Skip to main content

The Dating Dare

The Dating Dare

A Sweet Mess, Book #2


by Jayci Lee
Narrated by Natalie Naudus


⭐⭐⭐ /5


Trigger Warning - past partner abuse discussed.


What happens when you put two people together that are very attracted together but also very broken from past relations? The dating dare, in which one dares the other to go on 4 dates with them without strings and not fall for each other…


…Of course they fall for each other, but that’s where the real dare begins. Do they dare to do the work and look into themselves to let them make this 4 date arrangement into something more permanent?


Both Tara and Seth have a history of partner abuse that tarnishes their views on relationships and love. They both had so much to work on that at points I found this romance hard to read. There was a lot of self sabotaging and generalizing about the opposite sex or partners. I did find it interesting that both he male and female leads used casual relationships to both boost their self esteem and to erect a barrier from getting hurt again.


I listen the audiobook and read along and found that the audiobook glossed over any of the discussion of partner abuse and that a listener without a print copy would be given a very whitewashed version of the characters past. Our narrator also did not have a very definitive male voice for Seth’s parts. Her pacing and expression was on point for the reading.


This was not an easy read/ listen for me. The characters underlying issues made it difficult for me to truly enjoy their journey to the HEA. I respect that there are people out there that need stories like this to relate to, but for myself, it just wasn’t the light hearted story I was hoping for.



The Dating Dare by Jenna MacGregor is scheduled to release August 3rd, 2021.



I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and the audiobook from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.



 

#TheDatingDare #JayciLee #Netgalley #pinkcowlandreads

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Singles Day

Happy Singles Day by Ann Marie Walker ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 This book was a delightfut surprise that left me with a smile on my face! Paige Parker has been all business since a messy break up with her ex fiancé five years ago. Not only did she lose her fiancé, but her job too. In order to take back control in her life, the hyper organized Paige started her own, now very successful professional organizing business. All is well until her BF/ assistant plants the seed that she needs a vacationing Singles Day ( the day after Valentines Day) is the perfect time to get away. Inspired, she books a getaway to the picturesque beaches of North Carolina. Too bad February in NC isn’t really beach  and tourist season! Paige’s vacation goes from bad to worse when she finally arrives at the B&B and finds out is hasn’t been operating in years and the host isn’t keen on starting anytime soon! With a story baring down on them, Paige and the reluctant B&B operator, Lucas are stuck with each oth...

Girls Before Earls

Girls Before Earls Rogues to Lover, Book 1 by Anna Bennett ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 This was a fun and fast paced start to a new series! Orphaned herself, Miss Hazel Lively has set about to make more than a school for her for her Bellhaven Academy, she wants it to become a family. And with the handful of girls enrolled and her assistant they have that connection … but a school can’t survive on care and respect. Bellhaven needs more paying students enrolled.  Kitty has been expelled from more boarding schools than her guardian can count. The fledgling Bellhaven Academy is Gabriel Beckett, the Earl of Bladenton’s last hope to get his niece off of his hands. Too bad that Bellhaven’s headmistress expects more from her students families and demands that the Earl visit his ward every fortnight and spend time with her as in order to secure her enrolment… How hard can a by-weekly visit be?? Not hard at all when Gabriel soon finds that he can’t get the up tight headmistress out of his thoughts...

A Good Duke Is Hard to Find

A Good Duke Is Hard to Find Isle of Synne series - Book 1 by Christina Britton ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ***WANTED*** *Large Viking like man returns to the Ilse of Synne to enact revenge on the family that denied him years ago. Could you be the one to help me bring down my vengeance? *Three time fiancee is looking for a new groom who will choose her for her… not what her father can give them. Fourth times the charm! *** What interesting characters! An Americanized Brit with viking ancestry is our delicious hero, Peter Ashford. He has arrived not heIsle to pay a debt to his aunt and inform his uncle of his plans for vengeance. Our Heroine, Lenora Hartley has lost three fiancees and has come to the Isle to lick her wounds, while her father attempts to find her another groom. She bumps into Peter upon her arrival and he takes up much of her time and thoughts onward. This first book in Christina Brittion’s new series starts off great; captivating characters, intriguing land...