ARC Review: Just a Little Hookup

Just a Little Hookup (Dare Crossover #1)

Carly Phillips, Erika Wilde

Blurb:

Being a bachelor has its perks. It also has its downside. Just ask Derek Bettencourt.

Standing on stage and being auctioned off in the name of charity is awkward AF… until his business partner’s younger sister wins him for the weekend. He’s all hers to do with as she pleases and he can’t say he’s unhappy with the prospect. Especially since she saved him from an ex-fiancée determined to get her claws into him again.

Jessica Cavanaugh never intended to bid on the man she’s had a lifetime crush on. But her spur-of-the-moment decision gives her a chance to exact a bit of playful payback, for old time’s sake. And Derek is all too happy to indulge Jessica's whims.

What starts as a fun, flirty, game, with Derek acting as her personal handyman, quickly turns into a steamy and forbidden weekend. Lines are crossed that they never intended and emotions unravel their playful facades. Afterward, he can’t get the gorgeous, full-figured woman out of his head and he’s determined to make her his.

But how can they concentrate on a future when someone is threatened by their relationship and will do anything to come between them?

Themes:  Contemporary

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Once of my favorite events in reading is when two great authors pair up on a story to give us a new perspective and a sneak peek into an all new story arc, especially if it relates to one of my favorite existing series.  In this instance Carly Phillips has teamed up with Erika Wilde to spin off from the wonderfully sensually Dare Nation series to give us a whole new set of stories about family and friends loosely connected to the Dares.  Not only do we get amazing sexy and beautiful love stories, but we get fun glimpses of our favorite Dares and their mates as these new couples steal our heart and amaze us.  I was thrilled to get the chance to read this story and share my thoughts, but I’ll start by saying WOW.  Jessica Cavanaugh is a friend to the Dares and a powerhouse in her own right; a woman that was bullied for her body most of her life, she has not only embraced who she is, but started a line of beautiful clothes to help other women with similar bodies and the issues that come with that stigma to embrace their beauty and greatness.  She knows her worth and that she is beautiful, but there is always that little bit of self-consciousness when faced with the gorgeous male she has had a crush on most of her life.  Derek Bettencourt has had it with the crap in his life.  He’s just escape an engagement to a horrible woman, his mother is becoming more and more intolerable, and his sister went through hell until she came out of it in love with his friend.  The last thing he needs is a new relationship, but he might just be willing to have a little fun with the sexy Jessica, if he can get past the fact that she is the little sister of his best friend and business partner.  But soon their fun and games gets serious and they have to come to terms with their feelings, or they just might damage their relationship and break one another. 

I have to begin by saying that as a curvy girl (named Jessica J)  I REALLY connected with the heroine in this story, though I’ve never been one with clothes, but mostly because I’m still working to feel comfortable in my own body.  Oddly as much as I loved the romance in this, because of course Erika and Carly always deliver that, this story hit me the hardest in the message Jessica worked so hard to deliver with her business and life motto.  It made me really think about my own thoughts and decisions when it comes to how I see my body, which was a profound and unexpected outcome of reading this book.  Jessica was sassy, beautiful, inspiring, sweet, and witty and though I hated to see the moments when she was hurting she handled those with class and beauty too.  Jessica truly is the kind of woman I want to be when I “grow up”.  Derek was surprisingly likeable, mostly because I didn’t think I’d like that he seemed to be all superficial, but that was definitely just a mask he wore.  Once he dug deeper and allowed himself to share his emotions with Jessica, showing that he could offer her the emotional support as well as the love she needed, I knew he was going to be one of my favorite heroes.  He was brave, sexy, smart, strong, and loving and I enjoyed getting to know more about him, and especially seeing him interacting with the Dare men as they just go to “be men”.  The passion between these two, even when they were fighting it, was magnetic and I could feel it every second they were even thinking about one another. It’s obvious they were always meant to be and that fighting it just made their lives harder.  Erika and Carly managed to delivery and inspirational, emotional, passionate, and brilliant story that ties into the Dare World without being depend on it for those who aren’t long time readers. I can’t wait for more from this dynamic duo and of course in the original Dare world with the next story Just One Fling coming soon.

*eARC provided by authors for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.