Double Dare

By: R. L. Mathewson

Narrated by: Fran Jules

Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the New York Times Best-Selling Series, Neighbor from Hell, comes Double Dare....

Marybeth still couldn't believe that she'd survived this long with a friend like Darrin, but somehow she'd managed to beat the odds and not give in to temptation and smother him with a pillow while he slept. Of course some days were more difficult than others....

For 20 years he's been biding his time, waiting for the right moment to make his move, and now that she was finally his, he had to do everything in his power to keep her, even if it meant making a decision that would tear them apart and force her to face the truth.

©2015 Rerum Industries, Inc. (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Close to great but...

A few things I didn't like about this book. First, the epilogue. If you read the previous book (The Game Plan) and liked the medication allergy skit then you should be okay. I grew tired to annoyed by it quickly. The fact that it rears its ugly head here was a disappointment. This wasn't even supposed to be about Jody. Second, is there an anti-gay sentiment here?Finally, and least important, is that, as with the other books in this series, the main "issue/barrier" gets beaten like a dead horse.

With that in mind, I still like the characters. The banter was funny, the whole dare thing cute, good and steamy, and I'm a sucker for the BFF thing. If you're a fan of the series or need some escape from deeper reads, you can find some fun in this edition.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Warning: Terminal illness

Any additional comments?

I listen to books to escape. I'm always looking for a book that's fun- interesting characters, witty banter. I wish there was a warning label that let you know that a book was going to delve into serious illness/ death. Didn't finish it. Too painful...

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Romantic comedy

Any additional comments?

Laugh out loud hilarious. Great plot, storyline, & character development. Stand alone story with but if u want the full experience, start w/ book 1

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Disappointing addition to the series

2-2.5 stars

**Fair warning, I'll probably let a couple spoilers out in this review**

So...I found this addition to the series to be disappointing. At first, I thought Darrin and Marybeth were alright but by the end, I really didn't like Marybeth at all. The story was disjointed and confusing and I just wasn't very happy with what was done with the plot.

Marybeth works as a construction foreman (or should I say foreperson) at the Bradford construction company. When Marybeth was 15 she found out that she had medical issues that kept her from having kids. This caused her to lose her focus and she ended up dropping out of high school and dropping out, getting her GED later. Marybeth has known the Bradfords since she met Darrin the day her family moved next door to his.

Darrin is a Bradford and works for his uncle's construction company. Darrin and Marybeth met when they were only 7 years old. Darrin told her the first day they met that he was going to keep her and they were best friends ever since. Darrin always meant for them to become more than friends when they got older but the timing never seemed right and when it should have been, Darrin just couldn't get up the nerve to tell Marybeth how he felt about her.

The story starts out when Darrin and Marybeth meet as kids and skips forward a few times to show them together as friends until current time. TBH, this caused me some confusion because there are things that get mentioned and then we never hear about again (and it seems like we should have). When we get to current time, we find out that Darrin and Marybeth have been sleeping together for the last 6 years. There's also an indication that Marybeth has just broken up with a boyfriend and Darrin sees this as a good time to make his feelings known. Whether Darrin and Marybeth were sleeping together while she was dating this other guy is never really explained...I'm hoping not... Darrin and Marybeth seem to care about each other as friends but I never really got the "deep love" feeling between them....most of their interactions (through pretty much the whole book) seemed to be more along the lines of how badly they can torment each other.

Darrin and Marybeth have a thing between them were they always accept each other's double dares so Darrin tries to use this as a way to get Marybeth to marry him but it doesn't work out very well so he has to find other ways. The thing is, Marybeth never told Darrin about her not being able to have kids and keeps pushing him away because of it. He doesn't understand why she's pushing him away and lying to him. They even get married part way through the story (another disjointed part of the story that caused more confusion than clarification) and Marybeth is still lying to Darrin and treating him like crap! Even after they're married, Marybeth doesn't care about what Darrin wants and almost risks her life over her medical issues, telling him he has no input and it doesn't concern him. Now I don't care how much she's supposedly doing this for Darrin's good, she was being a horrible bitch. I lost all respect for Marybeth by the time the story ended...I'm glad Darrin got his HEA but I kind of wish it hadn't been with Marybeth.

Overall, this was a disappointing story. Obviously, I didn't like Marybeth...her inability to care about anyone but herself and her own feelings made me lose all respect for her. Uhg! Darrin was a bit of an idiot at times but he was the typical Bradford and was a good guy. He definitely made mistakes but he made them with the best of intentions...the Bradford men just tend to mess things up with their lady loves and have to work to make things right. The story...well most of it was confusing and disjointed and while I enjoyed a few parts, the majority of it left me feeling frustrated more than anything else.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Love, Love, Love the Bradford Men

This is one of my favorite series. The Bradford men crack me up. I love Mathewson's writing style and pace of the stories. I can't imagine anyone except Fran Jules performing these stories. Fran Jules ROCKS the Bradford Family.

The family trait of the Bradford's, including uncles and cousins is their ravenous appetites and love of food. Their antics against each other cause them to be banned from restaurants, food delivery services and of course all-you-can-eat buffets.

They tend to fall in love with women who are the opposite of what they envision to be their perfect wife. They also tend to bicker with and aggravate these women. I love how the Bradford men will take a statement or argument with their girlfriend/neighbor and turn it around to benefit them.

There's also a lot of sex. The Bradford men are extremely persistent in getting their way in the bed.

I go to these books after listening to an emotional draining story or dark suspense thriller or if I'm in a book rut. These stories also take on real life issues like being overweight, being a foster child, various medical issues but everything always works out with a HEA.

These books are well worth the credit or dollars.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Wasn’t for me

Wish I could have liked this story. It was so-so. The plot behind the dares were a bit juvenile. The idea of a dare could work in another scenario but rings false here. The narration was great and worth finding other books they’ve done. If you like the writer you will more than likely enjoy this book - but I enjoy a better developed plot.

Dare it all!

This is, so far, my least favorite of the series.... they just... you know that saying about not beating a dead horse? Well, that’s what it felt like.... listening to the same thing over and over....

That said, I loved it!
The summary tells you the basics... and then you get Fran Jules whose voice is like a magic wand bringing this series to life....

As usual, sexy steamy.

Worth it all!

Another awesome “NFH” book

I want to start off by saying I almost didn’t give this book a chance because a review said there was death in the book (completely inaccurate information) and it broke their heart BUT being addicted to the Bradford men I had to see what happened and I’m glad I did. No only was that review false information but the book ended with a HEA like the previous books in the series I’ve read. Only trouble now is deciding which Bradford male is my favorite lol.

After years of juvenile antics, Darrian Bradford ends up with the love of his life

This was way too long with a very predictable ending. Marybeth was mean and sad while Darrian was just mostly obnoxious. Also there was a running “joke” about gay men in the family that was not funny even if there was a lot of politically correct dialog being spouted from “mom” to counteract and the obvious hints that older brother Aidan is gay. These were the typical food stories and sex scenes but the only thing of real interest was Marybeth’s illness, and how this story blends with Danny’s. The remainder of the series is not yet in the romance package and since this story clearly points to an inconsistency in the quality of writing I would not waste a credit on future books in the series and am done with them unless the others show up in the Romance Package.

Always a good author

These books are consistent and clever. The use of the term ‘bastard’ gets old, though I realise that this is the joke, but I just think that it has started to actually detract from the story a bit. I found myself a few times fast forwarding just because I already new what the next bit would cover. Seriously just communicate a little bit, best friends and not once in six years did they think to share stuff about themselves? This is a very flimsy base for an otherwise good story.
Always worth a listen