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She's Worth the Risk: A forbidden, age-gap, professor and student romance
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 14, 2026
About the author
Jen Morris
11 books562 followersJen Morris writes steamy escapist romance with imperfect heroines and tall, bearded heroes. She believes that almost anything can be fixed with a good laugh, a good book, or a plane ticket to New York.
Her books follow people with big dreams as they navigate life and love in the city. Her characters don’t just find love—they find themselves, too.
Jen lives with her partner and son, in a tiny house on wheels in New Zealand. She spends her days writing, dreaming about New York, and finding space for her ever-growing book collection.
Her books follow people with big dreams as they navigate life and love in the city. Her characters don’t just find love—they find themselves, too.
Jen lives with her partner and son, in a tiny house on wheels in New Zealand. She spends her days writing, dreaming about New York, and finding space for her ever-growing book collection.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 16, 2026
A big thank you to Xpresso Book Tours and author Jen Morris for allowing me an ARC of this book!
This book was HOT—but what I loved most was that it wasn’t just spice. (Spice was great!) There was an actual plot here, and I absolutely devoured this book in less than a day.
Zinnia, our FMC, is a confident, funny, and brave 25-year-old woman who moves to New York to help care for her grandmother as her health begins to decline. While there, she takes a live art class and ends up volunteering in a moment that felt very much like, “I’m a lioness—screw it.” That decision leads her to Nick, the MMC, who is brought in to lead the class. Then comes the twist: Nick ends up being the professor of a class she starts taking a week later.
The longing and yearning in this book? Absolutely top tier. Thanks to the dual POVs, you get to experience every bit of that tension from both sides, which made it even better.
Zinnia’s boldness was one of my favorite things about this story. She is unapologetically herself, and I loved that about her. Nick is your classic broody, stoic professor type who is just waiting for someone to crack through that exterior—and Zinnia becomes exactly that person.
What I appreciated most was that the physical relationship doesn’t happen immediately. The slower build keeps you completely invested and makes the tension almost unbearable in the best way.
The ending was incredibly sweet, and Zinnia’s grandmother nearly broke my heart. Through those final moments, you really understand where Zinnia gets her courage, love, and strength from.
This book was so good and such an addictive read. Highly recommend!
This book was HOT—but what I loved most was that it wasn’t just spice. (Spice was great!) There was an actual plot here, and I absolutely devoured this book in less than a day.
Zinnia, our FMC, is a confident, funny, and brave 25-year-old woman who moves to New York to help care for her grandmother as her health begins to decline. While there, she takes a live art class and ends up volunteering in a moment that felt very much like, “I’m a lioness—screw it.” That decision leads her to Nick, the MMC, who is brought in to lead the class. Then comes the twist: Nick ends up being the professor of a class she starts taking a week later.
The longing and yearning in this book? Absolutely top tier. Thanks to the dual POVs, you get to experience every bit of that tension from both sides, which made it even better.
Zinnia’s boldness was one of my favorite things about this story. She is unapologetically herself, and I loved that about her. Nick is your classic broody, stoic professor type who is just waiting for someone to crack through that exterior—and Zinnia becomes exactly that person.
What I appreciated most was that the physical relationship doesn’t happen immediately. The slower build keeps you completely invested and makes the tension almost unbearable in the best way.
The ending was incredibly sweet, and Zinnia’s grandmother nearly broke my heart. Through those final moments, you really understand where Zinnia gets her courage, love, and strength from.
This book was so good and such an addictive read. Highly recommend!
June 14, 2026
Perfect addition to Fruit Street
I love this series and have read all of them so far. You can read this one as a stand alone but I highly recommend reading the others (there are 4) first as those characters do make multiple appearances In this book so there will be some spoilers for their stories.
The main characters Nick and Zinnia find each other through their individual loves of art and art history. At first I actually thought there was a little too much art discussion and comparisons. However as I continued reading I actually became inspired. Ive only been to NYC one time and I didnt get a chance to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art or MoMA and now I'm regretting it.
This is a spicy age gap romance (FMC is 25 and MMC is 40+). Nick is a professor and Zinnia ends up being his student. If you think the professor/student aspect might not be for you due power dynamics, I promise the author does this storyline well.
We get to see Nick fighting his desires for Zinnia, resisting crossing professional boundaries, all while their paths continue to intersect and he gets to know her more and more. One thing I have loved about this series, and this book didn't disappoint, is the MMC being so in love he's willing to give up anything, or risk anything because he just can't live his life without her in it. I mean, swoon! I highly recommend this book and the whole Fruit Street series.
*I received a copy of this book from the author
I love this series and have read all of them so far. You can read this one as a stand alone but I highly recommend reading the others (there are 4) first as those characters do make multiple appearances In this book so there will be some spoilers for their stories.
The main characters Nick and Zinnia find each other through their individual loves of art and art history. At first I actually thought there was a little too much art discussion and comparisons. However as I continued reading I actually became inspired. Ive only been to NYC one time and I didnt get a chance to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art or MoMA and now I'm regretting it.
This is a spicy age gap romance (FMC is 25 and MMC is 40+). Nick is a professor and Zinnia ends up being his student. If you think the professor/student aspect might not be for you due power dynamics, I promise the author does this storyline well.
We get to see Nick fighting his desires for Zinnia, resisting crossing professional boundaries, all while their paths continue to intersect and he gets to know her more and more. One thing I have loved about this series, and this book didn't disappoint, is the MMC being so in love he's willing to give up anything, or risk anything because he just can't live his life without her in it. I mean, swoon! I highly recommend this book and the whole Fruit Street series.
*I received a copy of this book from the author
June 17, 2026
Age gap with repressed MMC & curvy FMC
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for Jen Morris’s next installment in the fruit street series and I have to say it was different than I anticipated. I have read all of the series and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I am a sucker for forbidden age gap so this series is right up my alley. Jen Morris has become one of my favorite authors for fueling my guilty pleasure. I must say this book didn’t hit the same notes the other ones in the series did for me. I don’t know if it was because Nick was repressed (which is a new trope for me), but I didn’t feel the age gap as much as I usually do. Since Nick didn’t have a lot of experience in relationships I felt like FMC was kind of the one in charge which was different for an age gap story. It was fun to read something a little different that didn’t follow the same formula, however, if you’re a sucker for age gap like I am this didn’t hit the same way.
Also personal preference, but art is just not my thing. Jen did a great job explaining the pieces of art and the history behind it, but it’s just not my cup of tea.
All in all I give it a 4 stars because I love Jen Morris’s writing and I still enjoyed the story, but I don’t think I’ll reread this one like I have a couple of the other ones in the series.
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for Jen Morris’s next installment in the fruit street series and I have to say it was different than I anticipated. I have read all of the series and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I am a sucker for forbidden age gap so this series is right up my alley. Jen Morris has become one of my favorite authors for fueling my guilty pleasure. I must say this book didn’t hit the same notes the other ones in the series did for me. I don’t know if it was because Nick was repressed (which is a new trope for me), but I didn’t feel the age gap as much as I usually do. Since Nick didn’t have a lot of experience in relationships I felt like FMC was kind of the one in charge which was different for an age gap story. It was fun to read something a little different that didn’t follow the same formula, however, if you’re a sucker for age gap like I am this didn’t hit the same way.
Also personal preference, but art is just not my thing. Jen did a great job explaining the pieces of art and the history behind it, but it’s just not my cup of tea.
All in all I give it a 4 stars because I love Jen Morris’s writing and I still enjoyed the story, but I don’t think I’ll reread this one like I have a couple of the other ones in the series.
June 16, 2026
This book is posted on goodreads twice, so I wanted to make sure I put my review in both places :)
I have read the entire Fruit Street series that Jen Morris has written as they’ve come out, and I’ve loved every single one of them, and this one is no different. I really think that Zinnia and Nick ended up complimenting each other very well.
There was a lot more tension and angst in this story than in the previous ones, and I also feel like it took longer for the characters to come together, but once they did I feel like everything just clicked. This was a really fun spicy read, and I hope she’s able to continue the fruit Street series in the future.
I have read the entire Fruit Street series that Jen Morris has written as they’ve come out, and I’ve loved every single one of them, and this one is no different. I really think that Zinnia and Nick ended up complimenting each other very well.
There was a lot more tension and angst in this story than in the previous ones, and I also feel like it took longer for the characters to come together, but once they did I feel like everything just clicked. This was a really fun spicy read, and I hope she’s able to continue the fruit Street series in the future.
June 16, 2026
another beauty on fruit street
Smattering of art history with some Fruit Street romance! All of the Fruit Street characters appear in Zinnia and Nick’s story. Like the other books in the series, it’s quite a steamy age gap. There are other tropes thrown in. One of the things that is fun is the names of the artworks, which I enjoyed looking up. Both Nick and Zinnia need to step out of their comfort zones in different ways. It’s repetitive at times and the book just kind of ends. However, they are a fantastic addition to the Fruit Street universe!
Smattering of art history with some Fruit Street romance! All of the Fruit Street characters appear in Zinnia and Nick’s story. Like the other books in the series, it’s quite a steamy age gap. There are other tropes thrown in. One of the things that is fun is the names of the artworks, which I enjoyed looking up. Both Nick and Zinnia need to step out of their comfort zones in different ways. It’s repetitive at times and the book just kind of ends. However, they are a fantastic addition to the Fruit Street universe!
June 18, 2026
Absolutely amazing book, with lots of developments from both MC’s with lots of depth in the characters with a rich story telling. I loved how the characters evolved throughout the and that allowed them to meet in the middle to form a glorious relationship. The message i got from the book was honestly that a loving relationship that pusses your boundaries can enrich the rest of you life and other relationships and you can really see that reflected in the MC’s other relationships. Loved the FMC’s discovery of female friendships and defo plan on reading the other girls stories!!
June 16, 2026
Jen you have done it again!! I feel like I say that every time, but it is true. We are back with another good one on Fruit Street with Nick and Zinnia, and let me just say they are the cutest!! We finally got our forbidden romance of a prof and student and Jen does not disappoint she truly knows how to hook you in with her books. If you are a forbidden romance fan I would definitely check this one out and any others in the Fruit Street series!!
June 16, 2026
This one is probably my favourite of the series. Zinnia and Nick were great together and it felt like they were definitely a “right time and right person” kind of couple. The stakes were not as high here as in some of the other books and I actually liked that. It didn’t feel as dramatic or tense but instead more romantic and lovely. Really enjoyable!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews