The Dating Dare is such a good book. I loved the light feel of this book that kept it flowing perfectly. I did wish that there was a little more emotion like in the first book. It was good to see this have a HEA overall a pretty good book.

Set in the same world as the author's first novel (A Sweet Mess), now it's Aubrey's best friend's and Landon's little brother's turn to find love. Tara Park has one rule when it comes to dating: nothing serious. Between her past heartbreak and a laser focus on the family's brewery, there's no way she could even entertain the idea of dating. When Landon's brother Seth waltzes into town, he's a massive temptation to her and she may be willing to bend her rules for a few dates with the well-known fashion photographer. Seth is only in town for a month because he's moving to Paris soon after. While he's in town, he challenges Tara to a four-date no-strings-attached dating dare that could be a nice distraction for them both. But the more he sees of her, the less willing he is to let her go when the dare's over. As I read the dual-perspective book, I found it had banter and spades that had me hooked. It's an easy, quick romance read that you can polish off in a day even. The romance is cute, the characters are dynamic, and all that lead to a cute and fun romance read.

Jayci Lee, author of A Sweet Mess, returns with best friend turned main character, Tara Park, in "The Dating Dare". Tara Park, owner of Weldon Brewery, is not looking for a serious relationship until she is intrigued by Seth Kim, her best friend's new brother in law (more returning characters from A Sweet Mess).

Seth and Tara find themselves creating a dating dare and little do they know, things become much more serious than they ever could have imagined. Get ready to fall in love with these characters! Lee hits it out of the park with this one! It is a definite must-read!

I want to preface this review with saying I didn't know that it was the second book in a series and I didn't read the first book prior to reading this book.

Tara and Seth are people who have both been hurt by prior relationships and therefore not interested in a long term relationship (you know where this is going, right?) A game of truth or dare leads Tara to agreeing to going on 4 dates with Seth, with the agreement not to fall in love. This book follows Seth and Tara through their four dates, flipping back and forth between the two characters.

While I enjoyed both main characters in this book, the book and story line was a little predictable. If you are looking for something light and easy to read, this may just be the book for you. And while you don't have to read the first one, first - you may want to start there in order to understand the characters a little better.

4.5 stars
This is one of the sweetest reads! Tara and Seth are fiery and witty but they are just amazing together!

With the promise of only a month Tara and Seth decide to a perfect compromise to feed their attraction. A month of dates 4 to be exact and then they will go their separate ways! They didn’t count on enjoying each other’s company or for the attraction to build and grow until they couldn’t contain it! As their days start to tick down their love starts to grow but Taras fear might be their undoing!

I loved how strong and quick witted Tara is! She’s a fierce independent heroine and I loved her! Seth can handle her sass easily and though he’s confident he’s also caring and has a huge heart of gold!

A dare that involves dating and the promise to not fall in love? A slightly drunk dare at that? What could possibly go wrong?

Literally everything.

Tara and Seth are kidding themselves when they make this little dare to go on four dates to kill some time before Seth has to move to Paris and Tara's best friend is on her honeymoon with Seth’s older brother. And boy, it’s painfully obvious.

Why 2 stars? Honestly, I found this book predictable and lacking in parts. Maybe it had something to do with how I hadn’t read the first book, so some references were missed on me. The chemistry between the two characters was hot from the start and I had to say that I love that Seth respected Tara’s boundaries, but everything was hot and heavy from the start and I just... it was too much?

This just wasn't my cup of tea, but it was pretty adorable and I would recommend it to somewhat who is looking for all the romance and borderline fake-dating.

I don’t think I can explain the “why” too much about my rating, just that I had high hopes and was sadly disappointed in the pace and over-explaining of so many different things.

A Dating Dare is a sweet rom-com, second in the Sweet Mess series. I enjoyed the characters and how their stories progress through the book. There were a few characters that seemed to pop up out of nowhere , so I would have appreciated a bit more development there.

This was a feel good, fun romance that is worth a read!

Jayci Lee's The Dating Dare is a phenomenal read. The characters are well developed and you can't help but fall in love right along with Tara and Seth. Lee takes such care writing the emotional journey of her characters that you float with every high and are gut-punched by every low they experience. Both sweet and steamy at times, fans of contemporary romance won't be able to put this one down!

I liked the previous book in this series and was glad to spend more time with characters in this world. While I thought the main premise of dating for a month seemed to telegraph what would happen in the end pretty plainly, I still enjoyed the book. Both main characters had interesting backstories and reasons to be the way they are and I enjoyed it.

I greatly enjoyed Seth more than Tara. I found him a bit compelling, but found it odd that no one in his family questioned his sudden art change in college. Their chemistry is amazing an it was a great read. My only true flaw was it was very clear Tara's previous relationship was emotionally and mentally abusive from the get go. It definitely felt like it should have been called out as both and not simply one towards the end of the book. By not correctly labeling it, it could lead to an unmentioned trigger or content issue for readers

This was a fun follow up book. I really enjoy these characters. Hopefully there will be more books. I like the independent women.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Griffin for my eARC in exchange for an honest review. When I requested this book, I did not realize that it was a follow-up to author Jayci Lee’s “A Sweet Mess”, and although you do not need to read them in order, I will definitely be going back to read that one!

The story follows Tara Park who has sworn off relationships and is having an easy time following that rule -- that is until she meets Seth Kim, her best friends younger brother in law. Tara and Seth really kick it off at the wedding and go back to her family’s brewery to have a nightcap. Tara is wary of Seth since she knows she can’t fall for him, but Seth lets her know that he is moving to Paris at the end of the month -- Tara finds this to be perfect for her “relationship rule”. While getting a little too tipsy at the brewery they come up with the “Dating Dare,” -- four dates while Seth is still in town, with a caveat to not fall for each other. Lee takes the reader on a twisty love ride between Tara and Seth, one where the rule to not fall in love is broken rather quickly.

This was a fun and sweet romcom! I enjoyed getting to know the main characters as well as the secondary ones too -- and although I didn’t read the first book, this can definitely stand alone. The chapters were quite long, and although I sometimes don’t like that, in this book it worked. I loved how Tara and Seth’s relationship blossomed throughout the story and felt like I really got to know them. At times some of the dialogue and text was YA, but I think it worked well for this fun rom-com. Overall, it was a quick read and I found myself flipping pages to see what happened next.

Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy for an honest review.

PUB Date: August 3, 2021

This book is about a a young woman Tara who meets Seth and falls in love with him despite her initial hesitation over relationships. I found Tara’s job interesting and would have liked that explored more. However the book felt a bit flat in terms of the characters and I wish their dynamics and background were explored more. I understand this is part of a series so maybe reading the first book would have made this one more engaging

I'm giving this a 2 star rating, more so for the style of writing of the author and not for the plot or dialogue of the book. It's cutesy and I really wanted to enjoy it, but it's honestly a little too cutesy for my personal liking. It's almost beyond the realm of even cutesy movie meet cutes and dating and for me the characters fall flat. It took a little too long and wasn't super clear the backstory of the main character, Tara, for a good while into the book. No, I did not read the first in the series but this story could stand alone from the series if a proper set up had been given, even briefly. On top of that, I found Tara to be kind of an insufferable person and just didn't connect with her at all. I enjoyed the writing style of the author and would probably try another of the series or another book, this just wasn't for me.

I could not finish this book. I got less than a chapter in before putting it down. The writing was terrible. It was so overdone that it was just uncomfortable to read. I did not review this on Goodreads or other sites because I did not want to contribute a poor review.

Sweet without being too smutty.

A game of truth or dare leads to the main characters promising to go on 4 dates and NOT fall in love. Cue: falling in love. I do wish I had read the previous book as I felt there was quite a bit of missing back story, but you do get enough to pick up where they left off.

This was a light-hearted read, and as I reader I was rooting for them to heal their painful past love lives through their new relationship with each other. I enjoyed the progression of the 4 dates and the growth of their relationship.

If you are looking for a light, predictable romance, this book fits the bill. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for the review.

I loved A Sweet Mess, but the Dating Dare wasn’t up to par. I thought Tara and Seth were ill suited and immature together. Tara’s attitude towards Seth was like a teen tolerating a child and then out of nowhere, she was all hit and bothered. It just didn’t sit right.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed this book and found it to be a very cute and fun romance. The characters are all incredible and very entertaining and it was good to see some diversity in the books. Needless to say, the story was quite predictable but as someone that was expecting that, it did not take away from the quality of the book.

This is a very sweet story, the characters have great chemistry. I did feel like it lacked depth, especially the first 3/4 of the book. I feel like this story had the opportunity to explore more about abuse in relationships as well as women in the brewery industry. These topics are lightly touched on, but I would have liked to read more about her job, as it is a most uncommon career for a romance story. I've ready 50 books where the main character is a baker, but this was the first brewer. The story just felt very topical.

The Dating Dare by Jayci Lee

Genre: Adult Fiction
Romantic Comedy

Rating: 5 out of 5

Publication Date: August 3rd 2021

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

The Dating Dare by Jayci Lee was very fast paced, as in I read this entire book within 24 hours of opening it on my kindle. It was addictive and I fell head over heels in love with Seth almost immediately! Don’t get me wrong Tara can definitely hold her own against Seth but he’s more a sweet heart than a playboy so she had no chance of winning this dating dare. Don’t be fooled by his physique because this man is way too sweet to don the playboy or regency rake title given to him by Tara herself. This book also got me through my latest reading slump so thank you very much Netgalley and the publishers at St. Martin’s Press for an early copy of Lee’s latest novel!

“You need to stop staring at my ass,’ she said with her fists planted on her hips.

He smiled and turned to face her squarely, sliding a hand into his pants pocket. ‘On the contrary, I was studying all of you. Not just your stunning backside.’

‘Studying me?’ Did he say stunning? Huh. She was tempted to swivel her head for a peek at her ass.

‘I’m a photographer. It’s hard for me to ignore things of beauty,’ he said smoothly, his dark eyes holding her gaze. An involuntary trill shot down her spine.”
____

I don’t know how much interaction they had in Lee’s first book, A Sweet Mess because their attraction spoke of a past history or relationship (like they’ve known each other longer than the book makes it out to be) Tara instantly dislikes him and calls him out on ogling her at the wedding despite his occupation as wedding photographer. So it speaks that they have had prior scenes together from the previous book. I read book 2 before book 1, please forgive me! I will fix that immediately because I have now fallen in love with Lee’s amazing writing and great storytelling!

“He appreciated her honesty, intelligence, and loyalty. A conversation with her was an adventure—always interesting and often hilarious. And, God, she was so beautiful that she literally took his breath away. Seth wanted Tara to the point of distraction, but that wasn’t the driving force behind his proposition. It was about the fun and excitement of getting to know her better.”

I loved the idea of the Dating Dare! But it seemed like they liked each other way too quickly. I was looking for more animosity between them because of the tone set at Aubrey and Landon’s Wedding. Tara seemed to really dislike him but then after just the first date she already seemed smitten. I can’t blame her completely because Seth was adorable especially when he played the useless prince for the little girls at the park. Lee started Seth’s dates off so strong that I can’t really blame her for falling for him.

“No matter how much he wanted to date her, he wanted her to choose him because she wanted to, not on a drunken whim.”

Her cute little quirks on the night of the Dating Dare was adorable. First her want of tater tots, hilarious but then she followed suit with the fact that she hates peas and cooked carrots. These funny little details really brought the characters to life and added great chemistry between drunk Tara and relatively sober Seth.

“Honey, please.’ Tara snorted. ‘You’re pretty to look at, and I might be a smidgeon attracted to you, but love is definitely not on the horizon.”

I love the use of the word ‘smidgeon’ here! It’s such a funny word and it was perfect for drunk Tara to use! Plus it made me laugh because I use this word too much!

I swooned when he said that she didn’t need shape wear. So many of us are worried to embrace our curves and do everything we can to try and hide them and here’s Seth saying she’s perfect without it. (DISCLAIMER: I’m not saying that men need to tell us that for women to feel comfortable I just appreciate the recognition on his part that shapewear isn’t necessary to feel and be seen as beautiful) It was an ADORABLE moment! This is definitely something that I was so glad to see in a romcom for 2021 because female body image suffers greatly in the romance category because they are stuck in one form of beauty (you know the one, slim and slender) but here The Dating Dare breaks that mold. It’s not the first to do so and I really hope it isn’t the last but it was great to see. I also loved how Lee used Seth’s perspective to say that shapewear isn’t necessary because that is a huge insecurity for women! He also thinks it rather than saying it which is huge because that makes it genuine. He’s not saying it to impress her or get her in the sheets. He’s simply saying his opinion in his mind as he tries to help her. There was nothing for him to gain by it which only made me fall harder.

“If she gave into her attraction for Seth, would he begin demanding more of her? More of her time? More of her affection? If she fell for him, she would do anything to make him happy. Nausea churned in her stomach. She would be lost. But what if she was so badly broken that she turned into the one to confine him within her expectations—the one to constantly demand more until he believed he wasn’t good enough. For a moment, terror swept through her.”

It did get a little annoying near the end when rejections happened between Tara and Seth because you could tell that they were perfect for one another and being provided both perspectives told you that they really did love one another. I get that it throws a twist into the story and might provide a more realistic thought process for Tara especially, but trying to make her stay true to her principles regarding love actually made her slightly more unlikable.

So there is something that definitely needs to be addressed because it was right at the beginning of the romance in this romance novel and it was also very YIKES!

You’ve been warned!

There was this point where they were eating and they shared their first kiss but the way it went down was so gross to me! So you know I included it in here for you guys (don’t hate me!) EW ok the feeding each other thing was cringey to me. Like y’all are both adults. Feed yourselves. To me this isn’t a romantic thing to do so it bothered me. A LOT. Especially when they share their first kiss by tasting a salted caramel brownie. Like she’s mid eating it and then he lunges in for his “one bite” which was a cute concept until I realized that his one bite was basically mid chew mama bird style by Tara. Just nope that is not my thing whatsoever! I did enjoy all the food references and comedic writing throughout despite this aspect to the romance. Seth is a guy who shares his fries, acts as a personal seat belt and remembers that she loves tater tots and hates peas and cooked carrots. This is definitely a guy who has fallen in love ahead of the girl (which I also I really liked because it’s usually the men with the commitment issues ahah)

If you love romantic comedies like I do, definitely check this one out! They kind of reminded me of Jasmine Guillory’s third book, The Wedding Party as these two seemed similar to Theo and Maddie. If you have no idea what books I’m referring to here, please check them out! The Wedding Date was my first romcom and first book in Jasmine Guillory’s, Wedding Date series and they are so good as well!