Just One More Dare (The Sterling Family #2)
Carly Phillips
Blurb:
A
runaway bride.
Taking
one more shot at love should be easy, right?
Not
on a dare.
Samantha Dare had one thought when she found out her fiancĂ© was a lying cheater. Escape. So, she ran from her wedding…straight into the arms of the man who once gave her the hottest kiss of her life. But rebounding with her brother’s friend would be a huge mistake…wouldn’t it?
The last thing
Dex Sterling needed was more chaos in his life. Retiring from football and
starting over in broadcasting gave him plenty of that. But even though Samantha
is chaos personified, for some reason, he’s still not able to keep his mind—or
hands—off her…
Is a little bit
of forced proximity and a lot of sexual chemistry enough to earn them a second
chance at happily ever after?
Samantha and Dex
are about to find out…
Themes: Contemporary
Rating: 4.5 stars
Review:
Long-time
Carly Philips readers have wondered whatever happened to that last Dare sibling
from the Miami Dares… Well wonder no more my fellow readers! Samantha Dare
finally meets her match and the man that will steal her heart and make her life
and adventure in Just One More Dare.
I have been dying for this book ever since Carly gave me a hint it was coming,
and I have to tell you she in no way let me down and I am truly proud to have
had to chance to be one of the first to read the story. Samantha and Dex’s Road
to love is a somewhat long and rocky one, filled with detours and obstacles
that could have prevented them from ever ending up together, but in the end,
they found their HEA together. If you
are a fan of two people working together to overcome adversity and beat the
odds of not only scheming and lying exes, but also overprotective family
members, and well-meaning but nosey friends, you will love Carly’s latest foray
into the world of love and drama.
Samantha
Dare is preparing to walk down the aisle, marrying her business partner and a
man that she has doubts about until she learns the truth from his own lips
about his plans for her and his mistress. Determined to not be made a fool, she
runs from her high-society wedding and is rescued by her oldest brother’s good
friend—one she shared a hot kiss with years ago, but never really saw again.
Dex Sterling had no idea when he headed toa business meeting one morning that
he would suddenly find himself whisking the woman that he always considered
“the one who got away” to a private getaway in the Caribbean to help her escape
her “almost wedding”. Dex knows that he has to keep his hands off the
vulnerable and hurting Samantha, but the more they are together the more he
wants her, and she isn’t helping as she flirts and tries to seduce him. But once they return to New York, all bets
are off as Dex realizes that she isn’t as broken by her aborted marriage as
some might think. Working to build a new
relationship soon might not be the smartest move, but both Dex and Samantha as
determined to prove everyone wrong and finally have their chance at happiness
now that there is nothing standing in the way of them having a relationship. However, someone is determined that Samantha does
not get her HEA and if they aren’t careful, they will lose their chance
together forever.
I
really loved finally getting to know the last of the very first in the long
line of the Dare’s, the family that began it all and opened up a whole new
world of characters and spin-offs that I have enjoyed for a while now. The Original Dare family began with Robert
Dare’s children (Dare to Love) and if you haven’t read them, I suggest you run
out and start them immediately, but I digress.
Samantha is the last of the single children from that large not-so nuclear
family and she has lived an interesting and anything but sheltered life, but
her siblings and mother have always been a support system while also being
overprotective enough that she fears letting them down. That fear of failing has made it hard for her
to reach out when she makes mistakes, but Samantha learns through her
relationship with Dex that sometimes its ok to admit we need help to solve our
bigger problems. I loved seeing Samantha interacting with her siblings and her
best friend, she was sassy, smart, savvy, and sensitive to the needs of others,
but never let herself be walked on. She
stood up for herself and her confidence barely wavered even when she was angry
enough to spit, but she certainly reached out and took the hand (Dex’s in this
case) that was there to rescue her. Dex
was the sexiest KISA I have seen in a while.
While his version of armor might have been a sexy suit, he wore it with
an aplomb that made any woman pant, he was loving, sweet, caring but strong,
dependable and smart enough to know not to get between a woman and her
problems, instead he stood beside her and supported her. I loved seeing Dex as he shared the story of
his past and how he became a Sterling, loving and supporting his second family
when he had never been shown that from his bio family. It is obvious that he has a lot of love to
give and that he will always be there for Samantha and that the two of them
will make a great bridge between two large families.
Just
One More Dare is the perfect story to remind you
that even in the midst of large supportive families we can sometimes feel
inadequate in certain ways, finding ourselves adrift, but reaching out and
finding that support is the most important feeling. I loved the feeling of family togetherness,
defense, and love that is always found in Carly’s Dare and Sterling stories and
seeing it together all in one was masterful.
Samantha is a Dare through and through; loving, protective, sassy,
smart, and willing to lay down her life for those she loves, Samantha will do
whatever it takes to keep her family and friends safe and happy, and when she
loses her heart to Dex there is no doubt that he will be her everything. Dex is the most beautiful of alpha males,
because even when he manages to make a dumb mistake, he can solve it; I loved
watching him work through his fears and worries about building a relationship
with Samantha until finally realizing he wasn’t willing to lose her a second
time, no matter what it costs him. The
heat that flares between these two is unquestionable and even when they are
trying to hide their love from others or even themselves you can feel the
passion between them. I am dying for the
next book in the series and cannot wait for find out which Sterling sibling
will lose their heart next, but I know whatever happens, Carly will blow our
minds and it’ll be a heartbreaking and ultimately fulfilling story.
*eARC provided by author for the
purpose of an honest and unbiased review.
No compensation was provided.
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