Dare to Take

By: Carly Phillips

Narrated by: Sophie Eastlake

Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2016 Karen Drogin (P)2016 Karen Drogin

Dare to take.

suspens until the end. l love this book so much more than others l have read.

Hot romance

This was a fantastic book. The story is original. The characters are real The audible was one of the best yet I don't like giving a synopsis of a book I will just say you'll enjoy this one

I wouldn't dare again

I seem to me the minority here but I didn't really enjoy this book. I believe that the narration was the main problem. It seemed like the narrator was tired so the characters sounded flat. It made the story feel a lot longer than it was. I ask didn't like her male voices because it sounded too forced. The story is ok. It reminded me of Harlequin Desire type books.

Ella and Tyler's story is about second chances, forgiveness and true love. The premise and the family story is sweet and the ending was beautiful but the flat narration took the emotions out of the story.

Love! Love!

Absolutely fell in love with this series from the first book! I could not stop once I started! I have fallen in love with the author Carly Phillips and narrator Sophie Eastlake. I could not be more pleased with the stories and love shown in each book!

Such a Fantastic Romance

Carly Phillips is a name I've seen around for a while now, and it wasn't until recently that I started getting really curious about her work. She's pretty prolific and I had issues trying to decide where to start, so maybe it was a bit of fate intervening when the Audavoxx request came through. Dare to Take is book six in the Dare to Love series, HOWEVER it can be read as a standalone and doesn't relay on knowledge of the previous books. There is a small spoiler fact for the previous novels, but I'd go so far as to say it only made me want to read them more.

Our story focuses on Ella Shaw and Tyler Dare, who had a rather humiliating and painful experience together years ago and have spent much of their time trying to avoid each other..though for different reasons. Both are caring, independent, and a little distant thanks to bad experiences in their pasts and the way these two just clicked made the chemistry between them undeniable, and I'm really pleased with the way their relationship progressed. So often when the main characters are faced with issues and problems, the issues are pushed aside or magically cured by a quick rendezvous between the sheets...and I was so terrified that it was going to go that route, but it really doesn't. Ella and Tyler have a lot of growing to do on their own, and they both take the time to do that without the other around. It's just as much about their individual journeys as it is about their journey together. And let's not forget the amazing unit that is the Dare family. I really love romance novels where there is a large, loving, and close family involved...where there is no pressure to be anyone other than you, and add in a great support network for both main characters to relay on. We even have a taste of romantic suspense added in, and even though I figured it out kind of quickly it was a nice little touch.

The narration by Sophie Eastlake is phenomenal! She manages to capture that easy going feeling of the novel without ever loosing the emotion that really makes this story pop.She does some pretty solid voice work, especially when it comes to the Dare brothers. I've already added her to my list of narrators to keep an eye out for, and I'm pleased to see she handles all the Dare books.

If you're looking for a book to read in your downtime while curled up under a blanket or enjoying the sunshine outside, then Dare to Take is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. It's a heartfelt romance with plenty of character growth and steam, and despite being book six in the series it does a great job of being accessible.

Great story and fabulous performance!

Rating: 4/5
Heat Rating: 3.5/5
Narrator Performance: 4.5/5

I LOVE TYLER!!!!!

DARE TO TAKE is a second chance love story. When Ella Shaw was 18 she "offered" herself to her best friend Avery's (DARE TO ROCKS's, book 5 in the series, female protag) older brother while he was on leave from the army over Christmas. While that night started with pleasure it ended in heartache. In the years following they did the best to avoid each other. Unfortunately however 9 years later Ella gets violently mugged while working in St. Lucia leaving her in the hospital with a concussion. The hospital refused to discharge her until they were assured that there would be someone to look after her. On top of that a hurricane was headed towards the island and she no longer had her ID or passport so she was stuck. Upon hearing all this from her BFF, Avery, knowing that her brother Tyler had the right connections to bring Ella home, begged him to do just that. Having managed to avoid really talking to Ella since the fateful night that they had shared years ago the last thing Tyler wanted to do was get involved in the situation but what was he to do? It's not like he could leave her stranded.

As soon as I started listening to this book I was pulled right into the story. That can be chalked up to two things; Carly Phillips' story telling and Sophie Eastlake's performance. I think that Ella's and Tyler's backstory was something that anybody could understand. We've all done something stupid while we were drunk. I also enjoyed each of their individual backstories. There were moments where I identified with Ella in particular.

I have to say that my favorite character in this book was Tyler. I absolutely loved him! His determination to make things right with Ella was admirable. There were times where I shook my head at his self recriminations because they were mostly unfounded. However on the flip side of that I loved that he was trying to be so self aware. He really tried to rectify what he thought were his past mistakes.

Ella too had a past that she needed to overcome. She had an extremely hard childhood and it held her back in many ways. Not to mention what that night with Tyler did to her self esteem. Again I must say that there were a few instances where I could put myself in her shoes. Especially with the twist in her storyline at the end. Watching the personal growth that she went through in the book made me proud of her.

The thing that I liked least about this book was the predictability. Yes Contemporary Romance tends to be unsurprising but by the 5th chapter I'd identified the bad guy. It bugged me that Tyler and Ella didn't figure it out sooner.

As far as the heat level goes DARE TO TAKE took me by surprise. In fact it boarders the line between Contemporary Romance and Contemporary Erotic Romance IMO. The sex scenes were nice and spicy. Not only were they hot bu Phillips did a great job of making each one different in some way. The sexual attraction between Tyler and Ella caused lots of steam!

DARE TO TAKE has solid, engaging writing, hot intimate times and wonderfully developed characters for the reader to care about. It's a keeper and it definitely won't be the last Carly Phillips book that I read.

About The Narrator...
Quite often it takes me a little bit to get into an audiobook. Every narrator is different and it can take time to get used to them. Nevertheless I found that getting used to Sophie Eastlake was no problem at all. From the start I was able to slip into the story as if I was reading it myself. Her pace and pitch were spectacular and basically everything was spot on from my point of view. Her voice is really pleasant to listen to. I particularly liked Tyler's voice. It made my insides all tingly. Eastlake is undoubtedly a top notch narrator!

* I received this audio in exchange for an honest review.

Love this second chance

I was gifted this audio book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Tyler knew that he had made a mistake years ago and now this was his way to fix it. Ella was trying to forget the past and move forward, but Tyler always seemed to be there. He is determined to be her protector. Tyler is determined to figure out who attacked Ella and to bring them to justice.

Since I hadn't read the who series from the start, this was a nice introduction. I enjoyed getting learning who the characters were and their functions. This was a fantastic story about how two people could reconnect so many years ago after drifting so far apart. I think I will love the whole series and start at the beginning. The book was well written and the narrator was very engaging. The author has a way to pull you into the story and fall in love with the characters. Looking forward to checking out the other books by this author also. it is wonderful these two could maybe get their happy ending they are both looking to find. Lindsey, reviewer for Mommy's Naughty Playground

Love this story and series

Would you consider the audio edition of Dare to Take to be better than the print version?

Did not read the print version only on audio

What other book might you compare Dare to Take to and why?

The Dare Series

Which character – as performed by Sophie Eastlake – was your favorite?

Avery and Gray from Dare To Rock

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole book moved me!

Any additional comments?

Yes sorry to see the series end, but will definitely be reading more of Carly Phillips.

This is a good series

what about the younger half sister. the one that was sick the younger one (story )

0 of 2 people found this review helpful