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The McBrides #1
The Return of Brody McBride
The black sheep of Fallbrook is back . . . and he's in for the surprise of his life.
Former bad boy, now-decorated Army Ranger Brody McBride is home and on a mission: Find the woman he never should have left behind and right the wrong he did eight years ago.
When the man she loved broke her heart and skipped town, Rain Evans picked up the pieces. But along with heartbreak, Brody left her something infinitely better than she could have imagined: two beautiful daughters. One she gave birth to, and the other she rescued from the woman who helped destroy her relationship with Brody.
Brody is shocked to discover he's a father, and he's more determined than ever to win back Rain and protect his girls. Can they rekindle the love they once shared and become the family they were always meant to be? Or will a danger from their past return and ruin everything?
This edition also includes excerpts from "Falling for Owen" by Jennifer Ryan, "The Valentine's Day Disaster" by Laurie Vanzura, "Rushing Amy" by Julie Revell Benjamin, and "Wicked Earl Seeks Proper Heiress" by Sara Bennett.
Former bad boy, now-decorated Army Ranger Brody McBride is home and on a mission: Find the woman he never should have left behind and right the wrong he did eight years ago.
When the man she loved broke her heart and skipped town, Rain Evans picked up the pieces. But along with heartbreak, Brody left her something infinitely better than she could have imagined: two beautiful daughters. One she gave birth to, and the other she rescued from the woman who helped destroy her relationship with Brody.
Brody is shocked to discover he's a father, and he's more determined than ever to win back Rain and protect his girls. Can they rekindle the love they once shared and become the family they were always meant to be? Or will a danger from their past return and ruin everything?
This edition also includes excerpts from "Falling for Owen" by Jennifer Ryan, "The Valentine's Day Disaster" by Laurie Vanzura, "Rushing Amy" by Julie Revell Benjamin, and "Wicked Earl Seeks Proper Heiress" by Sara Bennett.
307 pages, Nook
First published March 1, 2014
254 people are currently reading
1325 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Ryan
48 books1,888 followersJennifer Ryan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Hunted and McBrides Series, writes romantic suspense and contemporary small-town romances.
Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she isn’t writing a book, she’s reading one. Her obsession with both is often revealed in the state of her home, and how late dinner is to the table. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you’ll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper.
Please visit her website at www.jennifer-ryan.com for information about upcoming releases.
Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she isn’t writing a book, she’s reading one. Her obsession with both is often revealed in the state of her home, and how late dinner is to the table. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you’ll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper.
Please visit her website at www.jennifer-ryan.com for information about upcoming releases.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews
just-not-for-me-stay-away-hell-no
March 30, 2016Contains Spoilers !!!!
CHEATER! AND BOTH WOMEN GET PREGNANT! !!HELL NO! Ok so I found out he broke up with herione and then slept with ow!like that makes it Ok. hell no. plus two days later he sleeps with herione! !I believe she didn't want to sleep with him before that! excuse my language but what a fucken loser ass shit! Omg and he didn't use protection and admits that he was scared he gave herione something because that ow sleeps around! she's like the town hoe. are you fucken serious right now. omg it takes a lot for me to get angry and this one has me fummimg!!!!! to make matters worse he leaves herione that night he sleeps with her and returns 8 years later. she never moves on .she is raising both babies .while this whole time he is screwing around even lived with ow for a while! !!omfg! !!I can't believe this shit! I'm seriously disgusted!
note: I'm not trying to be offensive to the author .I'm just saying in my eyes there is nothing romantic about this at all and that is just my personal opinion.
CHEATER! AND BOTH WOMEN GET PREGNANT! !!HELL NO! Ok so I found out he broke up with herione and then slept with ow!like that makes it Ok. hell no. plus two days later he sleeps with herione! !I believe she didn't want to sleep with him before that! excuse my language but what a fucken loser ass shit! Omg and he didn't use protection and admits that he was scared he gave herione something because that ow sleeps around! she's like the town hoe. are you fucken serious right now. omg it takes a lot for me to get angry and this one has me fummimg!!!!! to make matters worse he leaves herione that night he sleeps with her and returns 8 years later. she never moves on .she is raising both babies .while this whole time he is screwing around even lived with ow for a while! !!omfg! !!I can't believe this shit! I'm seriously disgusted!
note: I'm not trying to be offensive to the author .I'm just saying in my eyes there is nothing romantic about this at all and that is just my personal opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2014
Apologies in advance as I can't seem to write this review without spoilers. Skip to the next one if you don't want to know.
Brody breaks up with Rain. He has sex with another woman (but it's okay because he broke up with Rain first so it's not considered cheating!) and then two days later, has sex with Rain before sneaking off in the middle of the night with nothing more than a 'I'm sorry' note. Oh yeah, the sex with both women was unprotected. Nice one there, Brody!
Fast forward eight years. I'm still unsure why he came back. He says he came back for Rain, but I have trouble buying that. It seemed more like because he was medically discharged from the military, he had nowhere else to go.
But he comes home to a surprise. Two little girls. Not only did Rain get pregnant, but so did Roxy.
I loved that Rain was raising both girls and I thought this would be an interesting story to tell. But after a promising start, Rain ended up being one of those TSTL heroines who forgives him pretty much right away, around half way through the book. It was like she'd forgotten all about the eight years she was alone with the townspeople gossiping about her and Roxy being pregnant by the same man, at the same time. Sheesh! It seemed unrealistic to me that a woman can have her heart broken by her supposed best friend and forgive him so quickly. From that point on, I was skimming to the end. The adoption of Autumn seemed rushed but it all worked out in the end.
Oh and the best part? Rain doesn't move on at all during the eight years they are apart (Seems pretty far fetched to me, but each to their own, I guess). But Brody certainly does. Even as far as living with another woman. But don't worry, Rain, he was thinking of you the whole time!
I was so looking forward to reading this book after reading the blurb. I loved Owen and the two little girls but was disappointed with Brody and Rain. Hopefully Owen's story will be better.
Brody breaks up with Rain. He has sex with another woman (but it's okay because he broke up with Rain first so it's not considered cheating!) and then two days later, has sex with Rain before sneaking off in the middle of the night with nothing more than a 'I'm sorry' note. Oh yeah, the sex with both women was unprotected. Nice one there, Brody!
Fast forward eight years. I'm still unsure why he came back. He says he came back for Rain, but I have trouble buying that. It seemed more like because he was medically discharged from the military, he had nowhere else to go.
But he comes home to a surprise. Two little girls. Not only did Rain get pregnant, but so did Roxy.
I loved that Rain was raising both girls and I thought this would be an interesting story to tell. But after a promising start, Rain ended up being one of those TSTL heroines who forgives him pretty much right away, around half way through the book. It was like she'd forgotten all about the eight years she was alone with the townspeople gossiping about her and Roxy being pregnant by the same man, at the same time. Sheesh! It seemed unrealistic to me that a woman can have her heart broken by her supposed best friend and forgive him so quickly. From that point on, I was skimming to the end. The adoption of Autumn seemed rushed but it all worked out in the end.
Oh and the best part? Rain doesn't move on at all during the eight years they are apart (Seems pretty far fetched to me, but each to their own, I guess). But Brody certainly does. Even as far as living with another woman. But don't worry, Rain, he was thinking of you the whole time!
I was so looking forward to reading this book after reading the blurb. I loved Owen and the two little girls but was disappointed with Brody and Rain. Hopefully Owen's story will be better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2016
This author is one stupid fuck for thinking this is even remotely romantic. There...I said what everyone else in the safety gang is thinking.
Read
March 4, 2014I really really wish we could retire the trope of the heroine putting her whole life on hold while the hero goes out in the big bad world. Yes, she is raising children but that doesn't mean she has to live like a nun. I really really don't understand this trope.
I think the story is well constructed, but I've gotten so sick of heroines waiting like a patient Penelope while the man sows his oats and comes to his senses that I can't rate objectively.
I think the story is well constructed, but I've gotten so sick of heroines waiting like a patient Penelope while the man sows his oats and comes to his senses that I can't rate objectively.
not-in-this-life-or-the-next
January 22, 2016Seriously - FUCK this story! WORST PLOT EVER!
August 24, 2021
I am surprise to liking this book more than I expected. This is my first read by Miss Ryan and I am already looking forward for the next book. The theme of the story is standard. Not much originality. Romance book that deals with PTSD hero.
I thought Miss Ryan will make The Return of Brody McBride more dramatic since it is involved a secret children from 2 different women. But somehow, Miss Ryan downplayed the drama and focus on love and PTSD issue. The story is more focusing on the second chance romance between Rain and Brody. Miss Ryan done a good job writing such a beautiful story.
Overall this is a wonderful book.
4 stars
I thought Miss Ryan will make The Return of Brody McBride more dramatic since it is involved a secret children from 2 different women. But somehow, Miss Ryan downplayed the drama and focus on love and PTSD issue. The story is more focusing on the second chance romance between Rain and Brody. Miss Ryan done a good job writing such a beautiful story.
Overall this is a wonderful book.
4 stars
February 26, 2024
1 ⭐- Ugh! Didn't like it - triggers - pet peeve!
===================================
The heroine is a saint who becomes pregnant at the age of 18 and, on top of that, ends up with the child that the city slut had with the supposed hero who had sex with both of them in the space of two days. What a jerk!!!! She's like a nun, just taking care of the two children and working like crazy while the guy goes out into the world and has sex with everything that walks and breathes.
Between her and a doormat we can't tell the difference!
I'm tired of these heroines who stop their lives just because the supposed hero dumped them!
===================================
The heroine is a saint who becomes pregnant at the age of 18 and, on top of that, ends up with the child that the city slut had with the supposed hero who had sex with both of them in the space of two days. What a jerk!!!! She's like a nun, just taking care of the two children and working like crazy while the guy goes out into the world and has sex with everything that walks and breathes.
Between her and a doormat we can't tell the difference!
I'm tired of these heroines who stop their lives just because the supposed hero dumped them!
do-not-read
January 22, 2016Cheating H, doormat h. [x]
January 21, 2016
The female lead was such a goody two shoes that she really annoyed me!
August 11, 2017
i did finish this... but on fast forward. I still held out hope the MCs would redeem themselves. him from being a self centered, self pitying asshat, and her from being a tstl doormat. didnt happen though.
everything i hate about trashy romance all in one book. But i shoulda known better having read the blurb
the funny thing is I sometimes really like this author. go figure...
everything i hate about trashy romance all in one book. But i shoulda known better having read the blurb
the funny thing is I sometimes really like this author. go figure...
September 14, 2018
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
*May Contain Spoilers*
The Return of Brody McBride is the first book in Ryan's McBride series, the McBride series is focused on three men residing in a small town. I grabbed this book at a used book store and I am really glad that I did. I know that this book is not everyone's favorite, but despite a couple of issues I really had a great time with this one....I stayed up half the night reading it, I just couldn't put it down. So that should tell you how engaging this story was for me. This has a very painful beginning and the sort of elements introduced isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea....just fair warning. But I felt that Jennifer Ryan handled this scenario better than most authors would.
Our hero, Brody and our heroine Rain fell in love when they were young and innocent. They never imagined that their love affair would turn out the way that it does. Brody has some emotional issues, problems that he lets effect how he treats the only woman he would ever love. He treats her badly and breaks their relationship, fearing that he could never be enough for her because of his past. And while out drunk at the local bar, he ends up having sex with the hussy of the town and he leaves town wandering the world until he joins the military and now its been eight long years and he is suffering from major injuries from almost dying and saving one of his men, and major PTSD and comes back for the woman he has never forgotten....but he wonders if she could ever forgive him from the horrible things he did to her.
When he comes back to town, he has to face up to many truths, including the fact that he is a father of two girls.....with different mothers, but for some reason both are being raised by Rain which he is grateful for, but he is full of questions. Rain picked up the pieces of her heart, giving up her dreams of college, when she found herself pregnant and unable to find Brody McBride, and having to give up all her savings for college to the "other woman" so that she wouldn't abort Brody's child. Now she is working at her father's shop, raising two girls that she loves dearly and hasn't been able to move on from her feelings for Brody. Now has has returned, he wants her back and she is on the fence. She knows he deserves the chance to get to know his daughters, but can she forgive him and let the past go.
I found this story to now be the BEST beginning in the world, and there have been times I have read a story that starts out like this but even though I struggled with what Brody does to Rain, I just couldn't put this book down and with each chapter I found myself slowly fallin in love with this couple. Now I do feel that Brody didn't grovel enough, I mean, he really has hurt Rain SO much and he has a lot to make up for. But he is also damaged from his tours in the military, and is suffering from some major PTSD and forging a relationship with his daughters. I loved the two little girls that are introduced to the story, they are so precious and innocent and especially Autumn, broke my heart. She is very sensitive, and her birth mother caused some major emotional damage a few years previous so we see the after effect of that and seeing her slowly trust in her new father.
Then we have a bit of a twist to the plot, with a very bad villain....the birth mother of Autumn and manipulated Brody to sleep with her and considering she made sure he was so drunk he barely even knew what he was doing. But another issue I did have with this book is the lack of safe sex. I know they are young and all, but they must have known about protection, its not like they were shielded from "sex talks" growing up. So it just didn't make all that much sense to be honest. We also didn't much details on why Brody had such low self esteem and why he had issues with his father, so I am still curious about that since that is the reason why he broke it off intitially with Rain.
I did adore our heroine in every way though, she is so courageous and strong. I know in other reviews I have read of this book, many didn't like her because she didn't have a big "career" and gave up college. Well she gave up all her funds to save Autumn's life, and she had two little girls to raise, and I think she wanted to do it with the only family she had left and not do it in the big city where she didn't know anyone. You see how her priorities change and her dreams....she wants to work hard and be the best mother she can and boy is she such a good strong mother for these little girls.
Then we have the twist in the plot dealing with the crazy ....crazy woman who wants Brody and more importantly any money she can squeeze out of him. But she gets her just desserts in the end and I felt like this story ended nicely and we get some teasers for Own (Brody's brother) and Dylan. So I am eager to pick up their books.
Overall I had a blast with this book, it worked my emotions and pushed some boundaries at times, but it was packed with intrigue, heartfelt emotion and redemption of the deepest kind....TRULY WONDERFUL!!
[foogallery id="59744"]
*May Contain Spoilers*
The Return of Brody McBride is the first book in Ryan's McBride series, the McBride series is focused on three men residing in a small town. I grabbed this book at a used book store and I am really glad that I did. I know that this book is not everyone's favorite, but despite a couple of issues I really had a great time with this one....I stayed up half the night reading it, I just couldn't put it down. So that should tell you how engaging this story was for me. This has a very painful beginning and the sort of elements introduced isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea....just fair warning. But I felt that Jennifer Ryan handled this scenario better than most authors would.
Our hero, Brody and our heroine Rain fell in love when they were young and innocent. They never imagined that their love affair would turn out the way that it does. Brody has some emotional issues, problems that he lets effect how he treats the only woman he would ever love. He treats her badly and breaks their relationship, fearing that he could never be enough for her because of his past. And while out drunk at the local bar, he ends up having sex with the hussy of the town and he leaves town wandering the world until he joins the military and now its been eight long years and he is suffering from major injuries from almost dying and saving one of his men, and major PTSD and comes back for the woman he has never forgotten....but he wonders if she could ever forgive him from the horrible things he did to her.
When he comes back to town, he has to face up to many truths, including the fact that he is a father of two girls.....with different mothers, but for some reason both are being raised by Rain which he is grateful for, but he is full of questions. Rain picked up the pieces of her heart, giving up her dreams of college, when she found herself pregnant and unable to find Brody McBride, and having to give up all her savings for college to the "other woman" so that she wouldn't abort Brody's child. Now she is working at her father's shop, raising two girls that she loves dearly and hasn't been able to move on from her feelings for Brody. Now has has returned, he wants her back and she is on the fence. She knows he deserves the chance to get to know his daughters, but can she forgive him and let the past go.
I found this story to now be the BEST beginning in the world, and there have been times I have read a story that starts out like this but even though I struggled with what Brody does to Rain, I just couldn't put this book down and with each chapter I found myself slowly fallin in love with this couple. Now I do feel that Brody didn't grovel enough, I mean, he really has hurt Rain SO much and he has a lot to make up for. But he is also damaged from his tours in the military, and is suffering from some major PTSD and forging a relationship with his daughters. I loved the two little girls that are introduced to the story, they are so precious and innocent and especially Autumn, broke my heart. She is very sensitive, and her birth mother caused some major emotional damage a few years previous so we see the after effect of that and seeing her slowly trust in her new father.
Then we have a bit of a twist to the plot, with a very bad villain....the birth mother of Autumn and manipulated Brody to sleep with her and considering she made sure he was so drunk he barely even knew what he was doing. But another issue I did have with this book is the lack of safe sex. I know they are young and all, but they must have known about protection, its not like they were shielded from "sex talks" growing up. So it just didn't make all that much sense to be honest. We also didn't much details on why Brody had such low self esteem and why he had issues with his father, so I am still curious about that since that is the reason why he broke it off intitially with Rain.
I did adore our heroine in every way though, she is so courageous and strong. I know in other reviews I have read of this book, many didn't like her because she didn't have a big "career" and gave up college. Well she gave up all her funds to save Autumn's life, and she had two little girls to raise, and I think she wanted to do it with the only family she had left and not do it in the big city where she didn't know anyone. You see how her priorities change and her dreams....she wants to work hard and be the best mother she can and boy is she such a good strong mother for these little girls.
Then we have the twist in the plot dealing with the crazy ....crazy woman who wants Brody and more importantly any money she can squeeze out of him. But she gets her just desserts in the end and I felt like this story ended nicely and we get some teasers for Own (Brody's brother) and Dylan. So I am eager to pick up their books.
Overall I had a blast with this book, it worked my emotions and pushed some boundaries at times, but it was packed with intrigue, heartfelt emotion and redemption of the deepest kind....TRULY WONDERFUL!!
[foogallery id="59744"]
June 7, 2014
This is my first novel by this author and I was excited to read this after I read the blurb. I must say I was extremely surprised - in a big way!
To cut to the chase - this was bad!! The story revolved around Brody finding out that he had kids like 1/3 into the story, how he tried to win Rain back and how to get rid of Roxy the girl she slept with.
This was just full of non-sense talking that left me bored to tears!! Utterly, UTTERLY NONSENSE!!!!! The author just kept on going about nothing, about how Brody:
1)was so sorry and why he cheated on Rain but kept on sleeping with other women to "capture what he felt for her" and stayed away from her for 8 years. RIIIIIGGGGHHHTTT!
2)had so much money because he invested in a business that no body knows, even he can't even say what it was that led me to believe he doesn't even know what it was and he is a silent partner.
This was just soooo one dimensional story. A typical love story
a) handsome man who cheated on the love of his life - CHECK
b) the said handsome man who cheated left town and signed up in military and never came back till he found out he can't live without her but had to be in a near death experience to realized it - CHECK, CHECK!
c)handsome man came back to his hometown physically and mentally broken and to win the love of his life back - CHECK
d) a beautiful girl left pregnant by her cheating boyfriend and still sexy as hell and nary a wrinkles on her face - CHECK
e) the villainous girl whom he had cheated with was as nasty as you can imagine and had become ugly and fat because of her bad habits - CHECK
f) villainous girl had an equally villainous boyfriend who was nastier than her - CHECK
so cliche, right? I don't mind cliche just as long she put a bit of twist in this, but no - the author was just so one dimension in everything the characters where boring especially Rain (heroine) she was just so pure, beautiful, perfect and BLAH!
Even the romance scene -*BIG YAAAAAWWWWNNN - B.O.R.I.N.G. I'm not expecting hair-pulling-BDSM-spanking scene, I was expecting something that would make my knees weak and fall in love with Brody but no I didn't get that- his character is as boring as his love making skill.
What really made me so annoyed with this book was that Rain and Brody's daughter, Dawn, was made out like she was the adopted daughter! Autumn, Brody's daughter, was made like she was their real daughter and had better interaction with both Rain and Brody in the book. Ok, I get it, she was a troubled daughter but the author could have made Dawn more of a fighter and a protector for her sister but no - the author made her into a wallpaper decoration, just to say that Brody and Rain had a daughter but the real story revolved around with Autumn.
And to top off this ridiculous novel - the ending totally sucks!!! so save your time and money and DON'T READ THIS NOVEL!
To cut to the chase - this was bad!! The story revolved around Brody finding out that he had kids like 1/3 into the story, how he tried to win Rain back and how to get rid of Roxy the girl she slept with.
This was just full of non-sense talking that left me bored to tears!! Utterly, UTTERLY NONSENSE!!!!! The author just kept on going about nothing, about how Brody:
1)was so sorry and why he cheated on Rain but kept on sleeping with other women to "capture what he felt for her" and stayed away from her for 8 years. RIIIIIGGGGHHHTTT!
2)had so much money because he invested in a business that no body knows, even he can't even say what it was that led me to believe he doesn't even know what it was and he is a silent partner.
This was just soooo one dimensional story. A typical love story
a) handsome man who cheated on the love of his life - CHECK
b) the said handsome man who cheated left town and signed up in military and never came back till he found out he can't live without her but had to be in a near death experience to realized it - CHECK, CHECK!
c)handsome man came back to his hometown physically and mentally broken and to win the love of his life back - CHECK
d) a beautiful girl left pregnant by her cheating boyfriend and still sexy as hell and nary a wrinkles on her face - CHECK
e) the villainous girl whom he had cheated with was as nasty as you can imagine and had become ugly and fat because of her bad habits - CHECK
f) villainous girl had an equally villainous boyfriend who was nastier than her - CHECK
so cliche, right? I don't mind cliche just as long she put a bit of twist in this, but no - the author was just so one dimension in everything the characters where boring especially Rain (heroine) she was just so pure, beautiful, perfect and BLAH!
Even the romance scene -*BIG YAAAAAWWWWNNN - B.O.R.I.N.G. I'm not expecting hair-pulling-BDSM-spanking scene, I was expecting something that would make my knees weak and fall in love with Brody but no I didn't get that- his character is as boring as his love making skill.
What really made me so annoyed with this book was that Rain and Brody's daughter, Dawn, was made out like she was the adopted daughter! Autumn, Brody's daughter, was made like she was their real daughter and had better interaction with both Rain and Brody in the book. Ok, I get it, she was a troubled daughter but the author could have made Dawn more of a fighter and a protector for her sister but no - the author made her into a wallpaper decoration, just to say that Brody and Rain had a daughter but the real story revolved around with Autumn.
And to top off this ridiculous novel - the ending totally sucks!!! so save your time and money and DON'T READ THIS NOVEL!
March 30, 2019
Brody McBride comes home after 8 years away serving as an Army Ranger. He is home to find the girl he wronged and never should of left. Rain Evans. What he does expect is the double surprise he finds. Rain never left town, never went to college like she was suppose too. Instead she has a daughter, his daughter but not only that she has another daughter the same age, who was born to the slut that Brody slept with days after breaking up with her. Brody becomes more intent to prove he was a dumb, foolish kid and right the wrongs of his past. To prove she is his 'One' and to make up for 7 lost years of his daughters life.
Rain Evans is a true heroine character. Fierce, loyal, loving, a great mom, willing to struggle to give her daughters the best she can. She has secrets, like how she has his other daughter. Rain is the epitome of a single mom. I loved her character.
As Brody works to win back Rain and make changes to his life and his home and make up for his mistakes, his past will be back to challenge and threaten everything. Risking not only their love but the kids safety and their own.
I also loved the glimpses we see of Owen, his brother and Dylan, his cousin...both who will be getting books next.
Rain Evans is a true heroine character. Fierce, loyal, loving, a great mom, willing to struggle to give her daughters the best she can. She has secrets, like how she has his other daughter. Rain is the epitome of a single mom. I loved her character.
As Brody works to win back Rain and make changes to his life and his home and make up for his mistakes, his past will be back to challenge and threaten everything. Risking not only their love but the kids safety and their own.
I also loved the glimpses we see of Owen, his brother and Dylan, his cousin...both who will be getting books next.
September 18, 2016
To see DNF review with gif click here.
I have been having a slew of DNF’s lately but The Return of Brody McDouche broke a world record of DNF’ing in under 40 pages! Usually, I make it at least past the fifty page mark. But I thought I’d list the reasons why I DNF’d Brody McDouche (yes, it really should’ve been named that).
1. Secret baby plot: It’s an annoying trope, but I’ll be willing to put up for it if it’s different and the girl doesn’t like give up her entire life for the baby. Doesn’t happen here.
2.Double secret baby plot with multiple women knocked up at the same time: Ew, ew, ew.
3. Women randomly is able to adopt second child from the Evil Bitch-Slut! character despite having no familiar connection: Maybe it was threw illegal means or something, but generally the adoption goes through blood relatives first when someone’s parental rights are revoked. There was a blood uncle to kid 2 here, so I didn’t get it. This is one of those times you wish you didn’t have some experience in family law.
4. Characters having weather and seasonal names: The female MC’s name is Rain her biological daughter’s name is Dawn. Gag reflexes yet. And Dawn’s half sister’s name is Autumn so there’s seasonal, weather, and dish soap names here. It’s annoying it’s obnoxious. And if you have those names I’m sorry, BUT….whatever. Combined its hideous.
5. Brody McDouche says that Rain is his woman despite having no contact with her for eight years, and because of that not paying her the requisite amount in child support: Yeah. He’s a McDouche.
6. Brody McDouche’s brother is a caring uncle who is also a lawyer that seems to have never told Rain about maybe she should seek child support: Despite the fact Rain is pretty broke because she’s raising two kids as a single mom and doesn’t seem to be making much money, he doesn’t suggest informing McDouche even though McDouche would probably owe her a good chunk of his earnings because um, child support.
7. Brody McDouche is rich despite working for the government for eight years: Because being rich is a requisite for a romance novel and somehow being deployed makes you an expert at the stock market or wherever McDouche got his money?!?!?!?!
8. Demonization of Roxy (the other woman) being a complete bitch: Never mind it takes two to tango, and Brody McDouche willingly went into Roxy’s bed.
9. Rain still dreams about Brody McDouche besides the fact that he abandoned her and she was forced to raise both of his children without child support: ew
10. The fact that Brody McDouche is the hero: Enough said.
I have been having a slew of DNF’s lately but The Return of Brody McDouche broke a world record of DNF’ing in under 40 pages! Usually, I make it at least past the fifty page mark. But I thought I’d list the reasons why I DNF’d Brody McDouche (yes, it really should’ve been named that).
1. Secret baby plot: It’s an annoying trope, but I’ll be willing to put up for it if it’s different and the girl doesn’t like give up her entire life for the baby. Doesn’t happen here.
2.Double secret baby plot with multiple women knocked up at the same time: Ew, ew, ew.
3. Women randomly is able to adopt second child from the Evil Bitch-Slut! character despite having no familiar connection: Maybe it was threw illegal means or something, but generally the adoption goes through blood relatives first when someone’s parental rights are revoked. There was a blood uncle to kid 2 here, so I didn’t get it. This is one of those times you wish you didn’t have some experience in family law.
4. Characters having weather and seasonal names: The female MC’s name is Rain her biological daughter’s name is Dawn. Gag reflexes yet. And Dawn’s half sister’s name is Autumn so there’s seasonal, weather, and dish soap names here. It’s annoying it’s obnoxious. And if you have those names I’m sorry, BUT….whatever. Combined its hideous.
5. Brody McDouche says that Rain is his woman despite having no contact with her for eight years, and because of that not paying her the requisite amount in child support: Yeah. He’s a McDouche.
6. Brody McDouche’s brother is a caring uncle who is also a lawyer that seems to have never told Rain about maybe she should seek child support: Despite the fact Rain is pretty broke because she’s raising two kids as a single mom and doesn’t seem to be making much money, he doesn’t suggest informing McDouche even though McDouche would probably owe her a good chunk of his earnings because um, child support.
7. Brody McDouche is rich despite working for the government for eight years: Because being rich is a requisite for a romance novel and somehow being deployed makes you an expert at the stock market or wherever McDouche got his money?!?!?!?!
8. Demonization of Roxy (the other woman) being a complete bitch: Never mind it takes two to tango, and Brody McDouche willingly went into Roxy’s bed.
9. Rain still dreams about Brody McDouche besides the fact that he abandoned her and she was forced to raise both of his children without child support: ew
10. The fact that Brody McDouche is the hero: Enough said.
March 5, 2014
Well, Dylan McBride was a dickhead. Must be nice to live on such a high horse over your cousins who were troublemakers as teenagers, it's not like they shaped up after they got away from their alcoholic asshole of a father is it?
Also I didn't like how everyone treat Brody like a deadbeat when he didn't know he was even a father. And I almost forgave this story for have a secret-baby like plot except Rain actually knowing that Brody was in the army (and thus how to contact him) and still not telling him made it actually a secret baby plot. To be fair though Brody didn't threaten to sue for custody like most millionaire dad's who find out that they're fathers so points to him.
I must say the adoption of Autumn thing could have been fixed with a good 'ol fashion lie that Brody had given Rain custody while he was in the service and you know Owen could have backdated some paperwork.
Also I didn't like how everyone treat Brody like a deadbeat when he didn't know he was even a father. And I almost forgave this story for have a secret-baby like plot except Rain actually knowing that Brody was in the army (and thus how to contact him) and still not telling him made it actually a secret baby plot. To be fair though Brody didn't threaten to sue for custody like most millionaire dad's who find out that they're fathers so points to him.
I must say the adoption of Autumn thing could have been fixed with a good 'ol fashion lie that Brody had given Rain custody while he was in the service and you know Owen could have backdated some paperwork.
April 30, 2014
I am not one to go on a rant or a rave about a book but it looks like there might be a first time for everything.
Sigh. The writing was very well done but there are parts of the story I just found hard to take. I know and understand that this is a work of fiction and that there needs to be conflict to have an interesting story but the characters need to have some kind of common sense. I really had a hard time wrapping my head around some of the things they did.
This is just a bit of what frustrated me:
Rain doesn’t talk to her dad or Brody’s brother, who is an attorney, before she goes off and pays Roxy for her baby. How can she enroll her in school or take her to the doctor? She is not her legal guardian and has no paperwork saying that she has the right to make any decisions for her! She just bought a baby which is actually illegal! Then when she tells Brody that she is afraid Roxy will come back and take the little girl, Brody is like let’s get married and then we can do a step-parent adoption. Apparently he is not only the most unromantic guy in the world but also not the brightest. In order to do a step-parent adoption Roxy will have to sign away her rights. Roxy is a greedy wench. Does anyone see her signing away her rights to a child that could not only get her more money but also keeps her in Brody’s life?
Frankly I don’t see what the appeal Brody has and why Rain is still in love with him after all he did. He has unprotected sex with Rain and with the town skank in the same week and gets you both pregnant. He just does not rate very high in my book.
I really wish these things (and more) didn’t bother me so much because like I said earlier I enjoyed the overall way it was written. The flow had a good pace and it was an easy story to get into.
Sigh. The writing was very well done but there are parts of the story I just found hard to take. I know and understand that this is a work of fiction and that there needs to be conflict to have an interesting story but the characters need to have some kind of common sense. I really had a hard time wrapping my head around some of the things they did.
This is just a bit of what frustrated me:
Rain doesn’t talk to her dad or Brody’s brother, who is an attorney, before she goes off and pays Roxy for her baby. How can she enroll her in school or take her to the doctor? She is not her legal guardian and has no paperwork saying that she has the right to make any decisions for her! She just bought a baby which is actually illegal! Then when she tells Brody that she is afraid Roxy will come back and take the little girl, Brody is like let’s get married and then we can do a step-parent adoption. Apparently he is not only the most unromantic guy in the world but also not the brightest. In order to do a step-parent adoption Roxy will have to sign away her rights. Roxy is a greedy wench. Does anyone see her signing away her rights to a child that could not only get her more money but also keeps her in Brody’s life?
Frankly I don’t see what the appeal Brody has and why Rain is still in love with him after all he did. He has unprotected sex with Rain and with the town skank in the same week and gets you both pregnant. He just does not rate very high in my book.
I really wish these things (and more) didn’t bother me so much because like I said earlier I enjoyed the overall way it was written. The flow had a good pace and it was an easy story to get into.
February 20, 2015
2 stars.
This started off so promising. Brody McBride left town after behaving like a perfect asshat, unknowingly leaving his girlfriend, Rain, pregnant and ALSO impregnating the town skank. In present day, Brody returns, determined to make up for his mistakes and grovel and do whatever it takes to get back the woman he loves. Of course upon his return, he finds out he has not one, but two daughters waiting for him. My inner angst whore was all "squeee!" because it looked like we'd have a good grovel on our hands and Rain was a pretty promising heroine, all practical and hardworking and seemingly intelligent (more on that in a second), raising the hero's children, including one that isn't biologically hers.
Jensmith's review references one issue I have with a lot of secret baby stories and that is that the mother almost always stays in nun territory while the guy goes out and sows his wild oats. I'm in agreement here. Personally, I think it would be a far worse punishment for the guy to come home to find out that his sainted near-virginal heroine has done pretty darn well for herself while he was gone, both on the professional and romantic fronts and can live quite well without him thankyouverymuch. Romance authors, take note, 'kay? Because I'm tired of this ridiculous notion that a woman can't have more than one lover or she's a loose skank. I mean, I'm not a fan of parading your string of lovers around your kid or moving them in or whatever, but why is a woman dating and having protected, responsible sex in her past with a man who is not the hero so frowned on in romance novels?
Anyway, sorry, I went a little ranty for a second.
It became clear pretty early on I wasn't going to get all of the angsty-drama I'd been wanting. Rain was actually pretty pragmatic in her reasons for the whole secret baby plot, and she acknowledged early on that she was still in love with Brody so I was pretty sure she wasn't going to put up much of a fight on a romantic front. I was a little bored, but I wanted to hear the full story with the skank-mama thing before I gave up entirely.
Then it all went to hell and DNF territory.
For anyone who didn't want to click that spoiler tag, let's just say my head went a little 'splodey at that point from the stupid and I had to put the book down. Life's too short for too-stupid-to-live heroines and that qualified.
This gets two stars rather than just one for he simple fact that the writing actually wasn't bad. The dialogue was clunky and there were some really awkward exposition parts, but I've read and liked books with far worse writing than this. I had originally put the third book on my TBR shelf but after this one, I think I'm just going to remove it from my shelves entirely.
This started off so promising. Brody McBride left town after behaving like a perfect asshat, unknowingly leaving his girlfriend, Rain, pregnant and ALSO impregnating the town skank. In present day, Brody returns, determined to make up for his mistakes and grovel and do whatever it takes to get back the woman he loves. Of course upon his return, he finds out he has not one, but two daughters waiting for him. My inner angst whore was all "squeee!" because it looked like we'd have a good grovel on our hands and Rain was a pretty promising heroine, all practical and hardworking and seemingly intelligent (more on that in a second), raising the hero's children, including one that isn't biologically hers.
Jensmith's review references one issue I have with a lot of secret baby stories and that is that the mother almost always stays in nun territory while the guy goes out and sows his wild oats. I'm in agreement here. Personally, I think it would be a far worse punishment for the guy to come home to find out that his sainted near-virginal heroine has done pretty darn well for herself while he was gone, both on the professional and romantic fronts and can live quite well without him thankyouverymuch. Romance authors, take note, 'kay? Because I'm tired of this ridiculous notion that a woman can't have more than one lover or she's a loose skank. I mean, I'm not a fan of parading your string of lovers around your kid or moving them in or whatever, but why is a woman dating and having protected, responsible sex in her past with a man who is not the hero so frowned on in romance novels?
Anyway, sorry, I went a little ranty for a second.
It became clear pretty early on I wasn't going to get all of the angsty-drama I'd been wanting. Rain was actually pretty pragmatic in her reasons for the whole secret baby plot, and she acknowledged early on that she was still in love with Brody so I was pretty sure she wasn't going to put up much of a fight on a romantic front. I was a little bored, but I wanted to hear the full story with the skank-mama thing before I gave up entirely.
Then it all went to hell and DNF territory.
For anyone who didn't want to click that spoiler tag, let's just say my head went a little 'splodey at that point from the stupid and I had to put the book down. Life's too short for too-stupid-to-live heroines and that qualified.
This gets two stars rather than just one for he simple fact that the writing actually wasn't bad. The dialogue was clunky and there were some really awkward exposition parts, but I've read and liked books with far worse writing than this. I had originally put the third book on my TBR shelf but after this one, I think I'm just going to remove it from my shelves entirely.
March 3, 2016
Now repeat with me guys: ONCE A CHEATER ALWAYS A CHEATER.
ONCE A CHEATER ALWAYS A CHEATER.
ONCE A CHEATER ALWAYS A CHEATER!!!
Now this review shall contain **SPOILERS** that I won't block out because... well this book is too much of a crap for me to save for people.
Brody. After 8 long years he has returned to his hometown. He was overseas in the army for a bit, but decided to come back to town and reclaim the love of his life, Rain.
But oh what silly old Brody doesn't know is that Rain has a child. His of course. That he left with her without knowing. But actually not only is it one child.
He left her with TWO. The second one being under certain circumstances i will explain right now.
As you can guess, Brody and Rain broke up. Well sort of. More like he ran off with his tail between his legs without leaving Rain to get a word in.
HE HAD CHEATED.
CHEATED ON HER. SO THE OTHER CHILD WAS WITH THE WOMAN HE CHEATED HER ON WITH. ROXY.
So he left town leaving two women who were pregnant at the same time. *Shakes head* And now he wants to come back and make things right?
Rain raised both of them HERSELF, for 8 years because the mother of one of the kids was not "suited." for the role. Actually scratch that she was a bitch who only gave birth to the baby for money and SOLD, I REPEAT SOLD HER BABY TO RAIN. Even after selling her she came back for more money and more money Rain had to scrape up to give to her just to keep the kid safe, which she calls her own.
But I'm getting off track right now. So after finding out about his two daughters he decides he will still insert himself in Rains life like he originally planned. And she lets him.
She forgave him, for everything he did. Leaving her, Knocking her up, Cheating. Everything was just forgiven. But she tries to repeatedly say things that they can't be together. Like that'll work.
And I hated how he kept trying to Hang over her head that she held his daughters from him.
YOU LEFT. YOU LEFT HER KNOCKED UP WITH THE WOMAN YOU CHEATED ON HER WITH BOTHERING HER EVERY SECOND. I'M SURPRISED SHE HASN'T KEELED OVER FROM THAT STRESS YET.
So yes, those were Rain's only key features in this book. Other than that, she was a doormat. She let him back into her life. She forgave him for all those things he did. She let him kiss her. She let him marry her, I think.
BECAUSE I DIDNT FINISH THIS ONE. I practically skimmed all the way to the end. More like skipped to the end.
The plot was awful. Made no sense whatsover to me, even the fact that Brody had injuries and PTSD. I'm not saying that it's bad to be having those flashbacks like he did, but I felt the author added this just to make the readers and Rain feel sorry for him. The whole thing could've been omitted from the book and not a damn thing would be changed.
This cannot be read, Goodbye crap.
ONCE A CHEATER ALWAYS A CHEATER.
ONCE A CHEATER ALWAYS A CHEATER!!!
Now this review shall contain **SPOILERS** that I won't block out because... well this book is too much of a crap for me to save for people.
Brody. After 8 long years he has returned to his hometown. He was overseas in the army for a bit, but decided to come back to town and reclaim the love of his life, Rain.
But oh what silly old Brody doesn't know is that Rain has a child. His of course. That he left with her without knowing. But actually not only is it one child.
He left her with TWO. The second one being under certain circumstances i will explain right now.
As you can guess, Brody and Rain broke up. Well sort of. More like he ran off with his tail between his legs without leaving Rain to get a word in.
HE HAD CHEATED.
CHEATED ON HER. SO THE OTHER CHILD WAS WITH THE WOMAN HE CHEATED HER ON WITH. ROXY.
So he left town leaving two women who were pregnant at the same time. *Shakes head* And now he wants to come back and make things right?
Rain raised both of them HERSELF, for 8 years because the mother of one of the kids was not "suited." for the role. Actually scratch that she was a bitch who only gave birth to the baby for money and SOLD, I REPEAT SOLD HER BABY TO RAIN. Even after selling her she came back for more money and more money Rain had to scrape up to give to her just to keep the kid safe, which she calls her own.
But I'm getting off track right now. So after finding out about his two daughters he decides he will still insert himself in Rains life like he originally planned. And she lets him.
She forgave him, for everything he did. Leaving her, Knocking her up, Cheating. Everything was just forgiven. But she tries to repeatedly say things that they can't be together. Like that'll work.
And I hated how he kept trying to Hang over her head that she held his daughters from him.
YOU LEFT. YOU LEFT HER KNOCKED UP WITH THE WOMAN YOU CHEATED ON HER WITH BOTHERING HER EVERY SECOND. I'M SURPRISED SHE HASN'T KEELED OVER FROM THAT STRESS YET.
So yes, those were Rain's only key features in this book. Other than that, she was a doormat. She let him back into her life. She forgave him for all those things he did. She let him kiss her. She let him marry her, I think.
BECAUSE I DIDNT FINISH THIS ONE. I practically skimmed all the way to the end. More like skipped to the end.
The plot was awful. Made no sense whatsover to me, even the fact that Brody had injuries and PTSD. I'm not saying that it's bad to be having those flashbacks like he did, but I felt the author added this just to make the readers and Rain feel sorry for him. The whole thing could've been omitted from the book and not a damn thing would be changed.
This cannot be read, Goodbye crap.
October 14, 2020
There were a lot of pieces to the plot of this one that should have made me hate it, but all together it actually made for an incredibly interesting read with an unexpected twist to a rather standard trope.
The break-up between Brody and Rain back in the day didn't make a lot of sense, but then again, plenty of break-ups never do. And what happened directly afterward, as awful as it is, is actually pretty true to life. The short of it is that Brody and Rain broke up, he had a one-night-stand with someone else, and then they got back together for a very brief moment before he headed off into the military. So instead of coming home years later to a surprise kid, Brody came home to double the surprise. As much as that initial detail pissed me off, it also had me wondering how it would all play out.
It's impossible not to feel bad for Rain. The guy she was in love with knocked her up and then took off for the wild blue yonder before either of them knew what was coming in nine months. But worse, his one-night-stand also got pregnant, leaving Rain not only to deal with the small-town shame of being an unwed and essentially abandoned mother, but also having to deal with the whispers, looks, and gossip surrounding the fact that she wasn't the only one he left in that condition. No matter what she did before or after, you've just gotta feel something for a woman in her shoes.
Fast forward several years, and Brody is back in town, out of the military, and looking to reconnect with Rain. Discovering what he'd left behind was the shock of a lifetime, but how Rain handled it all was incredibly admirable. She'd held her head up, raised her daughter, and even informally adopted his other daughter from a truly unfit mother. What follows, of course, is Brody's desperate attempt to make up for the wrongs he's done, not to mention some unwelcome drama from Baby Mama #2.
It should have been hard for me to accept a story about a heroine abandoned while pregnant, the town whore also pregnant by hero at the same time, and all the drama said whore put on the table upon the hero's return, but somehow all this combined just reeled me in. I think part of it is simply that the plot was rather unique without making a mockery of everything, and part of it is just Jennifer Ryan's writing. While I was angry and judgmental and betrayed right alongside Rain, it was also very clear that Brody had simply made a very stupid (and not uncommon) mistake and was willing to do anything necessary to make up for it as much as possible, and he never pulled the custody card to get what he wanted. In the end, what should have been an overly dramatic mess of a story turned out to be thoroughly entertaining and unique, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for a different kind of second chance romance story.
The break-up between Brody and Rain back in the day didn't make a lot of sense, but then again, plenty of break-ups never do. And what happened directly afterward, as awful as it is, is actually pretty true to life. The short of it is that Brody and Rain broke up, he had a one-night-stand with someone else, and then they got back together for a very brief moment before he headed off into the military. So instead of coming home years later to a surprise kid, Brody came home to double the surprise. As much as that initial detail pissed me off, it also had me wondering how it would all play out.
It's impossible not to feel bad for Rain. The guy she was in love with knocked her up and then took off for the wild blue yonder before either of them knew what was coming in nine months. But worse, his one-night-stand also got pregnant, leaving Rain not only to deal with the small-town shame of being an unwed and essentially abandoned mother, but also having to deal with the whispers, looks, and gossip surrounding the fact that she wasn't the only one he left in that condition. No matter what she did before or after, you've just gotta feel something for a woman in her shoes.
Fast forward several years, and Brody is back in town, out of the military, and looking to reconnect with Rain. Discovering what he'd left behind was the shock of a lifetime, but how Rain handled it all was incredibly admirable. She'd held her head up, raised her daughter, and even informally adopted his other daughter from a truly unfit mother. What follows, of course, is Brody's desperate attempt to make up for the wrongs he's done, not to mention some unwelcome drama from Baby Mama #2.
It should have been hard for me to accept a story about a heroine abandoned while pregnant, the town whore also pregnant by hero at the same time, and all the drama said whore put on the table upon the hero's return, but somehow all this combined just reeled me in. I think part of it is simply that the plot was rather unique without making a mockery of everything, and part of it is just Jennifer Ryan's writing. While I was angry and judgmental and betrayed right alongside Rain, it was also very clear that Brody had simply made a very stupid (and not uncommon) mistake and was willing to do anything necessary to make up for it as much as possible, and he never pulled the custody card to get what he wanted. In the end, what should have been an overly dramatic mess of a story turned out to be thoroughly entertaining and unique, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for a different kind of second chance romance story.
March 24, 2014
The Return of Brody McBride. Four Stars
This novel grabbed me by the heart, and twisted. My emotions swung back and forth between Rain and Brody, one minute angry, another close to tears. How could they ever get over the heartbreak of their past.
Brody McBride was Rain's best friend in school, and then her protector, boyfriend and love of her life. Until he wasn't. He broke things off for his own reasons, but couldn't explain them to Rain. After leaving her, he headed to a bar and got very drunk, was seduced by the last person he ever wanted to be with, and proved his bad boy image to the town. The next day, Rain appeared at his house hoping by giving herself to him he would see how wrong he was to leave her. He knew he was wrong, but he left, taking her innocence and her heart with him, and breaking his own.
Eight years later, after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Ranger, he suffers a life threatening injury. His career was over. After months spent in the hospital and rehab Brody was going home to correct the biggest mistake of his life. His mistake was a lot bigger than he thought. Going to the local garage to check on his recently damaged truck, he stumbles on Rain working on cars. She was leaving for college soon after he left, what was she doing working in her Dad's garage? Next thing he knew, two adorable little girls were standing there, and called him Daddy. Dawn and Autumn were his girls, seven years old, and afraid of how he would feel about them. His world as he knew it literally exploded in his face. He fell in love immediately, and started on a course to make them all a family. Rain was not so quick to forgive Brody, they had a lot of past to explain. Anger, jealousy, fear and the nightmare of PTSD was the roadblock to their chance of reconciling, but always right in front of them was the faces of those precious little girls. They would do anything to keep them safe and loved.
I read this novel in a day, and was so conflicted! Rain was right, but so was Brody. I wanted to bang their heads together at times. But there is an HEA, but with a hint of more to come. We also meet Owen McBride, and there cousin Dylan who has just moved into town to be the local sheriff. The next in the series is Falling for Owen. Looking forward to reading Owen's story.
I received this novel from Edelweiss for an honest review.
Pat Fordyce
This novel grabbed me by the heart, and twisted. My emotions swung back and forth between Rain and Brody, one minute angry, another close to tears. How could they ever get over the heartbreak of their past.
Brody McBride was Rain's best friend in school, and then her protector, boyfriend and love of her life. Until he wasn't. He broke things off for his own reasons, but couldn't explain them to Rain. After leaving her, he headed to a bar and got very drunk, was seduced by the last person he ever wanted to be with, and proved his bad boy image to the town. The next day, Rain appeared at his house hoping by giving herself to him he would see how wrong he was to leave her. He knew he was wrong, but he left, taking her innocence and her heart with him, and breaking his own.
Eight years later, after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Ranger, he suffers a life threatening injury. His career was over. After months spent in the hospital and rehab Brody was going home to correct the biggest mistake of his life. His mistake was a lot bigger than he thought. Going to the local garage to check on his recently damaged truck, he stumbles on Rain working on cars. She was leaving for college soon after he left, what was she doing working in her Dad's garage? Next thing he knew, two adorable little girls were standing there, and called him Daddy. Dawn and Autumn were his girls, seven years old, and afraid of how he would feel about them. His world as he knew it literally exploded in his face. He fell in love immediately, and started on a course to make them all a family. Rain was not so quick to forgive Brody, they had a lot of past to explain. Anger, jealousy, fear and the nightmare of PTSD was the roadblock to their chance of reconciling, but always right in front of them was the faces of those precious little girls. They would do anything to keep them safe and loved.
I read this novel in a day, and was so conflicted! Rain was right, but so was Brody. I wanted to bang their heads together at times. But there is an HEA, but with a hint of more to come. We also meet Owen McBride, and there cousin Dylan who has just moved into town to be the local sheriff. The next in the series is Falling for Owen. Looking forward to reading Owen's story.
I received this novel from Edelweiss for an honest review.
Pat Fordyce
March 16, 2014
When I first read the synopsis of the book, I had my doubts about picking it up. There was a lot of speculation about Brody being a real jerk and I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to read about that type of hero. However, I can gladly say that I misjudged the book.
I really wanted to hate Brody but he ended up breaking my heart. Yes, he did a lot of terrible things when he was younger but he has returned home to find Rain, the girl whose heart he broke and abandoned, and beg her for a second chance. He was so sincere and completely had me forgiving him as well as Rain had.
Brody was medically discharged from the military and still has leg pain and severe PTSD which often leads to blackouts. But Brody doesn’t let that stop him from being a dad to his daughters and doing any and everything he can to win Rain back.
I really admired Rain’s character. She is an unbreakable woman. After being left behind and pregnant by Brody, Rain gives up her college aspirations to raise Brody’s daughters alone. And after all the heartache Brody caused her, she still has the strength to forgive him and love him regardless of time, distance, or damage. I wouldn’t have been able to do that.
I was so glad to see the new man Brody became and watching his and Rain’s relationship slowly begin to repair itself. The only thing that bothered me about the book was that I felt the story slowed a little every time the past was brought up. I would have liked to have read more scenes about Brody, Rain and the girls in the present, but many of those were glossed over in favor of the past. Although, I do understand why the author did that; Brody was gone for eight years leaving lots of things unaccounted for.
I enjoyed the secondary characters; Owen, Brody’s older brother, and Eli, Rain’s father. At the end of the story we got our first glimpse of Dylan, Brody and Owen’s cousin. Dylan is the sheriff in their small town and I am interested in learning more about him as well.
This is my first read from Jennifer Ryan and I can tell you she has a new fan. I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the writing and I’m looking forward to reading the entire McBrides series.
Read by Elizabeth for Cocktails and Books
I really wanted to hate Brody but he ended up breaking my heart. Yes, he did a lot of terrible things when he was younger but he has returned home to find Rain, the girl whose heart he broke and abandoned, and beg her for a second chance. He was so sincere and completely had me forgiving him as well as Rain had.
Brody was medically discharged from the military and still has leg pain and severe PTSD which often leads to blackouts. But Brody doesn’t let that stop him from being a dad to his daughters and doing any and everything he can to win Rain back.
I really admired Rain’s character. She is an unbreakable woman. After being left behind and pregnant by Brody, Rain gives up her college aspirations to raise Brody’s daughters alone. And after all the heartache Brody caused her, she still has the strength to forgive him and love him regardless of time, distance, or damage. I wouldn’t have been able to do that.
I was so glad to see the new man Brody became and watching his and Rain’s relationship slowly begin to repair itself. The only thing that bothered me about the book was that I felt the story slowed a little every time the past was brought up. I would have liked to have read more scenes about Brody, Rain and the girls in the present, but many of those were glossed over in favor of the past. Although, I do understand why the author did that; Brody was gone for eight years leaving lots of things unaccounted for.
I enjoyed the secondary characters; Owen, Brody’s older brother, and Eli, Rain’s father. At the end of the story we got our first glimpse of Dylan, Brody and Owen’s cousin. Dylan is the sheriff in their small town and I am interested in learning more about him as well.
This is my first read from Jennifer Ryan and I can tell you she has a new fan. I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the writing and I’m looking forward to reading the entire McBrides series.
Read by Elizabeth for Cocktails and Books
March 13, 2014
The Return of Brody McBride caught my attention for two reasons. The first reason being the cover. The cover model is Colin Wayne and I love him to pieces so i knew I had to have this book and the second reason is because the main character Brody is an Army Ranger and I love me some bad boy Army Rangers.
I am so glad I read this book because there was so much going on that it kept me intrigued enough to finish it in one night. I mean what is there not love about a hero coming home from war to win back the girl of his dreams only to find out that there is more to the story. When Brody comes back to his house he finds in it shambles like his life. Hurt on a mission and in recovery and discharged from the army Brody decides he will lick his wounds and come home and try to win back the girl he left 8 years ago. He knows he's in for the fight of his life but he is determined to get her back because she is the one.
What Brody gets is a shock of a lifetime because he finds out that he has two daughters, one by the love of his life and one by the hate of his life. See before leaving the army he made a huge mistake and slept with the town whore Roxy and she got pregnant with his child. When he finds out he has two daughters he goes to see his high school sweetheart to get back with her when he finds out the truth of what happened when he left to go to the army. He finds out that Rain has suffered for 8 years because she was trying to protect his daughter from Roxy.
After hearing the news and spending time with his daughters Brody knows he wants Rain and his daughters in his life no matter what. So Brody sets out to right the wrongs he has done and in the process he is hoping that Rain will give him a second chance and marry him so they can spend the rest of their lives together as a family. But once Roxy finds out Brody came back to town she is determined to have him and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants and that is Brody McBride once and for all. Will Brody be able to protect his girls or will Roxy come back with a vengeance and destroy it all?
I am so glad I read this book because there was so much going on that it kept me intrigued enough to finish it in one night. I mean what is there not love about a hero coming home from war to win back the girl of his dreams only to find out that there is more to the story. When Brody comes back to his house he finds in it shambles like his life. Hurt on a mission and in recovery and discharged from the army Brody decides he will lick his wounds and come home and try to win back the girl he left 8 years ago. He knows he's in for the fight of his life but he is determined to get her back because she is the one.
What Brody gets is a shock of a lifetime because he finds out that he has two daughters, one by the love of his life and one by the hate of his life. See before leaving the army he made a huge mistake and slept with the town whore Roxy and she got pregnant with his child. When he finds out he has two daughters he goes to see his high school sweetheart to get back with her when he finds out the truth of what happened when he left to go to the army. He finds out that Rain has suffered for 8 years because she was trying to protect his daughter from Roxy.
After hearing the news and spending time with his daughters Brody knows he wants Rain and his daughters in his life no matter what. So Brody sets out to right the wrongs he has done and in the process he is hoping that Rain will give him a second chance and marry him so they can spend the rest of their lives together as a family. But once Roxy finds out Brody came back to town she is determined to have him and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants and that is Brody McBride once and for all. Will Brody be able to protect his girls or will Roxy come back with a vengeance and destroy it all?
May 24, 2023
Where to start...? Well ,I suppose with the slow dragging start of this tale.I do like the unique take on Brody's massive screw up and the author's somewhat impressive job of trying to rationalize his ludicrous misdeeds of him impregnating the love of his life and town tramp within days of the other.Causation apparently his mental impulses and inhibitions related to his insecurities incited by his absent abusive alcoholic father.
The other major bone to pick was the repetitive thoughts of the characters that seemed to be on endless loop! I did buy into Body's excuses, so guess they were effective, lol!
In any event, did enjoy the journey that had these two misguided lovers intensely fighting.their way back to each other.Raine is an impressive bad ass,Mama Bear with humongous heart and Brody is an extremely capable,multifaceted character who exhibited an impressive 360 turnaround\rampant personal growth in the years he was gone.guilting up a storm prior to even knowing he had not only abandoned Raine,but his 2 sweet angels he never knew existed. His physical suffering from injuries sustained in battle along with emotional devastation of war and survivors guilt result in heartbreakingly symptomatic highlighting severe anxiety and PTSD that only serve to overwhelm and complicate an already overwhelming scenario.
Once Roxie's machinations came to light,the storyline took on new intensity.I loved that the EVIL ow get her comeuppance in an exciting finale that adrenalized!
I suppose another feather in the cap for the ott musings,they did allow us to empathise and commune intimately with the couple's mutual deep love and regret! That fortunately led to a fulfilling, well deserved HEA for all!❤
The other major bone to pick was the repetitive thoughts of the characters that seemed to be on endless loop! I did buy into Body's excuses, so guess they were effective, lol!
In any event, did enjoy the journey that had these two misguided lovers intensely fighting.their way back to each other.Raine is an impressive bad ass,Mama Bear with humongous heart and Brody is an extremely capable,multifaceted character who exhibited an impressive 360 turnaround\rampant personal growth in the years he was gone.guilting up a storm prior to even knowing he had not only abandoned Raine,but his 2 sweet angels he never knew existed. His physical suffering from injuries sustained in battle along with emotional devastation of war and survivors guilt result in heartbreakingly symptomatic highlighting severe anxiety and PTSD that only serve to overwhelm and complicate an already overwhelming scenario.
Once Roxie's machinations came to light,the storyline took on new intensity.I loved that the EVIL ow get her comeuppance in an exciting finale that adrenalized!
I suppose another feather in the cap for the ott musings,they did allow us to empathise and commune intimately with the couple's mutual deep love and regret! That fortunately led to a fulfilling, well deserved HEA for all!❤
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2014
Daniella‘s review posted on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
3. STARS
Review copy provided for an honest review
I have never had a chance to read any other books by Jennifer Ryan and after reading this one I am going to dive headfirst into the rest of her books. Holy Moses Batman!!!! She throws things at you throughout the book that you honestly never see. So refreshing!!! I am so bored with the stories that I know the ending of from what seems like right at the beginning, or at least after the first chapter.
Brody McBride has a lot to figure out when he returns home. A huge mess he has helped cause and now needs to man up and do right. Rain Evans is a fantastic heroine. One of the best I have had the pleasure of reading about. She isn’t one who you can’t believe in and isn’t one who you want to throttle. Jennifer Ryan has paired/matched two incredible people in this story and I loved turning each page to find out how their lives are going.
I love books that allow me to be the fly on the wall to watch with a smile and also a frown when I want to smack people on the back of the head. Jennifer Ryan has created that within this story.
The female antithesis of Rain is truly nasty and you never have any reason to like her or try to. From the get-go Ms. Ryan lays out the groundwork of who is nice, nasty, neurotic and so on. For most there are no shades of grey, which suits me fine.
So happy I lucked in to this author for review.
3. STARS
Review copy provided for an honest review
I have never had a chance to read any other books by Jennifer Ryan and after reading this one I am going to dive headfirst into the rest of her books. Holy Moses Batman!!!! She throws things at you throughout the book that you honestly never see. So refreshing!!! I am so bored with the stories that I know the ending of from what seems like right at the beginning, or at least after the first chapter.
Brody McBride has a lot to figure out when he returns home. A huge mess he has helped cause and now needs to man up and do right. Rain Evans is a fantastic heroine. One of the best I have had the pleasure of reading about. She isn’t one who you can’t believe in and isn’t one who you want to throttle. Jennifer Ryan has paired/matched two incredible people in this story and I loved turning each page to find out how their lives are going.
I love books that allow me to be the fly on the wall to watch with a smile and also a frown when I want to smack people on the back of the head. Jennifer Ryan has created that within this story.
The female antithesis of Rain is truly nasty and you never have any reason to like her or try to. From the get-go Ms. Ryan lays out the groundwork of who is nice, nasty, neurotic and so on. For most there are no shades of grey, which suits me fine.
So happy I lucked in to this author for review.
February 20, 2014
Much deeper than I expected... and OMG how much of a cluster**** could Brody get himself into with what he did and what resulted??!!! I just wish there had been an epilogue :( That said, I'm looking forward to Owen's story; Falling for Owen.
*ARC courtesy of Edelweiss and Avon*
*ARC courtesy of Edelweiss and Avon*
August 19, 2017
Lots of twists and turns in this one! When Brody returns home from the military, eight years after he left Rain broken-hearted, he had no idea that he also left two babies behind. One by Rain and one by Roxy, the evil town whore. Wait until he discovers what Roxy forced Rain to do in order to keep his baby safe. Unbelievable story!
July 4, 2016
3.5 out of 5
April 6, 2018
Fun western read. You'll love it.
March 20, 2017
First book of Jennifer Ryan's. It took a bit to get into to it but in the end I really was pulling for Brodie and Rain. I admired how she stepped up and was raising both Dawn and Autumn. It was one of the second chance loves. High school sweet hearts but Brodie had it tough growing up and made some decision that were really stupid but he learned from them, grew up did what he had to do to come back for Rain, and discovered things we a lot different than he thought they would be.
Overall a really good read and about to jump into Owen's story next.
Overall a really good read and about to jump into Owen's story next.
June 29, 2020
This book was just flat out bad. I could even look past the asinine plot, but the writing was absolutely terrible. Which just seems crazy to me because I like Jennifer Ryan and have read both the Montana Men & the Montana Heat series and enjoyed those. So maybe this was just an 'off' book for her.
60% of this book seemed to just be the same thing being said over and over, but in a different way. Of course, at one point, I read about how Rain was toned probably because she played softball and chased the girls around - that same thing was repeated once again when Brody was comparing her to Roxy at the end of the book, nearly word-for-word.
The conversation between the two was stilted and didn't seem at all like the regular flow of a conversation. That was probably my biggest issue with this book. I kept thinking 'this is like a 4 year old trying to tell a story and getting distracted in the middle of telling the story.' They'd be talking about one thing and then in the next paragraph, an entirely different thing. Or they'd start randomly making out in the middle of a serious conversation. Nothing about their dialogue and interactions made sense the way it was written. And if it wasn't bad enough, the author changes POVs in the middle of chapters sometimes without warning, then switches back a few paragraphs later. It was so confusing.
The storyline was absolutely crazy and I guess it could have been something we'd have seen on a soap opera or Jerry Springer...
I didn't think Rain made Brody grovel enough for what he did. I mean the guy left her to raise 2 kids, one of who wasn't even her biological daughter, for 7 years by herself. She did have some help from Owen, Brody's older brother, and her dad, Eli - they were both great. But he really should have had to fight harder to earn her trust back. I also get that he didn't know about the kids, so I can understand that to a point as well. I know she was scared at first he'd take her kids and she wanted him on her side. I get that they fully expected Roxy to show up in town again making trouble. But it all seemed rushed.
The ending was okay, but it also seemed a bit rushed and incomplete. The whole summary of what happens with Roxy was brief and disappointing. Brody is still suffering from PTSD and having some major issues with blacking out. Sure, he's going to start regular therapy by the end, which is great. But that's as far as we get really. I'm sure we'll see more into their lives as a new family in Owen's book, but I really wanted more of a conclusive ending to their story.
60% of this book seemed to just be the same thing being said over and over, but in a different way. Of course, at one point, I read about how Rain was toned probably because she played softball and chased the girls around - that same thing was repeated once again when Brody was comparing her to Roxy at the end of the book, nearly word-for-word.
The conversation between the two was stilted and didn't seem at all like the regular flow of a conversation. That was probably my biggest issue with this book. I kept thinking 'this is like a 4 year old trying to tell a story and getting distracted in the middle of telling the story.' They'd be talking about one thing and then in the next paragraph, an entirely different thing. Or they'd start randomly making out in the middle of a serious conversation. Nothing about their dialogue and interactions made sense the way it was written. And if it wasn't bad enough, the author changes POVs in the middle of chapters sometimes without warning, then switches back a few paragraphs later. It was so confusing.
The storyline was absolutely crazy and I guess it could have been something we'd have seen on a soap opera or Jerry Springer...
I didn't think Rain made Brody grovel enough for what he did. I mean the guy left her to raise 2 kids, one of who wasn't even her biological daughter, for 7 years by herself. She did have some help from Owen, Brody's older brother, and her dad, Eli - they were both great. But he really should have had to fight harder to earn her trust back. I also get that he didn't know about the kids, so I can understand that to a point as well. I know she was scared at first he'd take her kids and she wanted him on her side. I get that they fully expected Roxy to show up in town again making trouble. But it all seemed rushed.
The ending was okay, but it also seemed a bit rushed and incomplete. The whole summary of what happens with Roxy was brief and disappointing. Brody is still suffering from PTSD and having some major issues with blacking out. Sure, he's going to start regular therapy by the end, which is great. But that's as far as we get really. I'm sure we'll see more into their lives as a new family in Owen's book, but I really wanted more of a conclusive ending to their story.
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