Dare to Dream

This book made me cry, and any book that makes me cry gets 5 stars!

Kade and Lacey both endure tragic events in their lives that bring them together. Kade feels that he is Lacey's protector, and while Lacey likes the comfort of it, she is also tired of being shielded and left in the dark from him as well as her family. Danger comes into Lacey's life and Kade wants nothing more than to protect her from it, but she wants to be able to handle things on her own. I love the fact that Kade wants to save her, I also admire Lacey wanting to be able to make her own decisions instead of constantly being in the dark about things. I really enjoyed the book and it was very easy to get involved with everything happening. *ARC received from publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

While I am not big on first person books. This one drew me in. Easy read with alot of depth. Characters were well rounded and I was able to follow each story of each characters easily. Sometimes these types of books can lose me real quick but this one did not. Well written with some romantic elements. Is a winner for anyone who has trouble with first person books. Easy to follow for folks like me:) Will be hard to top. Bring on another SB Alexander.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Engaging story that moved along quickly...nice ending to what started out as a troubled/plagued by past events relationship.

I really like the lead female character in SB Alexander’s “Dare to Dream,” the second book in The Maxwell brothers series.
Lacey Robinson is spunky — despite everything that happens to her. She’s a fighter... even when she doesn’t know it yet. When confronted by an admitted killer, instead of buckling and going along, a lamb to slaughter, she fights back. “I don’t take orders from a killer” she tells him.
Lacey won’t accept less than a partnership from her boyfriend, Kade Maxwell. Protect her? OK. But making decisions on what she can and can’t handle, deals behind her back, keeping secrets for the umpteenth time? No, thanks. She’ll take the hurt of separation over being treated as anything less than her guy’s equal. He can deal on his own if he thinks otherwise. She appreciates the save, but her man can keep his opinion and self at home thanks, if he can’t meet her term. He also won’t be getting any of her slightly broken but ever stronger self.
So she has PTSD from finding her mom and sis murdered and the killer still on the loose, and, oh wait, the killer may be connected to her? She just has her dad, brother and Kade ... well, OK, his family ... and crew of fighting buds too; they’re part of the Maxwell package.
Until things begin to spin out of control, she takes control of her destiny. I mean, hello! She’s already fighting for and earns respect, if grudgingly, from dudes who think a chick can’t pitch or play baseball as good as a guy. She’s got the heat, and a college scholarship on the line... If her personal life will just quit mucking things up for her.
Suddenly finding out she may not only have an aunt, uncle and cousin, but be related to not one but two mob families... well, it’s a lot to swallow.
Like her name infers, Lacey may appear delicate but she’s one tough chick, who ultimately bends when needed; the fibers of her backbone are woven so taut she can withstand being tugged at, pulled in different directions from those trying to rip her family and very fiber of her being apart.
She’s something. When threatened by her mom and sister’s killer, she doesn’t cower in her fear. Oh, no, she takes him on. In seconds, she responds, going on the offensive — making contact where it’s guaranteed to drop him and tries to flee her captor. She’s sassy and talks back, fights back... while working to protect her family too.
You can’t help but like Kade, the Maxwell triplets and his pals Hunt and Wes too. They’ll do what it takes to protect their own.
These kids are tough. They know what it is to literally fight for their own, to face danger daily from idiots they have the misfortune to share space, sports and school with.
Take on a couple of thugs who’ve already put one brother in the hospital? Check, no problem for this family. Add in a local mob boss’ gun-toting goons and this crew still doesn’t back down, no matter how slim the odds.
Their brass has the mobster offering them jobs, Hunt for his fists and Kade as a tutor to his daughter? Yep, you read that right. His moxie in the face of armed gunmen and overwhelming odds, coupled with his quick wits and intellect, make him the perfect choice to help Chloe pass math.
Kade, the Maxwell men and their friends consider Lacey part of their family. So, of course, Kade and Hunt agree to an alliance with the mob if it means protecting her from the violent dudes the Maxwells are dodging, not to mention the person who killed Lacey's mom and sister...which may all be linked to her dad’s mother and his biological father, who is potentially yet another mob family.
Kade may not have gone about it the right way, but he’ll risk Lacey breaking up with him and not being in her life if it means she’s alive and safe, every time. He’ll stay in the background, ensuring her safety, however he has to if that’s what it takes.
It’s not until her father’s life is seriously in jeopardy that Lacey understands Kade deep seeded hate and need to hurt those who have hurt his loved ones. She’s out for blood,
I like that you get both sides of this story, but I’m not a huge fan of continually switching view points. It’ll be Kade for a chapter or three, then Lacey, then Kade, then Lacey again, and so on.... You do get inside their heads, which is great to understand the myriad thinks running through their teenage minds. However, I think it could have been told just as effectively with third person point of view, where you still get all the action, their thoughts and feelings, but aren’t left dizzy trying to keep up. At one point, I thought I was experiencing whiplash, the POV changed so frequently.
This book was a good read, one of the best I’ve read this summer, the best in the new adult category.
It does contain profanity, violence and teen sex. However, it also has lots of intrigue, heart, fantastic character development, lots of baseball talk and action. This isn’t your typical teen love story, typical mob-related tale.
“Dare to Dream,” The Maxwells Series book 2 releases July 17. It can be read as a stand alone publication, without having read Dare to Kiss, the first Maxwells book. The third book, “Dare to Love,” is in the works; I’d definitely be interested in reading about Kade's brother Kelton.

Ok so it took me a little longer to read this with so much going on in my life but I loved this book. Seeing everyone grow and how the relationships moved on, adding the different characters into it was great, the mystery heals to the very end of the book, trying to figure out who killed lacyes mother and sister who was after her and her family. How the mob was connected to her in more ways then one. the love between her and kade is great to read about I love kade and the maxwell boys they are such strong protectors of the ones they love. And this caused problems in this book which was good to see lacye and made try to figure out how to work past it and love each other. I loved that the other boys were finding love and closure in their lives two. The writing is great and I can't wait to see if there's more in the next book

Dare to Dream by S.B. Alexander

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ok so it took me a little longer to read this with so much going on in my life but I loved this book. Seeing everyone grow and how the relationships moved on, adding the different characters into it was great, the mystery heals to the very end of the book, trying to figure out who killed lacyes mother and sister who was after her and her family. How the mob was connected to her in more ways then one. the love between her and kade is great to read about I love kade and the maxwell boys they are such strong protectors of the ones they love. And this caused problems in this book which was good to see lacye and made try to figure out how to work past it and love each other. I loved that the other boys were finding love and closure in their lives two. The writing is great and I can't wait to see if there's more in the next book

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The Maxwell brothers are protectors through and through. Their Dad was a military man and they just can't stop themselves from protecting the women they love. In the first book we learn that Lacey's mom and sister were murdered, she since suffers from PTSD as the one who found them. She has a wonderful loving relationship with Kade and is the star pitcher for her high school baseball team. We thought their story was over in Dare to Kiss but the murderer had other plans. He is after something very important but nobody can find it. During this search Lacey and her dad learn about their family and why this item is so important. I was not expecting the thrilling suspense and the actions these young kids were taking. Guys in my high school were numbskulls compared to the Maxwell brothers, these boys are brains and muscles. A very exciting ride with raw emotions providing a deeper understanding of PTSD. The story was not always romance and action, the baseball games were a great mood shifter and quite exciting. We get Kelton's story next, will he change his player ways? My thanks to the publisher for copy through Netgalley for my honest review.

Kade had four brothers. His girlfriend's name was Lacy and she was the only one who could take him to a place where life was perfect, nothing else mattered. Lacy had PTSD. She had discovered her mother and sister murdered in their home. Lacy's symptoms had diminished over the last 6 months with Kade's help. Lacy loved to play baseball, but was threatened by one of the other teammates. Lacy was away for the weekend with her dad. She got a tattoo of a polar bear, which reminded her of the person she wanted to be: Strong and Intelligent.
Kade was the levelheaded brother out of the five. He tried to do the right thing. He tried to be the adult when his temper didn't get in the way. He loved his brothers so much it hurt. Kade was a good guy but he had a bit of an anger problem. He cared deeply for his best friend and he loved Lacy. He was mentally and physically strong. He was a family man, even at a young age as he watched over his brothers. He could be determined and stubborn and sometimes kept things to himself. I loved his character. Lacy was a young woman who had suffered deeply over her mom and sister. She was brave and did her best to be strong and determined. She felt helpless at times because of her illness. I loved her character and all the growth it did through all the twists and turns of the story.

The plot and story was fantastic. it was hard to set the book down until I was done. I highly recommend it.