Title: Ryker
Series: Steele Brothers #1
Author: Cheryl Douglas
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 10, 2015
Blurb
Mackenzie Steele assumed she’d be with her husband forever. He was her best friend, the father of her children. But when weeks turned into months without intimacy, she realized she was too young to feel so old. She wanted to feel desirable again, to find the woman Ryker had fallen in love with twenty years ago. And there was only one way she knew how to do that… by asking him to move out.
Ryker was blindsided when his wife told him she wanted to separate. He knew they’d hit a rough patch, but he’d never allowed himself to imagine his life without her. Now he had no choice. She was happy without him, living life on her own terms, and he knew if he didn’t find a place for himself in her new life, it would be too late to save his marriage.
My Review
Ryker is a story of marriage, devotion, change and family. It’s about finding out who you are separate from the person you’ve devoted most of your life to. It’s about realizing that change doesn’t have to be bad and that love is a choice. Told in dual points of view, Ryke and Mackenzie go through their lives separately hoping that they can find a way to be whole together again.
Ryker and Mackenzie spent the last six months of their marriage drifting further and further apart. Mackenzie finally breaks down and asks Ryker for a separation. Though not legally, Mackenzie wants him to move out so that they can figure out what has gone wrong and what they need to do to be happy again. So for six months Ryker moves out and their two teenage sons split their time between them.
They have a very amicable split. Even though Mackenzie suggested it, she knows she still loves her husband. He’s still her best friend; she just isn’t happy and seemingly Ryker isn’t either. Ryker was blindsided by Mackenzie’s request, though, in hindsight he sees exactly where he went wrong. He decides he is going to do everything in his power to win back his wife. In no way does he want to move on from her. He loves her now as much as he did 20 years ago and he is going to prove it.
This story sucked me in and didn’t let go. I was hooked from the first heartbreaking scene and after real life intervened, I was anxious to get back to this story. I had to see what happened. I needed to see Ryker and Mackenzie and their boys happy.
Mackenzie and Ryker’s story could be the story of any couple together for an extended period of time. Routines set in and people stop working at the relationships because they’re comfortable. I could clearly see myself in Mackenzie and as uncomfortable as that thought was, I appreciated that Cheryl took me there. It’s an important story and one that begs to be read. Watching Ryker struggle with Mackenzie’s choices was just as painful. I wanted him to win her back but, at the same time, I wanted him to do it and really see and accept the changes that had to be made. Ryker was to die for but sometimes you just need someone to prove it to you. And Ryker did. Amazingly sweet and seductive, I can only hope that in 20 years, I’ll have the devotion Mackenzie has from Ryker.
I devoured this book, was probably more excited than they were when they let go and had their secret rendezvous and sexy times, and rejoiced as they saw each other in a different light and accepted who each was without condition. A beautiful story of growth and love leaving me wanting more from the Steele brothers.
Reviewed by Paige
★★☆ 4.5 “Everything I Need” Stars ☆★★
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Author Bio
When one door closes, another one opens. I closed the door to my business for the last time in 2011, which left me with a decision. What now? Find another location and move my nutrition business, go to work for someone else, or take a chance on my dream? I chose the latter and I’ve never looked back!
I’ve always loved reading and writing, but it wasn’t until I jumped in with both feet and decided writing would be my career, instead of just a hobby, that my muse woke up from her deep slumber.
It was like someone flipped a switch inside my head and stories just came pouring out. At the end of the day, I would often look at the keyboard and wonder, ‘Who the heck wrote that? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me!’
I don’t write books. I tell stories, or rather, I allow my characters to tell their stories through me. I’m not a plotter, never have been, never will be. Why? Because I have no idea how the story will evolve and it’s not my place to manipulate it. My job is to get to know these characters, figure out what makes them tick, then follow their journey wherever it takes me.
When I’m not writing, I’m daydreaming. Thankfully, I have an understanding husband and son who know I’ll re-join the land of the living just as soon as my muse decides it’s quitting time. I don’t work for myself. I work for her. She’s the boss. And I’m okay with that.
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