Falling for Trouble (Dare to Fall #1)
Carly Phillips
Blurb:
I just landed the
job of my dreams—planning the Miami Thunder football team’s anniversary
celebration—and I can’t afford distractions. Especially not tattooed
billionaire and reformed troublemaker Lucas Carras. He exudes alpha-hero
intensity, but he’s been off limits for as long as I’ve known him.
But the kickoff
party is happening at the nightclub he co-owns with my brother… and with my
sibling out of town, I’m stuck working with Lucas.
Forced proximity
ignites the desire we’ve both been pretending doesn’t exist. From bedrooms to
storage rooms, the scorching tension causes us to cross every line we swore we
wouldn’t. On paper, we’re complete opposites. In reality, the chemistry is
undeniable.
This party is
everything I’ve worked for—my moment to prove myself. Until the sabotage
starts.
Orders vanish.
Vendors back out. Someone is determined to ruin the anniversary… and my
reputation along with it.
Suddenly Lucas
isn’t just a distraction. He’s my protector, my anchor, and the only man I
trust to stand by my side.
But when my
brother finds out about us, family drama explodes. And I’m torn between being
the good girl who plays by the rules... and falling for trouble.
Themes: Contemporary, Second Generation
Rating: 4.5 stars
Heat Rating:
Review:
When
Carly Phillips started mentioning a secret project to me and other members of her
reader group we were all intrigued but most of us don’t much care what is
coming at us, if its from Carly we’re going to read it (full honesty). So, when I started reading this is hadn’t
even read the blurb, so when I started recognizing names and realized we were
getting the second generation of Ian and Riley Dare I was beyond thrilled. I love a good second generation continuation
of a series but realizing the Dare’s were continuing this way made my heart
almost beat out of chest because I have followed this series religiously from
the very beginning (heck I created the first published Dare family tree!). I
can only say I enjoyed every moment of not only Rainey and Lucas’s love story,
but seeing all the “old” couples that first grabbed my heart when they found
love through adversity and getting to see that their HEA really did last
through all the crap life throws at people as they age together. Carly truly
gave us a gift as she continued the Dares into Gen2 and I hope she does this
for all the Dare groups up and down the eastern seaboard (wink, wink; nudge,
nudge Carly).
Rainey
Dare has finally gotten her chance to prove to not only her family but also others
in the business community that she can be successful not because of her
connections to the famous Dare fortune, but despite them. She and her partner have won a huge contract
that could make of break their business, but she needs the help of the one man
that makes her heart beat and her body melt, and the one man that “friend-zoned”
her ages ago. Lucas Carras has always
known that Rainey Dare was a temptation to sin that he would have to resist not
just because her brother is his best friend and business partner, but because
her parents will never accept a relationship between them. But the more they spent time together
planning the big party, working through mysterious catastrophes that seem to sabotage
Rainey, the closer they get and soon the thought of resisting their need is no
longer something either of them is willing to entertain. Sadly, a secret affair can only remain secret
for so long and once their feelings are involved an affair, one that is
explosively public is not something either of them wants, because they both
want so much more. Can they figure out who is after Rainey and also find a way
to be together without tearing apart their other relationships, or will they forever
have to choose between those they need and what they want?
I
truly loved this story, not just because I was instantly obsessed with getting
to know Rainey as adult, but because watching her and Lucas both coming to
terms with their fears and desires was a true story of growth and
discovery. True chemistry is undeniable and
sometimes comes in the most unexpected of places, but when you also have a base
of friendship, trust, and years of knowing a man understanding that chemistry
adds up to so much more once you allow it free rein in your heart. Rainey spent so many years fighting for her
place in her family, never allowing anyone to write her off as simply another vapid
little rich girl and has built a thriving and enriched life and
business. The one thing she has never
found is a love like the one she witnessed between her parents and the others
of their generation, filled with deep respect, love and understanding, and she
will settle for nothing else for herself. Watching her try to settle for less
in order to explore the passion with Lucas was hilarious, because we all knew
that simply saying they were going to have an affair was going to blow up in
their faces. Lucas has fought tooth and nail to be a better man than he was and
then he could have turned out to be. His business with his two best friends is successful
and his pride and joy, but he doesn’t do relationships so he won’t allow
himself to reach for the one woman he has always wanted. Rainey has always pulled him in and having
her in his arms finally releases so much emotion that he has to work through
before he can be the man she truly deserves and needs. It was fabulous to watch the explosive chemistry
they shared as it slowly settled into a simmer that was very familiar and I can’t
wait to see them in future stories as their love is another one that looks to
last for the rest of their lives.
Carly
gave us the best second generation beginning and I am dying for more so I hope others
enjoy it as much as tell her all about it so that she keeps the stories
coming. Rainey and Lucas are fabulous characters
as are their friends and cousins so I am dying to get to see them all falling
in love and their own brand of trouble.
The passion and chemistry, wit and conflict, and beautiful writing is
classic Carly, so I am thrilled I was given the (surprise) chance to venture
into the lives of these all grown-up kids as this continuation of a love that
we witnessed so long ago. If you are new
to the series, and haven’t read Ian and Riley’s story (Dare
to Love), I highly recommend you start way back and the beginning after
you read Falling for Trouble, so
you can see where it all began and then you will be just as hooked as the rest
of us on the Dare World of love.
*eARC provided by author for the
purpose of an honest and unbiased review.
No compensation was provided.
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