3 It was a Good Read Stars

Reckless by Aurora Rose Reynolds is the third book in the Adventures in Love series, following Jade and Maverick. It is a fast-paced, small town, light contemporary romance - that was good enough, but it didn't hook me in as much as I had expected.

Reckless starts off with a good beginning. We meet Jade, who moves to a small town to live near her best friend and restart her bookstore business. She is reckless, fun, kind, loyal, and wants a fresh start in this new town. Maverick is the best friend of her best friend's husband, and she has known him for a while. When he helps her out, they sort of strike up a friendship - the attraction brewing between the two every time they meet.

So, I liked Jade and her friends and the insta-love between Jade and Maverick. But every part of the book felt underwhelming. Although it was a good read, there was no build-up to anything - from them getting together to the conflict and then the HEA. It lacked the emotional depth and intensity, and I all felt was - 'okay, so this happened.'

It also lacked character development. Maverick's character is just brushed through from the top - I didn't even know what his job was (as I had forgotten it was mentioned in the blurb) I don't think it is explained in this book which left me confused. Jade doesn't have any development either. Both felt 2D to me.

Their romantic relationship started way too quickly and I think it would have helped if we had more interaction between the main couple other than the steamy part. The conflict felt like a plot device to create some drama - but it didn't really engage me.

The title of the book doesn't really fit the story. The heroine used to be reckless, but she was careful with her new business and the hero the entire time. She was cautious throughout the story.

It's like any other romance book - they fall in love quickly, there's a slight conflict and they get their HEA.

Reckless can be read as a standalone, but I recommend you start with the first book in the series. I haven't read the other books, and this one spills the stories of the previous couples.

Overall, Reckless is a nice enough one-time read.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC!

Aurora Rose Reynolds has such a beautiful style of storytelling. I love how she takes imperfect characters and brings them together with a great HEA at the end.

Aurora Rose Reynolds absolutely outdid herself! What an incredibly adorable couple! Watching Jade heal from previous heartache and fall in love with Maverick is just heartwarming! And Maverick... boy oh boy that man is the epitome of charming, supportive, and delicious! These two are just the definition of true love! See y'all on another page!

Aurora is one of the most amazing writers. This is not my first read by her. If you haven't read any other books you should. She never Disappoints and puts all her feeling in these books. We need more books like this. Thank you for letting me read this. You will fall in love with all the characters. It's love in a rollercoaster of all emotions..Like I said you need to read all of her books they are worth every minute.

Jade and Mavericks story was another amazing read. Like always with Aurora Rose Reynolds her stories have a way of bringing me into her book world and making me forget all else.I highly recommend Reckless.

Reckless was quite an entertaining afternoon read for me. I have always enjoyed the opposites attract trope and on top of it, reckless has small town romance..so it was swooning. The banter was unreal and I really loved the ending!

*I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review*

I originally fell in love with Cybil and Tanner and now I’ve fallen in love with the whole group. The family-friend dynamic is written so beautifully. I love that the reader gets to see previous love stories develop even in another’s story. The best parts of the story for me, were when everyone came together. The jokes, accountability, and honesty between them all made this such a good read. Mavericks story brought me through a bunch of emotions but I loved the way it came together towards the end. Special thank you to Lizzy and Margret for saving it all.

This is a sweet low-angst, small town romance. Not really sure why the book is titled “Reckless" possibly because Jade takes another chance on a man after she's been hurt before? This book read like plain vanilla ice cream, it wasn't bad, it somewhat hit the spot, but there wasn't a whole lot going on. In all honestly, it was a little boring. Insta-love but kinda a slow burn in terms of actual relationship.

It was nice to revisit the characters from books one and two, and I enjoyed all those friendship dynamics. Overall, a decent read, but left me wanting something more...with different flavors, and possibly sprinkles.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Maverick and Jade put me on quite the emotional roller coaster. They both frustrated me for a while and made me want to throw my kindle. Jade and Maverick had some steamy times and also made me laugh. Reckless gave me all the feels. I enjoyed this story and read it in one sitting. Maverick and Jade were a good fit and kept me engrossed in their story. I loved seeing Maverick and Jade get their happily ever after. Another good read by Aurora Rose Reynolds.

I loved Jade and Maverick ... they are my favorite couple in this series. Jade has been through so much lately but she just picks herself up and starts her life all over again. Maverick is a total mystery as to why he is the way he is ... brooding and quiet. The two of them together almost started my iPad on fire... the chemistry was that hot between them. I found the banter between the characters very realistic and the situations were everyday things that happen. This is a great series and I presume that it has come to an end because all three partners of the Live Life Adventures have had a book. But it still makes me sad that this is probably the end to this series.

Jade's life implodes as her book store closes and her relationship ends. So she packs up her belongings and moves to Montana where her best friend lives ... maybe that will be where she finds her future. Maverick stays to himself ever since his two best friends and business partners got married and had kids. Sure he likes their wives and kids, but that's not his life. He wants to build his forever home up on the mountain where he can live his life in peace and quiet. At least that is until Jade comes storming into his life and all that quiet time comes to an end.

A nice small town romance with wonderful characters. The plot and pacing of the book was well executed
I loved Jade and Maverick together, they had wonderful chemistry. All in all this was a good read, one you can finish in a day.

Thank you Netgalley, Publisher and the Author for the ARC for my honest review.

This was my first book by Aurora Rose Reynolds and it all felt a little “whelming”—not over or underwhelming it was just… Eh? I think this might have more to do with my personal preference than it has to do with the book, but it's also been a few days since I’ve finished it and it hasn’t really stuck with me in any way. Despite being an ‘instalove’ romance, there were some sweet and heartwarming moments between Jade and Maverick, plus, this friend group was pretty fun and the setting was beautiful. Overall, it wasn’t a bad read and I think that if you’re looking for something low-angst and easy to read this makes a good ‘palate cleanser’ between books. I know many others have and will enjoy it but I think perhaps it just wasn’t for me. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m surprised to realise that this romance didn’t really use any conventional tropes and that’s not a bad thing. Jade and Maverick knew each other through their best friends and there were no antagonistic vibes towards each other or any other particularly tense or angsty moments that you’d find with friends-to-lovers. The story is told mostly from Jade’s POV with a few chapters from Maverick’s POV sprinkled in so we knew from the beginning that they have always found each other attractive. I’m not particularly fond of the instalove trope but it wasn’t too over the top in this one when their attraction turns to instalove, I just think I had a hard time believing it because there’s a lot more tell than show which made it difficult to feel their chemistry. I guess I can’t expect too much when it’s a fairly short read at just over 200 pages but I wanted just a little bit more!

There’s definitely ease and comfort between them that I did like. Sometimes you just meet someone and it clicks (not talking about love here) and every moment with that person brings you comfort and makes you feel cherished and happy. It was clear Jade and Maverick had that kind of thing going on—it wasn’t just about sex, it was about comfort and I liked that. This also has a bit more of the domestic side of couple life and I do like romances with that in it—seeing Maverick take care of Jade was swoony and it was during those moments that we’d see them get to know each other and I wanted MORE of these moments! I wanted to learn about what drives them, what they feel passionate about, etc. It would’ve added more spark to their chemistry which I think was sorely needed!

This leads me back to the feeling of this being more tell than show. Maverick honestly felt pretty underdeveloped—he had shoddy parents, and his sister ended up being more mum than a sibling to him, but other than that he literally just appears and disappears from Jade’s life at random and since we get so few chapters from his POV, it all felt a bit underdone to me. It was admittedly also a little weird at first when he just randomly shows up at her house and inserts himself into her space? It's not as if she didn't want him around but it just felt a tad aggressive which I guess fits his “alpha” personality but it was just odd at first, lol? I guess he did eventually grow on me but he took some getting used to!

Another thing I have to mention is that the title really didn’t fit the story—there was nothing reckless about it or about Jade’s character. In fact, I would go so far as to say this is probably one of the more “subdued” romances I’ve ever read. We’re told that Jade has a tendency to be reckless but we see none of that in this book or with this romance—other than the fact it’s instalove which… I mean, is that reckless? I personally didn’t feel the “high stakes” of their love and neither did I feel invested in whether or not they’d work out even though as a romance there’s obviously a HEA. Overall, as I mentioned before, I think this romance just wasn’t for me and I’m sure that this author’s romances are for me but I’m glad I gave it a try and I always enjoy trying new authors. Thanks to Montlake for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

4 1/2 Stars for this small town romance!

I loved Jade and Maverick ... they are my favorite couple in this series. Jade has been through so much lately but she just picks herself up and starts her life all over again. Maverick is a total mystery as to why he is the way he is ... brooding and quiet. The two of them together almost started my iPad on fire... the chemistry was that hot between them. I found the banter between the characters very realistic and the situations were everyday things that happen. This is a great series and I presume that it has come to an end because all three partners of the Live Life Adventures have had a book. But it still makes me sad that this is probably the end to this series.

Jade's life implodes as her book store closes and her relationship ends. So she packs up her belongings and moves to Montana where her best friend lives ... maybe that will be where she finds her future. Maverick stays to himself ever since his two best friends and business partners got married and had kids. Sure he likes their wives and kids, but that's not his life. He wants to build his forever home up on the mountain where he can live his life in peace and quiet. At least that is until Jade comes storming into his life and all that quiet time comes to an end.

I received an early copy courtesy of Montlake through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

A quick & easy read with some open-door steamy scenes!

This book had so many things I normally love:
- small town vibes
- grumpy main male character
- found family & solid friendships

But the book just fell flat for me. There wasn't any emotional depth to Jade and Maverick's relationship. It felt all built on physical attraction, so the sex scenes felt stilted and awkward. And it's entirely a me thing, but I'm just not a fan of the possessive dirty talk during sex scenes. It's just awkward.

And the third-act conflict - the resolution felt rushed & forced vs actually thought out.

Thank you to Montlake & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley UK and Montlake for sending me this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Many elements in this story pleased me, such as the small-town vibe, the quiet guy who helps her, and the forced proximity caused by a snowstorm. Overall, I liked Jade, her background story, and I loved the parallel stories being told throughout the book. She is a very realistic character when she puts her financial security as an important goal (sometimes romance books make everything very unrealistic). However, I wasn't very sold on the romance part. I didn't dislike it; I just thought it was too quick, the scenes between the two main characters seemed too fast, and I prefer a slow-burn romance. Even though the romance development between Jade and Maverick didn't work for me, I truly enjoyed reading the book. I liked the parallel stories, the secondary characters, and some funny parts that made me laugh. The reading flowed really well; I would read several pages in one go because I was connected to the story. Overall, it was an enjoyable 3-star reading.

I have read all of the Aurora Rose Reynolds books! I can’t get enough from that author. She is a reliable “go to” author when I am in the mood for romance with passion, emotion, depth and sweetness.

The scenery is also really well written and a delight to read from the British side of the world :).
All I can say is that Aurora Rose Reynolds must be a wonderful person with much emotional intelligence as she is able to explore emotional aspects of people’s lives with much depth and consideration.

I know for certain I will be left happy and warm inside after reading her books and in these challenging times, it is a wonderful gift to give to her readers.

A quick, light read.
Although I liked this book, I didn't love it.
For me, the characters felt flat and I didn't feel a connection to either Jade or Maverick, nor did I feel a connection between the main characters themselves. Had we seen more from Maverick's PoV I think the relationship would have felt more fleshed out.
Despite this, with its relatively low drama and low angst storyline, Reckless would make (in my opinion) a perfect palate cleanser between the more emotional stories.

I adore this group of characters! Jade and Maverick were no exception.

Starting over in a new town can be so hard but with the love and help of her bestie, Jade is ready to try.. She is ready to start over. No distractions. Maverick loves that his friends have found their happiness. Doesn't mean he wants it for himself.

GAH!!! I love everything about these two. and their journey. I hung on every stunning word, from start to finish. Full of passion, sweetness, friendship, and love. Perfect love story about learning to trust and love again. 5 easy stars.

Overall, I enjoyed the romance between Jade and Maverick. Both had emotional and personal issues to overcome in order to become a strong couple. I loved that the books in this series tend to be pretty short and fast paced but that said, this one felt longer. A part of this is that we kept getting Jade's point of view and we only got Mav's POV a few times (or so it felt). That made the book feel a little unbalanced. Also, the coupling generally felt a little superficial in that their emotional connection didn't feel as deep as the other books. However, overall, I enjoyed this next installment in the series.

The Adventures in Love Series is everything I love in a series. Each story stands on its own. I of course have a favorite and it is absolutely Reckless!

I adored Jade so much! This series needed an feisty heroine who did not need to be saved or cared for but 100% deserved it. We first meet Jade in book 1 of the series, she is Cybil’s best friend, and she needs a fresh start. She misses her best friend but also needs to escape her clasped life. Jade is not looking for a relationship, instead she is focused on rebuilding alife she can be proud of.

Maverick was the good guy best friend in book 1. We see his nice guy, but also his broody nature in book 2. I knew he had a reasons for all the broodiness but also the mask of always the good-natured flirt. His back story really brings lots of feels and understanding to why he wears the mask but also keeps even his friends at a distance.

Both these characters bring some big feels. Jade was so significant in her worries, her joy, her heartache, her insecurities, and her love.

Jade did not allow the ruins of her old life to steal her dreams. She was willing to put in the work and start over. Maverick was drawn to Jade, and he was honest with her, and I respect him so much for that, I wanted to kick him, but respect. This story had unexpected emotions and deep feels I was not prepared for, but this is why I will always come back to any story that Aurora Rose Reynolds writes.

This series is everything that is great about romance. Friends loving each other, shenanigans and characters that bring some big feels. The mutual acceptance and support of each other is something that ARR does so well. Adventures is Love is the type of story you will come back to over and over hoping for more time with them.