Blog Tour and Giveaway: Raising Ryann; Alyssa Rae Taylor

by Reviews by Tammy and Kim - Saturday, August 10, 2013

Raising Ryann (Bad Boy Reformed #1)
Alyssa Rae Taylor
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Twenty-year-old Reese Johnson can finally leave her troublesome past behind. She enters college with her best friend, Gia, and spends her time doing what she loves—working as a self-defense instructor at a local gym. Then Luke Ryann enters the picture. He’s the tall, dark, and tattooed MMA fighter her boss hires to privately train her. One minute, he captivates her with his piercing brown eyes and boyish dimples. The next, he infuriates her with his relentless banter and cocky bad boy behavior. He’s the last thing she wants or needs, and she never expects to fall in love with him.

Luke’s jaded past has him keeping a safe distance. Despite what he feels, some things are better left alone. He has a dangerous secret—one that has the potential to risk their lives. As he fights the attraction between them, can he resist the growing tension and protect the woman he’ll never be able to have?

Recommended for mature audiences due to situations of abuse, violence, strong language and sexual content.

Raising Ryann, the first book in the Bad Boy Reformed series, isn't just a story about first love. It's filled with action, suspense, mystery, and a touch of humor.

See character inspiration and teasers on the author's website

"I live and breathe you. I bleed you."

This book built upon layers with past events tying into the present. Luke saved Reese twice when she was younger, and he ends up back in her life years later. They are thrust into working together in close proximity at as trainers at a gym owned by mutual friends. They have both grown up and changed, but there is still a connection even if it takes Reese a while to realize what it is.

In the present, they are feisty, argumentative, stubborn, and agitating to each other. But their sexual tension is off the charts. It is a game of cat and mouse from apparent dislike to like to want. They have a mutual attraction, but Luke holds back. He wants her, but resists her. He wants to protect her as he always has. But does she also need protection from him? There is so much miscommunication and misunderstanding of feelings that it is definitely challenging.

"This man is sexy--too sexy for his own good...or mine."

Luke has thick walls up, but Reese slowly begins breaking them down. But as they finally stop resisting and start to build something, secrets and the past begins to rear its' ugly head.

I loved all of the facets Luke. At first we met the protective fighter persona who was cocky, arrogant, flirty and sarcastic. But as it got more serious, we saw his broken, vulnerable, scared side that he kept hidden deep. And all again he was sexy and charismatic. He broke my heart at times as he struggled. He had a good heart and strong feelings, but his life really was complicated and messy. And he just wanted to keep Reese away from it. But resistance was futile because he wanted her more.

"You're breaking me Reese. Stop now if you know what's good for you."

"Stop what?...I don't even know what I'm doing."

"I guess that makes two of us."

Reese was sassy, stubborn, and independent. She pushed his buttons as much as he did hers. But she was damaged by her past as well and that skewed her view of men and relationships. Luke was the first man she really let in. And with all of his secrets, he may just be the person to destroy her again.

"These feelings between us. The feelings I have for you, I don't know what to do with them....I'm trying to protect you. It's just...it's complicated."

This book started out as a slow build for me. It took me a bit to place all of the characters and get in synch with the past and present at first. But I got more and more interested in their story and backgrounds, especially all of the mysteries surrounding Luke. Their fighting was humorous, their sexual tension was intense, and their emotions were deep and meaningful. And it did not have to rely on explicit sex scenes to make it steamy. There was enough sexually charged tension between these characters to still make it hot. And there was more to this story than boy meets girl, boy fights with girl, boy loves girl. There were tragic pasts and deeper story lines with underlying secrets, mystery, and danger.

"Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better for you if I never walked back into your life."

I realized I was running out of pages and my heart was in my throat. And now I find myself highly anticipating the next book Resisting Ryann. I am really interested to see where she takes this story line. It went off an a completely different direction than I was expecting when I started this book. The is so much potential for drama and I am looking forward to seeing more with their friends Logan and Gia as well.

Thanks to Alyssa Rae Taylor for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alyssa Rae Taylor Website/ Facebook/Twitter/Goodreads

I'm a mother of three, wife of one and caregiver to two English Bulldogs. I spend most my time taking care of my children or watching Sam & Dean Winchester, fight off scary creatures on the WB.

I'm also a big reader, and tend to prefer books that tug at my emotions. I'm a sucker for any love story that includes bad boys, alpha males, fighters, rockers, and tattoos. I also enjoy an angsty read, and am not a fan of the instalove type romance.

The first time I picked up a pen and started writing, I couldn't stop, which leads to the publishing of my first novel Raising Ryann, coming out August 2013.

I live in Phoenix Arizona with my husband, our three daughters, two English Bulldogs, two Holland Lops bunnies, & a Beta fish.

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