Review: 4.5 hilarious stars! A fun adventure in romance!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 8, 2014
I am new to this series and just recently devoured the first two books. These books are so refreshing! They are over the top and slapstick, outrageous, and hilarious. Grandma Nadine is the most outgoing, crazy, meddling, unfiltered, matchmaker from Hell ever. She takes no prisoners when she is setting her couples up. Nothing is too sacred or shameful for her. I fell for Travis in The Bet and could not wait to see Jake redeem himself in The Wager. And found myself laughing all the way through them.In this third installment, we follow Beth (Char's sister) and Jace (The hot young Senator) that we met in The Wager. And just like those that came before them, these two are soon entangled in one of Grandma's manipulative match making schemes...all under the guise of helping them get away from a media backlash. What could possibly go wrong on a impromptu vacation to Hawaii? Remember, Grandma is involved so the answer is anything and everything!Next thing they know they are in a Paradise that also mirrors Hell. They only way to handle Grandma's shady plans is to just go with it. But they add a dare of their own....For 6 days he agrees to the fairy tale romance she has always dreamed of, and in exchange she agrees to help him get out of his political mess once it is all over. But on day 7 he plans on walking away.Beth has always felt boring, uninteresting, and nerdy. She has been burned before, does not trust, and is insecure. She wants it all...true love and the fairy tale, but does not feel worthy of it. But is willing to take what she can get even for a short time.Jace has issues from his past that changed him. He has sworn off women and relationships. He strives for acceptance and perfection, but tends to bury his feelings and also has feelings of unworthiness. His career is most important to him and right now it is riding on him fixing his media situation.I loved Jace and Beth together. They were funny, sweet, and had good hearts. They had a witty rapport and chemistry(though this book did not have to rely on sex scenes to see it). Their past recollections and brief shared history melted my heart. I loved their attempts at romance when they were in a good place, and their feisty interactions when not. I got frustrated when they lived in denial land and I wanted to shake them at various times. I laughed at Grandma's crazy schemes with Jace and Beth, and the other two couples that got dragged into the mess(they can never really escape Grandma). I enjoyed more time with Travis and Kacey and Jake and Char. I loved that they were now the survivors of similar plots and could give advice. I especially loved the changes in Jake. And the chapter toppers focusing on Grandma Nadine explaining the whole story to an outside party had me rolling. The way her mind works is just mind blowing.It was a a lot of back and forth between the couple and there was tons of stuff going on in the background. It was a bit manic, frantic, and humorous, but there were also times of sweetness and swoon. There were twists and surprises, and a bit of mystery about the past woven in.The humor is slapstick, off the wall, and totally out there, but half the fun is just pretending like you drank one of Grandma's drugged drinks and just going with it. It was a fast, funny, wild ride full of wackiness and adventure. It was a story of second chances and soul mates. But it was a long twisty road towards hope, trust, self worth, and forgiveness. No matter how good they could be together, it would never be enough unless they accepted themselves and realized their true self worth.This is a perfect read when you want to laugh, swoon and be entertained. It is silly, quirky, a bit corny, but engaging. It was told in both points of view letting you see their horrified thoughts of their situation as well as their fears, hopes, and feelings. It was a romance wrapped up in a layer of crazy, a layer of drama, a layer of comedy, and a layer of fun. I loved Grandma Nadine but gotta say I do not think I would want her meddling in my life. Although I have to admit she is one tough, smart, manipulating, loving Grandma. She can't help it if what she does for love also leaves mayhem and chaos in her wake. It is not about who wins (Grandma will always win) but how you play the game and where all the pieces end up.Even though each book is about a different couple and you could technically read it as a stand alone. I think each one builds up on the other and you really get more from The Dare by knowing the stories of the other two couples and understanding all that Grandma Nadine is capable of. So I recommend reading them in order. And they really are a lot of fun.I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.