Title: Ryker
Series: Steele Brothers #1
Author: Cheryl Douglas
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: September 10, 2015
Mackenzie 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.
I've not read a book quite like this one before, but I will admit that I did enjoy this one. I liked that Mac and Ryker not only love each other, but are in love with each other. At the same time, Mac kept it real when she explained her feelings and emotions during the last few months of their marriage leading up to her asking for a trial separation.
Even though Ryker was against the separation, he eventually began to see where their marriage started breaking down, with the help of one of his younger (and perpetually single) brothers. I feel like both Mac and Ryker actually handled the separation as well as can be expected, and the fact that they were both still devoted to their children. This isn't an overly long book, but I do wish we could have gotten more about them getting to know each other all over again as a couple. We get glimpses, but it seemed like it was Ryker who was doing more to strengthen the foundation of their marriage. Which was a bit contradictory since Mac herself admitted that they both were the reasons for the current state of their marriage.
I was surprised that with the two incidents that occurred that could have been the death knell of their marriage, Mac was quick to acquiesce on the second incident, which to me was the more serious offense, especially when you're trying to rebuild your marriage. But at least Ryker knew that he messed up and owned up to it. Overall I found this to be a good start to the series, and I can't wait to read Nex's book next.
ARC provided in exchange for honest review.
“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.” ~ A is for Alpha B is for Books
“This was so far up my street I could have been neighbours!!! Holy Moly what an absolute stonker… loved it! It took me just one chapter to fall head over heels for this book and one day to finish what is one of the most realistically pitched stories that I have engaged with for a while.” ~ Books Laid Bare
“Wow! What a way to start a book off —the moment I read that sentence, geez the prologue, I was hooked! Hooked in the sense that I finished this book in one day. I couldn’t put it down.” ~ Smut- Brarians
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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