Risk

Next Level #5

by Briana Michaels

Mason
Every move I make is scrutinized by my competitors and insufferable family. As the rebel in my social circle, I’m finally cutting the puppet strings of everyone who’s tried to control me. It’s time to let the real Mason Finch come out to play, and Leah has just entered my game.

She’s my house cleaner. My fascination. My biggest risk.

I play to win. She plays for fun. The stakes are sky-high, and I’ll do anything to make her mine. No matter the cost.

Leah
When Mason slides into my life, our fun fling turns into a wild romance that’s straight out of a spicy novel. If the media finds out he’s dating his maid, who also happens to be a popular camgirl, both our careers will be in jeopardy. But we can’t keep away from each other and the thrill of getting caught or being watched is addictive.

Is what we have worth the risk, or should I break things off before it blows up in our faces?

Screw it. I’m going all in. Here’s hoping I can protect us both from the backlash.

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Spicy, Smut, BDSM, Contemporary Romance, M F Romance

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 18, 2024

About the author

Briana Michaels grew up and still lives on the East Coast. When taking a break from the crazy adventures in her head, she enjoys running around with her two children. If there is time to spare, she loves to read, cook, hike in the woods, and sit outside with a fire. She does all of this with the love and support of her amazing husband who always has her back, encouraging her to go for her dreams. Aye, she’s a lucky girl indeed.

Reviews

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I love Mason way more than Leah, lol. Mason was headover heels in love when Leah walked in on him in the shower when she was cleaning his apartment. And he was sprung lol he found out she was a cam girl and made a username to spend time with her. But that didn't last long because both found out. So, no secerts last long between the two.

I love that Mason was so supportive of Leah job that he didn't care if anyone looked at her site. Leah, on the other hand, was so hard to enjoy that she kept pushing away and honest this man was giving everything to her. They had some rocky parts due to Leah not wanting help or thinking a rich guy like him would want someone like her.

We do have family drama. Besides that pretty smutty.


Tiny om drama, no cheating, drama, sexy times, no virgins

Recommend-maybe
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶

Instalove
Push away from h
Exhibition
Voyagerism
Praise kink
Switches
Safe sex/no condom
Neglect from parents
Hea
Epilogue

[bookgalbrock 🐝✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75/5 stars
spice 4

[Olivia Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨💗RISK ARC REVIEW BY BRIANA MICHAELS✨💗

okay first off, CHARGE YOUR BATTERIES.

second of all, Glitch was my mf baby but MASON??? just swept the #1 spot! I literally messaged Briana this morning at 5am saying 'Risk is so hot. There were times where i almost busted out the rose' 💀

I wanna be like Leah, she's one lucky gal! I enjoyed this, this pulled out my weird slump! If you just need smut with little to no plot, this is for you. The smut made me glitch in the best way possible and it's all Mason and Leah.

tropes:
✨ cam girl x billionaire
✨ instalove
✨ he falls first and HARD
✨ exhibitionism
✨ voyeurism

rating: 5 ⭐️
spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

[Hana Rašková · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all the books in this series and while reading this one I was already thinking how I'm gonna give this 5 stars and mark it as my best read this year so far! But then the last 10% of the book happened 😭 I just didn't like Leah's new business (rather Leah and Mason contributing. I love the business itself 😍), it just felt like too much (which is funny considering the entire book is a fairy tale 🤣).
But overall it was amazing, Mason is a walking green flag and I just love how all these stories are kinky but finally not toxic with trigger warnings.

[Hani ౨ৎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay I really thought I was gonna speed run this book and it was gonna be short, hot, and smutty but it fell flat for me😵‍💫 the forbidden aspect didn’t feel that forbidden and it was more on the lighter sweeter side than I thought tbh. I liked mason’s character though and how pathetic he was but I just didn’t enjoy enjoy the writing and it barely had smut plus it was not that kinky even though the dirty talk was good

[Miss Zeets · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just wanna be Leah and find my Mason 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🥰🥰🥰 that's it, that's my review.

Not usually a fan of instalove, but it fit here. Mason is a sweetheart, and I love how he keeps telling himself to tone it down and then just goes overboard anyway.

Leah is so hot, and I love that she's confident outside of the cam girl persona.

I loved that neither he nor his friends made a deal about her being a cleaner or a cam girl, not for one second.

I just really loved it

[Dannita · Rating 1 out of 5]

⭐️ 0.0/5.0

The real risk here was reading this book.

[Emily 📖 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Moly ..... this book ..... I'm not sure what words will describe all the emotions I just went through. It was spicy, emotional (happy and sad), detailed but not overbearing. I'm just wow .... in awe of how this amazing author writes. Spicy romance with everyday life thrown in, billionaires and breaking the stereotypical moulds - you just gotta read this one!!!!

[M (hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

safe to say this one’s my least favorite in the series. where was the chemistry??? 😩 error 404.
i didn’t like the mcs at all. not even a little bit.
the smut felt recycled and i was bored out of my mind.

i know the books in this series are all very ott, but this one? oh. my. god. horrible.
such a shame, really, because i do like this series. but this one was a total miss :(

[Aleks With a K · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ 4🌶

I love this series. Briana Michaels balances spice and plot beautifully. Being authentic to yourself will make the connection to your counter point clear. There's also nothing better than an MMC who will beg.

[Jess (scijessreads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always fun to read a Briana Michaels book. Leah and Mason were entertaining to watch break down their walls and find in each other exactly what they were looking for, to hell with the opinions of those that didn't matter in the end.

[Chelsea Syrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another perfect book!

I had the goofiest grin on my face while reading this book. I loved every part of it. I hope the author continues this series!

[T Rojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Instalove my least favorite. Still not sure what the risk was everything was pretty low stakes 🤷‍♀️

[KJ Pointer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I loved this book, honestly I couldn’t read it quick enough!! The chemistry between Leah and Mason was electric and the spice was sooooo hot!! Leah is Mason’s cleaner and is also a cam girl. Mason feels a connection to Leah straight away but she’s harder to convince. This is the fave book in the series and I highly highly recommend you read it!!

[Eliška Miklánková · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and fun read.

[Neshaisabookworm’s Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this

5 phenomenal stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

10/10 do recommend!

I swear each book just gets better and better! I loved this story, the spice was of the charts hot

[Bookish Serendipity Shannon williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Such a great read!

I loved Leah and Mason so much!

Not to mention all the spice and tension 🔥🔥🔥

I really enjoyed their journey and them finding themselves and each other.

I love this series so much!

[Ana Arias · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why is the rating so high? Well I knew what I was getting into and loved every minute of it. Its not the best plot, but its hot and light.

[Tima · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars. This story is dual POV, well written, and a highly erotic, contemporary romance. I enjoyed Leah’s self-confidence and her entrepreneurial spirit. I enjoyed Mason’s determination to escape from the role his family had set out for him. I enjoyed the banter and playfulness. I enjoyed the mutual exploration and the joy the characters had in finding their interests and life goals matched.

[no one · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNFing @ 40ish percent.

I went into this for a fun/short read, and instead (imo) I got a cringe fest filled with the MMC calling the MFC “Princess” way too many times (the first few times were fine, but after the 10th time? The 20th?? Over it lol.), the MFC going from alright to insufferable so quickly with her sudden “why does he like me? He can’t like me. I don’t need him. It’s too scary to be an adult and talk about my feelings, so I’m just going to run away and then blab my mouth in public some more, in the most detail possible, in an open space where people can hear…” bs—also, you’ve known each other for like a week, why are you already being so dramatic about him just wanting to freaking take you on a date??? it’s not like he proposed girl, chillllll—and then, to top it off, the smutty scenes were pretty meh. Probably because I sensed no connection, no real chemistry, and we’ve basically learned nothing about either of them, and just the way they were written in general, but yeah. ALSO, random thought, how are they running into each other EVERYWHERE?? Again, I’ve only read up to 40ish percent, but they’ve somehow magically run into each other out and about at least 4 separate times.

Anyways…yeah, this book just wasn’t for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Sasquatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Triggers:
Toxic parents
Perceived other woman drama
Bigotry

Scenes:
Kissing
MF sex
Oral (mostly she receives)
Felching
Voyeurism / Exhibitionism
Public / semi-public
Body worship

This book was very spicy. I actually really liked Leah and Mason's chemistry and I'm really glad that it was very very low stakes with not very much drama.

The downside was that there was very little drama and good things kept happening to the characters.

Literally, this book is just a really spicy fluff novel and that's OK.

[Lila Brightwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spicier romance books are a relatively new find of mine to which I am attributing my lukewarm feelings towards the 'Next Level' series thus far. However, that all changed when I read 'Risk'. In my opinion, this is the best book in the series by far.

The main MFC, Leah (who we met briefly in 'Click'), is the kind of girl I'd love to be friends with. She's a cleaner by day and 'camgirl' by night. She doesn't give a damn about anyone thinks about what she does. She's loves what she does and she's happy. The only time she doubts herself is when she considers the potential impact of her careers on her boyfriend, Mason but he loves what she does and doesn't care if people know. She's kind and friendly and doesn't think twice about reaching out to help people who need it.

This brings me on to the lovely Mason. I am so glad I persevered with the 'Next Level' series just for him. He's gorgeous, kind, caring and sexy as hell. He falls hard for Leah and treats her like a princess which also becomes his affectionate nickname for her. Yes, he's loaded but he genuinely wants to spoil Leah and you get the impression that even without his money, he'd still spoil her rotten (he runs her baths with candles etc.).

Despite the obvious disparity between the two main protagonists, Leah isn't interested in Mason's fortune or connections. She insists on spoiling him as much as she can, such as taking him for cake to celebrate a big business deal. Mason, likewise, never looks down on her and won't let anyone else either. All's he sees is a kindred spirit and a the girl he loves.

Mason's troubled family relationship leads to Leah putting herself in a situation that could have led to her being humiliated by his horrible family, but she gives no thought to herself, just being there and supporting Mason during the big and rather public confrontation. This act proves Leah's love for Mason to all the doubters who worry that she's just using him for his money. Earlier in the evening, Mason refers to it all like a game of chess to which Leah responds that she will be the 'Queen who protects her King' and she certainly does.

This book is spicy with loads of sex scenes. Mason and Leah are insatiable for each other and share each other's kinks.

They click from the word go and fall for each other quickly. There's no cliched frustrating break up based on a misunderstanding before the end of the book which is refreshing. It ends happily and has left me excitedly looking forward to the next (and last book) in the series, 'Break' which focuses on Kerrington, Landon and Nicole who we meet briefly during 'Risk'. I'm sure this book is one that I will return to again and is definitely the 'shining star' of the Next Level series (unless 'Break' turns out to be even better).

[Jesika Nankiville · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 / 5 ⭐️
4 / 5 🌶️
Method: 👩🏼‍💻 KU

Calling it - favour book of the series!

Dunno why, but something about Mason & Leah that just fu€king did it for me!! I loved the story, loved the characters, loved the 🌶️ arghh was so good!!


Favourite Quotes/Moments:


Mason’s POV when he grabs one of Leah’s earbuds:
I can’t believe she walks around with a straight face whilst smut pipes into her ears.
“You’ve been listening to this for the past hour?”
“You just missed the good part where he had to prep her for his knot.”
“His what?!”
“Knot. It’s this extra thing at the base of his di€k that swells when he’s about to blow his load.”
Damn. That’s hot.
“I told you you’d regret-“
“Shhhhhh…..” I just missed the dude next line. “I want to hear this” I’ll google what knits are later. 🤭


Leah:
“Am I not your type, Leah?”
“Nope. Not at all.” The breath that shudders out of me gives away my lie away. His toothy grin is so prideful I want to slap him and kiss him at the same time.
“Liar”
“It’s true. You’re too pretty for me. I like my men dirty.”
“How dirty do you want me, Princess?”
Fuck. Me. He’s too good at this. 🥵


Mason:
Yeah, I just met her, but my intuition is never wrong. This woman is made for me. I just hope I’m also made for her.


Leah:
Everyone needs cake - they’re the universal greatness. Want to celebrate? Eat cake. Just broke up with your red flag boyfriend? Cake. Pregnant? Cake. Bored? Cake. Rainy day reading smut? Cake.

[Marielli (lellireads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn’t captivate me as much as the others. It felt different from the previous ones in several ways. For starters, the main characters didn’t know each other beforehand (just to clarify, I’m not considering Click here since I read it two years ago). I’m not sure if this change in dynamic is the reason, but I wasn’t as drawn to this book as I was to the others in the series.

As the story progressed, it completely lost me. The relationship between Leah and Mason felt so unrealistic and, at times, forced. I couldn’t truly feel invested in their story.

I loved Leah, though, she’s so confident and easily the best part of this book. But I could have done without all of Mason’s family drama; it was exhausting and really pulled me out of the story. Also, he’s supposed to be a successful, wealthy businessman, yet he was still letting his family dictate his life? No, thanks. That didn’t make any sense to me.

And I have to say, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a real exhibitionism scene on-page with them. It was the whole premise of their story together, so I thought we’d at least get something by the end.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

4, maybe 4.5 but mostly rated compared to the rest of the series because it’s my favorite so far. Mason and Leah were both lovely and I truly enjoyed the acceptance and normalizing of camgirl work within the larger sex work/business owner context. Mason chasing after and doting on Leah every chance he got, encouraging her work and passion for her jobs, was healing and a nice escape from reality. The plot was one big crescendo which worked since it was on the shorter side. The way everything built and then wrapped up with his horrible mom and family was jarring but satisfying. There was even a heavy parallel worked in between the generational wealth culture and mafia culture which was fascinating. The spice was fantastic and for a much as there was, it never got dull. It follows the rest of the series with being mostly smut with not a ton of character development, but that’s kind of the deal.

*******

Bending down, I kiss her gently. Little pecks at first. She nips my bottom lip, spurring me to go harder. As I bury my hands in her hair, the air between us seems to crackle and zip. My heart thumps hard in my chest and my body burns for her. She’s not a toy to play with. She’s a deity to worship. p. 86

[Trinity · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶🌶🌶/5

TW - fainting at the sight of blood (on page), divorce (scs, mentioned), family drama incl disownment

CW - exhibitionism, voyeurism, food play (client), foot worship (client), sex work (cam girl), very light daddy, public play, hand necklaces, biting, impact play (belting), cum eating, snowballing

Tropes - insta love, he falls first, camgirl, erotica, rich af MMC

This was really cute and fast paced. Leah (FMC) is a bit harsh with Mason (MMC) at fist but you can tell that it's self preservation. Imo, the characters were very well suited to each other and their vibes complimented each other very well and I LOVED that Mason got to experience real love and compassion from Leah. And ofc, they were hot

I really enjoy the books in this series 💋


Scale:
⭐️ - would've DNF'ed / continued out of spite
⭐️⭐️ - shit, but whatever
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - meh, could've been better
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - lit 👅
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - loved it, inject this shit into my veins 🤪

🫑 - no smut
🌶 - no point
🌶🌶 - mediocre at best
🌶🌶🌶 - standard smut, hot
🌶🌶🌶🌶 - 🥵 okay, some CW
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 - fuck me 🥵🥵 CWs / filthy with a side of filth - see Poison / Room Twenty-Two: Hide and Seek/ The Naughty List

[Olivia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh the emotions that I experienced reading this were crazy, I feel like I became so attached to Leah & her story then add in Mason & his crazy family, it was a roller coaster I would ride over & over. Leah is a cleaner & absolutely loves her job, but it doesn’t pay the bills completely, so she also had a side hustle as Daisy Ren & you would be surprised what men would pay for a recording of, but no judgement here though. Leah finds herself walking in on the big tech daddy Mason & it all went uphill from there because when Mason wants something he goes after it full force & he wants his little princess in naughty ways. The problem that comes with them being together seems to more of an issue for Leah than Mason because the man doesn’t care about her career choice because she works her butt off for what she has. Oh my goodness the gala was a literal hoot & I giggled, but also was baffled Scarlett would be so awful. Enjoyed every chapter & the spice was great as always. Definitely would read again.

[Macee Grisenti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leah and Mason

TW: horrible parents, sl*t shaming


The only disappointing thing? That Carson didn’t get to be all big bro on Mason. I would’ve loved to see him and Mak get all protective of Leah. Would’ve been sooo funny.

Annywaaayy. I definitely wanted to read Leah’s book since we were introduced to her. It was not what I expected though. I enjoyed the story a lot and I have no idea what I was expecting but it wasn’t this.
That being said the female empowerment was top notch in here. I did enjoy that a lot.
These two were fun and while this was short and at times they were totally rushing it was cute.

Tropes: insta connection, she works for him(kinda- she cleans his house), billionaire romance, he fell first and harder, I don’t want or need your handouts FMC, he wants to spoil her rotten

Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Steam:🔥🔥🔥
Sweetness: 💗💗💗

[Logan bushby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loveddd Glitch and then I still really liked #2 and #3 (can’t recall why I didn’t read #4) but this one just felt disjointed to me. I didn’t understand how all of this happened in the span of like one week? And in the beginning why he was SO incredibly concerned over her cutting her hand on a piece of glass which she later admitted wasn’t even bad and she overreacted? They say they’re head over heels in love after knowing eachother for 4 days? It just felt overly corny to me. I also thought he called her princess entirely too much. If nothing else, I at least learned that is not on my list of desired cutesy pet names. And I didn’t understand any of his family business drama at all. The fact that his family had pre arranged marriages for “bloodlines and business dealings” is diabolically asinine for this century. Lol.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mason beats Glitch. I know, I'm shocked too. Honestly, he's the perfect man. Like even by book boyfriend standards. And Leah, the FMC, is so fun and refreshing and hard-working. She goes after what she wants with all of her heart. This is my new favorite book in the series 😍♥️🥵 It's so easy, so low angst, so hot ,so precious in its beauty of watching two people who don't know love finding it in each other.

If you read this review and think "I prefer more angst and drama, insta-love isn't my thing, I need the push and pull but I love Briana's writing", then have no fears because Briana's other new book Ryker is perfect for you!!! But for me and anyone else who can't get enough of the insta-love, this book is easy going perfection.