Wow. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think about Ryker. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to enjoy this book. It revolves around two older characters, and I was unsure if I would be able to relate, as I am in my early twenties. I am very happy to say I was wrong. I loved this book. I devoured it within a day being unable to put it down. Ryker is a wonderfully told story of reconnecting and rekindling love. The opening scene of the book sets the tone for the rest of the book and allows the author to take the reader on a slow journey of rediscovery for the characters. Although the timeline in the book is a little fast, in my opinion, the story is unfolded in a sweet and slow way. This story shows that no matter what your age is, there can be issues and insecurities in relationships. I think this was the area that I related to most. I have been in relationships and have had some of the same concerns that Mackenzie had. I think I related to her most because of this.The characters, Ryker and Mackenzie, are written beautifully. Ryker is a man’s man with a tough exterior and has trouble showing emotions. Mackenzie is a women who feels like she has lost direction in her life and feels she needs a big change. I think the author did an amazing job portraying each person’s feelings. This story is told from both Ryker and Mackenzie’s point of view, which gives the reader a better insight into how each person is thinking and feeling. I think this also allows the reader to be sympathetic to both characters. I also loved the smaller characters. We were able to meet several other characters throughout the book who had their own thing going on. Sometimes these smaller plots can overshadow the main plot, but that wasn’t the case with this book. This author was able to show us glimpses of the smaller characters, while keeping the story on track with the main focus. I can see this author setting up at least two different plots that can be developed into their own books. I might even be able to see three, if she was willing to show a back story of Mackenzie’s mother and fathers relationship, which I would absolutely love to read. The only real complaints I have about this book is the timeline, as mentioned above, and the major climax of the book. I do not feel we, as the reader, really felt a major climax for this book. While I love that it was sweet and slow moving, I felt the climax was missing a small part. Like maybe it was resolved too soon. With that being said, it didn’t both me too terribly much, as I loved this book and would read it again.Overall, I think this story was written well and has some good life lessons for anyone who might read it. All relationships have issues, but it is up to each person in the relationship to decide what is best for them and make their decisions based on solely that. I also this this book tells women that it is ok to make decisions for yourself and to self-reflect on what is best for you. Although having a man is nice, it is also important to stay independent and be able to do things for yourself. Star Ratings:Plot = 4/5Characters = 5/5Heat = 4/5Writing Style = 5/5Overall Rating = 4/5Favorite Quotes:“Look at the way that smoky shadow makes your blue eyes pop and that pale pink lop glass practically screams kiss me.”“What if I don’t want him to kiss me?” I asked.“Trust me, you’ll want him to kiss you.”- Molly and Mackenzie, Ryker“I remember when we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.”“Newsflash-I’m having a hard time keeping my hands off you right now.” Mackenzie and Ryker, Ryker“You’re not afraid to take risks, and you don’t care what people think. I think that’s the main reason I fell in love with you.”-Makenzie, Ryker**A copy of this book was provided, in exchange for a fair and honest review**REVIEWED BY JENN.
I was in a mood for a story that involved a married couple, I found this one and I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed reading about Ryker and Mac. And while I’m really too tired to write a full review & recap, I’ll say that I loved both characters, the story surprisingly enough wasn’t too angsty. I felt like it flowed naturally and I was happy with how their second chance relationship progressed, how the hero never lost hope and how both of them never really let go of each other. It desperately needed an epilogue though, I know we’ll catch up with the couple in the next book but I still needed a better ending. Other than that, I really loved it, it felt real and while I’m not married, I actually felt like I got insight on why some marriages might suffer even though the couple still love each other. I liked that Mac didn’t blame Ryker for everything, she shared the blame for the state of their marriage and that really made me respect her, she was really relatable and the hero was really amazing and although they aren’t always perfect, you can easily understand where each of them is coming from. And as a plus, they were both good parents to their teenage kids which made me root for their family all the more.Safety spoilers : (view spoiler)[They were married for 17 years and together for 20 and there was never cheating between them. The hero was wild before her but we never get into details, and the h had a boyfriend when he met her but obviously the H won her over. The book starts (after the prologue) with the h getting ready for a date, it’s been six months since the separation and the h’s friend (who I didn’t really like that much ) pushed her to start dating, we then find out that the reason the friend was pushing her is because she saw the H going on a date a week ago.( We get the actual scene of the h’s date and it went badly)We don’t get the scene with the H’s date but nothing happens on it though and he really regrets it , he said it was a train wreck and he didn’t want to be there and wasn’t into the woman, his brother pushed him into it too, but we also find out later that he did it to show the H how bad the dating scene can be. We find out that the h’s date called her for a second date but she declined.And that the bartender the H went out on a date with was into him and kept texting and calling him but he kept deleting her texts and ignoring her calls but he decided to not be a jerk and that he’ll have to face her to tell her that he didn’t want her. Later in the book his brother tells him to meet him and his other brothers in a bar so when he finds out that that’s the bar that girl works in he takes it as an opportunity to tell her to stop calling, the heroine happens to see him there but the hero explains what he was doing and she believed him because she knew he would never cheat after they agreed to work on their marriage. He called that bartender “pretty” once, but never had any thoughts about her. He said it more than once that he doesn’t want anyone other than his wife and that she’s the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen bar none even when she gained weight. There were some OM ogling the wife every now and then and some of them flirted, the h never encouraged it but the H got jealous over it anyway. It was never a huge problem so I actually enjoyed those parts because he didn’t take the h for granted. They were both equally insecure and at times I felt the hero was more so than the h, since the h was the one to request the separation. But really, I trusted them both cause even at their worst they were never tempted by anyone else. So if any little comment bothered me while reading, I certainly got over it by the end.Edit: If any of you girls need any quotes about any part, just let me know ;) Some quotes are in this comment (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Ryker (2015)?
This book is a perfect example of what can go wrong in a marriage when one partner just coasts along and the other becomes dissatisfied with that. With that being said, it takes two people to make a marriage work and it seems to me that both partners were at fault here. Ryker for not realizing something was wrong and Mac for not saying what she needed before it got to the breaking point. There were definitely some parts that made me want to shake them both but you could also see the love that they had for each other. Sometimes it just takes a major shakeup to make you realize what you have and what you have to lose. I'm on the fence with my rating of this book. I'm waffling between a three and four star review because I can definitely relate to the story as I'm sure a lot of married couples could but there were parts in the book that had me skimming over to the next couple pages. I want to be drawn in and have a story grip me by the throat and I didn't get that here. It's a good book but not one that I could re-read again. Book provided to Books and Warpaint in exchange for review.
—Ashley from Books and Warpaint
Gosh you don't know how happy I was to be able to review a Cheryl Douglas book again. It's been almost a year since I reviewed a book of her's. But anyways Mrs. Douglas is one of my go-to authors. I always love her books and characters. Mrs. Douglas is a master at bringing characters to life no matter if their older characters or younger characters. She has a way to make her characters feel like real people, instead of just characters in a book. I'm not sure if it's because I'm older or what. But I love the books where Mrs. Douglas' characters are older. I feel like I can relate with them better. Or maybe I've just been reading way too many books with younger characters. Hmmmm Mackenzie, at times I had mixed feelings about her. At times I found her to be frustrating and stubborn. Other times I could understand where she was coming from. I loved Ryker. He's sweet, caring, and sexy. I loved how he wasn't just going to let his marriage go so easily. How he was going to keep showing Mackenzie how much he loved her. I really enjoyed this book and am happy to see a new series from Mrs. Douglas. I thought these characters were very enjoyable. I also really felt the ups and downs of these characters. I found I also really like the secondary characters in this book in the form of Ryker’s brothers and can't wait to find out more about them. I'm giving this book 4.5 stars out of 5 and can't wait for more of the Steele Brothers. ***I received an ARC of this book from Give Me Books for my honest review***
—Wednesday Stanley
3.5 stars—ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 10. 2015Mackenzie Steele assumed she’d be with her husband forever. He's still her best friend and the father of her children. But when weeks turn into months without intimacy, she realizes she's too young to feel so old. She wants to feel desirable again, to find the woman Ryker fell in love with twenty years ago. And there's only one way to do that… by asking him to move out.Ryker's blindsided when his wife tells him she wants to separate. He knew they’d hit a rough patch, but he’d never allowed himself to imagine his life without her. Now he has no choice. She seems happy without him, living life on her own terms, and he knows if he doesn’t find a place for himself in her new life, it will be too late to save his marriage.•••••REVIEW: 3.5 stars--RYKER is the first installment in Cheryl Douglas’s contemporary, adult STEEL BROTHERS romance series. This is former motorcycle bad guy Ryker, and Mackenzie Steele’s storyline.Told from alternating first person points of view (Ryker and Mackenzie) RYKER is a second chance storyline. Ryker and Mackenzie have been together over twenty years, seventeen years of marriage, raising two teenaged son together, but in recent months their relationship has fallen into a rut and Mackenzie has come to realize that she wants something more in her life. With issues of self-esteem, insecurity and depressed about the direction of her marriage, Mackenzie asks Ryker to move out of their house in order for her to get her own life on track. What ensues is a six month separation where Mackenzie remakes both her physical and emotional persona, while Ryker struggles with the loss of his family and wife.RYKER is a storyline of one couple trying to navigate the choppy waters of their marriage. Mackenzie’s insecurities about her body and her own personal self worth were the catalysts in the couple’s estrangement. Ryker was unaware that his wife was unhappy in their marriage, and tries to earn his way back into her life but no matter what Ryker attempts, Mackenzie continues to have issues with the way Ryker goes about winning back his wife.We are introduced to Ryker’s younger brothers-Nex and Seb-who are considering settling down-Nex has his eye on a young waitress who works at the local biker bar; and of course there are several potential suitors for Mackenzie now that she has lost weight and done a makeover to appease her own insecurities. We watch as the family struggles with the usual teenage problems; Mackenzie’s desire to earn her own money; and what the future holds for the Ryker and Mac.RYKER will be a familiar storyline for many couples struggling in their current relationship especially the women battling issues of self-esteem and insecurities. We all reach a stage in our lives-a mid life crisis of sorts-where we begin to wonder if this is all there is. The premise is heartbreaking; the characters are animated but not all are necessarily sympathetic-Mackenzie’s insecurities are what drives the wedge between husband and wife; the romance is a slow build to a happily ever after-again. I probably would have rated my review a little higher but I had difficulty liking Mackenzie Steele-and if a reader is unable to get past the dislike of a character, it can affect the reader’s overall enjoyment of the book.Copy supplied by the author.
—Sandy
