I loved this book - it was funny and sweet and hot and had two really wonderful main characters.

Andy and Jake have been best friends since grade school and now they were both graduating from college and heading off in different directions. Andy has a wild streak that comes out through the stunts he sets up although the rest of his life is very structured. Jake "helps" Andy but keeps him in check so he doesn't go too crazy. Andy has one last dare for the Andy and Jake show but he doesn't research/prepare as much as he usually does and things go wrong leaving them both with second and third degree burns on their hands. Neither one of them can use their hands for the summer so Andy convinces Jake to recuperate with him at his family's cottage where his family has arranged for a nurse to come in and help them some.

Jake has been in love with Andy for years but had finally started to put some distance between them when they got to college since he realized he'd never get to have Andy the way he wanted. So the first couple of weeks at the cottage is the two friends hanging out but Andy is horny as can be (I loved the scene where he is talking about all the ways he tried to get off but couldn't - it was really funny). Finally he decides that he and Jake should help each other out orally. Andy tells Jake they can just close their eyes and pretend they are doing it themselves. Jake flips out at first because he isn't sure he can take the emotion out of sex but finally agrees.

What comes next is a progression from oral sex just to get off to getting off with feelings. We also see a series of flashbacks of previous dares that Andy and Jake were involved in through the years and this comes into play later in the book in a wonderful way I didn't see coming. The two grow closer and closer and although it's obvious that there is a lot more involved neither one of them admit it and finally their hands are healed. I admit I was worried at this point in the book and my heart when thump during the scenes where they are driving home from the hospital and Andy realizes they no longer have an excuse to continue to touch each other.

I loved that the way the author took this story and the fact that they were honest enough to admit they wanted to continue to be together until of course Jake ends up with his heart broken. I'm glad the separation wasn't a long one but I have to admit the scene with Andy on the roof calling Jake had me in tears and it was so emotional and so well written. I loved the epiphany Andy has while having lunch with his mother and how that changed so much. I also loved that Andy's dad didn't end up being a jerk. Yes he was a bit too controlling but it was so nice that it came from a place of love. He was a realistic character and I could see that although he didn't go about it in the best way he just wanted what was best for his son. Honestly the roof top and the epiphany scene were my favorites and the grand gesture at the end seemed a bit rushed to me although I did love the epilogue at the end.

I loved this best friends to lovers story! It had likable and developed characters, hot sex scenes, lots of humor and some emotional scenes. You can't ask for much more!

Eli Easton has a formula when it comes to her "not so straight" straight guys falling in love, and it's just a formula that works! Time after time, I gobble it up like the starving student I am.

Another standout from Easton--couldn't put it down!

I loved the dynamic these two characters had with each other. I loved how they just knew what the other person was thinking without saying a word. All the dares they did just sucked you in. I just wished they weren't in the form of flashbacks.

I really enjoyed certain parts of this book. But the one thing I wasn't feeling was the going back and forth between past and present. That seriously killed my flow for this book. Right when something good was going to happen in the present.... the next chapter would jump right back to a time in their past. I hated that.

Flashback are kind of tricky with me. Either it works or it doesn't. In this book.... I felt it didn't. I just wished we would've started off in the past and worked our way up to the present.

Now... as I said... I loved the friendship relationship Andy and Jake had with each other. But I wasn't feeling how things came about with them getting together as something more than friendship.
I really wasn't feeling how Andy was not really into Jake. I mean he had feelings for him. But I hated how he kept thinking that he couldn't see himself in a long term relationship with a guy. He always said he saw himself with a girl not a guy. I felt for Jake!

And as I read on. Andy's feelings never really changed. He still had to think about what life would be like being with Jake. I didn't feel the undying love coming from him. It seemed like he had to work himself up to it. Jake laid all his feelings out there. And Andy was thinking what the consequences would be like if he pursued a relationship with Jake. What would life be like.
That really bugged me. Because everything they did together was always one sided. Andy never progressed to the point where he would throw it all away if he couldn't be with Jake.

Not until the very end. And to me it was a little too little too late kind of feeling. And in my opinion way to late in the book for it to happen.

The sex scenes were pretty hot. (Omg...The table scene!!) but Andy's thinking and aloofness after sex....felt cold. I just wanted him to embrace Jake fully. Not just some dare he had to work himself up to to justify his feelings for him or toward sex with him. That's the part I hated.

I also wasn't feeling the whole excuse of the "due to the political climate" they shouldn't be together. Because it's just not politically correct for two men to be together in this government. I mean what? Why throw that in there? It just seems awkward in this book. And seemed like it was just thrown in there.

Even after everything I said. I still enjoyed this book. I overlooked all the things that bugged me and just focused on the characters itself.

I'm glad it ended the way it did. With a Andy and Jake Show.

I was a little hesitant to start this one since I read a review that said it contained flashbacks but luckily, they weren't what I was worried about. I really enjoyed the book but my only critique would be that it seemed a little long while at the cabin, there's only so much you can read about the same activities.

'I dare you'! Sounds silly to me and that's what Andy is. He's an idiot, stupid, reckless, crazy and sometimes I just want to punch him for being such a bad influence for good boy Jake. Andy and Jake had been best friends and partner in crime since grade school. Now they are graduating NYU and Andy thinks they need to go out with a bang. Literally.

After they both nearly blown off their hands, they get to spend a summer together in the cottage to recuperate. When boredom and horniness kick in, Andy make up a harebrained scheme to get each other off. Okay, I admit it was sexy as fuck watching them together. But Jake is in love with his best friends since forever and Jake now thinks Andy is just using him as a means to get off just make me sad. I wanted Jake to tell Andy no, but he is such a putty and easily persuaded. Arg!

Honestly, I alternate between mad at Andy and feeling horny while reading them fucking like rabbits. But Andy manage get back on my good grace and redeem himself when he finally realize his feelings for Jake and make the grand gesture. When he make another 'dare' in the epilogue, I can only shake my head at his never ending silliness.

A very definite “feel good” story, this one reminded me a bit of another one I read last year. Different author but it was about a guy’s BFF kissing him five times. Told with flashbacks, as was the other one, I nevertheless totally loved this. I want to stress that it wasn’t repetitive at all, but it feels worth noting since I easily recalled the other story when I started reading this one. Eli Easton is one of my top favorite authors and she always delivers on the romance and the smokin’ hot sex scenes. This was no exception.

The five dares are told in flashback but all are fairly short and don’t disrupt the flow of the main story, which is about two young men who, on a dare, suffer second and third degree burns to their hands when fireworks go off prematurely.

Andy loves goading his friends into daring him to do life-threatening stunts. In reality, in most instances, he and his bestie, Jake, have already determined the safest way to get the dare done, while keeping the suspense up. Jake is his right-hand man, going along with stirring up the crowd and leading them along to get Andy to do the dare. Mostly it’s all in fun, though the jumping of the gorge on the mountain bike likely was pretty iffy. But the last one? Not well-planned and so not a good outcome—both men end up totally incapacitated. Fortunately, Andy’s financial guru father has outstanding insurance, so he sets them up in their summer home with a once-a-day nurse visit and a property caretaker who also does laundry and leaves them meals.

After two weeks, Andy is a bored, horny boy and since he can’t use his hands, what else is a guy to do besides dare his best friend into mutual blowjobs. That starts what turns out to be a darn sweet relationship. Andy never realized he cared for Jake the way he feels that summer, but Jake has loved his best friend from afar for years and he knows he’s in for heartbreak at some point. But the end of the summer brings a greater emotional toll than he thought when they have to face reality and Andy’s dad carts him off to Harvard while Jake heads for the job waiting for him in California.

I really enjoyed this story. Yes, I love GFY or OFY or BFY or whatever it’s now called, and this one did not disappoint. It’s more about the slow burn, a slow dawning of attraction, a different perspective on an old relationship. And the last chapters of this one were like icing on a cake. So wonderfully romantic and appealing.

I recommend this to those who love MM romance, especially friends to lovers, discovery of same-sex attraction, and new adult.

Sexy, charming, funny, super cute .... with an intensity where you find yourself wanting to shake the MC's to make them see just how much they need each other, how much they can't live without each other. I've read many best friends to lovers stories but this one really caught my attention. It could've easily been darker but Easton kept it just dark enough without dimming the light. I REALLY enjoyed this journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Riptide for the ARC.

I just know I will be out-on-a-limb on this one which, considering the story revolves round dangerous situations, may be the apposite place to be.

Everyone else will consider this “cute” and just love the main characters Jake and Andy- aren’t the names just as homely as apple pie! I did not warm to either of them at all.

Seriously, two guys who have been in love since ninth grade, are Bi. I do not think so. Even before it is spelled out to the reader, and to Andy by his mother, anyone could work out why the dares happened.

I did not go for this at all. I disliked the premise and found the consequent flashbacks irritating.The cover is awful. And they get married.

2.5 reluctant stars since it is fairly well-written.

3.5. I love Eli Easton and the range of her characters. They are very human and very different from each other. That said, I really really wanted to slap Andy upside the head every time he spouted the words "I dare you". His growth, the growth of both main characters really, is one of the good things about this novel. Andy was so romantic at the party near the end <spoiler> I will admit that, while the proposal was unexpected, his extremely public and wildly romantic way of asking was not only in character, but just right after the way he initially slighted Jake and their relationship </spoiler>.

An emotional and recommended read! Even if the dares ticked me off...

Damn you Easton, you surely delivered! Five Dares is cute and perfect and I need someone to cuddle with right now. Andy and Jake have been friends like forever and daredevils too, making crazy stunts just for the heck of it and just to see people's horrified faces. Their firecracker stunt doesn't go as planned though and both end up badly burnt. It's hard to jerk off like that, so what do the boys do? Help each other out in the secluded cottage where they are supposed to heal. Feelings grow and heat and lust burn as if you're in the middle of a forest fire. The text is smooth like shaved nether regions and the flow is perfect with a rhythm very suited to the plot. I really enjoyed the plot and I'm a sucker for stories like this and HEA is something the world needs more than ever.

I loved both Andy and Jake and how Easton gave them both persona. The setting is simple in a sense, but works out well and there's enough drama, but not too much. This could've been darker and I'm glad Easton didn't go there, since the light and thoughtful touch suits Five Dares way much better. It was great that we got to see them actually married and it amazed me, like it's so much so possible now and it's hard to even understand how great that is. I need more stories like this. I even enjoyed the analyzing of the current political atmosphere and how our boys do overcome things for their love. Awww.

When I found out that this author had a new story, I was very excited. sad to say I didn't quite enjoy the story as much as I thought I would. the writing is good, and has that Eli Easton stamp all over it. In my case I couldn't connect with how young the characters were and the dares they did, I did like the connection the characters have they were super hot together. Overall 3 stars

I'm a huge, HUGE Eli Easton fan, and she rarely disappoints. If you love her style, her friends-to-lovers, new adult vibe, then you will LOVE this one.

I read a pre-release copy, and right from the bat I had issues with some errors concerning the book's setting (an area I know very, very well). I guess all my complaining worked because the blurb has already been changed as I'm typing this review, so many of my nit-picky issues are probably resolved, which makes me extremely (and probably unreasonably) happy.

Eli Easton does sexuality discovery stories sooooo well. Andy's slow realization about his attraction and attachment to Jake comes about naturally and gradually and was so freaking hot to witness. Eli Easton does NOT skimp on the sex in this one, and your smutty, smutty dreams will be coming (ha!) true.

Not a ton happens in the story, but that was just fine with me. Most of the plot is centered around Jake and Andy's gradual slide into romance, and I loved every juicy minute of it. If you want something more exciting this isn't the book for you.

While I adored the story, my only issue with the book was the flashbacks. I actually hate flashbacks in stories, and this one has a bunch of them, one for each of the five dares that happened in the past that led up to present time. I find flashbacks tedious, but most readers probably won't mind them.

Sexy, sexy, sexy with a heart-melting ending that will win over even the coldest of hearts, Eli Easton fans should snatch this book up.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

Time with Jake was like a closed circuit. Being with him was so easy and natural and fun, it just made me want to be with him more.



Well, Eli Easton and her college stories never failed me. And add to the mix that adrenaline junkies Andy and his wingman, Jake a.k.a his unconscious mind forever crush.

Being friends forever didn't make it easier to 'admit' that they're attracted to each other more than best buddies. But Andy is straight, or he thought so. He is sooooo not into guy. At all. Nope.
But he can't live without Jake and the thought of not seeing Jake after college is killing him, or when Jake had another friend, it was also made him felt insecure. So what to do?
Then the dares begun, and it was addictive, they never stopped.

Even so many times I wanted to slapped Andy and Jake for NOT open up about their felling, I can understand what they're afraid of.
So, I enjoyed their journey to find out how much they need each other, how much they're actually, secretly cannot live without each other.
The answer seeking, was (not) surprisingly full of joy and sweat. Cough.

This is a fun read, and the epilogue? It was EPIC!
Add this to your top reading wish list, I promised you, you'll having fun with Jake and Andy.

Recommended.

With this story being written by Eli Easton, I'd expected to enjoy it, but I ended up flat-out loving it from start to finish.

Andy and Jake had been inseparable for a decade, having been best friends since the 7th grade and had just graduated from NYU, after rooming together all 4 years.

Enter Dare #1. Ill-timed sparks.

But when one of Andy's stunts left them both without the use of their hands for the entire summer before Jake headed to California for a tech job and Andy attended Harvard Law, well, things began to get interesting, and quickly, as the two recuperate alone at Andy's family's isolated, oceanside cottage.

Jake had (of course) secretly been in love with Andy for years, always his wing man and partner in crime, but what happened when their only outlet for possible 'release' was one another?

A whole, whole LOT, that's what.

I loved the scene where Andy confessed that he'd been trying out different surfaces around the cottage. The lip of the sink was too hard, the mattress was too soft and so on and so on.

“Rubbing against the tiles in the shower didn’t work. They’re too hard.”

He snorted. “What are you, the Goldilocks of self-love?”

I chuckled. “That’s me. I need something just right.” I used a filthy voice on the last bit.

Enter Dare #2. Each of them "helping a brother out."

So Andy, about to climb out of his skin in frustration, dared Jake to a summer of 'oral' relief. To just close their eyes and pretend. But when you're in love with someone, pretending can become damn near impossible.

Enter Dare #3. Frottage with a side of feelings, anyone?

Eventually 69'ing for weeks on end began to get old, so in a fit of uncharactaristic passion, Jake mixes things up a bit (so freaking hot, let me tell you), which led them to becoming even more intimate. The kissing scenes were some of my favorites in this story.

But alas, in time, their wounds healed and that part of the book was among the hardest to read.

[E]very time I looked at Andy on the drive home, he was staring out the window, his face blank.

And then it struck me, and my heart crashed from the sky like Icarus on his waxy wings.

We had no excuse to touch each other anymore.

Enter Dare #4. "Experimenting," after the gloves come off.

Watching as the guys battled revealing their desire to continue to be with one another wasn't easy, as there wasn't a *legitimate* reason for them to continue. Unless they were brave, honest and willing to take a chance. Thank fuck they were, or I'd have killed a bitch, no lie.

Then, on their last day together, everything got royally clusterfucked, leaving Jake heartbroken as he fled to his job in California and Andy feeling lost and confused about his life path.

Enter Dare #5. Revising your 10 year plan.

One of my biggest fears when reading the blurb was that there would be an extended separation, but I'm happy to say that didn't happen here.

My very favorite moment in the story was when Andy had a major epiphany while talking with his mother. That scene was seriously EVERYTHING for me.

However, the big "grand gesture" scene at the end, well, it felt a bit premature and over the top, in my opinion; although, I must admit that it was extremely sweet and I ended up loving the solid HEA epilogue so hard, you wouldn't even believe.

I'd have to rate this fun and sexy book at 4.5 stars for the sheer enjoyment alone and highly recommend it to anyone who has liked steamy 'best friends to lovers' stories, like Jay Northcote's "Helping Hand."

I have such jumbled up thoughts about this book, it's hard to know what to write about it. I loved 95% of it. However the author saw fit to throw in some absolutely ridiculous and unwarranted political rhetoric at the very end that pissed me off so badly I was about to heave my Kindle out the window. Needless to say all of the good feeling I had up to this point quickly evaporated.

The book is well written, and the way it is held together by "dares" is clever. The characters are vivid and engaging. So far so good. The conflict makes sense for the most part, so no problem there either. The chemistry between Andy and Jake is amazing, and their story is a fresh one. Again... all is good. I was pulling for them every inch of the way.

Then... boom. We get to the end, and the author throws in some gross generalizations about the Trump administration that is ill informed and just plain wrong. It also really does not help out the story in any way conceivable. Why chance alienating potentially half of your readers this way?? The statement (small spoiler here) that Andy Makes to his dad, "Look how many celebrities spoke out against Trump. They need lawyers too." makes NO sense at all and seems to be just the author's way of getting her digs in. Andy and his dad weren't discussing his becoming a lawyer to the stars or anything remotely like that, It just characterizes the administration as being homophobic. And who cares what celebrities think anyway? A bunch of actors are supposed to tell us all how to think?? They're ACTORS.

Anyone who picks up this book to read must have a liberal mindset about same sex marriage to begin with, so I think she is preaching to the choir here. If I were the author or the editor, I would remove these statements before the book goes live. They serve no purpose. Frankly, I was originally ready to start looking for more work from this author as she is a new one for me, but now I won't touch another one of her books. Too many reviews have said she ruins her books with her endings. And... here she goes again.

My advice to potential readers... enjoy the book for what it is if you like. There is plenty to enjoy, but be warned there is a very strong anti-conservative message that is extremely off-putting.

My advice to the author... please understand that being a conservative does not make one a homophobe. And remember that your readers read your books for entertainment, not to listen to your political views. We are bombarded all day long with political opinions, so your books should offer an escape from that.

Thank you , NetGalley for the ARC given in exchange for my honest review.

Five Dares is a super cute and surprisingly heartwarming story. 

In the beginning it was all about the fun. Andy and Jake have been best friends since basically forever and their dares and pranks have become legendary. I had to chuckle a lot at their antics and I just loved their easy friendship. 

But this book still isn't all lighthearted. As the story progressed it became clear that Jake has been holding back and keeping secrets and that Andy has a lot of suppressed issues to work out. And I loved every single second of this road, even the hard parts. 
I can honestly say that there's not one single thing I would change about this book <3