Ryder is the first book I've read by Hope Stone. It's the first book in her Outlaw Souls MC series. Based solely on the content of this book, Ryder, I would classify this as a middle of the road, relatively "safe' MC series. There is little violence, non of it's graphic, no questionable consent when it comes to sex, no OW/OM situations, no cheating. The language is typical for this type of book, meaning you will read a lot of it, and there are lots of sexual references, as well as sexual content.

Ryder is the VP of the Outlaw Souls MC. He is raising his sixteen year old sister, Lily. Our heroine, Paige moves to his town, looking to get a job "helping people". How do we know this? Because it is reiterated, over and over again. Instead Paige ends up working at a diner while trying to make ends meet. I really didn't like Paige. She came across as being way too cookie-cutter good girl heroine for my taste. She grew up in the lap of luxury, but of course, she "isn't like the them". She turns down the job at a charity when she finds out that she would be basically pushing pencils and trying to get donations, and that she might be an asset because she knows a lot of wealthy people. She doesn't want the job "because she wants to be more hands on with helping people". From that point on, I really didn't like her. It showed her selfishness. That she only wanted to help people on her terms. It just felt like this was written to be Paige's one defining personality trait. Like we were supposed to like her, to root for her, because she wants to "help people". To me she didn't come off as particularly philanthropic, but rather condescending. It was like she was placing herself on some pedestal, wanting to show everyone that she was better than not only her rich family, but also than the people she was helping.

Ryder's character was okay. Nothing really stuck out either way about him. He was fairly typical for this type of book. He was good with his casual hook ups. He had a rough home life. The one part of his life that I did like was his raising his teenage sister, Lily. She stood out in the little time she was in the book more than either of the main characters, tbh.

I liked the plot. While a bit predictable, it was intriguing enough to keep me hooked. It also set up the next few books well. While there is no cliffhanger, and we get our HEA for our couple, the book is the beginning to a series. We not only meet the Outlaw Souls, but they also have a rival gang, and this book gives up a little information. My guess is we are going to see more play out with the rivalry in subsequent books.

My biggest complaint, however, is that Ryder and Paige interact very little in the book. It takes a while for them to meet. When they do, we see the instalust and we get to hear their thoughts, via the dual POV, about how attractive they find one another, however, them actually spending time together never really happens. It's hard to see a connection between them when they aren't really connecting.

I did like the characters that were introduced. I'm looking forward to reading the follow up books and getting their stories. And, while I know this is a story about bikers and that is the stories we will be getting, I would love it if we were treated to a follow up story (maybe two?) about Ryder's sister, Lily, and Paige's sister, Bailey. They are both young now, but I'd love to see them once they are college age. I felt they had great potential as characters. I especially liked Bailey, with all her sneaking around and her vibrant personality.

Now for the really, really GOOD in this book. While I am a fan of the romance genre, it can at times be way too over the line when it comes to misogyny and double standards. I've been on a bit of a quest this year to find and rate books that are "better than that". This book stands up to those standards. This is the first and only MC book that I can remember reading that not only doesn't demean women, they are a part of the club! We are introduced to two members of the Outlaw Souls that are women! And they are treated just as the others are. I can't wait to read more and I'm really hoping that we see more of them (spoiler alert/confession: I've already read the next two books in the series, so if, like me you want more of the women of this MC, you will be pleased)

So, I am giving this one three stars. It's a solid book. While it has it's issues, I think it's a good start to the series. After reading the books following this one, I'm sort of looking at this one as the first pancake. It's still good, it's just not as put together as the ones that follow.