The Dare

Ava Wilder’s past and present are about to collide. Vance Preston seems to be angry with just about everyone. He’s all about hate and revenge. This is another case where a man bullies a woman. If you have issues with how women sometimes get treated by men, this is your warning. You have to remember though that this is a work of fiction and there is romance.

It was interesting to see that the parents seemed so self-absorbed that the children seemed more of an afterthought. The story shows how that can also affect the family unit. They seemed so oblivious to the needs of their children. Their wants and needs seemed to be more important. The story seemed to pit the adults against the kids.

What I love about the authors is they blend so well together. Unless you are a real pro at dissecting an author’s writing style, I don’t think you will be able to say with any certainty this author wrote this or this author wrote that. They make an addicting pair. I have to know what they plan to come up with next. This is especially true after I read the ending of Ava and Vance’s story and got a hint to possibly the next book they’re going to collaborate on – one can hope.

I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Rating:
I loved it despite the fact that it contained one of my pet peeves.

I Just can’t get enough of these hate to love stories (or bully romances which are basically hate to love stories set in high school or college). This one was great even though it contained one of my big pet peeves which is when the blurb says, “you can’t break something that’s already broken.” Then the bully goes on to completely break the girl that was supposedly already broken.

I like the few where either the bully realizes how broken she truly is and decides to protect her instead of break her or even better the ones where she has been broken to the point where she has grown a steel backbone and gives as good as she gets and the bully ends up respecting her for that. In this one, though he does break her with his actions it is because he refuses to believe a thing she says. He has trust issues and nothing she says or does changes that.

There is explosive chemistry between Vance and Ava so even though they can’t Stand each other, they also can’t stay away from each other and it doesn’t help that their parents just got married and their rooms are across the hall from one another. This book is super steamy and filled with drama as well as some pretty devious pranks. I really enjoyed it all!

OMG! Love this series! I thought The Bet was amazing and didn’t think it good get any better, but how wrong I was because this book slayed me and put me back together in the best way! Vance and Ava’s chemistry was off the charts and at first I thought Vance was a spoiled jerk but the more I read the more I fell in love with him. And Ava I really liked how she had a backbone and with everything she was going through still kept her head held high! Well done JL Beck and C Hallman! This is by far my favorite series of 2019 ! I’m so excited to see what’s next from these two authors! I received an arc for my honest review

Another great book by JL Beck & C Hallman. Loved the angst between Ava & Vance! Lots of Steamy moments as well. I highly recommend you read this book! I loved Ava Lucas & Teddy Hamilton’s narration as well!

Biggest mistake of Ava’s life. She always hung out with her best friend, Vance. They played truth or dare. This one night she wanted to show Vance she could do a dare. That dare changed her life & everyone else’s life as well. Once she was older her mother was now marring his father. For years Vance was always told it was Ava’s lie that caused everyone’s life to fall apart. So when the wedding was getting taking place, she went to to wedding and because Vance always thought it was her lie that caused destruction,. Vance was determined to destroy her. Any way he could. He berated her, embarrassed her, humiliated her. He did everything positive to hurt her. He almost succeeded but she would not let it. In the end he found out it wasn’t her. So the game truth or dare actually almost destroyed both of them.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Dare follows on from The Bet & some of the characters briefly pop in this one. A nice touch i think. Back to this book this is a bully book. Vance and Ava (the leads in book) they were friends when they were growing up. In fact Vance & his family lived with Ava’s family for a while. What Ava sees one day shakes up not only her family but Vance’s. Lies and cover ups lead to Ava being blamed for lies that split up Vance’s family. A fact that Vance is bitter about. So when Ava has to live with him because his dad & her mum are getting married he intends on making her pay for it. He is down right nasty to her & i cant help feeling sorry for Ava because she has no-one on her side. Her mum is self-absorbed & her stepdad is the same. Its a great story & i loved it as much as The Bet. The explosive ending was jaw dropping though is all im saying to that one

Extremely entertaining, captivating and interesting sexy read. I could not put it down. Wonderfully written with strong, intriguing characters. I want to read more from this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

“Stepsister or not, she’s dead to me.
She was dead to me the night she lied about me to her father.”

Truth or dare? A regular and innocent game between two friends, Ava and Vance, has unimaginable consequences when Ava decides to choose dare for the first time. In pursuit of her mission, she ends up seeing a scene that will destroy her family as well as her friend’s family. And especially the friendship between them. Ava will not see him again. Vance will hate her.

A few years later, their lives changed drastically. The rich, happy and innocent girl gave way to a struggling person, with a drunken father and a selfish mother who does not care about her daughter. Vance, on the other hand, goes from poor boy to a playboy wrapped in luxury, parties and popularity, all based on the money of his now successful father, but with whom he lives a conflicted relationship.

But after so many years without seeing each other, the two will be forced to face each other. After all, their parents are getting married. And with this new “family dynamics,” Ava, with no other choice, accepts her mother’s help to pay for college expenses, which means living in the same house as Vance. But if she thought her friend from the past would be happy to see her, Vance’s hatred would be a shock to her. And without choice, she ends up entering a new game of truth or dare without knowing the rules, and whose goal is to destroy her.

A lie in the past has destroyed Vance’s life. And that’s why he blames Ava.
Making her pay has become his goal for all these years. And now with the possibility of destroying the woman he hates, he will be cruel, evil and intimidating. His psychological games and his focus on shaking her security will bring results. But Ava will not be an easy opponent. She will be strong, intelligent, and equally skilled. And with that, the war between them will be declared. Who will be the winner?

But is Ava truly guilty? Or is it all a big mistake? Lying is the main thread of the story. But who’s lying? And for what reason? What if the person you’ve been hating for years was as much a victim as you?

The book has intrigues, secrets, twists, revenge, villains that will arouse the reader’s anger, serious family problems, and a couple of young people who try to deal with everything that life has put in their ways in the best way they can. Vance’s attitudes while reprehensible are amenable to understanding, even if forgiving is difficult and even impossible. Ava suffered too much because of the selfishness of two adults unable to think of others beyond themselves.

The Dare is a good book, I liked the story a lot, it was well written, interesting and it captured attention. Clark, Vance’s best friend ends the plot with a huge cliffhanger, presenting a hook for his book. Recommended.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest Review *

If you had read book one in this series, The Bet, then you would know Vance had an appearance at the end of that story. I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to read his book after reading its excerpt.

So, Vance and Ava are friends during their middle school. After Vance’s father lost his job, they were offered to live with Ava’s family. They grew more closer and a budding attraction started. But a night of Truth or Dare game crashed their lives and got them separated. Five years later, Ava went back to the town where all her heartache started to live with her mother and her new husband, Vance’s father. She didn’t know what to expect of seeing her old friend during their parents’ wedding, but it was certainly not the hatred he was throwing at her.

Vance is a freaking asshole. There was a scene in this story that I have the strongest urge to leap inside the book and smack the hell out of him. I knew that what he was doing was a revenge to what he perceived as a betrayal of Ava. His need to humiliate and intimidate her was so strong, but it didn’t make my urge to hit him any less. He was really bad with Ava but he also couldn’t deny what he feels for her.

I would describe Ava’s character as a forgiving person. Even after what her mother did, she still tries to be understanding and seeks her affection (although it was obvious to me that it was a lost cause). She tried to give hell back as much as she can to every mean things that Vance did but, when it comes to the person she loves, she forgives them easily. I think it goes down to her craving to be loved by those people she cares about: a drunk father, a selfish mother and the boy who hates her.

The Dare is a stepbrother/bully romance, with angst, enough drama, revenge, sexy scenes all thrown in, but a little bit milder version of the previous book in this series, in my opinion.

Overall, I enjoyed it, loved it, went crazy over it and looking forward to reading the next book! Another great read from these amazing authors!

4.5/5 Stars

Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers. I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and/or author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This duo of authors has such a knack for creating stories that capture your attention straight from the beginning. This is the second book that I have read from these co-authors and I am liking the current trend.

What this book boasts, as did the first book in this series, is characters that imprint on you immediately. These characters are so realistic and flawed that you can’t help but feel a special connection with them throughout the entire book. I love how the remnants of their lives after childhood misfortune dictate their actions and feelings as the story progresses. These actions and feelings create such tension and they really drive the plot. I loved Ava from the very beginning and I really sympathized with her. She was strong despite going through such harsh realities as a teenager and then having no one in her corner. I also sympathized with Vance. I could really understand his motivations and feelings. He went through as much heartache as Ava because of what happened in their childhood and because of lies that surface about what happened. I liked that Vance was human and made mistakes because of his emotions and also that he tried to make up for his mistakes once things become clear to him.

I liked getting a small glimpse of Jules, Remington, and Sebastian. I would have liked to see more of them though. They are in a few scenes, which I enjoyed. I would honestly *love* for Sebastian to get his own book in the North Woods University world.

The plot of this book was one that kept me reading. I wanted to know what had happened in Ava and Vance’s past, the thing that is the root of all the happenings in the story, from the first chapter. I liked how the authors were able to add suspense into the writing to really make the reader latch on and want to know all the details. As far as the plot goes, it isn’t one that is highly inventive, but it was definitely written well. The characters had a lot to do with the addictiveness of the plot. Family drama is always good for catapulting plots, in my opinion. Everyone always wants to know the dirty gossip and it plays out well in this story.

Overall, this is another slam-dunk read by this co-authoring duo. I am absolutely invested in their books now. I am eager for the next book in this series and I will definitely be trying more of their backlist titles. If you are a fan of bully romances then you shouldn’t hesitate to read this one. It has strong characters, a plot that drives the story, and a romance that you can’t help but root for.