Riverbend Road

4.5 Stars

Riverbend Road was another wonderful romance from RaeAnne Thayne! This book started off with some excitement right off the bat! The story opens with our heroine, Wynonna, running into a burning barn to save a couple of children, and the hero, Cade, who’s also her boss, ordering her not too.

Then begins the push and pull, forbidden romance of boss and employee! This isn’t one of those smutty type boss stories. Cade is adamant that they can’t be anything but friends. Almost to the point where I wanted to punch him in the nose for pushing Wyn away so much and so often!

Cade was a good hero. Strong and honorable. He believes he’s a bad guy though every action he makes proves he’s a good guy. There’s a thin line between humility and stubbornness in this case and his ridiculous insistence that he’s not a good guy and that they don’t belong together was almost annoying.

Wynonna, on the other hand, was my kind of heroine! Strong, feisty, sassy, but also warm, caring and understanding. She’s had something happen to her in the past, that I won’t give away, that has shaped her into who she is today and her career path. Though now Wyn is realizing that she needs a life change. Especially if the man she loves won’t let himself be with her. I liked that Ms. Thayne dealt with how we can become comfortable and safe instead of challenging ourselves and moving onto new and better things.

This story has a small bit of suspense surrounding Wyn’s new neighbor and there’s an awesome climax scene at the end! It wasn’t too over the top and was just enough in my opinion.

There is no sex scenes in this book but there’s three kissing scenes and the hero thinks and say a few risqué things. There’s a small bit of language but no F bombs and no religious swearing.

I have grown to love RaeAnne Thayer books, reading all I can.

Great read!!!!!

Enjoyed every word.

I like all of her books, each one makes me want another!

I like that some of my favorite characters reappear but, that the novel is also a stand alone so anyone can read the books.

I enjoyed the book and would read it again. Love the characters in the book.

Good romance with a bit of suspense to up the tension. The story grabbed me from the opening pages and didn’t let go until I finished it. Wyn is a police officer in Haven Point, a job she took after losing both her twin brother and her father in the line of duty. She likes helping the people of her hometown and knows that she is pretty good at it. But she has also had a feeling of restlessness lately, of wanting more out of her life. When she is suspended for a week for disobeying a direct order from the police chief, those feelings gain strength, including her frustration with the chief himself.

Cade is the current Chief of Police. He trained under Wyn’s father, a man who was his friend and mentor. It was thanks to Chief Bailey that Cade ended up on the right side of the law, in spite of the way he grew up. Cade’s father was an abusive drunk, so the chief included Cade and his brother in as much as possible with his own family. Cade and Wyn’s oldest brother Marshall became best friends.

When Wyn rushes into a dangerous situation, Cade’s reaction is a bit stronger than it might be for another officer. The sparks that flew between them were strong and unexpected. Wyn has had feelings for Cade for years but believes that he only sees her as his best friend’s little sister. But the strength of his reaction makes her wonder if maybe there is something there after all. Their emotions are still running pretty high later that evening when she goes to talk to him about another matter, and Wyn takes matters into her own hands. The passion that flares between them is intense, and freaks Cade out. He’s been attracted to Wyn for a while, but she’s his employee and his best friend’s little sister, and he can’t go there. But putting those feelings back in the box he’s had them locked in proves to be much harder than he expected.

I liked the development of the relationship between Wyn and Cade. They already know each other well and have a great deal of respect for each other. Cade’s attempts to fight his feelings for her seem doomed to failure when every subsequent encounter increases either his desire or his admiration for her. I loved his observation of her self-defense class and laughed out loud when she roped him into helping demonstrate some moves. There was a look in her eye that told him that he was in trouble, and he was right. Cade also holds himself back because there are things in his past that he thinks would make it impossible for her to care for him. Once Wyn gets the idea that Cade isn’t as disinterested as she had thought, she seems to enjoy pushing his buttons. She also decides that now is the time to make some changes in her life. There are things in her past that had altered the course of her life, and she’s ready to take it back. Those changes will also put an end to at least one of the obstacles that Cade has thrown up between them. Wyn also has a feeling that Cade is keeping some kind of secret from her. When she stumbles on some information about her father’s death, she is sure of it. I ached for both of them, but especially for Cade, because of the guilt that was eating him up. I liked the courage that Wyn had in going after what she wanted. It took nearly losing her for Cade to realize how deep his feelings for Wyn were. I enjoyed seeing them come together at the end, including some rather amusing scenes with members of her family.

There is a bit of suspense involving a woman and her children who move in near Wyn and Cade. Wyn’s instincts tell her that the woman, Andrea, is in some kind of trouble. I loved the way that Wyn’s innate kindness and empathy enable her to get through to Andi. What was happening was so much worse than what I had initially suspected. It was interesting to see that Wyn’s instincts were also right on the money when it came to a phone call she received and what she did with the information she got. I especially liked that she didn’t try to keep it from Cade, and got him on board also. The ending was very satisfying, and not just because the bad guy got what was coming to him. I loved that Cade and Wyn worked together as a team, thanks to the respect they have for each other’s abilities.

I loved the characters and the story. (SPOILER!) Personally I wished that Winnie would have continued on the police force, she had good reasons for quitting but I felt she was such a great officer it was great reading about her in that role.

This author is a good one to follow. She develops wonderful characters and I am always eager for her next book.