Risk Factors from Lyrical Press, Inc.

Let me just say how appreciative and thankful, speechless, of those who take time from their busy life to read my books. Thank you for offering your honest opinions for others to hopefully read, and possibly even decide to also enjoy my books!

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A Heart-warming Read, 5-Stars- I love romances with children in them. They add such sparkle and sweetness. Little Janna provides this effervescant thread in Risk Factors, a fabulous read, tightly woven with strong characters and deep emotions. 

Connor McKay, in his struggle to overcome his childhood abandonment issues, devotes himself to his daughter. She satisfies the needs of his heart. His job as a Medi-Flight EMT Paramedic satisfies the needs of his mind. But when he meets the person who might satisfy the needs of his body and his soul, he balks. After all, his own Mother left him after meeting a man. He will not share himself with anyone but his daughter.

Viv Dane is the new veterinarian in town. She has abandonment issues of her own. When she meets attractive Connor, she is alternately put-off by his scowls and charmed by his smiles. Yet she can’t resist him—or his daughter. The author weaves this emotional push and pull so well, your heart actually begins to ache for them. In fact, you want to step between them and ask if they truly intend to throw away a good thing like this. But we don’t need to, for like the old saying, “…and a child shall lead them” Janna does it for us. She’s wisdom in a small package, that one. Risk Factors is a heart-warming read, one that will stay with you long after the words, “The End.” ~ Vonnie Davis, Romance author

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Tenderly Written Medical Romance, 4-Stars- I loved the twist of having the heroine, Viv, be a Veterinarian. Many of my favorite scenes in this book are the ones where Viv takes care of her animal charges. But Viv came from distracted parents who gave all of their attention to their exotic animals on foreign soil, and she has had to live with that gaping wound all of her life of not feeling wanted or good enough.

Connor is a hunky EMT, a former foster child, and single father. He is a hero on many levels, beginning with his job where he saves people and does heroic things on an almost daily basis. He is also a devoted single dad who comes as a package deal. Whoever he gives his heart to will have to love his daughter, Janna (Jelly bean) as much as him. He won’t risk his daughter’s heart to be broken by anyone ever again – especially since his wife had abandoned both of them.

That’s where the love story steps off and gets interesting watching each character work through their issues, battling their full-on attraction to each other, and finally overcoming all obstacles to let love into their lives again.

I recommend this tenderly written romance by Calisa Rhose for those who like a good love story and for those who like a touch of EMT adventure and veterinary medicine in their books. ~ Lynne Marshall, Romance author

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A Sweet and Engaging Read!, 5-Stars- This is a great story with engaging characters! Conner McKay is a helicopter EMT with a deep fear of emotional involvement. He was abandoned as a child, then later his wife left him shortly after their daughter was born. It’s no wonder the guy has trust issues. Rather than allow the same hurt he’s experienced to happen to his young daughter, Janna, he’s built an emotional wall around them, refusing to let anyone get close. 

Enter Vivian Dane, a veterinarian who soon has Conner reexamining the way he’s chosen to live. The attraction between the two is immediate, but change isn’t something that happens overnight. Viv, in turn, has emotional bruises of her own thanks to parents who never understood her desire to be a “pet doctor”—something they consider beneath them (they’re world renowned wildlife vets). 

I enjoyed the story and the up-and-down conflicts between Conner and Vivian. The romance was sweet, beautifully written and worked on an emotional level that allowed me to bond with the characters. I felt for Conner as he waffled back and forth on whether to risk his heart and allow someone else into Janna’s life; for Viv who’d already suffered the rejection of her parents and didn’t need another emotional blow from the man she’d given her heart to. As for Janna, she was the perfect balance of childhood innocence, loving daughter, and delightful manipulator! Bravo to the author for a well-told tale! ~ Mae Clair, Romance author

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Sweet but very light and gentle romance, 3-Stars- I received this book free via publishers in exchange for an honest review. I don’t gush and give false praise – I don’t believe that helps readers or authors so what you read is what I truly feel about a book. 

I’m a sucker for romance, good escapism form the world for a while and I need a happy ending. Being an animal lover too this book attracted me. Viv the vet – lovely lady and I felt for her with the upbringing she had, on the surface Idyllic but as often happens dig deeper and you see the public face her famous caring exotic animal vet parents wore didn’t match up to a caring upbringing for their only child, who strived for their affection and approval. She’s become a vet too but as she doesn’t follow them into treating exotic animals they are quite disparaging about her profession. 
She’s taken over her uncles practice when she meets the delicious Connor. Single dad he’ll do just about anything to keep his daughter happy including backing off a promising romance if he thinks it will adversely affect his daughter Janna. Though his love for her was clear I could have kicked him sometimes as he was so obtuse and determined to see only his point of view and not consider he could be wrong. An arrogance if you like born from his determination to ,make up to Jesse the fact her mum left them when she was just a baby. 

Viv takes a lot from Connor when I’d have been telling him to get lost – she’s lovely but a bit of a doormat at times….she needed to have more respect for herself instead of excusing Connors actions because she understood his need to protect Jesse. I enjoyed the romance between them but to be honest it was a bit lightweight for me – I need more ups and downs, high and lows, the contrasts of angst and triumph. Tears even but this didn’t do any of those for me just sat middling along annoying me when yet again Connor was disrespectful to Viv in his actions of not his words. I’d have enjoyed it more if there were some out and out arguments, some bitter separations and the consequent making up instead of just Connors hot and cold action and Viv just taking and excusing it. Still, thats me and others like less drama and more softer romance and if that’s what you like then this book delivers a good four star read but not for me. 

I liked the characters though, and understood why they acted as they did but wanted Viv to have more backbone and stand up to Connor which would (IMO) make him respect her more. For me the romance was ok but too gentle to be great so only three stars from me. Nothing wrong with the book – just not to my taste. ~ Jeannie Zelos

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4-Star- Fun, light romance and a recommended read. Characters were believable, the story unique, the intimacy written with just enough detail I didn’t feel like I was in the middle of a “how to” manual, and the technical writing accurate. Gold star for research. A character flaw I found, personally, not in written script, is I would have liked to see Vivian with more moxie. Yes, she had insecurity issues, but Connor treated her like crap more than once and when he came groveling back, I wished Vivian would have seen past her want to get in bed with him, and kicked his ass to the curb. He need to be knocked down a few pegs and humbled. Her accepting his sanctimonious and judgmental outbursts played in direct opposition to her need to prove herself independent. In the end, redemption is made and I got my warm fuzzy HEA. Another great read from Rhose. ~ Harley Brooks, YA author

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 Characters with high-stakes medical jobs, 4-Stars- I really enjoyed reading Viv and Connor’s story. Viv’s a veterinarian and Connor’s an EMT. They both have interesting jobs that show up on the page in a realistic way showing Calisa did her homework. The high-stakes medical jobs also lend dimension to Viv and Connor’s romance. 

Both Viv and Connor are dealing with family issues that keep driving them apart despite a passionate attraction that keeps yanking them back together. Viv is sweet and compassionate, a little clumsy, and a lot damaged by parents who pretty much ignored her while they focused on their careers as high-profile wild-animal rescue workers. Connor is hot, emotionally damaged from his ex-wife leaving him and abandoning their baby for “greener pastures,” and utterly devoted to his 7 yo daughter, Janna (Jelly Bean). Janna is so much more than an addition to the story. She’s super cute and plays a vital role in Viv and Connor’s romance.

Risk Factors is a sweet read with lots of excellent emotion and real-world pet and human medical emergencies. There was high drama and some steamy-but-still-sweet physical romance. I highly recommend Risk Factors for fans of sweet romance, romance with a kid in the story, and romance centering on characters working in the medical field. It’s the perfect read for those who like small-town contemporary romances, too. There’s just so much for everyone in this sweet read. ~ Jessi Gage, Historical romance author

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