A Risk Worth Taking

By: Laura Landon

Narrated by: James Langton

Tormented by the deaths of his wife and child, Griffin Blackmoor spends his days drowning his grief in whiskey. But when a bullet that was meant for him kills his best friend, Griffin makes a promise to the dying man that will thrust him back into London Society - and into the path of the one woman who could make his life worth living again.

The daughter of a drunkard, Lady Anne Carmichael swore she would never love a man like Griffin Blackmoor. But when he rescues her during her darkest hour, Anne cannot ignore the effect Griffin's haunted eyes - or his soul-stirring kiss - have on her guarded heart. He is everything she never wanted. So why does his love feel like exactly what she needs?

©2013 Laura Landon (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Maybe it's time for a break from this author

If you've never read any of her other books or if it's been a while ... Go for it. If not you'll start to see the reuse of scenes from her other books in this one ... Which is annoying. Some parts of this one didn't make much sense. The girls brother died and left her nothing but a piece of land ... Turns out the land was being used by the man who inherited the estate to smuggle opium. Why on earth would a brother put his sister in danger that way? And not warn her when he found out before he died. And he didn't tell his best friend who could have done something about it? The story line just seemed kind of forced. And the couple lacked something. Not completely horrible but I won't be listening to it again.

Historical romantic suspense!

Beautifully written story. Historical romantic suspense with a well developed plot and characters. Worth the listen!! James Langton is a fantastic narrator. I recommend this story to all audiobook lovers!!

Not worth risking

It was good enough that I just managed to finish it, thus 3 stars, but I won't listen to it again.
The hero and heroine were both nice people you could care about, but the mystery solution was obvious way before our hero figured it out. His inability to Identity the villain contributed to his seeming TSTL (too stupid to live), along with his overwrought pining for his wife and child, whose death he blamed on himself.
The narrator had a good voice but he was overdramatic, and I didn't like his voice for the heroine.

Exceptional

What a delight to read this well written and narrated novel! It was somewhat complicated and not at all predictable. I thoroughly enjoyed it and want more by this skillful author. The narrator’s deep, cultured voice was a joy to the ears!

A PG romance with a serious subject

This is a PG romance book. If you are looking for steamy love scenes...this is not the book for you. If you want a hero and heroine that want to deny their feelings until they can deny no more....then this IS the book for you.

The author tries to use alcoholism as a issue in the relationship...but she doesn't use it to make the book too serious where it brings you down. Which is obviously not the way alcoholism usually plays out in people's lives....but it's a fiction romance book.

I usually don't like male narrators but I really enjoyed this one. James Langton is the best male narrator I have heard yet.

This book is a good easy listen....It is a cheap book so it is worth the price. I wouldn't use a credit simply because it is cheap.

A classic tale with a lively finale.

What did you love best about A Risk Worth Taking?

I enjoyed the inter-twining plot threads involving several minor characters as this made the ending more unpredictable.

If you’ve listened to books by Laura Landon before, how does this one compare?

To be honest, I thought at first that I'd already heard this book before as the storyline was so familiar at the beginning, but it did develop after a while and ended on a less predictable note than I'd feared.

Which character – as performed by James Langton – was your favorite?

The guilt-driven hero, Griffin Blackmore, aroused my sympathy.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I enjoyed the tension of Anne's rescue from the cave.

Any additional comments?

James Langton is a wonderful narrator who can lift any story above the average. This man is a consummate professional and a delight to listen to. I do hope he is frequently employed on audiobooks.

Ok, but too clichè

I have only just discovered Laura Landon and, after enjoying Intimate Deception, I thought I'd give this a try. While I probably wouldn't use a credit on it, I was happy enough with what I got for the price of the kindle edition with added narration.

The story was compelling enough to keep me interested but I have to say the extended monologue by the cackling villian while the helpless heroine waits for the hero to make his move was just a little too clichèd for me. Also, unless the concept of smuggling is completely foreign to you ( and by foreign I mean you have NEVER heard the term 'smuggler' and you do not have even the most elementary understading of the topic) then the 'murder mystery' will become no more than a predictable sub plot within the first three chapters. Still, the story was interesting enough to carry the predictable mystery even if I did feel that the M.C's came across as pretty dim everytime they stood around wondering who was trying to kill them and tried to figure out what the deal was with the parcel of land Annie inherited.

Great Read/Listening

Loved the struggle to find love and peace. A tragedy to find forgiveness and love.

Griffin and Anne

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

A Risk Worth Taking by Laura Landon. KU Read Abs Listen program borrow and listen. Standalone. Dual POV. Solo style narration. Historical romance; widower and his best friend's younger sister. Slow burn, fade-to-black. It's listed as 8 hours 8 minutes; I listened at speed 2.25 for 3 hours 37 minutes. Unnecessary intro and finalé music. Narrator James Langton read well, but his voice seemed much older than all of the characters. Content warnings: H's wife and two year old son drown to death; h's brother was murdered; H is an alcoholic; H's brother helped him detox; drug smuggling; and h's distant cousin tried to force her to marry him, abducted her, and tried to k¡ll both H and h multiple times.

Location: London and the English countryside
November 20, 1857

Captain Griffin Blackmoor (aka Griff) was widowed four years ago when his wife and two year old son drown to death on their voyage home. After helping two other women evacuate the boat, he tried to return to the place where he left his wife and son, and sadly, they could not be saved. He's been single ever since, attempting to drink himself to death because he couldn't save them. One night, he met with Freddie, his best friend, and they were discussing Freddie's desire to find a wife, style down, and create an heir. Unfortunately, Freddie was shot that she bought. Before he died, he asked Griffin to watch out for Anne. Lady Anne Carmichael lost her father when she was 16 when he fell from his horse and broke his neck, and then her mother died from a broken heart when Anne was 17. Anne has been running their household and caring for Rebecca, their younger sister, ever since. When she learns of Freddie's death, she's distraught. Anne is now tasked with finding a way to survive and protect Rebecca. All of their family property and titles are conferred to their distant cousin, with the exception of one small "unusable" parcel Freddie left to Anne. Griffin struck a deal with Adam, his brother, to get sober if Adam agreed to allow Anne to live with Adam and his family and sponsor her through a season so she could find a husband. When Anne learns that Griffin is offering a large dowry to whomever marries her, Anne is stung. Griffin is eventually forced to marry Anne when they're caught kissing. After they are married, they find out who was trying to k¡ll Anne in a terrible manner, but they are in love and together in the end. Griffin and Jack cleared the air and remained friends. JP

Side characters: Adam Blackmoor, Earl of Covington (Griffin's older brother); Patience (Adam's wife); Adam and Patience's three sins: Timothy (4), Matthew (3), Simon (almost a year old); Julia (Griffin's deceased wife); Andrew (2; Griffin and Julia's deceased son); Freddie Carmichael, the former Marquess of Brentwood (26; Griffin's best friend; Anne and Rebecca's older brother; deceased); Lady Rebecca Carmichael (15; Freddie and Anne's younger sister); Jack Hawkins (Griffin is convinced he's behind Freddie's death and the attempts on Anne's life); the new Marquess of Brentwood (Freddie, Anne, and Rebecca's distant cousin; drug smuggler; ev¡l murderer).

1 out of 5 on my spice scale.

1st listen 01-19-24 (KU Read & Listen)

James Langton is the perfect narrator

Would you listen to A Risk Worth Taking again? Why?

I probably would not listen to A Risk Worth Taking again because I don't reread any books. But if I did it would be because of Langton's narration.

What did you like best about this story?

No heavy descriptions about the sex.

What about James Langton’s performance did you like?

This story was primarily told from the man's perspective and most of the characters were men. Langton also does wonderful accents.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

I've read other books by Laura Landon and I have enjoyed them all.