Dare To Love By Carly Phillips (Dare To Love #1)
Contemporary Romance
November 18, 2013
Self-Published

Reviewed by Helyce

Blurb from Goodreads: 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.

Dare To Love is the first book in a new series by Ms. Phillips and also marks her dive into self-publishing. I easily jumped in to read an early copy as I am a fan of Ms. Phillips. She has a huge back list which I have barely made a dent in, but for the most part I have enjoyed this author’s writing style and her romances are usually just right for me, hitting all my buttons.

In this book, we are introduced to the Dare siblings. Half brother’s and sisters born of a man who married one woman and had five children with her while at the same time having a relationship on the side with a woman who was his true love and having an additional 3 children with her. His first family never knew about his second family until one of his daughters from his secret family became ill and he was forced to come clean because he needed to see if one of his legitimate children was a donor match. This was the catalyst for the relationships that would develop between the siblings, specifically the eldest sons of each family, Ian and Alex.

Individually I enjoyed Ian. I came to care about him and the unique position he found himself in. I could totally understand why he was the way he was. As a child, his father was someone he was extremely proud of. He worked hard, having to be away from his family for long periods of time. To find out that it was all a lie and that while he was “working” and spending all that time away from them, he was actually with his other family. It clearly affected the man he became. He built walls around himself and decided he wouldn’t let anyone in. His relationship with his mother and his siblings is strong, but he never lets anyone get close, not really.

Riley, too, is an interesting character. She survived a hideous childhood filled with abuse but managed to come out of it a good, strong, person, though she guards her heart. She has Alex and his family to thank for providing a strong family unit. Alex was her rock growing up and their relationship is strong. I really liked this aspect of the story; that a “best friend” relationship could be forged between a man and woman and stay platonic. It also provided an interesting element to how Riley and Ian’s budding relationship proceeded.

Ian and Riley together were just okay for me. When they meet, the attraction is definitely there. Ian wants to possess her, but unbeknownst to Ian, Riley’s past affects all her relationships and she is not one to jump in feet first-certainly not with a man who is clearly a dominant. This set up is always uncomfortable for me. I have a hard time accepting that a woman who has been abused is ever going to be okay with a man who immediately shows a dominant side. I understand that perhaps over time, when real trust is achieved, it can work-but in this instance Ian and Riley are not together long enough, in my opinion, for her to all of a sudden be okay with Ian’s dominant side. Though the circumstances of the conflict introduced have a lot to do with what pushes Ian and Riley together so quickly, the additional insta-love here was hard for me to accept.

There is a lot going on in this first book as Ms. Phillips sets up the world and the characters and tries to give us a bit of insight into who they all are and how they fit together. I thought there was really good balance in this. In fact, for me, it is one of the stronger points here. I loved Ian and his brother Alex’s scenes. It is clear that these two share a large amount of animosity toward each other, but what comes out when you read between the lines is a hopeful feeling that there is still a chance for them to have a relationship. It is clear that Alex looked up to Ian and wanted a relationship initially-but Ian’s stubbornness would not allow it. Pushed away, Alex developed a major dislike for his brother as well. There is also business competition between these two and it’ll be interesting to see what happens there. I expect Riley will play a big part in bridging the gap between these two. The sisters in this group had secondary rolls, but it’s clear they they are open to forging a relationship. I also found a scene between Ian and his mother especially prudent. She lays it all out for him and he begins to look at the family’s situation in a different light.

As I reflect here, I’m wondering if I would have enjoyed Ian and Riley more, had they met in book one, but not been the focus. Given more time, I might have been a bit more accepting of their relationship knowing it had time to build trust. That said, Ms. Phillips does a great job of introducing the set up for Alex who I believe is the hero of book 2. I look forward to seeing how these separate families find a way to merge and become one.

Rating: B-

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