Reckless is one of those stories that you read and think this could actually happen. And, it gives you the shivers. Izzy, along with her husband David and teenage daughter Charlotte, move to a new town in search of a fresh start. Sounds so idyllic doesn't it. Well that wouldn't be a good basis for a thriller would it? Let's throw in Nicky Stevens, an eighteen year old manipulative boy who's hell bent on getting what he wants. And, that my people is a good mix for this amazing story.

Now, Izzy is a grown adult. She is a school teacher, therefore her job gives her a position of trust. You'd think she would have good judgement on what is right from wrong. You would think she wouldn't be so Reckless in her choices. But, there is more to Izzy. As the story develops we see that her background obviously mars her decisions.

Anxiety, paranoia, new job nerves, concern over Charlotte and suspicions about David all contribute to reckless choices.

Reckless is a fast paced thriller that you won't want to put down. It chills you to the core that people could easily make life altering decisions.

I read, loved and reviewed Gemma's previous two books and I had high hopes for 'Reckless'. I got a copy of the book as soon as I could and settled down to read. 'Reckless' was a somewhat difficult read for me at times for reasons I will explain shortly. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Reckless' but more about that in a bit.
I have to say that I didn't take to the lead character of Izzy one bit. In fact I frequently wanted to jump inside the pages of the book to give her a slap or to shake her by the shoulders. She wants a fresh start but at times makes some very questionable decisions. I didn't really feel as though I could fully trust her either. Nothing she did endeared her to me.
Now for the explanation as to why I found this book difficult to read at times. In a previous work life, I used to work as a Decision Maker at what was then the Independent Safeguarding Authority but which is now the Disclosure & Barring Service. Without giving too much away, cases such as Izzy's used to regularly land on my desk. I have fixed ideas as to boundaries and what crosses them. Plus the fact that I actually knew somebody who did similar to Izzy and who should have gone to prison but didn't. For me there can be no excuse for crossing that line. In other words, I had to read this book with two different hats on- my safeguarding hat and my psychological thriller loving hat.
I had my own suspicions as to what was going to happen in this book and of course I had to keep reading to see if my suspicions were going to be realised or not. This wasn't a book that I could binge read over the course of a day because I found myself getting too annoyed at the behaviour of certain characters and wanting to give them a talking to. In that sense I found myself trying to interact with the book as if the particular characters could hear me. The pages turned over increasingly quickly as I raced my way through the story.
'Reckless' is well written but then I think that to be true of Gemma's other books too. She has a way of grabbing your attention with an eye catching synopsis and she then draws you into the story from the very first word on the very first page. Once Gemma has your attention, she won't let you have it back until you have read the last word on the last page. For me, 'Reckless' is very tightly plotted with several twists and turns along the way. Gemma has a knack of writing books in which she pushes the boundaries and challenges people's beliefs and perceptions. Gemma has written a cracking psychological thriller that certainly kept me guessing and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Reckless' and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Gemma's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

Reckless is the first book I have listened to by Gemma Rogers and what a book it is! A family needing a new start and an excellent family dynamic. There are ups and downs and the beginning is enough to have me giving the novel 5 stars. Gemma Rogers has a talent for weaving mystery and suspense into Reckless that had me finishing the book in mere hours.

I definitely know I want to get the other books in the series because Reckless is so impressive.

The opening blew me away!

When Izzy and her family move from London to Sussex, they really need a fresh start. But when an accident happens to Izzy while she's driving to her new place of work (and her 15 year old daughter Charlotte's new secondary school) she and Charlotte are shaken.

Nicky Stevens is a student who Izzy recognises as having caused the accident. But he won't leave her alone....Then, he joins her extracurricular Creative Writing Class.......

I was going "no, Izzy, watch out!" many times throughout this novel and was as scared for Izzy as she was for herself. I was begging her not to let her guard down.

Izzy is quite level-headed for the most part and loyal to her family.

But her workaholic husband David is not the model husband or father he was since Izzy miscarried a year prior to the events in Reckless.

At times, I felt annoyed with David for being so focused on work because the small glimpses of "stable." family life we get (when they are all at home together), for example David's generosity in providing for his family which is shown by the details of the inside of the house, the quiet neighbourhood they live in and the occasional interactions with Mary the neighbour.

I understand Izzy felt lonely and crushed after the miscarriage and that David's way of dealing with this was to immerse himself in work. I felt that Charlotte suffered the most, though and was glad that she had her friend Amy. I liked the way their friendship was described and it made me go back through memories of the good times with my own friends which gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling,

Despite Izzy getting "sidetracked" with Nicky (or Nicky being manipulative), at times was hard to tell who to blame more, as in some ways both Izzy and Nicky are broken souls.

This, to me, added mystery and deepended the suspense in the book.

There's so much going on for all the characters though that they are all trying to just live their life whether they are mother, father daughter or lover that lines are blurred as to who is the "responsible party" here, and to me, it begs the questions "do we really know our family?" and "Are we really as mature as we make out or come across to others?".

Izzy has a responsibility as a teacher but first and formost as a mother to Charlotte. Charlotte, although 15 and mature for her age, seemed vulnerable as she was also just a teenager and she also needed her mum at times. I thought Izzy fulfilled her responsibility as Charlotte's mum by looking after her wellbeing when David wasn't around. And there were fun moments in general (meals or film nights).

Sometimes I did just want to meet Charlotte and give her a hug. But I wanted to meet Izzy too and give her a good talking to or other times let her confide in me. I wanted to tell David where abd why he was going wrong .And Nicky........I'm not sure what I would have done.....

Both Izzy and Nick have difficult personal circumstances whivh I thought were shown well although I did want more of Nicky's background. (his childhood/mother etc) and thought we spent too little time at his house (although I understood why that was).


David had a responsibility as a father and husband. I did want to tell him to sit down and disconnect from work a lot and just felt he was absent (but that Gemma Rogers did a good job of showing his character and priorities too).

Thanks to Gemma Rogers, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fast-paced twisty novel that had me hooked. I had memories of my own time at secondary school because the setting was so vivid.

Reckless is a very "human" touching, realistic novel about the struggle of loyalties between those you think you know and those you don't. It makes us question how well we can ever know someone. It is about what and who are priorities, It is about choices and if those choices are right - and about the price we pay for those choices.

A real page turner with likeable and not so likeable characters that will keep you up at night.


5 stars

Holy moly Reckless by Gemma Rogers was quite a wild ride. It was fast paced scandalous read that kept me on my toes. My mouth was hanging open several times, going no way what is going to happen next. Could one moment of recklessness ruin everything?

Izzy an English teacher just moved with her husband and 15 year old daughter to start new after a devastating miscarriage. On her first day driving to work she was in a near traffic accident, the driver of the other car turned out to be Nicky a student at the school Izzy teaches at. Nicky begins to pursue his Izzy, Izzy resists at first knowing she could loose everything. She ends up being Reckless and starts an affair with the student that she may end up regretting. Izzy comes to her senses and tries to end the affair, but that just angers Nicky. Nicky begins blackmailing Izzy, including starting to date her daughter. It seems Nicky won't stop until he gets what he wants, but at what costs?

Having read her two previous novels it was a no-brainer to decide to read this too. If you can get past the tricky topic the story deals with then you will find that this is Rogers's best domestic thriller to date and it has many different facets to offer its readers. The plot follows school English teacher Isabel "Izzy" Cole, her husband David and their fifteen-year-old daughter Charlotte who decide to move from Wellington, London for a fresh start in a place no one knows them; that place being Rusper, a small village in the West Sussex countryside. They are all trying to heal as Izzy sadly miscarried and Charlotte had gotten in with the wrong crowd at her school. Izzy is excited but a little nervous as she begins her new teaching job at the local secondary school. When the first day arrives she sets off but is almost run off the road by an incompetent driver. The lunatic turns out to be a sixth form pupil at the school, Nicky Stevens. He then begins to flirt outrageously with her every chance he gets and as Izzy is quite vulnerable and believes her husband is cheating on her she doesn't quite know how to handle it.

This book highlights how one moment of madness in a person in a position of power can impact the rest of their life and you can't help but feel for Izzy and the terrible situation she finds herself in. The subject is likely to make some fairly uncomfortable but I liked that the author was not afraid to push the boundaries with her third offering. It is a thrilling, fast-paced and thought-provoking read and the short chapters keep you turning the pages long after the sun goes down. Nicky is an intense and brilliant character who is detestable as he manipulates those around him with ease; it's clear he's a narcissist who only cares about himself and seemingly enjoys putting others through the wringer and getting them into deep trouble. Izzy and Nicky end up in a relationship but when she wants to break it off Nicky proceeds to start dating daughter, Charlotte to get back at her. It's evident that he has no conscience which is dangerous for everyone. All in all, this is a well written and compulsive story and a page-turner it's impossible to put down. Many thanks to Boldwood Books for an ARC.

I’d like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Reckless’ by Gemma Rogers in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

When Izzy arrives to start a new job as English teacher at St Wilfrid’s she comes face-to-face with the driver of a car that caused a near-collision with her that morning, a sixth-form pupil called Nicky Stevens. Nicky is infatuated with her and despite knowing it’s wrong Izzy has an affair with him but Nicky has a hidden agenda that could threaten her career, her family and her self-respect. Can she call a halt to their relationship before it’s too late?

‘Reckless’ is a cleverly-written and totally addictive thriller that’s had my complete attention from page one. Having already read two books by this author I was looking forward to this latest one and I haven’t been disappointed as it’s just as good as those previously. The storyline is believable and realistic, the characters so convincing that I wanted to shout at Izzy and warn her about Nicky. I had to keep reading as I was concerned how it was going to end. This is an excellent novel with a fast-paced and dramatic ending and I can thoroughly recommend it.

An ok read took a long time to get into . Not sure if I will read this author again as if I can't get into a book after a few chapters I don't usually finish it .

Wow, reckless indeed is the perfect title for this book! Loved it,the storyline,the full lot! What will Gemma Rogers come out with next! Highly recommend.

What a totally fantastic read, dragged me in at the beginning and spat me out spent at the end, a great storyline told well and wrapped up perfectly, loved every minute of it

A brilliant read if you love a thriller I can highly recommend this book. Right from the start you are drawn into Izzy’s life. One stupid error in a moment of madness has her life spiralling out of control. Even though Izzy is a grown up and in a position of trust you can’t help but feel for her. This book draws you in and you feel like you are watching a friend lose control of her life. A well deserved five star read.

I am a definite fan of Gemma Rogers and have enjoyed her writing in the past. This one also didn’t disappoint! It hooked me right from the beginning. The first scene in the book really made this story hit the ground running. I really couldn’t put it down.

This book had so many twists in it. I loved it and couldn't put it down. Was so gripping!
Will be looking forward to the next one

After enjoying Gemma Roger's other 2 books i found Reckless her best book yet. Teacher Izzy her husband David and daughter Charlotte have moved away from London to make a fresh start after problems with their daughter,all is well as Izzy starts her new teaching job at St Wilfrids school but on her first day she literally nearly bumps into Nicky Stevens who is a sixth form pupil in her car.What follows is a gripping thriller as Izzy gets drawn into Nicky's quest to flirt with her and despite her best intentions Izzy she finds herself in a very dangerous situation where she could lose every thing that she holds dear if her secret is discovered.And as Charlotte is drawn into Nicky's game Izzy realises things have gone far enough for her.Reckless is one of the best books i have read so far this year,a great 5 star read.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book although I didn’t particularly like the main character nor could I relate to her. It was however a good book and I liked the ending.

Wow this book had me engaged right from the first chapter reckless by Gemma Rogers , not one of my usual authors I read ,but will be adding Gemma to my list of must read , I was not bored reading any of this book quite the opposite I could not wait to pick it back up ,if I could I would give a higher rating ,thank you really enjoyed the story line of Izzy and her family , won’t say too much as don’t want to spoil it for other readers

Izzy Cole wants a fresh start a new school as she is a teacher
When Nicky Stevens sets his sight on her
Nicky wanted more
I got an ARC

Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Gemma Rogers for the opportunity to read Reckless
I was so happy to receive this ARC, I've read a previous book by Gemma, I have mixed emotions about the book, I preferred the second half to the first half I found some of the comments and thoughts repetitive in the first part of the novel. It took me awhile to connect with the characters and get into the story. I found as I progressed through the novel, the maturity level increased as did the believability of the characters actions.. I found the main character, Izzy, her actions although believable and such things may actually happened, but something about the way it was written seemed rushed. I felt the story was much better put together come the second half.
This book is about Izzy, a teacher who moves to a new town with her husband and 15 year old daughter. Izzy starts teaching at a new school and a new school year. She very quickly ends up having an affair with one of the students, Nicky, of the school and later finds out that he has done this before with another teacher the previous year. When she breaks it off with him he gets back at her by dating her daughter. Now she knows what he's like and what he is capable of and has to try and stop the relationship without her husband or daughter finding out what she has done.
I look forward to Gemma's next book as I really enjoy this author and the style of books she writes

This story revolves around husband and wife Izzy and David and their daughter Charlotte. After Izzy has a miscarriage and Charlotte gets involved with some 'undesirable' friends at school they decide to move away and start a new life, new house, new job for David, new school for Charlotte and a new teaching post for Izzy at the same school.. Charlotte settles well and Izzy enjoys her new school, until an 18 year old pupil makes it clear that he fancies Izzy............I don't want to give anything away about how the story pans out, just my own personal opinion of it.
It definitely had me gripped in places but was a bit repetitive and drawn out, a rather frustrating book as in the fact Izzy was nearing 40, an experienced teacher, but she comes across as so naive. She must surely know the pitfalls of these situations. It was somehow unreal to me. Having said that I really wanted to find out what was going to happen, but it wasn't till 92% of the book was reached that the conclusion began. So the ending was so rushed and unsatisfactory, which is a shame because this book had so much scope and it just fizzled out without ever finding out the consequences of it all. I really like Gemma Rogers style of writing and have enjoyed her previous book......this one was a bit disappointing, but I will continue to read Gemma's books. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this.

Really enjoyed this second book by Jemma Rodgers a great psychological thriller that keeps you gripped. Thank you to netgally for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Izzy and David Cole have upped and moved to start afresh. david working in finance and Izzy is an English Teacher. On her first day to work, Izzy is almost run off the road by a maniac driver, the driver being Nicky, a pupil at Izzy’s new school.

From here on in we learn more about Nicky, the narcissism and self-assurance which is dangerous. Izzy gets caught up in a flirtatious affair but when she tries to end it, life spirals out of control and Charlotte, Izzy and David’s daughter gets in harms way - is it too late to save her reputation, the life she has built and her daughters heart from being broken?

I found this an easy read, my only issue is that I felt the final two chapters were rushed and the ending could have been so much better. But the issues tackled within the book make you think that’s for sure!