Dad Reviews The Risk by S.T. Abby

Why I think I will finish this book series unlike the television series Dexter.

I originally wrote this review in January prior to creating this blog.

Book Cover

Content Warning for this Review

(Items with hidden text formatting spoiler like this only appear in the spoiler sections). * References to serial killers * References to violence * Sexually explicit references * References to rape * References to violent torture (Content warning for the book is below spoilers section).

Medium Used: eBook via Kindle iOS and iPadOS apps.

(I am not sure what the KU publishing rules are where these authors audio books are on Libby and Hoopla but not the eBook but if you're an audiobook person my Libby and Hoopla both had the whole series).

Ratings Out of 5

Overall Rating: 💜💜💜💜

Sweetness Level: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Steam Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥🕯️

FMC Likability: 🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️

MMC Likability: 🛡️🛡️🛡️

Plot Engagement: 🔪🚔😟🔫

At least one bad dad (pass/fail): Fail / TBD?

Spoiler-Free Review

The Risk is the first in a 5-part series of suspense/mystery romance books by S.T. Abby. The book is short (132 pages, according to goodreads) and was a page-turner for me. I normally do not enjoy dark romance (see my Deliver review), but I have been interested in mystery fiction lately and was looking for a shorter, gripping read. I saw this series recommended in several threads on r/romancebooks and decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did! While I could have done with slightly fewer specifics in the gore department, the book was an absolute page turner.

The story is told from both the FMC's (Lana's) and MMC's (Logan's) perspectives. Lana's past is, more or less, the central mystery of book 1, and there are still unanswered questions to explore in book 2. Logan is a serial killer profiler for the FBI. Lana, on the other hand, is... well, a serial killer driven by revenge for something that wronged her in the past.

I could have gone for a slightly slower burn (especially given that this series has more books to go), but I thought the intimate scenes from both the MMC and FMC perspectives were well above average for what I typically read. What I wasn't expecting from such a violent book was how sweet and genuine the emotions and care between the characters would be. Man, I hope this finds a way to be an HEA (it does... abc, 123, alpha, beta, charlie).

What I liked about this book:

What I did not like about this book:

Review with Spoilers:

Click to review spoilers

In The Risk, we learn that Lana was a survivor of a horrific gang rape and torture, along with another victim. The culprits were men from her small rural hometown, and they believe she's dead. However, Lana survived and managed to switch her identity with the help of a friend who fills the “good at computer stuff” archetype, similar to Felicity Smoak or Ned Leeds.

This all happened ten years ago, and now Lana is systematically working her way through a list of those who wronged her, brutally collecting on the debt they owe her. Meanwhile, Logan is an FBI lead investigator specializing in profiling serial killers. Among the cases he's working on are the murders Lana has committed. They just happen to meet cute at a coffee shop when Logan's colleague fails miserably at hitting on her.

Just to be clear, this book vividly describes gory torture and murder, and Lana carries out her acts with a lot of satisfaction. This is not usually my cup of tea for Romance, but I was so captivated by the story that I am hooked. I'm rooting for Lana—I want her to find peace from her past and for her bond with Logan to survive her deceit. I am also rooting for Logan to find happiness and somehow come to terms with this amazing woman's... unconventional hobbies and to love her all the same.

I don't know what else to say other than “this story slapped”. The roller coaster of emotions was fantastic.

What I like about this book spoilers:

Click to review spoilers

  • I love how they slowly reveal what caused Lana to seek revenge. For me she became more and more understandable as a character as the story progressed. I could not wait to get the rest of the details on everything that happened. My guess was [exactly as written before I read any further] that this “Kyle” (or was it Kevin?) was her BF when she was 16 and that either his dad was the Sheriff or he is the Sheriff now.
  • Possibly my all time favorite FMC quip across all when Lana says she'll “I'll put away my strap-on until you are more comfortable with your sexuality” when they are first getting to know each other and he says he is not into pegging.
  • The feelings and caring for each other just feels genuine. The smiley giggles and stomach butterflies when they get texts from each other. Inject that shit straight into my veins I remember what falling in love feels like 🥺.
  • I love how the trope of her being the only one better at his job than him plays out here.

What I did not like about this book spoilers:

Click to review spoilers – I did not save the exact line and cannot now remember if Craig or Logan says it but people referring to other people as “too feminist” is not something I want near my meet cutes 😠. Glad this did not come up again. – Super let down (and honestly was a little surprised) that their first time was not interrupted as it was about to begin. Like come on the whole plot up to this point is they both are too busy and their work is too important to ignore. Perfect opportunity to leave the tension for another chapter or two wasted. Would have been spicier if one of them got a call they could not ignore the second the condom went on and they had to wait. Also would have liked to see a second or third public date. The first one was pretty adorable and I like seeing them both trip over themselves trying to be normal. But i respect that the characters are met to be super busy with their work and have no time to go out and do things. We got the texting instead I suppose... – I respect and appreciate that the point of Lana being okay with letting Logan “be in control” (or however she phrased it in her mind) in the bedroom was about her feeling so comfortable/safe with him but did it have to be from the first time? Can somebody tell me what a guy has to do around here to read a book where FMC runs the show in the bedroom that is not explicitly femdom kink? – I think the cover does not vibe right for the story but I am sure there are some weird KU optimization reasons for why it was chosen.

Content Warnings for The Risk by S.T. Abby

Click to review content warnings (content warnings that could be perceived as spoilers include hidden text formatting and an additional warning). – Graphic Depictions of Violence – References to homophobic discrimination – (medium spoiler) Vivid memory descriptions of rape and torture – (minor spoiler) Description of a serial rapist, serial killers, and their crime scenes – (minor spoiler) Knife torture – (minor spoiler) FMC lying to MMC – (major spoiler) Homophobic abuse / gay bashing – (minor spoiler) Allusions to corrupt small town police – (minor spoiler) References to oppressive rural small towns – (minor spoiler) Serial Killer Protagonist

The books I have read that this book most reminded me of are:

1) Deliver by Pam Godwin (tone / genre). 2) Natural Law by Joey W. Hill (quality of plot / mystery serial killer aspects) 3) The spicy parts reminded me of the spicy bits in the Manwhore Series by Katy Evans...but I read/listened to those a while ago so I could be misremembering.

I would recommenced this book to:

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(This Review was originally published to goodreads (and briefly Reddit) in January 2025 before I started this blog).