DARE TO TAKE (Dare to Love #6) by Carly Phillips-Review and Book Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 3, 2016
She was off limits,
But he couldn’t resist.
There are just some guys you don’t touch–even someone as innocent and inexperienced as Ella Shaw knows that. But when her brother’s best friend is up for grabs and willing, she can’t resist. After all, she’s wanted him for years…
On leave from the army, Tyler Dare is just looking for a little fun, but his best friend’s sister is off limits. Yet unable to deny how sexy and alluring she is, he finds it all too easy to succumb to a night of passion and heat that ends the next morning in the worst way possible.
Now, Ella is stranded on a tropical island with a hurricane bearing down, and only Tyler can save her. It’s his chance to make amends for the past and show the woman he’s never forgotten that he’s coming after her . . . in more ways than one.
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REVIEW: DARE TO TAKE is the sixth and final installment in Carly Phillips DARE TO LOVE adult, contemporary, erotic romance series focusing on the Dare siblings. This is former US soldier/security specialist Tyler Dare, and PA Ella Shaw’s second chance storyline. DARE TO TAKE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
SOME BACKGROUND: Patriarch and hotel billionaire Robert Dare kept secret a second family from his first wife and children until a medical emergency forced Robert to reveal the existence of family number two. Each storyline will focus on one of the Dare siblings; the relationship between the two families of adult children; and a father who may or may not be trying to amend for the sins of the past.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Tyler and Ella) DARE TO TAKE looks at rebuilding a friendship when a one night stand years before between Tyler and Ella found our heroine heartbroken and destroyed, and Tyler running away before the morning light. Fast forward to present day where we find Ella trapped on a tropical island, a hurricane on the horizon, and a mugging that leaves Ella without her personal possessions and in need of a hospital rescue. Enter Tyler Dare, the man of her dreams, but a man possessed by guilt from the past. Upon their return home, Ella is once again targeted by an unknown source, and Tyler enlists the help of a friend to seek out the truth about the attack against Ella-both at home and back in St.Lucia.
The relationship between Ella and Tyler is one of second chances. Ella has always had a crush on her best friend’s brother, but her one night with Tyler proved she wasn’t worthy of Tyler’s love. Her self-esteem shattered, Ella has always walked carefully whenever Tyler was anywhere near, and things haven’t changed in the ensuing years. But her current dilemma finds Ella in Tyler’s care, and the desires from the past become part of their present. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and provocative.
Most of the Dare siblings play secondary and supporting roles as the family gives birth to the next generation, and the sins of the past are revisited once again. The world building continues to focus on family; the dysfunctional nature of betrayal and lies; and a look towards the future. The premise is romantic and fateful with a little bit of mystery and suspense; the characters are dynamic and spirited; the romance is passionate and driven.
DARE TO TAKE is the final installment in Carly’s DARE TO LOVE series but that doesn’t mean the stories have to end. There is a spin off series –BILLIONAIRE BAD BOYS- and the first installment will feature billionaire Kaden Barnes in GOING DOWN EASY. Kaden is introduced in Dare to Take.
Copy supplied by the tour promoter
Reviewed by Sandy
The calm before the storm.
She pulled her hair into a high ponytail and headed out of her hotel, determined to hit the local gift shop she’d caught sight of on her way to the photo shoot yesterday. She’d seen long, draping, blue-beaded necklaces from the storefront window, but she hadn’t had time to stop. Her boss was a stickler for getting the right shot in the exact light, and they’d worked well past dark. By the time they’d wrapped for the day, the store had been closed.
As an assistant for Angie Crighton, a fashion designer based in Miami, Ella was responsible for the little details involved in a photo shoot. And though Angie, the photographer, and models had left the island this morning, Ella had stayed to make sure the shooting site was clean, the hotel pleased enough to allow them back another time. And if she were honest with herself, she liked the downtime after the craziness of a photo shoot, the rushing around of the crew, the bossiness of some of the models and, of course, of Angie herself.
Ella appreciated the fact that she had time to souvenir shop for her best friend, Avery Dare. How ironic was it that the two girls from very different worlds had met at all? But they had. And it was Avery who’d introduced Ella to the finer things in life, leading her to seek out a job with an haute-couture designer. Whereas Avery came from a wealthy family, Ella had been raised firmly middle class, but the two girls had bonded instantly. They’d even shared an apartment until recently, when her best friend had moved in with her rock star boyfriend, Grey Kingston.
Yep, two different worlds, even now, Ella thought wryly. But their friendship was solid. Which reminded her, she needed to let Avery know she might not make it back to the States tomorrow as planned.
When Ella had heard about the storm changing course, she’d tried to book an earlier flight out, without success. She shivered at the possibility of being stranded here alone during a hurricane and knew Avery would like the news even less. Her best friend suffered from severe anxiety, and Ella didn’t like to make her worry.
She’d just buy Avery an extra gift to make up for it, she thought, walking into the shop. She immediately headed to the turquoise-blue beads she’d seen through the window. The shopkeeper claimed they were Larimar beads. Even if they were fake, the beads, popular in the Caribbean, were said to have healing powers. Ella purchased two dozen, a mix of bracelets and necklaces, so she could share with the children at the cancer treatment center where she and Avery volunteered.
Avery had been nine, Ella ten years old when they’d met at a Miami hospital, both donating bone marrow, both there at the behest of a parent. Neither of them really understanding what was happening. All Ella had known was that she was doing a favor for her father, helping the stepmother Ella didn’t like all that much to begin with. Even at a young age, Ella had been a good judge of character, a better one than her father, obviously, because shortly after Janice had gotten well, she’d left Ella’s dad. And both her father and Ella’s life had gone downhill from there. Ella shook off the thoughts of her past before she could go deeper and darker, and focused on the pretty jewelry.
She spent some time choosing a thick turquoise bracelet for Avery and a similar one for herself before paying for everything and waiting for the shopkeeper to wrap things up.
Bag in hand, she started back to the hotel, cutting through side streets and looking into the windows of the stores, soaking up the culture along the cobblestone streets before heading back to Miami tomorrow. At least, she still hoped she’d be home. Knowing she couldn’t change the outcome, she pushed her worrisome thoughts aside. She’d deal with the situation as it came.
Sweat dampened her neck from the humidity of the island, and she contemplated taking a cab back to the hotel. She reached into her straw bag and pulled out her cell phone to make the call, when, without warning, she felt a hard jerk on her purse.
“What the—?” She spun around, but whomever wanted her purse was quicker.
She barely caught a glimpse of a tall guy with dark hair as he yanked harder, nearly pulling her shoulder out of its socket before slamming her against the nearby building with his other hand.
Her head hit the concrete wall, and spots immediately appeared behind her eyes from the impact. As she struggled not to pass out, the man grabbed her purse, along with her cell phone that had fallen to the ground.
She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Her legs collapsed beneath her, and she fell to the ground, her head smacking the sidewalk before everything went black.
A few quick questions with Carly Phillips
TRC: Hi Carly and welcome to The Reading Cafe. Congratulations on the release of DARE TO TAKE
We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?
Carly: I loved being a student, went to college and law school but hated practicing law and the real world. I’m more of an introvert and that career nearly did me in. I became a mom and then started writing what I loved reading, which was / is Romance. I’ve always been an avid reader and happily ever after is my thing. I am happily married to my college sweetheart, I have 2 nearly adult daughters, 3 crazy dogs and I’m always online and love talking to readers there!
TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?
Carly: Reading. I always read … and hated non-happy endings. Once I discovered the Romance genre, I was so, so happy. Writing came very soon after. I loved LaVyrle Spencer back when I started out. ☺
TRC: What challenges or difficulties have you encountered writing and publishing your stories?
Carly: I first started writing in the days before self-publishing so REJECTION and a lot of it. I had to believe in myself so that I could pick up and move on after each one.
TRC: Would you please tell us something about DARE TO TAKE and the Dare to Love series?
Carly: The Dare to Love series is about siblings shaped by a father’s betrayal. Robert Dare had 2 families and when a daughter in his “other/illegitimate” family became sick and needed a bone marrow transplant, the truth came out so the others could get tested to see if they were a match. One legitimate child was. The Dare to Love books tell about the now adult children and how that one selfish act shaped everyone’s lives. How they find love afterwards.
Dare to Take is Tyler Dare’s story. I’m (for now) wrapping up the series as Tyler is the last legitimate sibling whose story needs telling. The NY Dare cousins are all told. And I need fresh inspiration so I’m starting a new series after. Tyler and his sister’s best friend have a secret … he took her virginity and they’ve been fighting that attraction ever since. Ella is stranded after being mugged on an island and his sister begs him to go save her – not knowing their history. It’s fun (or is it?) from there! ☺
TRC: There is a fine line between romance, erotic, and erotica in many of today’s popular contemporary fiction. What do you believe accounts for the differences between the sub-genres in today’s romantic stories?
Carly: That’s a hard one. For me, erotic romance just pushes sexual boundaries on contemporary hot romance. Erotica doesn’t have the happy ending, monogamy that all Romance has. At least that’s my definition of the differences.
TRC: Thank you Carly for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you all the best.
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips N.Y. Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips has written over 40 sexy contemporary romance novels that today’s readers identify with and enjoy. After a successful 15 year career with various New York publishing houses, Carly is making the leap to Indie author, with the goal of giving her readers more books at a faster pace at a better price. Her Serendipity books will still finish up in January/February 2014 via Berkley as planned. Carly lives in Purchase, NY with her family, two nearly adult daughters and two crazy dogs who star on her Facebook Fan Page and website. She’s a writer, a knitter of sorts, a wife, and a mom. In addition, she’s a Twitter and Internet junkie and is always around to interact with her readers. You can find all information about Carly at her website and other social media sites …
Website/ / Goodreads / Twitter /Facebook
