A sweet, steamy he falls first romance with a patient retired bull rider, small town charm, sister dynamics, and fantastic narration from Erin Mallon and Stephen Dexter.
Goodreads | Trying Not to Need You
Release date: September 22, 2026
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
om NYT and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylee Ryan comes a new standalone small-town series about four sisters finding love. Trying Not to Need You is a he-falls-first, opposites-attract romance featuring a retired bull rider and the woman he’s never stopped loving.
Baylor
I thought I was living my happily ever after.
But after five years in New York, building my life around a man who stopped choosing me, I realized our future was nothing more than a dream.
So I walked away.
From the city. From him. From the family I thought we’d build together.
Now I’m back in Magnolia Ridge with my sisters, trying to figure out who I am without the life I planned.
I didn’t come home looking for love.
But somehow, love has been waiting for me all along.
Macklin
I’ve loved Baylor Moran for years.
The timing was always wrong. Until now.
She’s back in Magnolia Ridge with a bruised heart and walls higher than ever. But that’s okay. I’ll be here when they’re ready to come down.
Baylor can take all the time she needs.
I’m not going anywhere.
And while she’s trying not to need me, I’ll keep loving her until she realizes she’s not falling apart anymore.
She’s finally falling—straight into the future we were always meant to have.
Review:
I adored the first book in Kaylee Ryan’s Moran Sisters series, so I was ridiculously excited to head back to Magnolia Ridge for Baylor and Macklin’s story. And yep — I’m officially really enjoying this new to me author because Trying Not to Need You was so good.
Baylor comes home after walking away from a five year relationship and the future she thought she was building. She needs time to heal, figure out what she wants, and find herself again. And Macklin? That man is not fucking around. He has loved Baylor for years, and now that she’s finally back in Magnolia Ridge, he isn’t interested in rushing her or taking advantage of her broken heart. Instead, he’s patient. Steady. Strong. He gives her the space she needs while making it abundantly clear that he’s there, he adores her, and he isn’t going anywhere.
I loved that balance so much. Macklin knows exactly what he wants, but Baylor still gets the time and space to heal from her breakup rather than immediately jumping into something new. He just keeps showing her through his actions that when she’s ready, he’s the man who will be there.
And of course, there’s plenty of chemistry along the way. This was sweet, steamy, heartfelt, and fun, with all of the small town and family elements I enjoyed so much in the first book. I’m already invested in the Moran sisters and very happy I found this series.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Erin Mallon and Stephen Dexter, who are both longtime favorites of mine. They’re two of my OG romance narrator loves, and at this point I will happily pick up basically anything with either of their names attached. Unsurprisingly, they were fantastic here. They brought so much warmth, emotion, and chemistry to Baylor and Macklin and made an already enjoyable romance even better on audio.
Two books into the Moran Sisters series and Kaylee Ryan is quickly becoming an author I’m very happy to have discovered.
Perfect for readers who love:
- 🤠 Retired bull rider heroes
- 💘 He falls first, and has been waiting forever
- 🏡 Smalltown romance
- 👯♀️ Close knit sister dynamics
- 🩹 Healing after heartbreak
- 🥹 Patient, steady heroes who SHOW UP
- 🔥 Sweet + steamy romance
- 🎧 Dual narrated audiobooks
Overall rating: 4/5
Thanks Must Love Audio for the gifted copy.
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