Ryker Falls Book 1: Somebody to Love

Ryker Falls Book 1

He was the bad boy no one trusted 

  

Bailey’s burned out, and unsure why she’s landed back in Ryker Falls, but has a feeling it’s got something to do with closure. Bad boy Joe Trainer was once her soulmate, but she wasn’t sure she had a soul anymore. Finding he’d made something of his life is a shock, as he’d been on a one-way trip to hell when she left. This new Joe is sexy and enticing, but she knows all too well there’s a devil underneath the urbane exterior. 

  

She was the good girl who never broke the rules 

  

When Joe finds his childhood sweetheart, Bailey Jones, has returned to Ryker Falls, his life suddenly shifts from settled to off-center. Once they’d been closer than anyone ever guessed; now, they’re chilly strangers. But Joe’s not letting his stubborn, sexy-as-hell ex-bestfriend stay closed off. He lost her once through his own stupidity this time she's not getting away. Joe knows he doesn’t deserve a second chance, but he’s never played by the rules before so he’s not starting now. Game on. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36511684-somebody-to-love?from_search=true 

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

I received an ARC and told myself that I was going to take my time reading. I have the weekend, I thought, to enjoy this story and write a review. Little did I know (though I should have expected), that wouldn't be the case. Instead, I found myself picking it up when I came home from work and spending the rest of the night reading it. Yeah, it was that good. 

Wendy Vella creates another town that I wish was real so I could go live there! I loved her Lake Howling series (which, by the way, I hope is not finished yet) and created the Ryker Falls series and book one was everything I hoped it would be. Bailey and Joe have that soul mate kind of love. They met when they were preteens and were separated for fifteen years! But that kind of connection doesn't disappear over time. 

Bailey is a famous pianist who has returned home to Ryker Falls for a break and to escape the cage that her Grandfather created for her in his attempt to control her life and career all while believing that he was helping her. Returning to Ryker Falls, she tries to gain her footing and learn what it is like to be on her own and have some control over her life and choices. 

Joe Trainer didn't have an easy childhood and his young-adulthood wasn't that much better. After leaving his home at Ryker Falls, he returns years later and makes something out of himself and for his family. He's much happier and continues to prove to the town that he has put his troubled youth behind. However, no matter how many years have passed, his feelings for Bailey have always been there. 

Reunited, and Joe is determined to not lose the girl who got away, while Bailey tries to keep her emotions in check in fear that she will have her heart broken all over again. The story was beautifully written and the character development was great. You watch as these characters learn to get to know one another again and break the barriers around their hearts to find their way to happiness. It isn't an easy journey, but it's one that has love worth fighting for.

With action that keeps this small town and its people on their toes and plot twists that you never see coming, this book is definitely worth checking out! Especially if you loved the Lake Howling series as much as I did. And my fingers are crossed that these towns exist in the same universe and a crossover of characters is a possibility (there may not have been any hints of that, but hey, a girl can dream!). 

With a cast of characters that i fell in love with and that I hope will get their own books, this was a great to start to what I think will be a great series! Another favorite of mine of Wendy Vella's to add to my collection.