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Iris #1

Release

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***An updated version of Release (as of May 2014) can be found on Amazon.***

Release, the standalone debut novel by Rebecca Lynn, is Book 1 of the new Iris Series and the perfect blend of steamy erotica and sweet romance.

Two and half years after the death of her husband, twenty seven year old Ryann Thornton is finally ready to embrace life again. Goal oriented, driven, and beautiful, she has a new career, a new home, and if she can work through her doubts and insecurities, possibly a new love.

Jeremy McCallister is dominant, gorgeous, and talented. He's a notorious ladies’ man and one of New York City’s most eligible bachelors. When he sees Ryann Thornton standing in the rain, he has to have her, and when he goes after something, he gets it. However, he’ll have to work hard to convince Ryann they’re compatible both in and out of the bedroom.

When Ryann discovers her new career poses a conflict in her relationship with Jeremy, she uses it as an excuse to run scared. Will Jeremy be able to persuade her to take a risk, or will circumstances beyond their control stand in the way of their happiness?

Mature readers only.

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2013

43 people are currently reading
1138 people want to read

About the author

Rebecca Lynn

5 books139 followers
Rebecca Lynn is the pen name of two friends who have known each other since their college days. Well read in the romance and erotica genres, they decided to put their heads together and enter the world of writing. Rebecca and Lynn collaborate on plot and characterization, but it is Rebecca who focuses on penning the novels while Lynn works on production and marketing of their books.

Rebecca holds degrees in both English Education and Counseling, and enjoys reading, painting and yoga. She has found a true passion for writing, and currently lives on the East Coast with her husband.

Lynn holds a degree in English Literature with a background in publishing and education. She is now “retired” and enjoys all the spoils of being a stay at home mom. Romance books have been her escape, along with traveling with her husband. She currently lives in Northeast.

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5 stars
394 (36%)
4 stars
431 (40%)
3 stars
199 (18%)
2 stars
31 (2%)
1 star
22 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
33 reviews1 follower
October 6, 2013
I liked the description and really wanted to delve into this story....but this was a tough read. the writing style seemed very child like ..immature...like a very young adult novel for 13- 17 yr olds with the way it was worded. It was hard to identify with the charachters in some areas too ..I just really didn't like the way this was written. that being said the actual story was good and I can see the potential for this author.I get the growth from innocent sexually inexperienced widow to bombshell ...Jeremy just fell flat to me. he was an alpha male ...then sappy love sick sex fiend. I dunno just not my cup o tea.
Profile Image for Vixster.
363 reviews
October 11, 2013
Fanning myself throughout this book :-)
This is one hot and steamy read. The chemistry between Ryann and Jeremy was off the richter!!!
I would have liked the plot to have had a little more umph but overall a great read.
I'm hoping the next book will be Michaels story, OMG, he was delish
Profile Image for BG.
509 reviews145 followers
August 14, 2020
2.5 Stars

I liked the book, I may be could have even loved it if I hadn't found the heroine so infuriating.

Profile Image for Kate.
2,281 reviews358 followers
August 7, 2014
So I finished this book about two days ago and wasn't sure on how to rate and review it, so I gave myself some time to think on it. Release is a debut novel by two authors Rebecca Lynn for a debut novel I give them 3 Iris's. This book was a freebie.

The book starts off with the following

although Shakespeare implies that Romeo has feelings for Rosaline, it's soon becomes obvious to the reader that Juliet surpasses Rosaline in his heart and becomes Romeo's one true love. What is missing in the relationship with Rosaline, is seen a hundred times over in this relationship with Juliet, a relationship of passion and urgency. Throughout the whole play, Shakespeare creates this sense of urgency around his protagonists so much, that the reader almost expects the tragic ending. If only Romeo would've waited, just a couple of more minutes longer. But he couldn't. He couldn't wait to be with his one true love...

For me that is the true meaning of love obviously with leaving the whole dying part.

The beginning of this book was impressive but and the book is split into two parts although I don't understand how and why. My feeling was that at times it flowed and well at at other times it didn't.

Ryann took the safe option in life and married her college sweetheart unfortunately at a young age she become a widow and picked up the pieces of her life and tries to fulfill her dreams it turns out well and she gets an internship with the Design Institute in NY. Just before Holland Tunnel her car breaks down and that is where she meets Hot Limo Man. Ryann is on her way to an exhibition to see one of her favorite painters.

There she meets Jeremy (Hot Limo Man) again and there is a strong attraction between them but Ryann holds onto her fear and hides behind it in the end she gives into her desires and I can't believe that I would say this but I never thought that there could be too much sex in a book but boy was I wrong.

She must've been 50 shades of red, forget grey.

Jeremy is a confident man who finally meets his match he pursues Ryann relentlessly at times he seemed desperate.

He leaned down to her ear, he whispered, "Every time you come, it's going to be my name on your lips. My face that you see."


At times it was too much, they would be talking about important things and then suddenly they would be at it like bunnies. It took me away from the story at hand. There was a good plot to the story what with MG (a bitter woman), a stolen painting and an Italian who thinks too much of himself.

I liked the friendship that Ryann had with her best friend Ayanna and how they built one another up.

You are more beautiful then Cinderella, you smell like pine needles and have a face like sunshine!

Who doesn't want and need a friend like that?

The book was good and I really enjoyed it but I can't justify it by giving it four Iris's. I will continue reading the series as Ayanna and Jonathan's story sounds good.
Profile Image for Teri.
79 reviews4 followers
October 14, 2013
I really liked this book. I love when a romance story is merged with some mystery, suspense & surprises & this book had that all. It also includes developing story lines for other characters & background on various main characters that give you a richer story & better visual of the characters, surroundings etc. which gets you very excited on what's to come & felt like I was watching a very engaging movie as I read this book. I loved the twists, the way the various characters weaved together, that the main characters had to work through some issues before committing fully to the relationship & the bit of crime/suspense that was thrown in was a great twist.

There were a few typos throughout that need to be corrected but other than that I recommend this read.
Profile Image for Liz Lawson.
729 reviews29 followers
January 29, 2014
This was a steamy erotic and sensually hot read. Jeremy blew me away with his erotic innuendos. I hate books where the characters are into sexual liaisons after the first few pages. This book had you sweating and stewing - will they or won't they!!, Ryann is not a "yes" woman and stands up to Jeremy.
Profile Image for Janice.
657 reviews
May 28, 2014
I knew I was going to love this story - who could resist - an alpha all the way, but with a heart, and Ryann, she is smart beautiful and not winey at all - knew what she wanted and went for it - I will read the next book in the series because the writing was great, smooth, didn`t bore me, kept me wanting more - and that`s how it should be!
Profile Image for Donna.
171 reviews9 followers
October 23, 2013
Shit is it so bad to not want to have finished the book.
CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT IN THE SERIES
Profile Image for Emily.
5,871 reviews548 followers
September 25, 2014
When she lost her husband, she thought she had lost the love of her life. Ryann Thornton could have lost herself being a young widow, but instead she fought through the pain and loneliness and made a new beginning for herself. Now ready to leave her past behind and begin a new journey as an intern for art institute where she could possibly find a job as a teacher, leaving her life as a English teacher in the past.

Her journey is not quite as smooth as she thought when she meets Jeremy McAllister. Jeremy is the most stunning man she has ever met and he makes his interest known in such a way that it scares Ryann. Ryann has only been with one man, her late husband, and Jeremy is nothing like him. Teetering between his being a ladies man and finding out he is tied to her new job, Ryann is quickly treading away from Jeremy. Jeremy knows what he wants and it is Ryann, he plans to win her heart, soul, and never let her go.

Raw, intense, and had me reading in one sit down. This is an edge of your seat, biting nails roller coaster. Jeremy is dominant and Ryann doesn't think she is on the same wave length, but Jeremy sees how she reacts to him and knows there is a hidden passion that is waiting to come out. Exceptional.
Profile Image for JadeShea.
3,235 reviews60 followers
December 8, 2018
Release begins with Ryann, and Jeremy first seeing each other when Ryann has car trouble in the rain on her way an art show. Her whole world is fixing to change by just glancing at Jeremy through a window.. Once she finally arrives at the art gallery she sees Jeremy again. This time though the attraction is undeniable, and Jeremy is bound and determined to have her. These two continue to dance around it because Ryann is scared, but Jeremy is very relentless and doesn't give up on her. But other problems arise that try to keep them apart.

Jeremy and Ryann had a sweet passionate relationship. It was a very nice romance, and it made the book enjoyable. I really did like Release. The writing was good, and I enjoyed all of the characters. Most of the side characters I hope to see get their own story like Ryann's best friend for instance. The only thing that bothered me was the first half of the book seemed a little bit forced, like it just didn't flow very well, and I was sometimes bored with it. But then the rest of the book was very interesting, and very enjoyable. I am actually looking forward to more in this series as well!
Profile Image for 100sweet.
1,602 reviews
October 9, 2014
DNF @ 50%
This book started good but became boring. The h has an oversexed, slutty BF which I absolutely HATE. Does the h really need to share all the intimate details of her life with her BF? They sounded so immature. I really didn't like that the h constantly compared the H with her late husband and found the husband wasn't that great in bed or excitement. Her insecurities were also annoying. She would cycle btw being insecure and then flirty and bold. Plus, as soon as she starts her new job her supervisor tells her about how hot he finds the men at the Institute. There is also a woman who works there and as soon as we meet her, she immediately starts cursing and speaking badly about the h and the Institute. I thought the behavior of these two people who held such important positions in the building was incredibly inappropriate and unprofessional. The woman even told the h that the H would discard her quickly and acted very catty. Typical OTT bad guy character. The author made the characters too extreme: the good characters are really good and the bad are very bad. The story was flat.
Profile Image for Nilam Suri.
Author 2 books141 followers
October 27, 2017
A lot of people categorized this book as erotica. Probably because the amount of sex in it, but since i always thought erotica is the book where sex is the backbone of the story, i prefer not to put Release in that category. Beside, in erotica, there's always a conflict or something more complex with the h/H sex life. Probably when one of the couple is struggling on accepting their sexual tendencies, or else.

Meanwhile, although the sex in this book is A LOT, they are pretty vanilla, and sweet. There's no struggling, only high libido on both part. And, while Jeremy was pretty dominant, he was no Dom.

All in all, i just like the chemistry, the conflict, the chase, and pretty much everything about this book. So glad that Release is the first in the series, with more charming characters for the next books.
Profile Image for Denise.
1,771 reviews24 followers
August 19, 2015
'Release' was one of those books that pulls you in and doesn't let go. The storyline was awesome. 'Release' is the perfect title for this book. The release of living fully with the tragedy Ryann dealt with, the release of her inhibitions and the release of holding back from loving again. Ryann is such an amazing lead. She truly has a heart of gold. She's completely selfless and has a huge heart. The characters were great. Her best friend Ayanna was a trip. You can't help but love her. Jeremy is a confident, borderline arrogant, man that is beyond sexy. A well written book. And the hot and steamy erotic scenes- oh my. Pure fan myself hotness. A great add to your tbr list. I look forward to reading more of the 'Iris Series'. Recommended read.
Profile Image for Indy.
1,199 reviews34 followers
September 19, 2013
This was a cute book. Reminded me at times of the Inside Out trilogy given the professions of the two main characters and their dynamic with one another. Sexy alpha possessive male and sassy independent heroine. Essentially two major plot developments with workplace conflict of interest to overcome and then a subsequent stolen art piece, but otherwise pretty smooth sailing which made it a tad bit predictable. I was somewhat dissatisfied too with how quickly they came together, book is over course of 3 weeks, always frustrates me with the love at first sight introduction. But cute book and characters had good chemistry and sexual sparks.
Profile Image for Frances P. Foster.
147 reviews3 followers
May 31, 2014
Better than 50 shades

I couldn't put this book down it was incredible. Ryann and Jeremy are the spectacular. I laughed my head off at these two. Ryann is a strong woman who won't take Jeremy's crap and it is driving him crazy. The sex in the book is passionate, strong, and you actually feel like you are Ryann. I'm so glad I got this book. it is a stand alone you don't have to read the others but I'm going to find out what happens with her best 2 friends. enjoy this book you won't be disappointed I promise.
Profile Image for Amanda.
260 reviews7 followers
June 16, 2014
Loved all the characters in this book! Really liked it from the very beginning, love how Jeremy finally found love after thinking he would never marry!
Cant wait to read the 2nd and 3rd books!! I hope Tiffany and that dr are going to be in one? :D Loved this book, especially since it had suspense as well and erotica/suspense are my favorite genre.
Very good book Rebecca Lynn :)
Profile Image for Stephanie.
8 reviews1 follower
September 3, 2013
Loved this book, could not put it down!! Can't wait for the next one.
Profile Image for .chel..
363 reviews54 followers
March 2, 2015
Not a big fan of the 'insta love' troupe but overall a decent read with a predictable storyline.
Profile Image for Cyle.
966 reviews143 followers
October 30, 2014
GENRE: Romance
THEME: Contemporary, Mature
RECEIVED: Bought
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/

REVIEW:
Many mature contemporary books these days are compared to 50 Shades of Grey and I’m always iffy about them, especially when it’s a rich guy and an innocent girl. What I liked about Release is even though it has the rich powerful guy, the female lead had a happy life and love, and she is successful in her own right. I feel the readers will easily connect to Ryann the lead and sympathize and adore her strength.

Release follows Ryann Thornton who once found her soul mate and married young, sadly to lose him only after a short time. Years later she is a loved English teacher by a prestigious school and her students. She decides to study art and teach, a passion she has always admired and enjoyed. But her life changes after encountering Jeremy McCallister at an art show; he immediately becomes intrigued by her, especially since he noticed her standing in the rain only hours ago. The two discover a connection but Ryann has a path she is determined to take and Jeremy’s new role may conflict with her goal.

Ryann is an intelligent and passion woman who adores teaching; she is one to be proud of the success of her student and determined to move forward with her passion. Her loss affected her deeply and she has only known one man she has cared for truly. Now she is being overwhelmed by Jeremy, who is nothing like her husband, he is dominant, insistent, passionate and knows what he wants. Ryann was a great character to connect too, her love for teaching, determination to not let anything stand in her way of her goal and her connection to Jeremy will have anyone rooting for her. There are many challenges that effect her career and relationship, she has to make difficult decisions and decide what will make her happy in the end.

Jeremy is a passionate man, with a dominant persona and cant get the woman standing out in the rain out of his head. He is drawn too her without even talking to her and I loved that kind of insta-love because its more of a love at first sight than annoying. Jeremy isnt perfect, there are many things that he has to understand about Ryann, even though he gets away with his pushy attitude a lot with her. At times I wish he could understand where she is coming from about their careers and how they can be affected because of his status. She takes things a bit more seriously where he is not as affected by them. However I also can feel him start to change, he knows that something deep is happening between them. Whether its good or bad is the question.

Overall Lynn has gained a new fan with her writing and character development. Even though bits and pieces sounds similar to others Ryann will capture everyone’s heart and Jeremy will gains many fans. This does have an ending as each book in the serious are stand alones, so the readers will get an ending without a cliffhanger. But the second book follows Ayanna, who is Ryann’s fabulously flirty and fun friend, who I adored and hope she find her happy ending.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a New Adult novel that is suited for a mature audience of 18 and over. Fans of Jennifer Echols Such a Rush and Jamie McGuire’s Beautiful Disaster will want to get their hands on Stay with Me by J. Lynn.
Profile Image for DCT.
1,036 reviews2 followers
February 2, 2014
I got this book as a free download, and the beautiful cover initially caught my attention. Ryann is a young widow, who after 2 1/2 years of healing from her terrible loss, wants to move forward with her life and her future. She is pursuing a career in the arts, hoping to become a successful artist, while pursuing a higher degree in the field. She is making a big move to New York, leaving the home she made with her late husband, and the first order of business is to attend an art show of one of her favorite artist. On the way, her car breaks down, as she waits in the rain for AAA, she is approached by the limo driver of an extremely handsome, sexy man who offers her a ride; she declines, reluctantly as she has made arrangements for a driver who is soon approaching. She arrives at the gallery to find herself having witty engaging banter with "hot limo man" and this is where the story takes off.
I enjoyed this read; the plot of the story was well thought out and I liked all the secondary characters and how the future stories in this series were set up to get us engaged in the plot. Okay, what held the story from getting a higher rating for me? The word "Pause" was a bit annoying, Ryann's personality/insecurities though understandable, didn't make her the most likable character for me, and even though the intimacy/sex scenes were intense, it was a little overkill for me. I did enjoy the overall storyline, and am willing to stay invested in reading additional stories in the series. Not bad for a free download. Will definitely keep these authors on my radar.
Profile Image for Becky.
1,927 reviews65 followers
June 14, 2015
What a great read at a great price. Loved Ryann and Jeremy they were both very like able characters. Both have lost someone they loved (her husband his dad), and are scared to love truly but together WOW they are one hot couple!! Great secondary characters, LOL moments with Ayanna, her BFF, hot and I mean hot sex scenes, dang talk dirty to me Jeremy!!! To sum it up, if you love a good romance, good story, hot mind blowing sex, dirty talk, best friends, evil witch MG ( love that nickname for jennifer) some drama and a HEA with no cliffhanger then buy this book so glad I did...on to the next book!!!
Profile Image for Fiordiligii.
1,797 reviews26 followers
June 10, 2016
Ever since reading Woman On The Run by Lisa Marie Rice about twelve or so years ago I have a soft spot for deliciously naughty and sexy vanilla romances. Of all the romances I've recently been trying out with my KU subscription, this is definitely the best of the lot. I was going with a five-star rating just because the sex scenes were so yummi and naughty and don't let me start on the dirty talk! Jeremy, the hero, is a keeper for his dirty mouth alone. The heroine has some weaker moments in the last part of the book but all together it's still a truly entertaining, well-written and absolutely fantastic story that goes straight on my keeper shelf. B+++
Profile Image for Katie Edmonds.
Author 6 books5 followers
October 10, 2013
I really enjoyed this book and was thrilled to have discovered it as a freebie on Amazon. It is a HEA book so don't let the series part throw you as it is a series of companion novels about different characters.

I liked the back story, the characters, the emotions and the steamy sex scenes. The only negative thing that stood out to me was the overly obvious pairing off of all of the single secondary characters. I'm okay with being introduced to all of the characters but three additional potential pairings was a bit much to take at one time.
Profile Image for Kat .
121 reviews2 followers
December 9, 2013
Not fond of this book at all! Jeremy was just about the only redeeming character in the entire thing. Yet, he still wasn't enough. I am just glad that I am done with it. I won't be following along with the stories in the series.

In my opinion it wasn't well written at all and what was with the "pause" why did the story need that. It made the story sound very juvenile. Maybe I just didn't like it at all and I'm nit picking but wow, I am astounded I made it through the entire thing. Wait I didn't, I flagrantly skipped over passages to get to the end.
64 reviews
May 29, 2014
What a great story!

Really great character development. I like the female lead to be strong and independent. I'm not real fond of the marshmallow types. I like the strong alpha male. This book had both. The story was very good and believable and moved along at a good pace. If you like lots of hot descriptive sex scenes than this is the book for you. The author has a very descriptive vocabulary, maybe overkill. I kept wanting to skip thru the descriptions. All in all a good read.ok: p
Profile Image for Joanne Garcia.
691 reviews13 followers
November 11, 2014
ok give me a minute to cool down then I will write a review....

this book was a pleasant refreshing surprise. Usually an other that try's to put a couples story in one book they most of the time give a book full of sex and not story or a story with no connections. Rebecca Lynn gave me a story full of heat, passion, love , lust, sex and most of all a strong deep connection between Jeremy and Ryann. One book gave me their first meet, the insecurities and drama with a complete story. She also gave me enough of the other character where I cant wait read Ayann and Jonathans story next.
Profile Image for Lisa.
2,347 reviews13 followers
March 3, 2015
This had all the elements of being a great read: a woman who has lost her husband gets a second chance at love with a hot, handsome, rich man, with a scorned woman wanting to break them up. It slightly disappointed in as much as it was mostly about Ryann's insecurities rather than a journey of falling in love again. I also expected the scorned woman to play a bigger part and be more of a problem than she was, which would have helped drive the story along. I did enjoy it: it was a cute read with a strong, hot male lead. I will read the next in the series to read the next couple's story.
Profile Image for Doreen.
169 reviews
February 13, 2015
I loved this book! Read it super fast - like "Fifty Shades" Fast!
I've already re-read it once, too!

Very few books in this genre (erotic romance) get the right balance between "domineering hot alpha stud" and "psychotic stalker with deep seeded issues" and this one did. Right from the beginning.

The two main characters, Ryann and Jeremy, are both sweet and smart.

I can't wait for more books in this series; especially Jonathan and Ayanna's story!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews

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