Ryder

by Lexi Cross

I touched my boss’s precious princess. Now, he wants my head on a platter.

Ryder

I shouldn’t have gone anywhere near Pia.
But how can you blame me?
Her father is the one who assigned me to guard her 24/7.

With a body that fine, a smile that tempting…
I’ve never been good at keeping my hands to myself.
It was only a matter of time until I took her as my own.

This time, though, I might’ve gone too far.
After all, it’s never a good idea to mess with the daughter of the Don.
When he finds out what I’ve done, he wants blood.
My blood.

Now, I’m torn between my duty and my desire.
And no matter which way I turn, I can’t see a way out.

Pia

I knew he wasn’t the man for me… until I ended up pregnant with his baby.

Ryder is a hitman for my mafia boss father.
When I’m attacked by a masked man one night, he adds “Pia’s bodyguard” to his job description.
He was supposed to protect me.
But the moment Ryder showed up at my door, he made me his.

His mouth claimed me.
His hands possessed me.
His eyes enslaved me.

But now, my father is forcing me to marry another man.
That is, until he discovers that I’m carrying Ryder’s baby.
Now, all our lives are in danger.

Family, fear, pheromones… it’s hard to know what to do next.
There’s only one thing I know for certain:
My world will never be the same again.


RYDER is a full-length, standalone romance novel with steamy hot sex, strong language, a happily ever after ending, and NO CLIFFHANGERS. Contains dark and disturbing themes, and over-the-top sexiness that may be uncomfortable for some readers.

Perfect for fans of Alexa Riley, Chiah Wilder, L Wilder, Sabrina Paige, Lauren Landish, Vanessa Waltz, Jordan Marie, and Nicole Snow.

Contains a sneak preview of my steamy, standalone MC romance, Left for Dead.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

611 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2016

Reviews

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ryder is a Hitman, Pia the daughter of the boss. He is tasked with her protection, and despite hating each other at first, they end up loving each other. Not the most original, and not the best development, but not the worst either. Just the classical fight of lovers against everyone.

So we have Pia, a really spoiled girl and Ryder, a Hitman. Pia's life was threatened and Ryder is tasked with her protection. At first she doesn't want anything to do with him because she considers him too low class and he doesn't want anything to do with her because is a spoiled girl. But of course, lust happens and they end up having sex, and then magically they fall in love and forget all about their differences.

So he is sent away on a mission and while he is away Pia finds out she is pregnant. So her father decides to marry her to a guy that used to be his rival, a guy she doesn't like and had refused before, but her father is not giving her a choice. Then he finds out that she and Ryder are lovers and gets very angry, he turns from a very loving a caring father to a psycho who cares nothing for his daughter and treats her like a whore. He captures Ryder, forces him to break up with Pia and then beats him up, but for some reason he doesn't kill him, and he escapes, then he goes on a rampage trying to find out why Pia is being given to the other guy, and then goes to rescue her. By that time her father finds out that she is pregnant and is trying to force her to abort, but she escapes from the doctor, and it's trying to get out of the house only to get stopped by her father and the guy she is supposed to marry. At the same time Ryder arrives, killing everyone in his path. He reaches the house only to find his former boss using his daughter as shield and forcing him to put his gun down. For some reason they still don't kill him, giving him enough time to break free. Pia hits her fathers, causing a distraction that allows him to put a hidden gun out and then he kills both the father and the guy Pia was supposed to marry.

They escape, but another guy from the group find them, and informs him that since he is the partner of the former boss' daughter and he killed him, he is now the new Boss. So they were thinking they had to run away, but end up inheriting the mafia family. For the most part, it's a good story, but there are a lot of things that you think are just not logical. It's typical to have two people who hate each other, end up as a couple, but the change in feelings and personality of the characters was too much and too fast. It works for the story, but it's not very believable. Also Ryder was some kind of terminator, and he just kept going and going with all those injuries, it was unreal.

[Mary M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first book by Lexi Cross to read. I wasn't that impressed and I hate saying that. I liked the story line but her leading lady Pia was too rude and snotty for my liking. You can create a character that is spoiled and catty but Pia was just cruel and heartless. I felt no connection to her what so ever, which was my biggest turn off to this book.
Lexi Cross also spent too much time trying to explain certain scenes or creating emotions. It shouldn't take an entire page or two to explain that the character is feeling heartbroken. She was also very repetitive in her scenes by constantly repeating what the character was feeling or dealing with but wording it differently. I ended up skimming through some of the book because I felt I already read that part or that particular scene was already explained enough and needed to be moved on from.
I'm not giving up on Lexi Cross as an author though as she shows great potential and I plan on picking up another one of her books and checking it out! I received an ARC version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mafia hitman romance!!

~~~I received an ARC of Ryder by Lexi Cross for an honest review!~~~

I had the hardest time reading this book. I spent most of it just wanting to smack the ungrateful, spoiled, selfish and sometimes down right stupid heroine. How anyone could like much love fall for her is beyond me. I find it ironic that I could like a hitman better than her. I much prefer to read books where the characters have redeeming qualities or that I can at least get to see that they have justifiable reasons for their attitudes. I can usually read a book or two a day but it took me several days to read this book because I kept getting frustrated with the heroine and had to put it down.

The story comes with twists and keeps you reading to see how it is even possible that these two will actually end up together. It is a bumpy road on their journey that includes the violence I knew would show up in a mafia romance, but it is needed for it all to make sense in the story.

[justareader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC version of this book in exchange for an honest review. Book was good. However, it was hard for me to like Pia as she was mean, snarky, bratty, snooty and expressed an intense dislike for anyone not in her "class." Ryder on the other hand is likable as a lead character. Although, I think he could have been a little more alpha male. In the midst of the turmoil, Ryder is fighting to get to her and yet Pia is being wishy washy. So, I find myself torn about her. In the end she does redeem herself even though she hasn't handled certain situations well. She's still a spoiled rich girl, but ends up with her guy and a HEA.

[LuDena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprised

I was surprised, it was really Good and had a really happy ending, I was getting a little tired of the books that had the main characters do complete 180 on who they were , usually guilt ridden, wimping out and hating who they are. This hero embraced who he was, did what he had to to protect and save his little family with no remorse. The heroine started as a whiny brat and grew up along the way. I liked it and recommend it MS. Cross did a Good job writing her story. Hope to find more of her books

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. God!! The female h Pia was an immature, vain, petty, spoiled brat who I can assume was supposed to be in her early twenties since she ran a business. Not like you would know with how she acts and lives with and off her father. She was seriously awful. After the first half of the first chapter when. Switched to Ryder's POV I stopped reading. But tried again a day later and got through a bit more by lord have mercy...I can't deal with a female h like that! pass!

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first book by Lexi Cross and I wasn't that impressed Storyline was boring and very far fetched. Ryder, number one hit man meets Pia, Princess. Normally this sounds like a good plot, but I skimmed pages at a time because I kept hoping it would get better, but it fell flat. Not recommending this book.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ryder: Hitman Mafia Romance

I gave this book 3 stars because I didn't like the female character she was a snotty witch Ryder wasn't bad. Having said that this was a decent story no cliffhanger a d a HEA you just have to get past her personality in the beginning

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning is a bit slow. I also loved Ryder but Pia I had to warm up to. At the beginning when I first met Pia I wanted to throat punch her. If you hang on and get through the setting the story part it does become interesting. It's an easy read and I enjoyed it.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this story. Some parts were hard for me to believe with the Romeo and Juliet thing going on. What I loved most was the characters and was the best part to read and made me root for them until the very end!

[Minibelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kenneth Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

This book was good but the sex was done so often. I got tired of it. The last plot was very exciting with a good finish.

[Rae Derby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick fast paced read, pretty good. Characters werent bad storyline was good. Not my favorite but not the worst either.