Ryland

RYLAND

By M. Taylor

It’s Pride Month, and that includes Black Love. Many of the SGL (same-gender-loving) romance novels I have read have taken place in large urban settings. M. Taylor’s Ryland, however, is set in the small town of Sterling Springs, South Carolina, giving us a pleasant change of pace and reminding the reader that LGBT folks are everywhere.

Gabriel Hendricks is a partner of an investment firm. A bisexual brotha who has had countless hookups with men and women, his heart was encased in ice, belonging to no one. Now 35, his pragmatism has him deciding to take a wife and have children. However, there are a few flies in the ointment—his avaricious, money-hungry fiancée Natalie has jilted him at the altar by marrying his business partner/former lover Alan. The newlyweds further humiliate Gabriel by telling him to his face that he had ice in his veins. In the aftermath of this betrayal, his cousin persuades him to get out of town for a while to lick his wounds and heal.

Ryland James Adderly runs a B&B and a plant nursery, having walked away from the corporate world a wealthy brotha in exchange for the simple pleasures of small-town living. At 27, he is getting over a relationship with toxic, self-hating boyfriend Henry, who dumped him and married a woman in order to hide his true self, leaving Ryland questioning his self-worth. Normally, he has his BFF/tenant Sandy to talk to—until she takes off for an elopement, mentioning that her cousin will be paying a visit to get over a breakup.

Drowning their sorrows in booze, the brothas unexpectedly meet at a local bar in Sterling Springs, which turns into a night of passion. But that’s not all—when they wake up the next morning, there are wedding rings on their fingers. Between meddling relatives and friends, and despicable exes out to undermine them personally and professionally, will Ryland and Gabriel stay married? Will the ice around Gabriel’s heart melt? Will Ryland find the person who truly values him on all levels?

In addition to the powerful, smoking-hot chemistry between Ryland and Gabriel, Taylor (aka Tria David) blends other issues into their love story, such as stereotyping, self-worth, and the damage people do with the words that come out of their mouths. Another message in her story was the following: “Be mindful of how you treat people; you never know who you’re talking to.” I loved Taylor’s flip of the script by having Ryland and Gabriel wake up married and then witnessing the process of them falling in love, leading to a happily-ever-after.

Ryland is available on Amazon.

Thank you, M., for your message of love, authenticity, and your embodiment of the words of Toni Morrison: “If there is a story you wish to read, and it hasn’t been written, then you must be the one to write it.” Black Love wins!