Tag Archives: Ray

Review: Believe (Ray #7) by E.L. Todd

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Title: Believe
Author:  E. L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 7/25/17
Length:  172 Pages
Series:  Ray #7

Overview

Austen and I could never have something real.

She’s still hung up on her ex. I’m still in love with Rae.So we’ll just stay friends.But I miss her all the time. When I’m lying next to someone else, I wonder if she misses me too. 

Does she?

My Thoughts

Throughout the first six books, i really started to like Ryker. There’s a quality about him that makes you want to root for him as he’s finally grown up, realized that he wants something more out of life and actually uses his mistakes as a way to be a better person.

Watching Rae fall in love with Zeke and choose him, that’s too much for him and he returns to New York – to the life that he had there before his father called him back to run the company. The change of scenery is necessary – it’s vital for his survival and we get to watch how that plays out.

In this seventh and final installment of the series (i think), we get to see Ryker nurse his broken heart – know that he’s only going to have so much of himself to give someone, but surprise himself at the same time when there’s someone that brings him back to life.

Enter Austen – the sister of one of his best friends – and this is a road that Ryker’s gone down before and he knows that the pain of losing his friendship with Rex was enough, he doesn’t want to have the same thing happen here. Austen though is like no one that he’s ever met before. She’s clearly had her heart broken as well and she has so many walls up that it seems as though they could be a match. their emotions are closed off with no chance of being something more, until that chance happens.

We get to watch how their flirtation turns into something more, and then evolves into a friendship and a relationship that they both can’t live without. We have nothing but the most positive visions here, and then all of a sudden, the man that broke Austen’s heart comes back and wants another try. A real shot to be what he was to her before he betrayed her.

This is where the roller coaster takes us, watching Austen be torn between the past and the present. Watching Ryker realize that he’s losing something that matters MORE than Rae did (shocker) and getting to see all of our favs from the past books come to Ryker’s aid as good friends typically do.

This is a whirlwind of emotions in this seventh book, yet i think that it gives us the closure to the story that we’ve all been craving. Enjoy!

Review: Rebound (Ray #6) by E. L. Todd

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Title: Rebound
Author:  E. L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 5/23/17
Length:  187 Pages
Series:  Ray #6

Overview

She picked him.  

Because I waited too long to get my shit together. 

This is all my fault. 

I need to get out of here. I need to start over. 

I need to get over her. 

So I’m moving back to New York.  

I’m going back to my old ways. Lots of sex. Lots of alcohol. Lots of fun. 

Until I meet Austen.

My Thoughts

Ryker has turned into one of my favorite characters ever and it’s great that he’s getting his own story now – even if it takes us across the country and back to New York. He tried to be the good guy with Rae now that they were on better terms, tried to be what she needed and then watched her go back to Zeke and sitting around seeing that every day wasn’t an option. So here we are, back home in NYC where he’s trying to put his life back together.

Ryker goes through the motions here, hanging out with friends, getting back into things, but he still has these intense feeling for Rae that won’t go away. His experience with her means that he’s never going to be in another relationship like that again since he thinks that he messed it up and therefore doesn’t deserve happiness.

It’s not until he’s out with a friend who shockingly has a hot sister that we see Ryker’s hard shell melt. He still has his walls up, but what she wants is what he wants and that means that means that no one will get hurt.

In walks Austen, Liam’s sister and a girl who knows. what she wants in life. She’s strong, independent, a nerd and really attractive. she lost the love of her life because he cheated on her when they were engaged, and the her was her best friend which makes things even more painful. There’s no room for emotions and love in her life now and letting her attraction to Ryker play out in a friends with benefits sort of thing makes all the sense in the world.

We all know that it’s impossible to have a long term fling not. turn into something, so it’s really just a matter of time to see who will cave first and what it will mean to their dynamic. They both start to come to the realization that there’s something more there, but are both afraid to bring it up since they agree to the terms of what they are to each other, and perhaps what happens makes it too late.

Their pasts come to the present and haunt them and make things dicey. Austen sees a text from Rae at night and begins to question what she feels and knows. Ryker knows that Austen’s ex Nathan has been sniffing around and when he walks in on them kissing, that pushes things too far.

Just when admissions were to be made, all things fall apart and now there’s a larger rift and distrust than ever before. I think i need to read on to see how this will fix itself because both of our main characters deserve love and it seems like they’re the ones stopping it. Enjoy!

Review: Victor (Ray #5) by E. L. Todd)

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Title: Victor
Author:  E. L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 4/4/17
Length:  187 Pages
Series:  Ray #5

Overview

Ryker finally told me what happened all those months ago. He explained his distance, his coldness. Now everything makes sense. I’ve been with Zeke for a long time now, and everything is exactly how I want it to be.I adore him.No, I love him. But there’s a warning deep in my gut. Zeke is acting differently, and Ryker isn’t the same either.It’s the calm before the storm.I can feel it.

My Thoughts

This summary actually ties a bit better to what we get in this fifth installment of the series. Everyone seems to be in a better place – we see the couples finding their footing, that is until there are slips and those slips are fairly significant.

I’ll start with Rex and Kayden since they are the easiest. We know that they are finally in a good place with each other and given that they aren’t the main characters of this saga, we can expect that they will continue to have smooth sailing ahead. We see things grown and continue on a good path and what that means is that we get to see Rex as the caring and protective brother rather than the ass who really has no frame of reference to anything outside of himself. He’s now a person and even a person that we like. Kayden continues to be the grounding force here and she’s a powerful and strong woman that’s great for this friendship circle.

Then there’s Jessie – she’s still got her player ways, but she’s now got the conquest of Tobias as an option. He’s into her and she’s into the idea of him so that means that we don’t have to worry about her being the third or fifth wheel anymore.

Now onto Rae – and Zeke – and Ryker. This is a love triangle that’s a mess. Just when we think that things are going well, the floor falls out beneath them. Rae wants to maintain her loving relationship with Zeke and has no reason to worry about what she does, until Zeke gets out of his mind jealous and that turns ugly. All Rae wants to do is be the best friend, girlfriend etc. for everyone and that in her head isn’t doing something wrong. When Ryker needs to talk to her, to let her in a bit and share why he was the way he was, that’s the breakthrough that she’s been looking for the entire time that she’s known him, but she even tells him that it’s too late. The issue here though is that Zeke sees the conversation but doesn’t hear it and thinks the worst and as a result, he throws away the best thing that happened to him – pushing Rae so far away that the idea of reconciliation is impossible.

The bulk of this story is watching Rae figure out what she can live with since she can’t live with what Zeke did. We see her fall apart and we see Zeke hit rock bottom. We see Ryker there to pick up the pieces in a way that Rae needs – proving to us that he’s really a good guy even when we only want to think the worst of him from previous installments. We know his intentions aren’t pure but he’s what Rae needs and that’s honorable.

Just when we think they are all at their lowest lows, we see a ray of light shine down in the form of forgiveness and then it all crashes and burns again.

This is probably the most extreme roller coaster yet for this group of friends, and i don’t know if they will ever be the same for it. Friends are forced to choose sides, trust is broken, games are played and those never net out well for anyone. You definitely need to read on to find out what happens and what may come next. Enjoy!

Review: Hero (Ray #4) by E.L. Todd

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Title: Hero
Author:  E. L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 4/4/17
Length:  212 Pages
Series:  Ray #4

Overview

Zeke and I are finally together.

Going from best friends to lovers is surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. We do everything together, and of course, the sex is fabulous.Everything is great until Ryker shows up. He says he needs to talk to me and I think I know what it’s regarding. If my suspicion is right, he’s in for rejection.

Because he missed his chance a long time ago.

My Thoughts

The summary again doesn’t do this story right nor is it even that accurate but oh well. So we had left off this series with Zeke and Rae finally getting together and we see how their relationship develops. It’s fast to burn hot and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to cool off. There’s really no change in the friend group dynamic since everyone was supportive of this and well, that’s a positive. Rex has a hard time watching his sister and his best friend be all over each other all the time but that seems to be the worst of it.

At the same time we get to see how things continue with Kayden and Rex – and their dynamic is a bit different than Rae and Zeke. Rex has never had a real relationship and he’s afraid to do something wrong here so he’s being sweet and romantic but at the same time he’s sort of pumped the breaks on the steam and heat and that’s something that Kayden needs. It takes a stern talking to from his friends to get back on the right track and it’ll be nice to see how that plays out.

Jessie on the other hand continues pretty much on the same path as always. Single and looking for a good time, potentially finding a guy in their friend circle to make things more stable but who knows how that will play out. I think her constant player ways in a good way give this story stability.

Now – back to what the description of this book says – Ryker comes back to haunt them and it turns ugly. Where i disagree with what’s written is that Rae really has no idea what Ryker wants and is totally naive to his intentions until it’s too late. Zeke sees through it and doesn’t trust Rae and Rex sees through it and knows his sister well. Ryker gets creative with his advances, and when he lays it all on the line, we get emotions coming out that no one expected and as a result, we end this story on a cliff that’s going to change the trajectory of the story. There’s cheating and betrayal, there’s mis-trust and there’s heartbreak. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next installment since this very vanilla story may get good! Enjoy!

Review: Player (Ray #3) by E. L. Todd

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Title: Player
Author:  E. L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 1/3/17
Length:  187 Pages
Series:  Ray #3

Overview

There’s no way to sugarcoat it.

Ryker dumped me.Everyone warned me dating him was the wrong decision. But I did it anyway. Now that it’s been three months I’m finally in a good place. I haven’t started dating just yet but I know that will happen in time. Finally, I don’t think about Ryker anymore.But when I have a dream about Zeke, a very inappropriate one, I start to wonder things I shouldn’t. 

And I start to look at him in a way I never have before…

My Thoughts

So, i think that the summary doesn’t do this story justice but i guess that’s the point of reading a book. What we have here in this third installment is the evolution of Rae. and Ryker’s relationship once she admits how she feels. Mind you, she only shared how she felt to 1) be true to herself and 2) because she was certain that he felt the same. Everyone thought so. but i think that he’s just too scared and as a result, they’re dunzo.

We spend much of this book watching Rae get past her feelings for Ryker, and figure out what’s next for her. She learns about the way that Zeke felt about her for years and that makes a whole net path of complexity lay itself in front of her.

Add to that story line, we get to see things evolve for all the other characters. (well most). Zeke is in this great relationship with a girl name Rochelle and while they’ve moved fast, it seems like a great one. Even with how we know he feels/felt about Rae, he’s. still pushing forward and wants to take things to the next level. We hear him tell Rex about his plans to propose to Rochelle, and Rex still has his reservations since he knows that his friend can’t be over Rae so fast, but as a good friend, he knows he can’t step on toes here. So we watch that one play out.

Then there’s Rex and Kayden. We see what their friendship can evolve to, and friends with benefits becomes their thing. It’s not surprising at all knowing how we saw Kayden feel about Rex in the last book. He doesn’t pick up on that and really just think that he hits the jackpot. When he cuts things off though, we see this story take a depressing turn,

The only character that we don’t dive too deeply in with is Jessie and i’m not sure why. While she’s the fifth wheel here, she’s got all the potential in the world to have a great story line so i really. hope that’s coming soon.

This story takes us on a roller coaster of emotions – happy sad. Depressed, elated, romantic and ecstatic. All mixed with the right layers of naive/basic heat and passion. I can’t wait to see what comes next so i’m off to book 4. Enjoy!

Review: Bad Boy (Ray #2) by E. L. Todd

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Title: Bad Boy
Author:  E. L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 1/3/17
Length:  165 Pages
Series:  Ray #2

Overview

Ryker and I aren’t exactly perfect.

But I was falling for him—and falling hard.

Every kiss. Every Touch. Every embrace.

Just made me realize this wasn’t a fling. It wasn’t even a relationship.

It was so much more.

I just hoped Rex was wrong about Ryker. Because I didn’t have the heart to listen to him say those terrible three words.

Told you so.

My Thoughts

This story continues on the path that we all expect. Rae and Ryker are getting closer and it seems like they could be in it for the long haul. As most couples tend to do, they don’t talk much about their feelings and about the future, but if you stop to think about it, it’s only been a few months, so why should they right? Instead, they enjoy what they have, and Rae keeps her thoughts to herself. until she doesn’t.

In this second book, we also get to see a bit of the supporting cast get their time to shine. Rae and Zeke have helped Rex remodel his bowling alley so he’s got his swagger back (and some income) and that’s what was missing from his ability to be a great guy (we think).

Then if you think back, Zeke was going to tell Rae how he felt and then chose not to when she started things with Ryker. Well, now he’s met a girl named Rochelle and they seem to be perfect for each other. They are deep into their feelings, they express things in a way that Rae and Ryker don’t, and everyone seems to love her. (except Rex). Remember that he’s the one that knew how Zeke felt about his sister and to change his tune so quick, well he’s not buying it.

And then onto Rex. We saw the beginning of an interesting. thing with him and Kayden in the last book – awkwardness from her and feelings that no one else picked up on (except Ryiker). She takes things into her own hands in this second book in the form of tricking him into being her ‘teacher’ by saying she doesn’t know how to attract or keep a guy, and we all know that this can’t go anywhere but in the WRONG direction.

So, throughout this second installment, we get to see a roller coaster of things happen. GREAT relationships continue, new ones start, things get dicey and then things crash and burn. Hearts are broken and i can’t wait to see how this plays out since we all know how it will end. Enjoy!

Review: Ray of Light (Ray #1) by E.L. Todd

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Title: Ray of Light
Author:  E. L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 1/1/17
Length:  172 Pages
Series:  Ray #1

Overview

My brother is an idiot. He won the lottery and invested all of his money in a run-down bowling alley. Since he’s barely making it, he moved in with me.
Great.
Having him around the house isn’t the worst thing in the world, but he does make a mess like nobody’s business. My friends Zeke, Jessie, and Kayden keep me sane but there’s only so much they can do.
And it’s definitely not the worst thing in the world when his old friend, Ryker, moves to town.
The second I lay eyes on him, I’m hot under the collar. He makes my body burn in longing and freeze in desperation at the exact same time. When he talks, I don’t listen to anything he says because I’m staring at that hard jaw and those kissable lips like I already own them.
But he’s a bed hopper. A playboy. A heartbreaker.
I’m all down for some hot, sweaty, yummy sex even if it doesn’t have a fairy tale ending. I’ve been down that road before. I know the drill. But with Ryker, it’s different.
Because I know I’ll fall in love with him.
For now, I’ll steer clear of him and keep my hands to myself. It can’t be that hard, right?
Or can it?

My Thoughts

I was looking for something new to read and i decided to click on the details tab of one of my books in my nook app to see what was recommended. That’s how i found this one, and i’m on the fence about how i feel.

We have a sweet story about a group of friends that find themselves at a point in their lives when they’re all grown up, there may be feelings for some that are either unrequited or unknown, and there’s great sexual tension amongst quite a few.

We start off with our leading lady Rae – she’s a scientist by day and a great friend and sister by night. We quickly learn that her older brother lives with her because he has no money – after investing his lottery winning into a bowling alley that needs more help than he can afford. We quickly learn though that there’s more to their story than just a nice sister letting her brother crash. We get their family history in the form of learning that their mother killed herself when Rae was 15, and her brother Rex who was 18 took guardianship over her and became brother and father.

Rae meets a hot guy one day while running with her dog and when she doesn’t take him up on his offer to just go home with him right then, she thinks that the connection is over. Little does she know that he’s going to be in her life in a far more complicated way.

Enter Ryker. Not only is he the hot stranger, he’s high school friends of Rex and their friend Zeke, and he’s also…….the son of the man who owns the company that Rae works for, and therefore her new boss. Well, before she learned that last bit, she crossed paths with Ryker a few more times to know that the attraction is real, and despite her brother’s pleading for her to stay away from Ryker, she scratches that itch and then things get interesting.

So there’s that one romance situation going on and it’s entertaining to watch how that plays out. Then there’s another prong to this triangle in the form of Zeke and his crush on Rae. He’s just about decided to admit it all to Rae when she tells him about her and Ryker and basically crushes his soul.

That’s not enough though. Rae has two friends who are part of their crew, Jessie and Kayden. Jessie is gorgeous and can get any guy she wants, yet she wants Ryker. Oops! Then there’s Kayden whom we learn is also fairly smoking hot, and also has a crush on Rex, but no one else realizes this.

So you can imagine the entertainment that a reader can get watching all this play out. What i’ll say is that this is a book that didn’t take much brain power for me, which was nice given that i’m exhausted from work these past two weeks, but it was also a bit immature for what my taste tends to be. The ‘kinky scenes’ weren’t really deep enough and felt more like college kids hooking up than grown ups. That doesn’t ruin the story, just a different layer of ‘heat and passion’ than i’m used to.

So we’re left off in a point in this story where there’s nothing dramatic really happening. Things are changing for everyone, and there are decisions that have to be made, but there’s nothing that feels like a cliff. You can read the next book or not is basically the sense, and while that’s good (since i mean – we all know i’ll read book 2), i feel like it’s not mandatory to do right this second. So….i guess i can say that i’d love to see if anyone else has read this and has an opinion. and if you haven’t read it, do so and let me know thoughts. Enjoy!