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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
[I received a digital arc for an honest review]
Dare Me by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine is the second book in the Dare to Try trilogy. Bash has returned to his beloved South Haven to lick his wounds after falling hard and fast for firefighter Kieran Bailey. Kieran doesn’t understand what went wrong and goes in search of Bash to try to learn what led to Bash up and leaving with no word. Bash accepts Kieran with open arms as he struggles with his actions after Kieran chooses to search him out in South Haven. The two men feel their intense chemistry ignite and learn that the real fire comes once the sheets cool and they have to decide what happens next.
We are faced with the conundrum in this book of Kieran being blissfully ignorant as to why Bash left and Bash beating himself up over the choice to put himself first. Let me start out with Kieran needing to pull his head out of his a*s and realizing that he made a mistake not shouting from the rooftops that he had someone as amazing as Bash. For me Bash leaving was the right choice although from my interpretation of the beginning of this book he was supposed to feel bad. Why should he feel bad that Kieran wouldn’t at least acknowledge that they had something and instead of allowing himself to fall deeper for a man who struggled to accept their newfound relationship, he went home to the safety and security of his hometown and found family. I will not accept that Bash did nearly as much wrong as Kieran and I stand by this.
“That’s why I was giving you an out.”
“But I don’t want an out.”
Once the details are hashed out of what happened in Chicago the rest of the book is a pleasant albeit drawn out series of experiences to have Kieran fall in love with South Haven and explore being in a relationship with Bash. They are cute and I see a long term happily ever after in book three but as I have said with other middle books in a trilogy there was definitely a whole lot of filler. That being said, some of it was steaming hot filler that burned my kindle screen and I greatly enjoyed it but this is something Frank and Blaine do very well.
3 stars for a steamy second chance for Bash and Kieran.
Dare Me by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine is the second book in the Dare to Try trilogy. Bash has returned to his beloved South Haven to lick his wounds after falling hard and fast for firefighter Kieran Bailey. Kieran doesn’t understand what went wrong and goes in search of Bash to try to learn what led to Bash up and leaving with no word. Bash accepts Kieran with open arms as he struggles with his actions after Kieran chooses to search him out in South Haven. The two men feel their intense chemistry ignite and learn that the real fire comes once the sheets cool and they have to decide what happens next.
We are faced with the conundrum in this book of Kieran being blissfully ignorant as to why Bash left and Bash beating himself up over the choice to put himself first. Let me start out with Kieran needing to pull his head out of his a*s and realizing that he made a mistake not shouting from the rooftops that he had someone as amazing as Bash. For me Bash leaving was the right choice although from my interpretation of the beginning of this book he was supposed to feel bad. Why should he feel bad that Kieran wouldn’t at least acknowledge that they had something and instead of allowing himself to fall deeper for a man who struggled to accept their newfound relationship, he went home to the safety and security of his hometown and found family. I will not accept that Bash did nearly as much wrong as Kieran and I stand by this.
“That’s why I was giving you an out.”
“But I don’t want an out.”
Once the details are hashed out of what happened in Chicago the rest of the book is a pleasant albeit drawn out series of experiences to have Kieran fall in love with South Haven and explore being in a relationship with Bash. They are cute and I see a long term happily ever after in book three but as I have said with other middle books in a trilogy there was definitely a whole lot of filler. That being said, some of it was steaming hot filler that burned my kindle screen and I greatly enjoyed it but this is something Frank and Blaine do very well.
3 stars for a steamy second chance for Bash and Kieran.
It seems that all heroes named Kieran lately have all of my love lol. I fell more in love with him in this book. I loved his openness, not only to Bash, but to new opportunities, new experiences, and with his family. Bash is a hard man to grasp and I love that I still don’t quite know a ton about him or fully understand him. I hope book 3 will continue giving these men the happy that they deserve.
Super cute book two where the reader gets to visit Bash's home island, a beautiful, peaceful sounding place that Kieran visits to find out why Bash ghosted him. They fall madly for one another and at the end they need to sort out what to do! Looking forward to book three to see how these two reach their HEA.
I was annoyed in the beginning with Bash’s knee jerk reaction from the end of the last book but was happy how things progressed. I’m moving on to the final book to see them get their HEA once they work out the logistics of their relationship.
I still prefer Kieran’s narrator.
I still prefer Kieran’s narrator.
Got this around 7:30 am and dropped the book I was in the midst of reading to IMMEDIATELY tear right through this one as fast and happily as I did the first book in this series, "Dare You". I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. Holy cow! I mean, I love Ella & Brooke: they make magical mm together, but this was something else. Book one gives you a TON of time to fall utterly in love with Bash, but "Dare Me" gives you almost the whole book to give you time to fall in love with KIERNAN, away from Chicago, the firehouse, and his family, which is something I think we readers needed to do. We needed to see him as a fish out of water, in Bash's world, to see who he was as JUST Kiernan the human who somehow had his whole world turned upside down by Bash in the first book, so we could see how much conviction and passion he had behind his feelings if he was removed from his comfort zone and placed smack dab in the line of fire of all of Bash's protective friends. It was HOT, well-written, HOT, sweet, funny, HOT, irreverent, and now I'm pouting and stomping my feet like a toddler because I have to wait until the end of September for "Truth or Dare". DAMMIT.
After we the readers were left hanging at the end of Dare You, the story picks right back up with Kieran wondering what the hell happened. Still recovering from his injury and due some time off, he decides to go after Bash to find out what made him leave without a word. Their reunion is a surprise to both of them, but oh so fun for us the readers. From there, we get to experience Bash in his hometown surrounded by his friends.
There were so many parts to this story that I loved. I couldn't pick a favorite, but when Kieran calls Sean, I was rolling laughing. Oh Sean, you pain in the ass. I loved the sweet moments, the sassy conversations, and the knocking down walls moments between these two characters that brought them closer together. There is steam, plot, and tons of moments where we get to know Bash and Kieran better. Character development is my favorite because I'm super nosy and love getting to know "people" well.
I won't spoil the ending, because no one likes that person, but I do want to say that I was fully prepared emotionally for a cliffhanger like Dare You. I had prepared myself to NOT lose it, but what I got instead was a super sweet ending that had me all in the feels. I loved how deliciously sweet it was. Ella and Brooke pulled all my heart strings and I can't wait for the third book in this series. I will patiently wait until next month when it releases then devour it in a day. This is too good a story to sit on!
Give me more Bash and Kieran!!
Gosh I love these two... together and apart (though more together than apart!) they are incredible and I love that they both constantly surprise the other. Kieran did exactly what I wanted - he went after his Bash after the end of Book 1 left them both unhappy. This book was absolutely beautiful and I was thrilled to be back in South Haven with the crew!! I cannot wait for Book 3 and to see these two men get their much deserved happily ever after!!
Gosh I love these two... together and apart (though more together than apart!) they are incredible and I love that they both constantly surprise the other. Kieran did exactly what I wanted - he went after his Bash after the end of Book 1 left them both unhappy. This book was absolutely beautiful and I was thrilled to be back in South Haven with the crew!! I cannot wait for Book 3 and to see these two men get their much deserved happily ever after!!
"Welcome to South Haven, lieutenant."
You read that right my friends. Book one, [b:Dare You|58502262|Dare You (Dare to Try, #1)|Ella Frank|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626957105l/58502262._SY75_.jpg|91881091], had Bash in Kieran's world of Chicago. It's where they met. Where they danced around their attraction, well Kieran did at least. It's ultimately where they started to fall for one another. But we all read how book one ended, with Bash heading home to the little island town he loves. The saddest part? He headed home alone, without so much as a goodbye for the hottie firefighter who set Bash's entire world aflame in just a few short weeks. So what is said hottie firefighter to do when the whirlwind that is Sebastian Vogel just up and leaves? Why chase after him of course.
"Had I been reading this entire thing wrong all this time? Maybe Bash hadn't ditched me. Maybe he'd run."
I loved seeing Kieran in Bash's world. It was definitely an entire different speed to Chicago living. What I loved even more was seeing Lucas, Jackson, Shaw, and Trent again as well. I missed those boys, especially Lucas and his acerbic wit. I was also looking forward to them giving Bash shit over everything and I wasn't disappointed. The peaches and bananas scene? One of my laugh out loud favorites. Bash made a lot of assumptions when he ran, excuse me flew, home to South Haven. It was definitely fun seeing Kieran set him straight, or not so straight as it was.
"And yet all I really wanted to enjoy was a beautiful man in heels and a Valentino dress."
I have to admit nothing surprised me more than Kieran's determination to see this thing through with Bash. He never hid his wants, never backed away from the truth, and seemed A-Okay with going full speed ahead. Then again, how could anyone not fall in love with Sebastian Vogel? The man is magnetic and life with him would never be boring that's for sure. Speaking of life, I am chomping at the bit now for book 3, as I'm guessing it will focus on just that: Life, and how to merge their lives into one that will work for them both.
* This book was provided by the authors in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. *
You read that right my friends. Book one, [b:Dare You|58502262|Dare You (Dare to Try, #1)|Ella Frank|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626957105l/58502262._SY75_.jpg|91881091], had Bash in Kieran's world of Chicago. It's where they met. Where they danced around their attraction, well Kieran did at least. It's ultimately where they started to fall for one another. But we all read how book one ended, with Bash heading home to the little island town he loves. The saddest part? He headed home alone, without so much as a goodbye for the hottie firefighter who set Bash's entire world aflame in just a few short weeks. So what is said hottie firefighter to do when the whirlwind that is Sebastian Vogel just up and leaves? Why chase after him of course.
"Had I been reading this entire thing wrong all this time? Maybe Bash hadn't ditched me. Maybe he'd run."
I loved seeing Kieran in Bash's world. It was definitely an entire different speed to Chicago living. What I loved even more was seeing Lucas, Jackson, Shaw, and Trent again as well. I missed those boys, especially Lucas and his acerbic wit. I was also looking forward to them giving Bash shit over everything and I wasn't disappointed. The peaches and bananas scene? One of my laugh out loud favorites. Bash made a lot of assumptions when he ran, excuse me flew, home to South Haven. It was definitely fun seeing Kieran set him straight, or not so straight as it was.
"And yet all I really wanted to enjoy was a beautiful man in heels and a Valentino dress."
I have to admit nothing surprised me more than Kieran's determination to see this thing through with Bash. He never hid his wants, never backed away from the truth, and seemed A-Okay with going full speed ahead. Then again, how could anyone not fall in love with Sebastian Vogel? The man is magnetic and life with him would never be boring that's for sure. Speaking of life, I am chomping at the bit now for book 3, as I'm guessing it will focus on just that: Life, and how to merge their lives into one that will work for them both.
* This book was provided by the authors in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. *
second on the series for Bash & Keiran's storyline. Enjoyed just as much as the first book, great plot and pacing, and just the right amount of angst.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes