“I’m not sure what possessed me to do it. Maybe it was the impossible expectations I faced, maybe it was my own self-loathing. But I just knew I needed something different to happen. I needed someone…something…to derail me from my current path. Otherwise, I would become lost…a hollowed out shell of a man. So I did it. I approached her, then I pursued her, then I made her mine. And my … life was saved…”
Ryan Burnham is the privileged son of a U.S. Congressman and captain of his university’s hockey team. While he is on the verge of fulfilling his dreams to play in the NHL, his parents want him on a different course. One he is expected to accept for the sake of his family’s public image.
Forced to abandon her music career after the heart breaking death of her parents, Danny Cross exists on the opposite side of the tracks from Ryan. She is struggling to make her own way, working two jobs, attending college part time and volunteering in a homeless shelter. She is on a mission to build her own success.
With a chance meeting, their vastly different worlds collide, causing each to evaluate whether they are truly on the correct path to self-fulfillment and happiness. Can their relationship survive? Particularly when others are against them every step of the way. A lot can happen in just ten short days…
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I cannot believe that this got so many good ratings. The idea of rape being used by a mother to force her son to do her bidding, said son being arrested for beating the man who was trying to rape a woman, the woman he is in love with, but any woaman, the entire concept of the book is awful and just embarrassing. That this was written by a woman makes it that more more pathetic and shameful. Done with this author, who clearly cares nothing about women,
A fast paced, endearing, and fun romantic story. Ryan and Daniella have an instant connection that becomes more, which is beautiful and sincere. I adored this story.
Fast moving, good characters, well written and entertaining.
This is a fun read; they fall fast and hard so it is insta-love but it’s plausible, since they do take the time to get to know each other from the start.
Fun, college dynamic, set in Boston, MA—I always love a book set here! It’s got some of the same old stuff that you find in many romances where one MC is more affluent than the other … but it also has some fun action and lots of drama, I found it to be worth the read, overall.
4 stars.
Note:
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator has a smooth, pleasant voice. I’d listen to more from this narrator.
This was my exercise audio read of the week.
Ryan’s upbringing in the home of a congressman comes with high expectations from his mother. He needs to mix with the right people and date a girl of her choosing. When he meets Danny working at the local diner he is initially impressed by her intellect and when he physically sees her he is captivated by her beauty.
Danny is flattered that Ryan seems interested in her and even though she is a bit wary of his interest there is just something there that she can’t ignore. Turns out her gut instinct was right and she has the best first date with him. He impresses her with his willingness to learn more about her life and how attentive he is.
These two soon become inseparable and they are falling fast. The only obstacle that keeps coming up is Ryan’s manipulative mother. She seems hell bent on influencing who he dates and falls in love with and Danny is not someone she wants her son to be with.
Danny has truly opened Ryan’s eyes to a world he previously knew little about. She is the most genuine person he has ever met and he has no intention of letting go of the girl he is falling love with.
*3.5 Stars*
This was a very fast read but it was enjoyable. I believe it was Sawyer’s first book, and you can tell that whilst reading, in comparison to her recent books, as her writing has evolved.
That’s not to say anything bad about this story though. I liked both Ryan and Danny, and I liked how he accepted her immediately for who she was and didn’t fall into line the way his parents, or should I say his mother, wanted him to.
I like his friend Mike, and I liked Danny’s friend Paula. Some really crappy characters in this too, who were meant to be easy villains to dislike.
I sped through this one and I look forward to continuing the series.
This is a cute fast read. Ryan is the privileged son of a politician and Danny is a musical genius who was forced to give up a scholarship from Juliard to take care of her dying mother. Now she is waitressing and attending classes trying to save money. She meets Ryan at the diner where she works and it’s and instant attraction. Unfortunate Danny is not what Ryan’s family wants for him luckily Ryan is ready to stand up for what he wants and what he wants is Danny.
This is the story of Ryan the captain of Northwestern’s hockey team and son of a senator and his fall for Danny (Daniella but don’t ever call me that), the Julliard drop out who dies her hair different colors, has her nose and eyebrow pierced and is struggling to make ends meet.
Ryan and Danny both have an instant connection but are afraid of one another. Ryan is afraid that his world will hurt her and Danny is afraid that if she gives her heart to Ryan it will be crush. Once they get over their fears and dive in, it is an insta love story. It was short and sweet and cute. Ryan stands by Danny and won’t let anyone stand in the way of their HEA or let them tear Danny down a notch. “I am choosing love.” Swoon. This was my first book by Sawyer Bennett and it won’t be my last. Even though this was a short book I really appreciated that nothing felt too rush and that everything felt resolved. Sometimes you see that things get rushed or brushed under the rug to wrap up a book but not with this one. I felt that everything was neatly cleaned up and explained to my liking. Really enjoyed this book and can’t to read more Bennett books.
I adored this book and there are a total of five in Sawyer Bennett’s ‘Off’ series. This one was my very favorite and I loved Ryan and Danny. I have read this many times over the years and it remains one of my favorites. Who wouldn’t want a man like Ryan? He was the best boyfriend ever (at least for his age!)
Ryan Burnham is a trust fund college student who lives, eats and breathes hockey and is the captain of the team at university. His father is a US Congressman and his mother is all about appearances who makes constant demands on her children’s lives. She has their future mapped out, including their careers, spouses, their wardrobe, how they talk, what they say, and basically every move they make. She is nasty, evil, controlling, and over-the-top vicious as she will do anything to get what she wants, no matter if those things leave her children unhappy, brokenhearted and empty. Ryan has her number and decides he will not put up with her interference any longer. But she has some shifty plans up her sleeve that just may ruin the lives of these two lovely people.
Danny Cross was a child prodigy violinist who had to give up her schooling at Juliard when her mother was diagnosed with cancer and died eleven months later. Her father had died years before. She works hard, volunteers at a soup kitchen/homeless shelter and attends college part time. She plans to make her own success even though it will be dramatically opposed to her musical dreams. She does what she has to do to survive.
One evening Ryan and his snooty, trust fund friends stop at a diner for a late night snack and Danny is their waitress. Ryan’s ex girlfriend is along…and she treats Danny horribly. Ryan steps in and it becomes the beginning of a wonderful love story.
I highly recommend books one and two of this series. The writing is very good and the book was hard to put down. In fact, I read it in one sitting.
Update: 07/14/19 – I don’t know what is going on but I have read this book three times in three days bringing it to a total of eight times. I am addicted to this love story and book two as well. The rest in the series I could take or leave.
This one just could not keep my attention
Easy to read love story, with cute characters.
Started out with a ton of potential, but ended up falling flat. Predictable immature story line. Characters development was lacking. I would give this author a 2nd chance because it actually started out really good. Felt rushed in the end.
Predictable plot and undeveloped characters.
Loved this book and the storyline.
Loved Danny and Ryan and the connection between them. Just goes to show that not all inheritance jocks are dicks.
Loved the friendship Danny had with Paula (and Sarge) looking out for her too.
Glad they got her HEA with each other.
It was a fun, sexy and emotional read. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
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Review Danny is a feisty little thing right off the bat when we first meet her, “I’m so sorry. It’s just… I saw all of you sitting here, and well, forgive my ignorance, but I’m pretty sure Ockham’s Razer says that among competing theories and all things being equal, the simplest theory is probably the correct one. I saw you had already looked at the menus and put them back down. Therefore, the simplest theory is that you’re ready to order…” Ryan that hunka-hunka burnin’ love is oh my word, “he’s wearing a gray t-shirt that’s soaked in sweat and a navy pair of running shorts.” When you diss his woman Ryan is all up in that, “I beat the s*** out of him until he was bleeding all over the locker room floor.” Ryan is also a sweet guy especially where his woman is concerned:
“I’m sorry,” I eventually mumble.
“What for?” he asks gently.
“For being a basket case.”
He chuckles. “Well, I have heard a rumor that women are prone to fits of emotion at times.”
He’s also the protective sort which I find vera-vera sexy, “listen carefully, mother, because I mean this with every fiber of my being. I am choosing love. I am choosing someone who loves me unconditionally, no matter what. It’s as simple as that.” These factors of Ryan are why I fell in love with this book.
There are other takes on this kind of love story yet the author managed to make it unique. I was able to relate to the character Danny so much if only I was able to come across a guy like Ryan. Definitely a book to remember.
3.5 stars
This is my second series that I have read by Sawyer Bennett.
Who doesn’t love the right side-wrong side of the tracks stories? I tend to love these kind of stories. Especially if it is the girl from the wrong side and the boy from the right.
Ryan was with his friends after a party at a diner. He was immensely engrossed into a game of Angry Birds. Trying to ignore his ex girlfriend who is drunk and think she knows everything. His attention is taken away after his ex girlfriend makes a snark comment to the waitress only to have the waitress fire back. Immediately Ryan likes Danny. Though she is different than what he is used to dating for his family “image” he can’t help but be attracted to her.
Danny and Ryan’s story was cute. A normal NA book. One thing though, can we please stop having mothers that will do anything selfish because the child doesn’t fit into a certain mold? Please. Being so close to mother’s day I would like to read about a loving mother and not a heinous mother who thinks her image is better than their child’s happiness.
Other than that I loved the book. I am going to wait on the second book right now due to being broke and can’t afford any other books.