't told him yet.

Logan Evans does not want to be at Wallingford. Unfortunately, it's that or jail. He's starting to think juvie would be better. Needless to say, he's regretting letting his girlfriend talk him into taking the blame when she did a hit-and-run with his car. His goal: survive to graduation in June and keep out of trouble. Easier said than done, when he keeps getting assigned laps for breaking one of the gazillion school rules.

When Paige is assigned to be Logan's peer mentor, she has her work cut out for her. And he has no idea that his outlook on life is about to change.

A strong addition to the Swoon Reads line-up, "Risking It All" is a story about finding love when and where you least expect it, standing up for your dreams, finding yourself, and figuring out just how far you'll go--and what you'll risk--for the people you care for.

5 out of 5

This book is taken in a Military school and delinquent child Logan who has been court ordered to go to military school or go to prison and Lieutenant commander Paige Durat has been appointed to teach him the school ways.

I really enjoyed reading this book I loved seeing Paige a stickler to rules and her whole life organised by father finally stand up and relax and then you also see Logan who came to school with an attitude turn out to be a not so bad guy, each character rub off on each other and they form a romantic relationship. This book sweet and lovely, it’s more for teens and young adult but adults can also read it if it’s your cup of tea.

This is a great YA book that teens will enough. Sweet romance, interesting settings and characters. I liked that it was at a military school. Made for an interesting story.

Ah another book with a character that makes the perfect "book" boyfriend. A "bad" boy meets "good" girl romance that takes place at a military academy. At first I wasn't to sure how much I'd like this book, but I ended up loving it! It reminded me of some of my other favorite contemporary YA writers works. Great but predictable story line with very lovable characters. Even the secondary characters I liked! I'd recommend this one to teens looking for a cute summer reading contemporary book.

Realistic conflicts and conversation. Great book about friendships and loyalty. A clean romance that will be popular with middle school and junior high students.

I love this new book by SM Koz! Paige Durant is a start at Wallingford Academy. Her ultimate goal is to head the Air Force Academy and Logan Evans does not work into her goal plans. Sent to to Wallingford as a part of a plea deal for a hit and run accident, Logan is not happy to be thrust into an environment of structure and strict rules. Paige is assigned to Logan as a peer mentor and she finds him to be quite the challenge. Logan fights against the system but Paige is a strong woman who is not willing to let him fail. This is a strong story focused on the relationship between Paige and Logan, but it is more than just a YA romance. I found myself completely drawn into the story because of the character of Paige. She is very different from a lot of the young women you find in YA lit today. Her strength and passion for her school, as well as following the rules and understanding of respect was an interesting juxtaposition to Logan and his lack of many of those traits. The relationship with Paige and her father, as well as the discussion about education and the military also grabbed my interest. As a public school educator, I found this a really interesting read because of the way it showed a private military school. The discussion of right and wrong is done well within the story, as well as the complexity of relationships. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I really enjoyed the story as it was much more than a YA romance. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion. I look forward to the next book by this author!