Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Review: Dare to Love by Carly Phillips

Dare to Love by Carly Phillips
Series: Dare to Love, Book 1
Publisher: CP Publishing
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance Dare to Love Cover
ISBN: 9780989311281
Source: Author
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N
Carly Phillips Reading Order

Since finding out his father had another family on the side, Ian Dare swore to be the upstanding, responsible man his cheating parent had never been. When it comes to his relatives, he gives his all but in relationships he offers the bare minimum. But one glimpse of sensual Riley Taylor arouses his dominant and protective instincts and Ian is entranced. He will do anything to possess her … and does. But any future with Riley must include him extending an olive branch to the half-brother who is a constant reminder of the pain he’d rather forget.

Independent and always in control, Riley Taylor makes no apologies for choosing men carefully. Relationships have never been a priority and she believes herself hardened to domineering men – until she meets charismatic Ian Dare. He manages to turn a simple kiss into an all out assault on her senses and when he takes control in the bedroom, she’s stunned to discover she likes it. As their affair heats up, they soon realize they complete each other in ways neither imagined. But Riley’s past is closer than she cares to remember, and her struggles with Ian’s dominance might just cost her everything.

Sparks fly bright and hot in Dare to Love. Carly Phillips’s first book featuring the Dare family is fast-paced and enjoyable, but it’s missing the vibrancy and heart I’ve come to expect from Ms. Phillips’s writing.

Riley is a smart, independent woman who’s not one to give up control. Then she meets Ian Dare, and suddenly she’s torn between the desire to protect herself and wanting to give into this dominant, gorgeous man. It was easy to like Riley, though she did a few things (for plot point reasons) that made me want to shake her. As for Ian, I wanted so badly to like him. He’s a hot, rich, successful man who offers the Cinderella fantasy. But though Ms. Phillips knows how to write a swoon-worthy heroes, Ian simply wasn’t my kind of alpha. He crosses too many lines, even interfering with Riley’s job out of jealousy, something that was a turn-off for me (just reader preference). Ian and Riley go from distrust to lust in no time, and I do wish more time had been given to them outside the bedroom, because they seemed to have a few major problems as a couple that were wrapped up fast and left me feeling like they didn’t have as solid a foundation for the future as I would have liked.

Dare to Love is the first book in a series of the same name about the Dare family. The messed up family dynamics involving Ian and his half-siblings and the love between him and his other siblings were my favorite parts of the story. Since Riley’s the best friend of Ian’s half-brother Alex, Ian can no longer avoid the family members he’d prefer didn’t exist. There’s a lot of angst in this plotline and I won’t spoil it, but this is where Ms. Phillips’s writing shines. I want to delve deeper into the Dare family, and that makes me look forward to reading more Dare to Love books.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

0 comments: