Ryan's Love is the first book in the new Sawyer Brothers series from C.A. Harms. I am a huge fan of C.A. Harms, so I couldn't wait to read this book. Her stories are always emotional and romantic, and I immediately find myself invested in her characters. Ryan's Love was no different, and I really enjoyed these characters and the way that their story played out.
After losing his wife suddenly, Ryan struggles with how to live a life without her. She was his best friend, and the time they spent together was too brief. Now he has to figure out a way to pick up the pieces and keep going for his daughter. For three years Ryan can't stand the thought of being with anyone else, and he isn't even tempted to look at another woman. But when Amber arrives in town to re-open her grandmother's bakery and start her life over after leaving a cheating ex-fiance, he finds himself taking interest in her. Amber knows that Ryan needs to take things slowly after losing his wife, but can she be what he and his daughter need to help heal? Or will it be too much, too soon for Ryan and Olivia to handle?
I really liked Ryan and Amber. These two were so great together, and I felt like they had such a great connection. They were really sweet together, and I liked that they were each respectful of the situation they were in. They took things slowly, and made sure to be upfront and honest with Ryan's daughter Olivia. I liked that she was their priority, and the fact that Amber was so patient and understanding about everything. She really was selfless, putting Ryan and Olivia's needs above her own wants and needs. Ryan was learning to live again, and I liked that he was able to see just how far he had come out of his grief with Amber's help. He realized that he had only been surviving for Olivia's sake, so it was great to see him step into the light after all the dark he had experienced. He had great chemistry with Amber, and I felt their relationship was so natural. These two just fit together, and it was clear that they both cared about each other and Olivia so much.
The reason that I didn't rate this one at five stars was because I felt like while I really enjoyed it and liked these two together, there were a few things I had issues with. For me, it felt like Ryan's wife Claire was too much a part of this story. While I understood it was a huge deal for he and Olivia to have lost her and that he had loved her all his life, I felt like it was hard to really ever get fully behind his new relationship with Amber when Claire was constantly in between them. I didn't expect anyone to forget her or stop mentioning her completely, but it didn't seem as though there were three years between the time she had died and the time he met Amber. It felt really fresh, and I wanted that to sort of be more in the background than it was. I also thought that there was an unnecessary bit of drama with Zoey, Claire's friend and Olivia's doctor. She seemed to be jealous and it seemed to be the start of something, only to be quickly dropped. I didn't really feel like it added anything, and yet it just felt unresolved. I did like this story overall though, and I really think that you can't go wrong with anything by C.A. Harms. The epilogue was great, and I really liked how the bonus chapter set up the next book in this series. I am anxious to see what will happen after reading the bonus chapter, and I can't wait to get to know the rest of the characters in this series better after reading about them here.
**ARC Provided by Enticing Journey Book Promotions**
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