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Trusting Ryan
A dedicated cop in the Special Victims Bureau, Ryan Mercedes has a trusted friend in lawyer-advocate Audrey Lincoln. Her compassion is the perfect counterpoint to his hard-driving fight for justice. And this good relationship only gets better the night they cross the line from friends to lovers.
But they're up against seemingly insurmountable obstacles that could divide them for good. Worse-- now she and Ryan are on opposite sides of a controversial case. Can they trust enough to resolve their differences and find their way back to each other?
But they're up against seemingly insurmountable obstacles that could divide them for good. Worse-- now she and Ryan are on opposite sides of a controversial case. Can they trust enough to resolve their differences and find their way back to each other?
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
1 person is currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Tara Taylor Quinn
378 books1,458 followersTara Taylor Quinn began her love affair with Harlequin when she was fourteen years old and picked up a free promotional copy of a Harlequin Romance in a hometown grocery store. The relationship was solidified the year she was suspended from her high school typing class for hiding a Harlequin Romance behind the keys of her electric typewriter. Unaware that her instructor loomed close by, Ms. Quinn read blissfully on with one finger resting on the automatic repeating period key. She finished the book in the principal’s office. Forced to leave her romances in her locker after that, Ms. Quinn’s typing skills improved - a fact for which she is eternally grateful.
With over 80 original novels, published in more than twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestselling author with more than seven million copies sold. She is a winner of the 2008 National Reader's Choice Award, four time finalist for the RWA Rita Award, a finalist for the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Bookseller’s Best Award, the Holt Medallion and appears regularly on the Waldenbooks bestsellers list. Ms. Quinn writes for Harlequin and MIRA Books. Reviewer, Cindy Penn, wordweaving.com says, “Amazing character development is the hallmark of author Tara Taylor Quinn’s work. Indeed, Taylor’s profound observations of human nature and intimate understanding of values and priorities lends extraordinary psychological depth to all her work.”
Tara Taylor Quinn was born and raised in Ohio. Though she wrote her first story at the age of seven, her professional writing career began ten years later when she was hired as a stringer with the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio. She attended Wright State University and graduated from Harding College in Arkansas with a degree in English and Journalism. She published several magazine articles before turning to writing as a full-time occupation.
Ms. Quinn is a Past President of the Romance Writers of America and served for eight years on the Board of Directors of that association. She has a wide range of experience as a public speaker and workshop presenter for writers groups around the country.
When she’s not home with her owners, Jerry Lee and Taylor Marie, or fulfilling speaking engagements, Tara loves to travel with her husband, stopping wherever the spirit takes them. They’ve been spotted in casinos and quaint little small town antique shops all across the country..
With over 80 original novels, published in more than twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestselling author with more than seven million copies sold. She is a winner of the 2008 National Reader's Choice Award, four time finalist for the RWA Rita Award, a finalist for the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Bookseller’s Best Award, the Holt Medallion and appears regularly on the Waldenbooks bestsellers list. Ms. Quinn writes for Harlequin and MIRA Books. Reviewer, Cindy Penn, wordweaving.com says, “Amazing character development is the hallmark of author Tara Taylor Quinn’s work. Indeed, Taylor’s profound observations of human nature and intimate understanding of values and priorities lends extraordinary psychological depth to all her work.”
Tara Taylor Quinn was born and raised in Ohio. Though she wrote her first story at the age of seven, her professional writing career began ten years later when she was hired as a stringer with the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio. She attended Wright State University and graduated from Harding College in Arkansas with a degree in English and Journalism. She published several magazine articles before turning to writing as a full-time occupation.
Ms. Quinn is a Past President of the Romance Writers of America and served for eight years on the Board of Directors of that association. She has a wide range of experience as a public speaker and workshop presenter for writers groups around the country.
When she’s not home with her owners, Jerry Lee and Taylor Marie, or fulfilling speaking engagements, Tara loves to travel with her husband, stopping wherever the spirit takes them. They’ve been spotted in casinos and quaint little small town antique shops all across the country..
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 12, 2016
Lawyer-advocate Audrey and police detective Ryan have become friends after finding themselves working on a lot of the same cases together. One day they decide to take their relationship to the next level from friends to lovers. It's not until after this that they discover how old each other is. Audrey is thirty-five, Ryan is twenty-two. Ryan has no problem with the age difference, Audrey can't get past it. The story was enjoyable up to a point, then as it went on it grew a bit tiresome with Audrey's constant insecurities over the age difference. At the beginning of the story I liked Ryan, but as the book progressed I liked him less with his never-changing way of seeing things in either black or white with no room for anything in-between, and his hateful feelings toward and not being able to come to terms with his biological father went on for too long. At the end of the story there didn't seem to be much resolution to the problems Audrey and Ryan faced, just a quick wrap-up to the story.
July 5, 2015
I didn't like this one as much as I liked the one about his parents. It did have the older woman trope that I'm fond of. I didn't like the hero here very well as he was so rigid that he was practically unlikeable and he did come off as very young which he was.
September 27, 2010
Note:
I didn’t realize until I was about halfway through this book that it’s a sequel of sorts to Tara Taylor Quinn’s Sara’s Son, which is the story of Ryan’s birth parents. If you are a stickler for avoiding spoilers of any kind, you might want to pick up a copy of that first.
The Review:
Audrey Lincoln owns her own home, has a successful and meaningful career as a legal advocate, and is content with her life as it is – or so she keeps telling herself. Audrey is afraid of being hurt, afraid of losing the control over her life that she feels she’s finally managed. She has been emotionally abused and manipulated all her life by an unstable and domineering mother. Although Audrey knows she should not let her mother’s machinations effect her now that she’s thirty-five, the urge to bow her head and let her mother take the lead is still pretty ingrained in her; it’s an instinct she fights whenever she’s around her mother. This has left Audrey determined not to repeat her past mistakes by begging for anyone’s love and approval.
Ryan Mercedes, at twenty-two, is the youngest detective in the Special Victims Bureau and catches a lot of flack for being the “baby” in his unit. Yes, Ryan is young, but he’s more mature than many men twice his age. He’s honest to a fault and has a strong sense of justice, so much so that he has trouble seeing the gray areas in a given situation. Ryan was adopted as a child by a loving family, but he met his birth parents a little over a year before this story starts. This new connection to his birth family has greatly challenged Ryan’s ideas about what’s right and wrong.
Audrey and Ryan meet through their work with abused children and have been close friends for the past six months. They trade phone calls, share meals, and have movie nights at Ryan’s condo. After one such night and a little wine, the two take their relationship to the next level, spending a wonderful weekend in bed together. Both are aware that there is a difference in their ages, but each assumes the difference is minimal. It isn’t until the weekend comes to an end that they learn just how many years separate the two of them – thirteen.
The age problem seems paramount to Audrey. What will their friends and family think? Their bosses and co-workers? Will strangers on the street make assumptions about them? She’s old enough to be his mother, she has cellulite, when she’s fifty, he’ll be in his thirties – still young and handsome and attractive to women who are younger and prettier than her!
The difference in their ages doesn’t seem to be as big a deal for Ryan, however. After the initial shock, Ryan is determined to follow his heart and fight for Audrey, to convince her that, yes, he may be young, but he’s ready to commit, to promise forever – or even to promise just for right now, if that’s all Audrey will give him.
At first, Ryan seems much more emotionally mature and open than Audrey. He follows his heart and stands by his choices. Audrey, in contrast, thinks with her head and tends to run from emotional decisions. As the story goes on, there’s a subtle shift in this perspective, which leads to character growth for both Ryan and Audrey. In the end, they are forced to deal, not only with their pasts, but with their own short-comings.
The Last Word:
I thought this book was a rewarding and poignant read. I liked that both characters had to work hard for their HEA. Their issues and struggles were credible and handled in a respectful and realistic way.
http://iheartpaperbacks.com
I didn’t realize until I was about halfway through this book that it’s a sequel of sorts to Tara Taylor Quinn’s Sara’s Son, which is the story of Ryan’s birth parents. If you are a stickler for avoiding spoilers of any kind, you might want to pick up a copy of that first.
The Review:
Audrey Lincoln owns her own home, has a successful and meaningful career as a legal advocate, and is content with her life as it is – or so she keeps telling herself. Audrey is afraid of being hurt, afraid of losing the control over her life that she feels she’s finally managed. She has been emotionally abused and manipulated all her life by an unstable and domineering mother. Although Audrey knows she should not let her mother’s machinations effect her now that she’s thirty-five, the urge to bow her head and let her mother take the lead is still pretty ingrained in her; it’s an instinct she fights whenever she’s around her mother. This has left Audrey determined not to repeat her past mistakes by begging for anyone’s love and approval.
Ryan Mercedes, at twenty-two, is the youngest detective in the Special Victims Bureau and catches a lot of flack for being the “baby” in his unit. Yes, Ryan is young, but he’s more mature than many men twice his age. He’s honest to a fault and has a strong sense of justice, so much so that he has trouble seeing the gray areas in a given situation. Ryan was adopted as a child by a loving family, but he met his birth parents a little over a year before this story starts. This new connection to his birth family has greatly challenged Ryan’s ideas about what’s right and wrong.
Audrey and Ryan meet through their work with abused children and have been close friends for the past six months. They trade phone calls, share meals, and have movie nights at Ryan’s condo. After one such night and a little wine, the two take their relationship to the next level, spending a wonderful weekend in bed together. Both are aware that there is a difference in their ages, but each assumes the difference is minimal. It isn’t until the weekend comes to an end that they learn just how many years separate the two of them – thirteen.
The age problem seems paramount to Audrey. What will their friends and family think? Their bosses and co-workers? Will strangers on the street make assumptions about them? She’s old enough to be his mother, she has cellulite, when she’s fifty, he’ll be in his thirties – still young and handsome and attractive to women who are younger and prettier than her!
The difference in their ages doesn’t seem to be as big a deal for Ryan, however. After the initial shock, Ryan is determined to follow his heart and fight for Audrey, to convince her that, yes, he may be young, but he’s ready to commit, to promise forever – or even to promise just for right now, if that’s all Audrey will give him.
At first, Ryan seems much more emotionally mature and open than Audrey. He follows his heart and stands by his choices. Audrey, in contrast, thinks with her head and tends to run from emotional decisions. As the story goes on, there’s a subtle shift in this perspective, which leads to character growth for both Ryan and Audrey. In the end, they are forced to deal, not only with their pasts, but with their own short-comings.
The Last Word:
I thought this book was a rewarding and poignant read. I liked that both characters had to work hard for their HEA. Their issues and struggles were credible and handled in a respectful and realistic way.
http://iheartpaperbacks.com
February 18, 2018
Areas of grey
Love doesn't go by age, does makes exceptions and doesn't care about the past. A young man learns that life isn't black and white. The sequel to Sarah 's Son continues with her son Ryan who comes to terms with the father he hates and the circumstances of his conception, setting him free to accept the woman he loves.
Love doesn't go by age, does makes exceptions and doesn't care about the past. A young man learns that life isn't black and white. The sequel to Sarah 's Son continues with her son Ryan who comes to terms with the father he hates and the circumstances of his conception, setting him free to accept the woman he loves.
March 23, 2025
Like Sara's Son, this one dealt with some sensitive issues and the author did an engaging, insightful job of bringing them forward. There were some lose ends and I would have liked an epilogue to address them, or maybe there was content edited out that would have filled in some gaps. The ending seemed to come too quickly. Or maybe I missed something. Either way, it was a good story.
February 8, 2013
Let me make myself clear on something: I have no problem with age differences between women and men. In this case the heroine was older then the hero. My problem was the “maturity” of the hero. Mind you, he is very mature for his age, but it’s not believable. And that’s one of my complaints about the story, and the other is the heroine’s mother…what a manipulating witch, she needed to be kicked to the curb, but that’s just my opinion.
Otherwise it was an enjoyable read. I spent an afternoon with the book, and didn’t want to throw it against the wall…well, that’s something.
2.5/5
Otherwise it was an enjoyable read. I spent an afternoon with the book, and didn’t want to throw it against the wall…well, that’s something.
2.5/5
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews