~ Haven ~ I felt like I was living in a prison while watching Raine Carson from my window, studying his sexy, tanned, and muscular physique for six long months. From inside of my house, he was perfect. Then I found out everything looked different from afar. Raine, a blunt and hot tempered man was living a life he wasn’t proud of, and I found myself oddly attracted to the sickening reality he … reality he opened my eyes to.
~ Raine ~ She thought I’d fall for her seductive ploy and scarlet-glossed lips. She was right. Every person in this small town had something negative to say about Haven Leigh’s life—the girl who had been handed everything on a silver platter. I ignored the rumors, and instead, searched for her truths.
While struggling with disabling side-effects left behind by my coke-addict mother, Haven became the hope I needed. She was the good I wanted to be.
But, as it turns out, she was the trouble I should have stayed away from.
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Haven loves to look at Raine when he mows the lawn at her house. The feeling is mutual for Raine. What happens when these two finally get together? An awesome story with lots of angst and drama to keep you on the edge of your seat. Loved it!!
I have read Shari Ryan’s Man series and an ARC of Bachelor Beach, all of which were romantic comedies: one of my very favorite type of books. I found Raine’s Haven to be a very different book, and one that caught me by surprise. This story was one of betrayal, misfortune, dishonesty, and love. The subject matter was serious and the story well crafted and the love story one that seemed unlikely given the characters’ circumstances. In the book we see the characters lives come full circle and each of them working toward redemption for any unfortunate or selfish choices that they had made. I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to review this book and strongly recommend it to readers who enjoy an emotional story which sheds light on the darker side of human behavior.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wow, this is the first book that I have read from Shari J. Ryan and it will definitely not be the last! This story taps into all of your emotions and has you rooting for Raine and Haven to find their HEA! But do they? You will have to read this book to find out!
Raine’s Haven is the second book I have read from this author. I loved the first and love this one even more! A story of young love, hardships, second chances and forgiveness. Not to be missed!
I’m finding it really difficult to put my feelings about this book into words. I adore Shari Ryan’s work and it kills me to say this one didn’t work for me. I think it might have something to do with how many years there are between my age and that of the leading couple, but I didn’t connect with story the way I expected I would. Raine, I pretty much loved for the whole book. He’s an old soul in a young man’s body and he’s endured so many things that he had no control over. However, I found Haven to be a spoiled, manipulative brat. And, while I saw some growth in her character from the first part to the second, I didn’t feel like it was enough for who she was at the beginning of the book. I also wasn’t a fan of the way the villain got away with his crimes. I appreciate that the balance was restored, but I don’t feel like justice was served. The writing is brilliant, and I will continue to read everything Shari Ryan publishes.
I received a complimentary copy of this book thought Booksprout.
So MOVED to read it over again!
Incredibly moving read that I absolutely loved every single heartfelt would that had me on pins and needles from one emotion to the next as the storyline grab hold of my heart and held it hostage till the very end. A read that will get read again and again and would be worthy of more than five stars aloud. You don’t just read it you feel it with wide open eyes.
This is a first for me by this author I was pleasantly surprised by this story. I honestly thought that maybe it has too much filler in it as in the beginning it just kept on repeating the premise that Haven was too young and did not explain until the end the hows and whys and even then it left some parts not explained. All in ALL I thought it was an excellent read with characters that you can and will fall in love with.
Raine’s Haven by Author Sheri J. Ryan had so much potential but fell short for me in the romance department. I liked the book but felt no real connection between the characters. It felt forced.
Other than Granddad and Lenora, the Hero, Raine was the only decent person in this book. I loved him so hard. Unfortunately, the heroine Haven was spineless, selfish and weak. She was forever making bad choices that ultimately left Raine paying the price and me pulling out my hair in frustration. By the time Haven got it together, the story was pretty much done and so was I.
Her father was a complete a**hole through and through. His depraved indifference made him a great villain. His just reward at the end of the book however, was not nearly enough. I expected more. That part was an utter disappointment. Not to mention Raine’s friend Crow, who started out good, but ended up being just another person in Raine’s life who let him down.
The saddest part was how sick Raine was. It’s just another price he paid for someone else’s lack of common sense. He faced one disappointment after another. He was so filled with goodness but everyone trampled over that goodness and it damn near broke my heart throughout most of the story.
Did I enjoy the story? Yes. The writing was very good. I loved Raine, his back story with his Granddad and then Haven finally standing up for him at the end. But by the time she did it was too late.
What I didn’t like was the lack of chemistry and the connection needed to make this couple believable. Haven had no common sense and was selfish and then most all the other characters sucked and lacked “character”.
Would I deter people from reading this book? Absolutely not. Like I said I liked the book, if you can get over the lack of chemistry and don’t mind a heroine with selfish tendencies you should give this book a shot. I just expected more.
4.5 Lake of Luck Stars!
This is a raw and poignant story of second chances and redemption. Raine and Haven are drawn together in a forbidden love affair. They are struggling with a life and guilt that is beyond their control, wanting the life they once had. Raine is a great character, he is strong, patient, and kind. Haven is young and naive but also strong and resolute when she wants something. They have a strong connection from the start, but can it endure when there are so many secrets between them? This story started out slow but it soon picked up it’s pace with surprising twists and turns that kept me turning the pages. I love how Ms. Ryan tells this story through present and flashback sequences drawing you in and making you feel so many emotions. This is a heartbreaking but also heartwarming storing that should not be missed!
Oh my gosh! My heart has not stopped racing. I kid you not, the opening pages had me in tears. And then it was mini heart attacks all the way through.
Raine’s epilepsy had me torn. How the author managed to write about Raine’s mother having an addiction and how she chose not to stop for the protection of her unborn baby . . . *stabs chest in the heart, keels over, bleeding out on the floor* And then Haven. I would feel exactly the same way she does if I were suddenly in a new environment and if I were living off someone’s life, with the fake “high and mighty” neighbors. Terrible. “Money doesn’t buy love and happiness.” The phrase could not be more true.
I love how the author wrote the book in two parts, making the second half of the book continue several years later when the characters are older. True love never dies. That’s what I have to say. Even when it appears the person has moved to someone else, it is evident they will never be in love with that person the way they are truly in love with their soulmate. Raine and Haven are soulmates and I love that they get their HEA, with many bonuses. This is totally on my top reading list of 2017.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Haven felt like she was living in a prison. She’s been watching Raine Carson form her window for six Long months. He was perfection from inside the house and then she met Raine. He’s blunt, hot tempered, and loving a life he was not proud of. Haven however was finding herself oddly attracted to the sickening reality he opened her eyes too.
Raine stung goes with a disabling side effects and left behind by his coke addicted mother. Raine also fell for Haven. She was the girl who had had everything handed to her on a silver platter. Every person in town had something negative to say about Haven Leigh’s life. Raine however searched for her truths. She was the hope he needed, the good he wanted to be. Turns out she’s as the trouble he should have stayed away from.
I absolutely devoured this book. I fell so hard for Raine. His life is not an easy one by any means. Left with lingering affects of his mother’s cocaine use during pregnancy he was raised by his grandparents. After his grandpa’s death though Raine finds himself pretty much alone and homeless. he does yard work to make some money and totally how he sees Haven. Haven is the mayors daughter and has been handed everything she ever could want by her parents. Her parents who are keeping secrets and she is not about to fall in line just because they tell her too. This begins the story of Raine and Haven.
There is nothing about this story that I didn’t love. Raine is my man. I can claim him. A girl has to have her book boyfriends right? I had a love/hate relationship with Haven. She made me so mad at times I wanted to choke some sense into her. That though is part of the fun of reading Raine’s Haven. Running the gamete of ever emotion possible. Shari Ryan has written another beautiful love story. Even more than that though, she’s written a story where you feel so close to the characters you feel like you are right there in the moment with them. You can’t help but get lost in Raine’s Haven and disappear from the real world for a while.
You do not want to miss Raine’s Haven. These characters and their story will live in your heart long after you’ve finished the book.
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