Run To You by Rachel Lacey (Risking It All #1)
Contemporary Romance
Released: August 30, 2016
Forever

Reviewed by Helyce

Gabby moves to the small town of Haven, after getting out of an abusive relationship.  She’d been living with her parents following the break up, but realized that she needed to find her feet and strike out on her own.  Thankfully, her job could be done from anywhere, so she settles in the small town of Haven.  She pretty much keeps to herself, enjoying the silence while she heals and tries to figure out what to do next. Because returning to her parent’s home is not an option.

Ethan is focused on getting his business, Off The Grid Adventures, up and running. Unfortunately, the zoning commission has a long memory and Ethan’s naughty childhood deeds are at the forefront of their thoughts where he is concerned. Ethan is determined, however; because he must show his grandmother that he can take care of himself before time runs out.

Diagnosed with an inoperable aneurysm, Ethan’s grandmother is very short on time.  She wants to see Ethan settled; both in his business and his love life. When Ethan rescues Gabby from a nest of yellow jackets, it’s clear that they have an attraction for each other, so he comes up with a proposal for Gabby.  Ethan wants Gabby to pretend to be his girlfriend for however long his grandmother has left so she can die with the thought that Ethan has found someone special and his life is complete.

But he wasn’t counting on actually falling in love.

From the moment this couple meets, sparks fly.  Their attraction to each other is obvious, but Gabby is determined to stick to her guns, be single, and just figure out how to make a new start.  I liked Gabby.  I liked that she got out of her relationship after the first incident and didn’t stick around, listening to apologies and promises. She stood strong and when living with her parents was starting to stagnate her, she packs up and leaves.

Ethan was an exciting, complex character.  A horrible childhood leaves him without parents at a young age.  Because his mom had broken her relationship with her own mother, it takes a year for Ethan’s grandmother to learn about him when his mother dies.  She immediately takes him in and raises him.  She helps him find purpose when he starts swimming and is so good at it, he gets to the Olympics and wins gold! She is the most important person in his life next to his two close childhood friends, Mark and Ryan.  He will do whatever he can to make sure she leaves this life confident that Ethan is happy, healthy and in love.

But Ethan has a lot of baggage that clouds his judgement where relationships are concerned.  Suffering abuse at the hands of his father has him deciding that he is not fit for a long term relationship. It’s the main reason that Ethan will not settle down and only agreed to the pretend relationship for his grandmother’s sake.  But it’s clear from the moment they start “dating” that they have something special.  It was frustrating to watch Ethan ignore everything that he could have with Gabby. His assumption that he would repeat his father’s mistakes was understandable, but rather than share his reasoning, he puts up walls and continues to send Gabby mixed signals.

The fake relationship is not a trope I generally gravitate to in my romance reading, but I do like a small town setting and I was curious to see how the grandmother fit into this couple’s relationship. Also, I hadn’t read this author before and as this is the first book in a new series, I thought I’d give it a try.  I liked how this couple meets under such ridiculous circumstances.  They hit it off from the beginning and their gradual change to a physical relationship, which was against every rule they’d made for their deal, was inevitable.

The many roadblocks that the author throws at this couple keep them on their toes and give the story some substance.  I disliked Gabby’s ex showing up; his scenes seeming forced, but I understand the author needing to show what Gabby had been through and to incite Ethan’s temper while also showing his protective nature.

For the most part, I liked this story.  Ethan and Gabby are both likeable and Ethan’s grandmother was an adorable vixen who clearly knew that Gabby and Ethan were made for each other.  I believe Ethan’s business partners and friends, Mark and Ryan were set up nicely for future books and I look forward to reading them–especially Mark who seemed very interesting.

Grade: B

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