From #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Rachel Van Dyken, comes
the third and final book in the New York Time's Bestselling Bet Series...
Boring Beth Lynn has always lived up to her nickname... until she wakes up in a hotel bed next to a sexy as sin state senator she re-connected with at a wedding the previous night.
The biggest problem? She can't seem to remember anything about the night before except for crying into a box of cookies, and she's pretty sure Grandma Nadine slipped something in her drink. And what should have been a one night stand turns into a six day adventure when Grandma whisks them off to Hawaii to save them from the ensuing media firestorm.
Jace isn't looking for commitment -- he believes he made that clear when he left the wedding with Beth. Then again, he can't remember much of anything other than the way her skin felt beneath his hands. Now he's stuck with her at some lame couple's retreat and trying his hardest to fight the attraction only a woman like Beth could invoke.
He doesn't think it can get any worse.
But one spider attack... A donkey ride from hell... And an unfortunate episode with Viagra tea -- and there's one thing Jace knows for sure: He should never have agreed to Grandma Nadine's suggestion in the first place. Because if this isn't paradise, and it isn't a vacation -- that only leaves one option.
Survival.
But to make it through alive... they might lose their hearts in the process.
(Romantic Comedy, Friends to lovers, Vacation Romance, New Adult
Romance, Funny Stand Alone, Bargain Books, Humorous Romance)
“What the hell?” A deep voice rumbled
from somewhere underneath me.
I closed my eyes.
“You can’t close your eyes. I already
know you’re awake.”
“This is all a dream,” I muttered, my
voice sounding scratchy and unfamiliar. “I’m a figment of your imagination.
Swear. In two seconds you’re going to feel—”
“Shame,” the voice said. “Isn’t that
what you were going to say? Absolute mind-shattering shame?”
I opened my eyes. “What?” I should have
left them closed.
Really. It’s the small things in life
that get you. Close your mouth. Close your eyes. Pretend you don’t see that.
Crap. Some things just can’t be forgotten.
And that face?
Those lips?
Bright blue eyes?
Blond hair that fell just below his
ears?
Officially stored into my permanent
memory until I died, alone with all my cats.
“I was kidding.” Mr. Sexy chuckled. “I
just thought I’d throw that in there to make you feel more comfortable.”
Right, because lying across a complete
stranger in nothing but a smile screamed, Hey,
let’s joke around. I’m game. I quickly grabbed at the sheet and pulled
away, kneeing the poor bastard in the process.
Everyone knows I’m a huge RVD fan by this point. Her Eagle Elite series, her Seaside series, her Ruin series... I love them all. This series is full of heartfelt, hilarious love stories that you can't help but adore. I think this one might be my favorite out of all of them. Or maybe it's The Wager. Or maybe it's The Bet. I can't decide, they're all just too cute.
“Sometimes children, magic does exist. Love is just like magic. It takes special care to discover, but once you have it in the palm of your hand, it spreads throughout your heart and soul. When you find love, you have to hold on to it. You have to promise to never let it go.”
The Dare is centered around Beth and Jace, who we both met previously in The Wager. Beth is Char's smart, beautiful sister and Jace was one of Grandma Nadine's pawns in getting Char and Jake together. At first glance they seem to be polar opposites. Beth is a scientist and Jace is a popular politician. They both know they're Grandma Nadine's next target as a couple when they wake up in Vegas naked in bed together with hardly any recollection of the night before.
“Grandma. I’m not that person. I’m not his penguin or lobster or whatever you want to call it. He’s an island I’m lucky enough to be stranded on for the next few days, that’s all.”
“I sure hope not. I was hoping I was more than a damn island.”
“What do you want to be?” I tried to sound like I was joking. He gripped my face hard in his hands and kissed my mouth. “The world. I’d rather be the world."
I think out of the three books in this series, this one is the most outrageously random. The best part about this series though? The randomness isn't dumb. It's hilarious. Somehow RVD manages to spin a crazy tale of love and humor that I doubt any author could pull off so neatly. Grandma Nadine pulls out all the stops on this one. I can't spoil much but there's curses, islands, therapists, Viagra, etc. I was cracking up. Watching them try to resist the pull for so long almost gets tiring, but you stay amused the entire time. Not to mention, there's a ridiculous amount of Thor, I mean Jace, swooning going on the entire time.
"When I turned back around, Beth was smiling. And I knew. She would pull. I would fall. And in the end I would walk away. Because she deserved better, and I didn’t believe in second chances, even when it came to the one who got away."
Another reason this one might be my favorite out of the three, is because how raw and real the emotions were. Beth was so easy to identify with. I found that a lot of her thoughts and inner monologue hit very close to home and I was able to take a lot of what she was learning and thinking to heart. She wasn't the most popular girl in high school. In fact, it was quite the opposite. But, she turned out fantastically. Yes, she might be insecure, scarred from those memories. However, Jace eventually helps her realize that she is beautiful inside and out and that she deserves the fairytale she alwasy wanted. Jace was also fun to read. He is a fantastic politician, but he's been hurt badly by a woman. He doesn't think he deserves Beth, yet he can't help but fall in love with her.
"And I knew something about hearts, once they’ve claimed another as their own. It was near impossible to forget. My heart ached with the knowledge that it was entirely possible that each day I spent in Jace’s presence was another piece of my heart he was unknowingly taking. And I was willingly giving it. Hoping that, by the end, it wouldn’t destroy me."
This romance of falling in love when you least expect it is equal parts hilarious and swoonworthy. It's not dark, nor is it heavy on the emotions. It's a light, feel-good read that will have you falling in love all over again. It's more than a love story. It's a tale of magic. It's about second chances. It makes you believe that love can happen to everyone. Oh, and I loveddd getting to see Travis, Kacey, Char, and Jake again. The gang is back and they're ready to watch another couple find love.
“So here’s the thing, Beth. Your whole life has been based off thinking you didn’t have a charge, assuming guys weren’t into you, wrongly assuming I had walked away — when the very opposite was true. I almost died trying to get to you, and the truth?” His voice shook. “I would go through it all again, as long as I knew you’d still be waiting for me on the other side.”
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal,
and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When
she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting
her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers!
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers!
Like her on Facebook
Follow her on Twitter
Become a fan on Goodreads
Visit her Website
No comments:
Post a Comment