Review: Dare to Love by Carly Phillips

Rating: ★★★★★ stars
Date published: January 10th, 2014
Publisher: CDP Publishing
Synopsis: New York Times Bestselling Author Carly Phillips turns up the heat in her newest sexy contemporary romance series, and introduces you to the Dare family… siblings shaped by a father’s secrets and betrayal.

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.

What I Thought:

I haven't read a book by Carly Phillips in quite some time.  I loved her earlier books and am glad I've gotten a chance to fall back in love with her characters and writing.  Even knowing I was going to enjoy what I was going to read, I wasn't sure I was going to love it. But I dd, even though it wasn't right away.

When Riley and Ian first met, it was instant attraction. I'm not a fan of that.  When they didn't consummate first, I thought, "Hmm...lets see what happens." It turns out I was being too hasty in judging the intense attraction they felt toward each other.  Both Riley and Ian had issues they needed to work on.  One they both had in common was trust.  I really enjoyed seeing them work their way to finding how to really be with each other. It didn't help Riley was the best friends with one of the men Ian had an intense aversion for, his half-brother.

Family played a large role in this book.  My heart broke for Ian and his siblings when I found out what had happened to them as a child. Parental love is supposed to be unconditional and all encompassing, however rejection from a parent is hard to reconcile, even when one grows up.  Trust me, I've been there myself, so I could realize empathize with him.  Same goes for Riley.  I've been in her shoes too, so their trials and tribulations were real to me.  Carly wrote about both issues extremely well.  She didn't simplify them or trivialize them and did them the justice they deserve.

I'm so glad I've reconnected with Carly's books.  I'm also very happy there are seven more books planned for this series.  How do I know?  Well there are eight Dare siblings and I look forward to seeing each and everyone of them find lasting love.

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About the Author

 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips N.Y. Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips has written over 40 sexy contemporary romance novels that today's readers identify with and enjoy. After a successful 15 year career with various New York publishing houses, Carly is making the leap to Indie author, with the goal of giving her readers more books at a faster pace at a better price. Her Serendipity books will still finish up in January/February 2014 via Berkley as planned. Carly lives in Purchase, NY with her family, two nearly adult daughters and two crazy dogs who star on her Facebook Fan Page and website. She's a writer, a knitter of sorts, a wife, and a mom. In addition, she's a Twitter and Internet junkie and is always around to interact with her readers. You can find all information about Carly at her website and other social media sites ...

Follow Carly on the web:

Carly's Website.

Carly's Blog.

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* Thank you to the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.  It also turns out I purchased a copy of this book on August 29th, 2014.  Go figure.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*