He’s the bad boy of baseball who’s about to lose everything.
She needs a husband to get custody of her teenage sister.
Suddenly a marriage of convenience doesn’t look so bad.
Pitcher, Jaxon Prescott has a lot on his plate. Major League Baseball. Reputation as a player. And now? He’s on the verge of losing it all. He didn’t mean to sleep with his general manager’s daughter or get into a brawl that was captured on camera. But his notoriety is a problem and everything he’s worked for is at risk.
What’s a bad boy to do? Marry his sister’s best friend to save his career, even if it’s the opposite of everything he wants and believes in.
Macy Walker is the sole guardian of her half-sister until the girl’s mother returns and wants her daughter back. In order to win custody, Macy needs to provide stability and marrying someone would do the trick. Luckily for her, her best friend’s brother needs a wife.
They’re this close to getting exactly what they want – as long as they don’t fall in love.
| Title: | Dare to Play |
| Author: | Carly Phillips |
| Series: | Dare Nation (Book 3) |
| Pages: | 145 |
| Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Fake Relationship Marriage of Convenience Sports Romance (Baseball) |
| Point of View: | Third Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoints (H&h) |
| Location: | Florida, US |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 6th October, 2020 |
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Light, fun and sexy
This is the third book in Carly Phillip’s Dare Nation series – a spin-off from previous Dare series. I mean, all these Dares are connected in some convoluted way. Who knows how Ms Phillips keeps things straight in her head! But for readers, this book does have cameos from other characters from this series and beyond, but it stands completely alone and comes with its own HEA. Job’s a good ‘un.
This is the story of Jaxon and Macy; two characters who, on the surface, seem completely different from each other. Jaxon is a big-time baseball player, currently in a spot of bother due to some brawling and less than stellar choices of sexual partner. Macy, on the other hand, is raising her 15 year old sister and is pretty much all business and no pleasure. She even has a wicked stepmother to deal with – back to challenge Macy for custody of said sister.
Despite their differences, and their tentative connection (Macy is the best friend of Brianne – Jaxon’s sister), at a wedding, the pair connect and spend the night together. From there, an ill-timed paparazzi shot brings the elements of our story together – Jaxon’s reputation and Macy’s custody battle – culminating in the plan for a quickie, if fake, marriage. Hey – it’s not the craziest idea ever and it would solve both their problems.
“…Jaxon and Macy are continually shooting sparks. They can barely keep their hands off each other…”
But even before the wedding, Jaxon and Macy are continually shooting sparks. They can barely keep their hands off each other – and I felt it. The sexual chemistry between this pair was stomach clutchingly fantastic and they get it on pretty frequently throughout the book. Happy campers, all round.
We’ve obviously got a little conflict which keeps us wondering whether our couple will be able to make it through to their happily ever after. I mean, of course they will, but we still need things to be interesting. The conflict is mainly about whether Jaxon can move on from his past, and whether Macy can get the courage to go after what she wants. Nothing insurmountable but it worked nicely as a possible barrier.
I always enjoy a Carly Phillips novel and this one was up to her normally high standard. You will whizz through this book – the writing keeping you interested in the characters and their storylines. This book was exactly what I needed; Light, fun, sexy and something to get myself lost in for a couple of hours. Whether you’re reading through the Dare Nation series or not, you will not be disappointed with this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 5 stars.
Carly Phillips gives her readers Alphalicious heroes to swoon for and romance to set your heart on fire, and she loves everything about writing romance. She married her college sweetheart and lives in Purchase, NY along with her three crazy dogs: two wheaten terriers and a mutant Havanese, who are featured on her Facebook and Instagram. She has raised two incredible daughters who put up with having a mom as a romance author. Carly is the author of over fifty romances, and is a NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestseller. She loves social media and interacting with her readers. Want to keep up with Carly? Sign up for her newsletter and receive TWO FREE books at www.carlyphillips.com.
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Dare Nation Series:
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