RECKLESS WITH YOU is the second book in Carrie Ann Ryan’s “Less Than” series. This story will appeal to readers who enjoy the “pretend romance turns real” trope. This book opens on a cringe-worthy moment in Amelia Carr’s life. Amelia bares it all – physically and emotionally – when she tells her best friend Tobey she loves him. Tobey doesn’t reciprocate Amelia’s feelings but he lets her down in one of the worst ways possible. As Amelia is dealing with the embarrassing mental flashbacks and dealings with her friends and family members giving her unintentional pity vibes, her brother’s BFF Tucker Reinhard takes her by surprise by filling an emotional void left by Tobey, but also providing a heavy dose of physical attraction that was never really a part of her relationship with Tobey. With Tucker, Amelia gets a definite upgrade from Tobey – as a friend, and as the kind of lover she always wanted.

A big part of why I enjoyed RECKLESS WITH YOU so much is because I related to it on a very personal level. I started dating my husband under somewhat similar circumstances to the Amelia started getting involved with Tucker. Sometimes you find a person who ends up playing a pivotal part in your live, and you never saw them coming. It’s like the classic Rolling Stones lyrics about you can’t always get what you want, but you sometimes get what you need. In the end, what hurts Amelia most when it comes to Tobey, is that he wasn’t even as good a friend as she thought he was. It can be incredibly jarring when you feel like you can’t trust your judgement anymore. The relationship between Amelia and Tucker starts out like any romantic comedy – playful and flirty at first, heating up in a major way the more time they spend together, and then becoming more complicated as their feelings deepen.

RECKLESS WITH YOU is a story about unexpected love when passion and friendship mix. The sex scenes in RECKLESS WITH YOU get very spicy but they are also very honest and true to the characters. The supporting characters in this book are interesting and I look forward to reading about them in other stories. I like that RECKLESS WITH YOU is told alternating perspectives because the main characters are slow to reveal their true feelings to each other.