Worth the Risk by Stacy-Deanne

I was give an ARC of Worth the Risk in exchange for a fair and an honest review. What I like about this author is that she isn't afraid to tackle subjects that other authors might steer clear of. This book is a fine example of that. It isn't everyday that you come across a romance story that features a character

who has HIV. The fact that I reveal this (HIV) isn't really a spoiler as the author has mentioned it many times in announcements and reviews. I'll put it in a spoiler tag anyway for those of you who may consider it one.

Stacy-Deanne is an excellent storyteller and more than has the chops for this type of book. Let me tell you a little bit of what the book is about...


A music critic named Alvin goes to a concert where he hears violist Madeline Deever for the first time. He is enraptured by both Madeline, the violinist, and her immense talent and wants to get to know her better. Unfortunately, Madeline isn't interested. Her disinterest doesn't deter Alvin and he pursues her relentlessly first to change her mind and then to find out what it is she is hiding. When he discovers her secret the question is then will it be Worth the Risk...

Okay here it is. As much as enjoy the author and I applaud her efforts to write a story with a strong topic, I had problems that just subtracted from my overall enjoyment and kept me from being invested in the story. So what was the problem? In a nutshell... Alvin. This guy couldn't take no for an answer and his pursuit of Madeline bordered on stalkerish. When a woman tells you she isn't interested, she isn't interested. But for the sake of a story lets say he decides to pursue her anyway. You don't go behind her back and do something that she said she didn't want. Creepy. This guy pushes and pushes, questions her about things that aren't his business and implies her disinterest isn't normal. This type of behavior creeped me out and basically I wanted Madeline to get a restraining order. Maybe if he'd been more charming and less aggressive and demanding in his pursuit of her I could have dealt with him better. But it just didn't come across that way for me.
Another problem that I had with this book was that it was way too short. This topic deserved so much more of a story. I feel like a broken record, because I know that I say that a lot, but really how awesome this could have been. Perhaps with more of a story Alvin and Madeline could have come together in a different less rushed way. With more of a story we could see more of what Madeline goes through from day to day, met people from her life both past and present, and learned more about Alvin and who he really is as a person. Definitely more of a story would have let Alvin have time to take in and adjust to Madeline's secret. As it stands such a nonchalant response didn't seem believable.

The bottom line is this was a book with a good premise. I was very hopeful and excited about reading it, but there were too many roadblocks for me - from a too short storyline to an unlikable stalker of a hero. The only person that I cared about was Madeline and frankly I worry about any future with Alvin. I'm giving Worth the Risk 2 out of 5 primarily for the topic and the author's bravery for going outside of the box.
Rating 2 out of 5
Pages: 57
Published: August 30, 2014