Customer Reviews

Rhys's Redemption

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After losing his wife and unborn child years ago in a fire, Rhys Wolfe swore never again to forge familiy ties. So when he crosses the lines of friendship by turning to neighbor, and friend, Mariah Kelly for comfort in a dark moment, he is determined to reestablish their friendship in the hopes that nothing has changed. Unfortunately for Rhys, nothing will ever be the same again.

Mariah Kelly has loved her friend Rhys for years and she dares to hope that having their baby inside of her will help him to confront his past and move on. Since she knows a child is the last thing he wants, however, she is fully prepared to care for their child on her own. But she isn't going to give up hope that he'll come to love her, and the child they made together, without a fight.

Anne McAllister has written an emotionally stirring tale of two friends who must deal with the ramifications of a long-developed, and mutual, passion. Rhys begins as a man who is determined to be a distant, even uninvolved, father, Despite his original intent, he can't seem to let go of his concern and affection for Mariah as a friend or his attraction to her as a woman. Mariah is a strongly drawn character who is unafraid to face the prospect of single parenthood even though it is not her method of choice. She loves Rhys but knows she is taking a huge risk by hoping he will come to love her and their child. In a story full of wit, humor, and hope Anne McAllister brings together two friends who eventually come to love the family they have created together.

I've enjoyed every one of this series. Beginning with "Finn's Twins". I'm in the midst of re-reading "Rhys's Redemption" to get myself ready for Dominic's and Sierra's story in "The Inconvenient Bride". Nobody does series any better than Anne McAllister! Witness the many "Cowboy" books. Each one a gem. I always feel that I'm visiting old friends when I read a McAllister.

Go Anne!

Fourth book in Anne McAllister's captivating New York! New York! series ... all six books in this series are not to be missed! I recommend reading them in order, although each can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel as well. Make room on your keeper shelf for the entire series: Finn's Twins, Fletcher's Baby, Gibson's Girl, Rhys's Redemption, The Inconvenient Bride, and Nathan's Child.

Description from the book back cover:

RHYS WOLFE HAD ONLY ONE RULE: DON'T GET INVOLVED! His demanding job left no time for romance - or love. He'd been there, done that, and he wasn't doing it again. Ever. Rhys was close friends with his gorgeous neighbor, Mariah. But that was all they were - friends. Then they spent the night together. Once. Rhys knew it had been a mistake. Rhys didn't know the half of it! It was bad enough she'd been in love with him for years, now Mariah was expecting his child! Of course she knew he'd been hurt. He'd loved and lost tragically, and Mariah understood his anguish. But their baby needed a father! It wasn't that easy, Rhys thought. But Mariah was determined. She would teach Rhys to love again - though she had less than nine months to try.

It was nice to see two friends fall in love. It was cute to see how hard Rhys fought it. I've read the stories of the other characters mentioned and enjoyed seeing what's become of them.

I am quickly bored by stories where the lovers meet, argue, fall in love "forever" in a matter of days. Give me a break. I can never figure out why these relationships would last any longer than the ones that went wrong for them before. Guess that's why I like this book where they have known each other for several years and gotten to like each other. I can believe this love.

Anne McAllister proves once again why she is considered one of the leading romance authors today with her latest novel, Rhys's Redemption. This story features a fiery passion smoldering between two lovers, just waiting to ignite! Half the fun of reading this book is the anticipation of watching and waiting to put out the flames once the two hard-headed leads realize just how much they love one another! McAllister does a wonderful job of keeping her readers on the edge of their seat until the absolute end. I highly recommend this one!

I first discovered Anne McAllister years ago when I read her Harlequin novel Fletcher's Baby. That was the time during which I had just discovered the amazing abundance of romance novels that Harlequin provides for voracious readers and Fletcher's Baby was one of those reads that you remember even after a long time. The impact the story has on the senses (not because of any explicit or otherwise sexual content in the story) but rather because of the emotional wrangling content of the book, even my elder sister who has never been much of a fan of romances read and liked the story that unfolded. The dogeared copy of Fletcher's Baby on our bookshelf is a testament to how well liked the story is. Even though this is a review of Rhys's Redemption, my second book from Anne McAllister, if you haven't already read Fletcher's Baby, I highly advise you to do so. It is a great book for a good cry!

Rhys Wolfe is a man haunted by memories of the tragic death of his childhood love and wife Sarah and their unborn 4 month old baby. Born and raised in New York, Rhys had tried hard to please his family by going into the family business. Working long hours had kept him away from his pregnant wife and the fire that had taken away his Sarah eight years back haunts him even to this day. Yes, Rhys has moved on to the best of his ability, quit his job at the firm which had pissed off his father, and taken a job in a specialized unit of firefighting that deals with oil well and rig fires. And it is an extremely commitment phobic Rhys that emerges from the tragedy of losing his beloved who has no intention whatsoever of getting married or having children ever again. His one steadfast rule, one he had made up as an act of self preservation was to sleep only with women who knew exactly what they were getting into - that is until he breaks his rule during the night he turns to comfort in the arms of Mariah, his friend and neighbor for the past 3 years.

31 year old Mariah Kelly comes from a large family from Kansas. She had been a small town girl with a determination to make it in the big city world in the field of journalism when she had first moved to New York 8 years back and was quite comfortable with her achievements. Mariah first meets Rhys during a cookout she holds on her terrace by inviting all her neighbors, and over time within Rhys Mariah finds all the qualities she had ever wanted to find in a man. And regardless of telling herself that falling for a man who has his heart locked away and the key thrown away into the dungeons, Mariah finds herself doing just exactly that - falling head over heels in love with the wrong man. When the one night of intense passion they share ends up in Mariah getting pregnant, Mariah hopes against hope that Rhys would come around and start to care for her and love her as much as she does for him.

When Rhys wakes up with a warm and sleeping Mariah in his arms, all his survival instincts kick in and he does the only thing he knows how to save his battered emotions. Two months without a word and Rhys returns home after an intense job planning all the while in his head how he and Mariah would move on and forget about the night that changed everything only to receive the bombshell that Mariah is pregnant with his child. Betrayal, pain and anger all course through Rhys when he first hears the news and the only thing Rhys is willing to offer Mariah is financial support and nothing more. Avoiding Mariah at all costs is what Rhys sets out to do, but Mariah makes it damn hard for him to do just that when she refuses to condemn him for his actions, calmly accepting what Rhys is able to give and never asking for more. But staying away and just completely wiping away Mariah from his mind seems to be an impossible task for Rhys which eventually makes for a really heart wrenching read.

Likes:

1- Mariah Kelly. I loved her for so many things as this story unfolded. Her unchanging love for a man who has immersed himself so deeply in his gut wrenching pain over the loss of the only woman he has ever loved, a love that doesn't turn into resentment because Rhys is unwilling to give her his everything once he learns of her pregnancy. I loved her because she doesn't turn bitter, nor does she hold it against Rhys that he is selfish enough to want to protect his heart from being broken to pieces all over again. Her courage, unwavering love and hope that Rhys would turn around makes her one of the most endearing heroines I have come across.

2- The magic that this story weaves as it is told from both Rhys and Mariah's viewpoints. There is so much emotion packed into it that the lump that applied for permanent residency in my throat refused to fade away even long after the story was through. Even though I cannot afford to pull an all-nighter reading a book these days, I couldn't bring myself to part with the story and get my much needed sleep before work today. And thank God for the fact that this one is not a long novel or otherwise I would have found myself in a whole lot of trouble reporting to work all bleary-eyed today. ^_^

3- How this book made me all teary-eyed - in a good way. Honestly, I am not one to cry and bawl over a story, well most of the time anyway. But last night, I found myself with tears in my eyes as I reached towards the end, tears of frustration at times on Rhys's stubbornness in refusing to let go of Sarah, tears of sorrow for Mariah who loves Rhys quietly all along and in the end, tears of happiness for the happily ever after.

4- This story definitely whetted my appetite to read Dominic's story, the calm and controlled older brother of Rhys, and Sierra the younger sister of Mariah and her exact opposite in every way. That book is definitely going to end up in my wish list!

Dislikes: Though I loved this story to bits, I found myself at times a bit disappointed because Rhys and Mariah spends so much time apart from one another in the story. But in the end it all works out because this story ends up being different to your usual Harlequin pregnancy romances such that the hero doesn't find himself just a changed man overnight, but rather takes the long road to find himself taking the second chance he has been offered at loving and being loved once again. But I would have loved a bit more interaction between Rhys and Mariah, just a tad more.

Reviewed by: Maldivian Book Reviewer ([...])