Friday, October 5, 2018

Ryker by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey Blog Tour


Ryker is hockey royalty, Jacob is a poor country boy. Can two vastly different people find common ground and become the men they want to be?

Ryker comes from a long line of championship-winning hockey players. Playing college hockey to develop his game is his only focus, and nothing will stand in the way of him working to become the best player. He has no room for relationships, people that point out his flaws, or anyone who calls him on his dreams. He certainly has no place for love, and meeting Jacob is nothing but a useful distraction on the side. After all trying to get his Owatonna Eagles teammate into bed is less work and more play. When tragedy rocks his family, his charmed life crumbles, and the only person he can turn to is the same one who claims to hate him.

Jacob Benson has only known hard work and stifling conservative values his whole life. Born and raised in the small rural community of Eden Crossing, Minnesota, he’s the only son of a hard-working but struggling dairy farming family. Jacob is using his skills in hockey to finance his way to an agricultural science degree. These four years at Owatonna U. will probably be the only time he has to enjoy life, gain acceptance about his sexuality, and live openly before his inevitable return to the farm. Running into a pretty rich boy like Ryker Madsen is putting a damper on his enjoyment of life away from home. Ryker’s flip, conceited, carefree attitude grates on Jacob’s every nerve. So why, if Ryker is everything he dislikes, does he want nothing more than to explore the sinful dreams that his annoying teammate stars in every night?

This New Adult book is the first in the Owatonna U Series, a spin off from the best selling Harrisburg Railers Hockey Series.

Add to Goodreads –


Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo



Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars rounded up for a great decision to have a new series linked to the Railers!

This is an absolutely excellent read – and such a brilliant idea to follow the next generation of hockey stars following a Ryker, whose father and lover featured in the Railers’ series (which you should definitely read if you haven't). Having the dynasty in place, and the fact that they had been open about their sexuality, makes this a much less tense read for the wrong reasons and a great read for the right ones.

Although this is set in college days, I would say that many issues are as adult as in any book, but some of the preconceptions are more relevant to youth. Jacob's anger at Ryker's being handed everything on a plate – and Ryker's lack of awareness that this was an issue. It was thanks to that innocence that the future relationship seemed much more real and grounded. It was also a great lesson in differing priorities and wants.

Jacob may have had a hardworking, simple life, but he recognises his obligations to the family ranch and that hockey will pay for him to study and improve the farm. His devotion and dedication to both his parents, his heritage, and his future is inspiring and courageous. It is lovely to see how his relationship with his father grows through the book.

I definitely recommend this book to you – as an enjoyable and hopeful book of two young men who overcome their preconceptions and form a strong bond. I look forward to Scott's story.


Veronica☆☆☆☆
Jacob and Ryker come from very different backgrounds. We have a chance to get to know each of them before they meet and I liked both men. Jacob comes from a farming background that struggles with money and has had to work for everything in life and Ryker comes from a hockey family with money and seems to have it all.

Jacob does not react well to Ryker’s wealth and comparative easy life when they first meet at a training camp and end up roommates. I didn’t like Jacob’s jealous judgment of Ryker but because we’d already been introduced to Jacob I understood where he was coming from, even though I didn’t agree with his position. I enjoyed the way Ryker was so interested in Jacob and persistent in getting to know him.

Both men face making decisions about their lives that will affect their futures and I think the authors did an excellent job of portraying two college guys trying to juggle school, romance, hockey, and work responsibilities.

The ups and downs of this romance had my emotions going in all different directions. I wanted these guys to get it together. As is often the case, the harder our heroes struggle to reach the happy ending, the sweeter it is and that is definitely true in this case. When the story came to an end, I felt like it was just the beginning and there would be more to their story. I love Ryker and I very much hope that the authors write further stories about Ryker and Jacob so we can see where their lives go from here.


Sarah☆☆☆☆☆
I loved this book! The first story in this new Harrisburg Railers spinoff series belongs to Jared’s son Ryker and his college hockey career. I love the characters in this story and I love the way the new series weaves around the Railers books.

Ryker is fabulous. He’s privileged and loved and so close to perfect that I really wanted to hate him. But he’s also kind and humble and dealing with the pressure of an enormous family legacy. Interestingly, it is Jacob – with the massive chip on his shoulder – who I struggled to warm to. Dedicated and driven, Jacob is quick to judge and he keeps himself apart from the other players. Ryker and Jacob are wonderful together. They have brilliant chemistry, but they are also friends and teammates. I love the intensity of their new adult emotions.

This book is full of everything I love about new adult romance. I love the boys’ dreams, their ambitions, and their sense of potential. I love the intensity of their emotions and the way they wrestle with their identities.

When I requested this story, I didn’t realise it was a spinoff from the Harrisburg Railers books. It starts before the most recent Railers book and I anxiously held my breath through the first three quarters, hoping to learn more about the huge twist at the end of the last book. Sadly, this book doesn’t take readers much further in the Railers timeline, but we do get to see things from a different perspective.




RJ’s goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

RJ is the author of the over one hundred novels and discovered romance in books at a very young age. She realized that if there wasn’t romance on the page, she could create it in her head, and is a lifelong writer.

She lives and works out of her home in the beautiful English countryside, spends her spare time reading, watching films, and enjoying time with her family.

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit and has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

She’s always thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers.


Connect with RJ

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram



V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, Doctor Who, Torchwood, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, two Jersey steers and a flock of assorted domestic fowl.

When not writing lusty tales, she can be found enjoying her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.


Connect with V.L.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram



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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Ryker (Owatonna U Hockey #1) by R.J. Scott & V.L. Locey to read and review for this tour.

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