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Because Of You
Quiet and reserved small-town Melody Dalton kept to herself when she started college in the big city of Baltimore, Maryland. She admired Ryder James, the heir to James & Son's Manufacturing, from afar her first day on campus. He fit the cliché of tall, dark, and handsome easily, and no one could argue that he was the sculptured Greek god of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity on campus. Captivated by his incredible sexiness, Melody and Ryder are drawn together in ways she could only have fantasized about. Their lives quickly take a turn for the worse as someone’s out to get them. When tragedy hits not once but twice, no one can help save them except for Melody. But can she?This unique love story will have you rooting for the heroine as she finds strength within herself and captures your heart along the way. Can Melody save Ryder and herself from the dangers ahead? Has she gotten in too deep or has she finally found a place where she belongs?
- GenresCollege
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
425 people want to read
About the author
Maryann Morris
6 books26 followersMaryann Morris is an American author of romance novels and is a proud member of The Romance Writers of America. She recently published her debut novel (Because Of You). But who is she? Since you barely know her...we should probably start at the beginning...
Maryann dreamed of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on school and her career. Now that she's pretty established in her career she felt it was time to finally muster up the courage to put pen to paper with her first novel, 'Because Of You'.
She works in IT by day with her alter ego fiercely writing in the off hours...or really whenever she can squeeze it in! Maryann is based in New Jersey, where she was raised with her brother by her adoptive parents. She's super nerdy and geeky. She'll be the first to admit it. She 'hearts' sci-fi shows and movies. She love Star Trek AND Star Wars. She's obsessed with Doctor Who and BBC. She even attends New York's ComicCon. She LOVES a good murder mystery book. But yet She writes romance novels.
Maryann has a lot of stories to tell that she hopes you'll enjoy reading. And as with many other authors and writers out there, the stories come from that deep magical place inside of her. You can follow Maryann Morris here, but she's also on WordPress, Twitter, Amazon, and Facebook! Check her out!
Maryann dreamed of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on school and her career. Now that she's pretty established in her career she felt it was time to finally muster up the courage to put pen to paper with her first novel, 'Because Of You'.
She works in IT by day with her alter ego fiercely writing in the off hours...or really whenever she can squeeze it in! Maryann is based in New Jersey, where she was raised with her brother by her adoptive parents. She's super nerdy and geeky. She'll be the first to admit it. She 'hearts' sci-fi shows and movies. She love Star Trek AND Star Wars. She's obsessed with Doctor Who and BBC. She even attends New York's ComicCon. She LOVES a good murder mystery book. But yet She writes romance novels.
Maryann has a lot of stories to tell that she hopes you'll enjoy reading. And as with many other authors and writers out there, the stories come from that deep magical place inside of her. You can follow Maryann Morris here, but she's also on WordPress, Twitter, Amazon, and Facebook! Check her out!
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 24, 2013
I love the story between Melody & Ryder. Maryann has given this book everything a reader could ask for and more. It has twists and turns that keep you turning the pages. She takes you along with the story of how they get together & the journey they have along the way. I did not want to put this book down. When you find an author that writes this well you have a big fan in me. I would highly recomend this book to eveyone. Thanks for such a great book to read !
July 3, 2013
Mel can't believe her crush Ryder has asked her on a date. They fall in love almost instantly but Sam, her friend is not having it. Sam has decided they belong together and will stop at nothing to have Mel. After that drama is over Mel and Ryder try to move forward to their wedding, only to have interference again. This was a great story with twists and turns throughout. Great read, but know it's broken into two parts. I was afraid it was over but luckily it continued. WaAR
May 7, 2013
Great love story with a little suspense. I didn’t feel a strong connection with Ryder and Melody but I still enjoyed reading about their courtship. I really enjoyed reading about Baltimore seeing as I’m a native of Baltimore. I think that keep me intrigue with the story.
May 15, 2013
I won an ARC of this book in a contest on Goodreads.com! The book arrived in good condition within ten days of my notification and was signed by the author with a personalized note. I received this book for free in the hopes of my unbiased review.
When I first opened the book, I gave a little groan, because it is written in first person, present tense style, my least favorite style of writing or reading. However, I sat down to give it a few chapters, and when I surfaced, I was halfway through. I did read the book in one evening (307pgs), then re-read parts the next day before writing my review. There are a few spelling errors that were not caught by spell check because they are actual words, but should have been caught by the editor. (ie:buss for bus,cater for Carter) There are also a few grammar errors or questionable word choices. (ie: "his daddy and him get along so much better"...and "I relish in the feeling"...) That aside, I did enjoy the characters and the plot of this this contemporary romantic suspense book.
The story starts on Melody Dalton's second day of college at Johns Hopkins University. This is the first time she sees Ryder James across the lawn. She thinks he is the most perfect man she's ever seen. Forward to her Junior year when Melody's best friend and roommate since freshman year, Jen, introduces her to her boyfriend William's best friend, Ryder James. Soon Ryder and Melody are inseparable, each realizing they have found "the one". Their romance does not go smoothly though, someone is not pleased and is out to get them. Just when they think all is well and they're almost to their happy ever after, trouble returns, twofold!
I liked the character of Melody. She's caring, strong, loyal to her family and friends, she knows her own limits and talents. She is quiet and a people watcher, but that doesn't make her pushover or afraid to try new things. She fiercely defends the people she loves, especially Ryder.
I liked Ryder also. He was a big man on campus and wealthy which gave him real potential to be a spoiled, entitled jerk, but he wasn't. He was always a gentleman, treated Melody like a queen and wasn't afraid to say that he loved her or that he was sorry when he was in the wrong. He also was loyal to his family, even when he disagreed with them, and always made sure Melody came first.
It's hard to believe that the villain could work up so much hate for a couple of nice people like this, but some people are not rational, never learned to take responsibility for their own choices and actions and want somebody to blame for their ills.
I liked the author's descriptive powers in this story. She described everything, food, scenery, clothing, so well that it left an exact picture in my mind. She described the marina views and inner harbor with such loving detail as one of Melody's favorite places, but from the peace and beauty of the scenes, I think it must be one of the author's favorites as well.
My recommendation is for fans of romantic suspense to enjoy this book! Do be aware that there is mild profanity, mild violence and multiple sexual scenes. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
When I first opened the book, I gave a little groan, because it is written in first person, present tense style, my least favorite style of writing or reading. However, I sat down to give it a few chapters, and when I surfaced, I was halfway through. I did read the book in one evening (307pgs), then re-read parts the next day before writing my review. There are a few spelling errors that were not caught by spell check because they are actual words, but should have been caught by the editor. (ie:buss for bus,cater for Carter) There are also a few grammar errors or questionable word choices. (ie: "his daddy and him get along so much better"...and "I relish in the feeling"...) That aside, I did enjoy the characters and the plot of this this contemporary romantic suspense book.
The story starts on Melody Dalton's second day of college at Johns Hopkins University. This is the first time she sees Ryder James across the lawn. She thinks he is the most perfect man she's ever seen. Forward to her Junior year when Melody's best friend and roommate since freshman year, Jen, introduces her to her boyfriend William's best friend, Ryder James. Soon Ryder and Melody are inseparable, each realizing they have found "the one". Their romance does not go smoothly though, someone is not pleased and is out to get them. Just when they think all is well and they're almost to their happy ever after, trouble returns, twofold!
I liked the character of Melody. She's caring, strong, loyal to her family and friends, she knows her own limits and talents. She is quiet and a people watcher, but that doesn't make her pushover or afraid to try new things. She fiercely defends the people she loves, especially Ryder.
I liked Ryder also. He was a big man on campus and wealthy which gave him real potential to be a spoiled, entitled jerk, but he wasn't. He was always a gentleman, treated Melody like a queen and wasn't afraid to say that he loved her or that he was sorry when he was in the wrong. He also was loyal to his family, even when he disagreed with them, and always made sure Melody came first.
It's hard to believe that the villain could work up so much hate for a couple of nice people like this, but some people are not rational, never learned to take responsibility for their own choices and actions and want somebody to blame for their ills.
I liked the author's descriptive powers in this story. She described everything, food, scenery, clothing, so well that it left an exact picture in my mind. She described the marina views and inner harbor with such loving detail as one of Melody's favorite places, but from the peace and beauty of the scenes, I think it must be one of the author's favorites as well.
My recommendation is for fans of romantic suspense to enjoy this book! Do be aware that there is mild profanity, mild violence and multiple sexual scenes. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
July 9, 2014
What an awesome story! I loved how the author gives you all the warm fuzzy stuff then, POW!! You get the suspense and thrill. This has everything a good romance suspense story can have. The author gives you the happy, sexy, hot sex scenes, laughter, tears and thrill all in one story. I had a hard time putting it down!
May 11, 2013
great love story with a little twist and suspense. i don't usually go for love stories, but this one kept me in suspense made me want more. really great read!
Want to read
May 25, 2013Amazon freebie 5/25/13
April 7, 2014
Well Worth It
Worth every second! So happy for Mel! Would be a good Lifetime Movie Network movie. Looking forward to another one from this author
Worth every second! So happy for Mel! Would be a good Lifetime Movie Network movie. Looking forward to another one from this author
February 16, 2019
Suspense and romance
A contemporary romance set in the city of Baltimore. A good book with a good plot. I had some problems getting into the story and it seemed a little disjointed.
It was mostly written in first person which doesn't appeal to me.
A contemporary romance set in the city of Baltimore. A good book with a good plot. I had some problems getting into the story and it seemed a little disjointed.
It was mostly written in first person which doesn't appeal to me.
November 11, 2013
I was disappointed with this book, since it started out good. The romance part wasn't half bad, however, the suspense part was really bad! The more the plot progressed, the more the strange holes, weird coincidences, and stuff that just made no sense increased, and the worse this book got. At first the college romance seemed to develop naturally and sweetly, but soon the novel consisted of one sex scene after another...and another, making the book drag out endlessly, redundantly, uselessly. Editorial liposuction is badly needed to suck out the loads of useless fat in order to make a lean, taut story. When it came to the suspense, it seemed like the author wasn't even trying to make sense. Was this supposed to be a paranormal romance? That would be the only way to explain so much of the unexplainable, like the antagonist's mysterious appearance at JHU in Baltimore a year ahead of the protagonist. Weren't they supposed to be together in high school in Georgia fighting--did she have a doppelganger? There were numerous scenes where the protagonist encountered familiar people, yet she didn't recognize them, and it wasn't like very much time had elapsed either--it was about as believable as nobody recognizing Clark Kent just because he isn't wearing his glasses. Amnesia, what? One really weird twist is when the bad guys are out in the middle of the harbor with no other boats around and suddenly the police boat materializes out of thin air with nobody seeing or hearing it coming--which character had the magic wand? How about the one where the villain touches the victim's belly and suddenly knows she is expecting twins...how, ESP? It could be a good book with a badly needed rewrite.
June 14, 2013
Great for any reader who liked the Fifty Shades series seeing as its basically the same story by much shorter and less compelling.
April 28, 2014
Started out okay, but went down from there.
October 17, 2016
I really enjoyed this book a lot. They were a sweet couple that adored each other and there were some twists and turns that could of gone either way.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews