After years of living in survival mode, I’m finally hitting rewind on the story of my life. There’s nothing standing in the way of my bright future at Lake Chapel University.

Or so I thought.

Being ambushed by four devastatingly attractive football players wasn’t on my bingo card. Ironically, they seem just as stupefied by me as I am of them.

There’s Decker: the brooding, scowling leader. Then Kylian: the iPad-wielding nerd. Next is Kendrick: the gruff, gorgeous jock. And finally, Locke: the huge, tattooed emo boy.

It’s the last one that catches my eye.

As the recipient of the Crusade Scholarship, I’m here on a full ride, and I intend to make the most of my education. But a girl’s allowed to have a little fun, right?

That’s how I find myself hooking up with the right guard of the Lake Chapel Crusaders at the first party of the school year. My plan for a casual fling is derailed a few days later when I unexpectedly run in to a couple of the guys outside of school.

Now Decker Crusade thinks I saw something I shouldn’t have, and he’s decided the only way to control the narrative is to control me. There’s nowhere to run, considering Decker and his boys live in a lakeside mansion that can only be accessed by boat.

Apparently, I live here now, too.

They think they can keep me captive indefinitely, but there’s something about me they’ve sorely underestimated: my will to finally live.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Kindle – 49 Ch | 334pg

So, it’s my birthday (Feb 27th) and my birthday means reading every chance I get. I started reading this before work and I finished it during my lunchtime. I only bought this book yesterday, so that’s quick reading even for me!

Birthday’s mean different things to different people. I enjoy the excitement of my birthday, the lead up to it and the rush of coming down from it. I enjoy celebrating the day with other people. I enjoy the thoughtfulness that comes from other people. My birthday is usually a day when I feel completely happy with no ulterior strings attached.

So, this book, ‘Too Safe’, is a why choose romance. 1 woman 4 men. It’s a university campus setting in Texas, heavy on the football.

I needed something more light-hearted to read in-between my latest crime series DCI Jack Logan by JD Kirk, and the Royals of Villains Academy series by Eva Chase.

This fit the bill perfectly. It kept my focus but didn’t require all my attention. The book revolves around Josephine, Decker, Locke, Kylian, and Kendrick. Most of the book is told through Josephine’s point of view but as the read we do also get point of view chapters from the four men.

Jo is an interesting character not because she’s headstrong and feisty but because she holds trauma from a past that isn’t discussed and that makes her character a curiosity. She is headstrong and has enough feistiness to keep the four men in line but she also has a large dollop of vulnerability and lack of trust of those around her. It speaks very clearly of the trauma she has suffered, just not of what that trauma might be.

Jo bonds with Locke first and then Kylian and we see most of her interactions being between the two of them through the book. However, it was Kylian who I connected to more, mostly from my surprise at having him reveal he is neurodivergent (autistic). I always enjoy neurodivergent representation in books, and it isn’t something I come across very often. I have elements of autism from a crossover with another syndrome I have.

I though the characterisation of Kylian was done incredibly well. His character fit and there were elements from the neurodivergent side that were true to the scope of what dealing with it can be like.

Locke is referred to by Jo for most of the book as ‘emo boy’, which I think is a bit of an injustice of who we learn he is. It’s a fun nickname for sure. Locke also plays on the football team and has his own battles to overcome. He is the first person that Jo opens herself up to and though they have a rocky battle between them, there does seem to be more hope opening towards the end of the story.

Kendrick is a puzzle because he’s only shown in Jo’s perspective as being an angry hothead who doesn’t like Jo and goes out of his way not to be around her. His point of view chapters doesn’t give as much information out as the others, so I’m not sure where he stands in the dynamic of this fiver.

Decker starts off as the bully we all love to hate but as usual, appearances can be deceiving, and he slowly warms up to both the reader and Jo. He clearly has a lot on his plate, and he is one of those characters who focuses more on how others are doing and bottles everything he feels up. It’s a wonder that he and Jo had any positive interactions in this book – but they were just there!

I made one highlight while reading and it comes from a point in the book when Jo is heading to her uncle’s house for the first time.  

“I almost hit Scout, the junkyard’s armadillo in residence. Sam warned me to stay out of her way, because not only is she territorial, but armadillos can spread leprosy. I came to North Carolina for a fresh start, not to contract a bacterial disease.”

The ending was, well, it was unpleasant for me. It fell into the kind of trope that I avoid. So, I am interested to see how it concludes in book 2 and whether I will be able to endure it for the promise of the rest of the series or whether the plot of book 2 will stop me from reading the remaining books.