Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Ryder’s Guardian
AUTHORS: TL Travis & Ann Lister
SERIES: Maiden Voyage #1
PUBLISHER: Sapphire Publishing
RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2020
BLURB:
For Maiden Voyage guitarist, Ryder Hampton, life is great. He and his bandmates are embarking upon an epic European double headlining tour with their friends from Social Sinners with the band Embrace the Fear opening for them.
Since joining Maiden Voyage in his twenties, Ryder’s life has been a whirlwind of the cliched, “Sex, drugs and monumental doses of Rock ‘n Roll. And he’s loved every minute of it from the sold out shows to the revolving door of bed partners.
Max Hightower has always been a team player. Whether it was working with his team in the Marines or now with the private security company, Ventura Security. These days, his job was to have the backs of a band of musicians. One band member in particular he’d allowed to get too close and now emotions were involved.
Ryder Hampton had left his mark on Max’s closed-off heart and now Max’s job was in jeopardy. Falling for your principal wasn’t safe – nor smart. Neither was missing the mark on protecting him and now Max was guilty of both. The security detail he’d begged his boss for had turned out to be the one that could ruin him and shatter his heart too. Max couldn’t allow either option to happen.
REVIEW:
If you like the rock star trope or the bodyguard trope, you should enjoy Ryder’s Guardian which blends the two into a rock and roll romance starring long-haired guitarist, Ryder, and sexy retired Marine turned bodyguard, Max. Ryder plays for the metal band Maiden Voyage, which is flying to Europe for a double headlining festival tour along with the guys from Social Sinners and an opening band. Also on the private plane is a posse of bodyguards for the bands, including Max who is assigned to be Ryder’s personal guard. The guys are both a bit obsessed with each other after Ryder briefly planted a kiss on Max after a show a few weeks prior, a kiss neither forgot. The problem is, Max is forbidden from having any type of relationship with a client, and with Ryder’s relentless pursuit of him, Max is finding it harder and harder to resist.
The guy was a force of nature all by himself. The kid of man who crawled under your skin and set up camp even after the park rangers told him to get the fuck out.
I like both characters but I do have a problem with Ryder’s petulant behavior at times. His idea of flirting is provoking Max. He is sometimes disrespectful and defiant toward his bodyguard and acts as if he doesn’t care if he’s putting Max’s job in jeopardy. There is a side plot in which someone is making threats against Ryder. Even knowing the severity of the danger, Ryder continues to distract Max from doing his job. The peril itself could’ve happened more spontaneously and therefore been more surprising. As it is, we know what’s going to happen.
Overall, the plot is a good one and the romance is warm and sexy.
This right here, was my idea of home – my solace, the only place I wanted to be after a long day of work. Ryder had become my light and warmth. He owned a large piece of my soul and for the first time in my life, the word love bounced around inside of my head like a tennis ball.
Ryder’s Guardian is a standalone novel but you might get more enjoyment from it if you read T.L. Travis’ previous series, Social Sinners, and Ann Lister’s Guarding the Gods first. I did not and I felt a little lost when the band members from Social Sinners were spoken about familiarly and featured prominently in the first chapter. Some of the bodyguards from Ventura Security came from Lister’s series.
You can’t go wrong if you like rockers and bodyguards. Combined it makes for a sexy book, one I recommend.
RATING: 
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