Criminal Minds fans, rejoice! Ranger, by Dr. Rebecca Sharp, is a romance novel that offers a male protagonist extremely similar to Dr. Spencer Reid. The dedication of this novel is even made out to him, and, god, is it a good novel.
The female protagonist, Sydney, is an extremely famous romance novelist. When she breaks up with her cheating ex boyfriend, she kills off a character she wrote that was based on him. This character death causes an uproar in her fan base and causes Sydney to be on the outs with her readers. To escape the hate and pressure from her publisher, Sydney heads out to Wisdom, Wisconsin for some (much needed) R&R. Cue sexy, genius, sweater-vest-wearing landlord, Ranger Reynolds. A few weeks into her stay, Sydney begins to be harassed by paparazzi and a potential stalker who found her rental apartment. Ranger then makes it his personal mission to protect Sydney and find out who is trying to hurt her.
Fake marriage, forced proximity, and a sexy, warm-hearted genius…what more could romance fans want? This book was pure bliss for me. I finished this novel on Valentine’s Day, and, god, the timing couldn’t have been better. What better for a single girl to spend the day of love than fantasizing about her favorite TV show character as her fake husband?
I cannot recommend Ranger enough. The smut is sexy, the romance is adorable, and the plot itself is invigorating. This book, in just under 350 pages, manages to expertly include all elements of a good romance novel. There’s something for all readers. Ranger is part of a series of 4 novels, but they can be read in any order. The other 3 novels follow Ranger’s brothers and their romances with their partners. While I adored Ranger, I don’t know that I will be reading the other 3 novels in this series. I think the main interest point of this novel was Ranger being inspired by Dr. Reid, so I don’t think I am particularly interested in reading about the other brothers. Nonetheless, I am obsessed with Sharp’s writing. I think she has a special talent in romance, and she has plenty of other books and series for me to dive into. At the moment, I am thinking I may try Braved next, which is described as a “brother’s best friend romance” on Sharp’s Instagram.
Pick up Ranger ASAP! This romance is worth it and will leave you feeling complete, warm, and fuzzy. And, Dr. Spencer Reid finally gets his happy, romantic, ending.