The biggest risk is falling for the enemy.
The Risk is the second book in Elle Kennedy’s Briar U series, the spin-off set in the same universe as Off Campus.
This story follows Brenna Jensen, the bold and confident daughter of Briar’s hockey coach, and Jake Connelly, the star player of Briar’s biggest rival team, Harvard.
Between rivalry, ambition, forbidden attraction, and undeniable chemistry, The Risk brings a sharper, more competitive energy to the Briar universe.
Book Details
Series: Briar U
Book Number: #2
Author: Elle Kennedy
Release Year: 2019
Genre: New Adult Romance / Sports Romance
Main Couple: Brenna Jensen & Jake Connelly
Setting: Briar University / College Hockey World
Synopsis
Brenna Jensen knows hockey better than most people.
As the daughter of Briar University’s hockey coach, she grew up around the sport, the players, and the pressure that comes with living in that world. She is confident, smart, ambitious, and determined to build her own career in sports broadcasting without being reduced to her father’s name.
Jake Connelly is everything Brenna should avoid.
He is the captain and star player of Harvard’s hockey team — Briar’s biggest rival. He is talented, charming, competitive, and far too tempting for someone who is supposed to be off-limits.
When Brenna needs help to land a dream internship, she finds herself making a deal with Jake. What begins as a fake date and a risky arrangement quickly turns into something much harder to control.
Their teams are rivals. Their futures are complicated. And neither of them is supposed to want the other.
But the more time Brenna and Jake spend together, the harder it becomes to deny the attraction, the trust, and the emotional connection growing between them.
The Risk is a story about ambition, rivalry, forbidden feelings, and the courage it takes to choose what you want — even when everything about it feels dangerous.
Main Characters
Brenna Jensen
A bold, confident, and ambitious student who wants to make her own name in the sports world while carrying the weight of being the coach’s daughter.
Jake Connelly
Harvard’s star hockey player and captain, known for his talent, confidence, and competitive edge.
Coach Jensen
Brenna’s father and Briar’s hockey coach, whose presence adds tension, pressure, and emotional complexity to the story.
Summer Di Laurentis
A familiar face from The Chase, connected to the Briar U circle.
Briar Hockey Circle
The group of Briar students and hockey players at the heart of the spin-off universe.
Book Tropes
College romance
Hockey romance
Rivals to lovers
Forbidden romance
Fake dating
Sports rivalry
Coach’s daughter
Ambitious heroine
Banter
Found family
About This Book
The Risk expands the Briar U universe by stepping outside the usual Briar hockey circle and introducing a romance built around rivalry, ambition, and forbidden attraction.
Brenna and Jake’s story brings a different kind of tension to the series, with Harvard and Briar’s rivalry creating a competitive backdrop for their relationship. Their dynamic is full of banter, challenge, chemistry, and emotional honesty.
While The Chase brought readers back to Briar University, The Risk pushes the world further by exploring the wider college hockey scene and the complicated choices that come with chasing dreams, loyalty, and love.
For fans of the Off Campus universe, The Risk is one of the most intense and addictive chapters in the Briar U series.