Dare to Love ( Ian & Riley) #1
When it comes to family, Ian Dare gives his all
but in relationships he offers the bare minimum. Until one glimpse of sensual
Riley Taylor arouses his dominant and protective instincts. He will do anything
to possess her … and does. But any future with Riley must include him dealing
his half-brother who is a constant reminder of the pain he’d rather
forget.
Riley Taylor believes herself immune to domineering men – until charismatic Ian
Dare turns a simple kiss into an all out assault on her senses and she
discovers she likes his brand of control in the bedroom. 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. (love story, contemporary romance,
alpha heroes, beach reads, sports heroes, bad boys, billionaire)
If I say that I love the book and the series, it would be an understatement!
Dare to Love is an amazing book and I loved every second of it! The story is intriguing and has excellent details, the characters are very well developed and actually quite amazing and the writing is just exceptional.
Let me tell you why I loved it so much. Ian is our typical alpha male, super rich, extremely sexy man who has few issues. Riley is our typical strong, beautiful, smart but not so rich, funny young woman, who also has few issues. Their chemistry is explosive so we get to have many steamy scenes. It sounds like the oh-I-read-many-books-like-this-but-I-love-this-kind-of-book-anyway , right? Well Carly Phillips’s writing makes it more like the oh-my-freakin-God-Give-me-more-kind-of-book!!
The general, outer story may have been seen in other books. However, I can honestly say that Dare to Love is AMAZING and OUTRAGEOUSLY ADDICTIVE! I loved everything about it, the story, the characters, the writing, the dialogues, EVERYTHING! But the best part is that it’s so damn fun to read! You may like the book, you may love it, enjoy it, adore it...I have read many good books that I liked, loved, adored and enjoyed..
Dare to Love, though, takes the Prize of the Most Enjoyable Book!! It is incredible and highly addictive!
This books is perfect; thus no spoilers or teaser lines for you! Go Grab it Now! I cannot recommend it enough!!
I have no other words to describe it. It’s a MUST READ!!
So, Dare to Love receives Beyond 5 Stars!!
Excerpt:
She
let herself into her building, walked up one flight to her apartment, and was
startled to find someone waiting outside her door. Even in the dimly lit hall,
she recognized Ian Dare’s tall frame, dark hair, and handsome features.
Excitement bubbled up inside her, followed by wariness.
“Finally,”
he said, leading her to believe he’d been standing there awhile.
More
She
fought against her rapidly beating heart. “What are you doing here?”
He
pushed off the wall and strode toward her. “Do you realize I walked into the
building without being buzzed in? I just followed behind a couple who were too
busy groping each other to pay attention to who was entering behind them.”
He
didn’t have to further sum up his point. Riley already knew the argument well
from Alex and her stepmom. “It’s perfectly safe. I carry mace and I’m careful.
And you still haven’t answered my question.”
Ian
ran a hand through his hair, taking the time to tamp down on the anger that had
been brewing inside him as he waited for her in this tiny hall that, despite
her claim, was far from safe.
Not
for a woman with her full breasts and curvy hips. Not for a woman with that
mass of untamed hair and wild beauty, dressed in a short denim skirt with a
ruffled edge and black sleeveless top that bared a hint of her stomach.
He
fought for control over his libido and the desire to take her in every way
imaginable. “I realize I didn’t return your call, but I’m here now.”
She
met his gaze, brave and unwavering. “Go home. Whatever I needed from you, it’s
too late now.”
His
eyes narrowed. “That’s what Alex said, but he refused to elaborate. He said it
was your business, so I came to the source. I was busy this week. I had
meetings for the draft, and I couldn’t call you back.”
She
raised an eyebrow. “Bull. I’m guessing there are a whole host of reasons why
you didn’t get back to me. At the top of the list is that you hate Alex.”
“I
don’t hate him.” He clenched his hands and released them again, searching for
focus. “Riley, you left me a message. Just tell me why.”
“It’s
too late.” She walked toward him as she spoke.
She
passed him by, heading for her door, key in hand. “I already lost my job,” she
said as she slipped inside her apartment.
The
door slammed closed behind her, leaving him basking in her scent.
“Son
of a bitch.” He knocked hard.
When
she didn’t answer, he tried again.
And
again.
Worst-case scenario, he’d settle into the hallway for the night and wait to catch her when she left again in the morning. Unwilling to do that, he banged on the door again.
In
the middle of his knock, she swung the door open wide.
“Fine.
Come in,” she said, her eyes narrowed and wary.
He
stepped inside. Once enclosed in her small apartment, her luscious scent
wrapped around him once more. His cock took a definite hit as desire filled him
along with that burning need only she inspired. Knowing those feelings wouldn’t
be welcome, he took in her space. Bright colors on the walls, eclectic pieces
of furniture, and a warm feel. She knew how to take a tiny area and make it
feel like a true home.
“Can
I get you something to drink?” she asked.
“No. I just want to know what happened.”
She expelled a deep breath, causing her breasts to rise and fall beneath the flimsy material. He glanced down, trying not to ogle her cleavage because that made him want to test the weight of her breasts. And once he started touching her, he wouldn’t be able to stop. Instead, he noticed her toenails were painted a bright orange, one toe surrounded by a thin silver ring. Even her fucking feet
were sexy.
“I worked for Blunt Sporting Goods,” she said, unaware of his train of thought. “I was head of their distribution and sales department. The company was sold; the new boss is an ass and began laying people off. I pulled a Hail Mary and told him I had an in with you, that I could get some of our products distributed to the team. He gave me until Friday to get back to him with something substantial. I called. You didn’t. End of story.” She strode over to the door
and swung it open, obviously eager to get rid of him.
He stared in stunned surprise. “You told him that after meeting me for the first
time on Saturday night?”
She raised her chin. “Yep.”
“After our kiss.”
Her cheeks turned a healthy pink. “Mmm-hmm.”
“After you walked away from me without a second glance.”
She blinked up at him. “I looked back,” she said softly.
Dare to Desire ( Alex & Madison) #2
Quarterback Alex Dare, had it all -- an all-star
football career and his choice of willing women -- until a severe injury forces
him into early retirement. Social worker Madison Evans grew up in foster homes
and knows what it means to have-not. She isn't impressed by Alex Dare’s wealth
or charm. Not since she fell hard for him once before, only to discover she was
just one of his too-easy conquests.
This time around Madison refuses to succumb to Alex so easily. But Alex wants
Madison. And if there is one thing Alex does well, it’s to get what he wants.
Can he convince Madison to take a risk and dare to love?
Another amazing novel from the Dare to Love Series!!
Its quality is equal to Dare to Love’s quality, but I think Dare to Love is my favorite...And though Dare to Desire is a stand-alone, I suggest you read the first book as well, because 1) You get the full picture and 2) Dare to Love is absolutely amazing!
Now, let’s go to Dare to Desire!
It’s remarkable and Carly Phillips’s ability to provide us with 2 consecutive-in-the-series exceptional books is astonishing!!!! I love that woman! Not kidding you..I love and admire her!!
What I loved the most about it is its timeline and pace. It starts with some kind of parallelism with the first book, with Carly describing through Alex and Madison how their relationship began and how it abruptly ended. We also get some details throughout the book. After their breakup, we move forward and see how they meet again and how both of them try not to repeat their previous mistakes, with one of them pulling and the other pushing. This timeline is different and doesn’t appear very often in books. Well Carly does it perfectly! I loved how different it is! And I loved how she uniquely connects the first with the second book. We move forward with all of the characters from both books, without any hurry but with class and humour.
Carly’s writing is impeccable as ever!!
It is HOT and FUNNY, but it also has DRAMA and TEARS. It shows that when you truly love someone, you fight for that person and you never stop fighting. It shows the significance of trust, love, patience, persistence and compromise!
The Dare to Love Series receives another 5 Star Medal!!!! It is outrageously good!
Dare to Desire is unique and outstanding! Another MUST READ from the amazing Carly Phillips!
Excerpt:
“Alex,
I believe you know Madison Evans.”
Blindsided
— and his half brother knew it — Alex strode up to her. He inhaled her familiar fruity scent, which
only served as a reminder of the hot times he’d spent breathing her in as his
cock moved inside her body. Her effect on him was potent, and even the most
common expressions failed him.
“Alex,”
she said, her cool tone bringing his head out of the desire-filled fog he’d
found himself in.
“Hey,
Angel,” he said, using the endearment he’d started calling her during their
brief time together. Another sign he’d
had it bad, whether he’d wanted to admit it or not.
Her
head whipped up, her eyes narrowing and settling on Ian. “This won’t work.” She turned to go.
More
Alex
still had excellent reflexes, and he grabbed her arm before she could stride
past him.
She glared.
He
didn’t look away, determined to win this battle of wills. This potential job, which had interested him
on an intellectual and emotional level initially, suddenly felt even more
important, and she was the reason.
“We
need to talk,” he insisted.
“I
have nothing to say.”
“Ian’s
proposition said otherwise.”
Madison
looked over his shoulder in search of Ian and frowned. “Well, the traitor is gone. No big surprise there.”
Smart
man, Alex thought. “If I let you go,
will you stay long enough to discuss this position Ian and Riley want me to
take?”
She
let out a frustrated puff of air.
He
took that as a yes and released her.
“Us
working together is not a good idea, and somewhere in that thick head of yours,
you know that.”
“Because
we slept together? More than a couple of times?”
She
set her jaw. “That was a mistake.”
Ouch. That hurt, he thought, and filed away the why
to deal with later. “I want to know more
about this training program and what my role in it would be.”
“Why?
You can’t possibly be interested.”
“It
sounds more like you don’t want me to be interested.”
She
rolled her shoulders back even farther, stiffening her posture. “You’re right. I don’t.
This is a serious project that could help a lot of people and have
far-reaching positive repercussions for years to come. I need a partner willing to go all in. And let’s face it, I’ve seen your staying
power. It’s nonexistent.”
He
winced, knowing she was really referring to him and relationships. And she was right. At least, that’s how he had been. Six months with nothing to do but live in his
own head, had brought changes she knew nothing about.
Eyebrows
raised, stern expression on her face, she glared at him as if he were something
she’d scraped off her shoe.
In the
span of five minutes, she’d insulted him more than anyone had in probably his
entire life. So why was he turned on? He
shifted his stance in a futile effort to adjust his cock and gain some sort of
ease or comfort. Not happening around
her, and he knew it.
“I’ll
give you that one insult because I deserved it.”
She
wrinkled her nose in confusion.
Good.
He liked her off balance. Much better
than spitting mad. “Any more and I’ll
have to take action.”
She
opened her mouth then closed it again, because as they were both intimately
aware, he’d have no trouble following through on his threat.
“Care
to tell me what you have planned for this program?” he asked, deliberately all
business. He strode over to the chair at
the head of the table and settled in.
She
obviously realized he was serious because she headed for the stack of folders
on the table and sifted through them.
Coming
up with the one she wanted, she opened it and glanced down only briefly before
speaking. “Football players — anyone in
training for prolonged periods of time — live a very regimented life. From what and when they eat to their exercise
routine to when to practice and attend team meetings, everything is laid out
for them. One injury and everything
changes.” She eyed him warily from
beneath her lashes.
He was
surprised she’d still worry about his feelings after how he’d treated her. “Go on.
I can take it.”
She
nodded. “Suddenly they can eat what they
want, when they want, and they gain unhealthy amounts of weight that isn’t
balanced out by the exercise they used to do.
Lack of education and preparation result in poor financial choices. Most athletes run through any good money they
might have made in a short amount of time.
Marriages crumble from the strain.
Not to mention, they get bored, and depression sets in. I have statistics, but for now, you can just
take my word for it.”
He
didn’t have to. He’d begun experiencing
some of it himself.
“What’s
your solution?” he asked, impressed with the knowledge she already had
regarding the problem they faced.
“Education.” She tapped the folder on the table. “All football colleges and universities need
to have programs geared to post-career options.
It’s not enough to offer a finance or business major. They need to target post-professional life. From our perspective, that means we start
from the ground up. We contact schools and propose just such an approach. We hire ex-players willing to speak to the
kids about the importance of thinking beyond football. And at a team level, we begin to provide all
sorts of counseling and training.
Nutrition, business classes, psychological counseling. Another goal is to eliminate the stigma of
retirement, and to do that, we need to prepare our players for the
future.” She finished her speech, her
cheeks flushed pink and her eyes wide, her passion for the subject
evident.
Fuck,
she was gorgeous.
He’d
seen a similar look on her face before, right before he’d slid his fingers
inside her and teased her to climax. He
closed his eyes, dragging in a controlled breath.
Wrong
time, wrong place. Wrong everything.
He
might want to return to where they’d been before he’d opened his big mouth and
thrown her out of his hospital room, but she wanted nothing to do with
him. She didn’t trust him, and he didn’t
blame her. He needed to win her over
before he could let himself even think about sinking back into her body. She needed to see he’d changed, grown up.
And
maybe he needed to prove the same thing to himself.
“I’m
in,” he told her.
“Excuse
me?”
“I’ll
take the job.”
She
pinched the bridge of her nose. “Didn’t
Ian tell you it’s up to me who to hire?”
Alex
shook his head, silently cursing his manipulative brother. “No, I think the plan was to throw us in here
like gladiators and see who survived.”
To his
surprise, she let out an amused laugh.
The
desire to kiss the dimples on either side of her mouth was strong. Beneath the table, he curled his fingers into
fists, curbing his desire. His
frustration wasn’t as easily controlled.
“I
really don’t think we can work together,” she said, sobering.
“Then
I’ll just have to convince you otherwise.”
Dare to Surrender ( Gabe & Isabelle) #3
After ending a relationship to a cheating, domineering man, Isabelle Masters takes off in her leased Mercedes, only to be arrested for grand theft and hauled to a local police station. To her surprise, she is rescued by the most unlikely person possible, Gabriel Dare, a man she’s been attracted to for far too long. Gabe offers Isabelle freedom along with an invitation to Eden, an exclusive island resort where everything and anything is possible.
Although Gabe yearns to possess Isabelle, he knows all too well he must fight his primitive need to bind her to him, and instead help bring out the independent woman she yearns to become – or risk losing her for good.
A woman who needs to run her own life. A man who needs to exert control. Can she surrender to his erotic demands without losing her sense of self once more?
Dare to Surrender is as extremely hot as it is heartwarmingly sweet.
Dare to Surrender takes us to Ian’s and Alex’s cousins, Gabe, Lucy and Decklan. It was a bit unexpected (the choice of Gabe as the next leading Dare character). But it did introduce Eden to us...In case you don’t remember, we met Gabe in the second book where Alex and Madison visited him at his club.
And here we are!
First of all, I’d like to let you know that Dare to Surrender has steamier scenes and the book may mention something like “kinky”, “BDSM”, “tied up”..There’s nothing too graphic, but it deviates from the first and second books’ type of sex scenes, if we can call them that. Kinky or not, Carly has delivered another book, full of sexy moments and even sexier scenes!
Other than that, this book’s story is in the same environment as the previous books from the series. The story is original, mysterious and suspenseful. The characters are intriguing and quite unpredictable! And not to mention Carly’s impeccable writing skills.
The story focused not only on the couple but also on both Gabe and Isabelle. We saw them connecting to each other and changing as a couple. We actually witnessed every step of their relationship; getting close to each other, creating their unison and finally getting their happily-ever-after. We saw every stage of their relationship and it was a lovely sight to be given. Their story is beautiful, romantic and little sad.
And that’s what I loved the most about this book. That we got to see everything. Carly’s writing shone once more!
Somewhere towards the ending, it seemed like few events occurred a bit rushed. And since Carly’s writing and the story were really exceptional up until that moment, the change in pace was more apparent than it would be if they weren’t as good as they really was.
And another thing...I LOVED THE EPILOGUE!!It was so different from any other and again, it was unpredictable..Those characters never ceased to amaze me, to be honest!
So, Dare to Surrender gets 4 Gorgeous Stars!!!
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.
Social Links:
Upcoming Release:
Dare to Submit ( Decklan & Amanda) #4
Decklan Dare knows about the unexpected loss of loved
ones and for this reason, he values control in all areas of his life.
Amanda
Collins enjoys the freedom she finds in casual encounters without the emotional
connection a relationship brings.
They meet and their physical attraction is
mutual but both experience feelings that could run deeper – if they drop their
guard and let each other in. Decklan is first to trust, but when he discovers
the secret Amanda’s been hiding, will he forgive?
Or will he rebuild every wall
before she has a chance to explain?
Release Date : Sept 8
Pre - Order Links:
