Willow James, athletic trainer for the Miami Thunder football team, knows abandonment and hurt. A child of foster care, she’s been moved around and left behind more times than she cares to count. Just when she was starting to let her guard down with Braden Prescott, he left for a two year stint with Doctors Without Borders. Now he’s back.
Dr. Braden Prescott always felt like an outsider in his family of professional sports players. He’s traveled the world and is better for it, but now he’s home with a job for the Miami Thunder. When he comes face to face with the woman he left behind, their chemistry still smolders. She’ll give him her body again but not her heart.
He knows leaving her once was the biggest mistake of his life. Can Willow learn to trust him not to leave, especially when adventure comes calling again?
| Title: | Dare to Stay |
| Author: | Carly Phillips |
| Series: | Dare Nation (Book 4) |
| Pages: | 235 |
| Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Doctor Romance Second Chance Romance Sports Romance (American Football) |
| Point of View: | Third Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoints (H&h) |
| Location: | Miami, Florida, US |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 26th January, 2021 |
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Fun and sexy
I love Carly Phillips. There’s something about her books that are so positive and uplifting that reading them just makes me feel happy. Add in the fact that her stories are hella sexy and romantic and you’re onto a winner with every book.
This book is the fourth in the Dare Nation series – a spin-off from Phillips’ other Dare series’. I’ve read two of the previous books in this series, and while the couples from those books turn up in this one, you definitely don’t need to have read the others to understand and enjoy this tale.
Of our main characters – I really loved Willow. She was smart, understandably cautious but willing to be honest with herself regarding her lust – and feelings – for Braden. I never felt she was being unreasonable and I liked that the progression of her trust, in both herself and Braden, was believable. Her back story gave her depth but never bogged her, or the story, down in upsetting details.
“…her books that are so positive and uplifting that reading them just makes me feel happy.”
Having read about Braden in previous Dare Nation novels – I was wondering how Ms Phillips would make me like him – as I was less than sympathetic about him leaving (even if he did join MSF) and like Willow, I wasn’t inclined to believe he was back for good. I shouldn’t have worried because Braden was an absolute gem. He realised where he’d gone wrong in the past and was determined to make it up to Willow. And he was so sensitive to her needs – moving the relationship along at a pace she was comfortable with. But he was still a sexy alpha male so there was also a nice bit of pushing and cajoling. My favourite!
Together the pair had an amazing chemistry that really gave you butterflies in the tummy moments. There was just the right amount of sexiness blended with the sweetness – it really made me believe in Willow and Braden as a couple that would last.
As always with Carly Phillips, the writing was fresh, fun and very engaging. A second-chance romance with enough going on that it will never lose your interest – I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a sexy story chock full of chemistry. 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:
2 Comments
Just One Night by Carly Phillips - Jo Reads Romance
21 April 2021 at 5:36 pm[…] in a new series following the Kingston Family. The family got name-checked in a previous book (Dare To Stay) and there is one cross-over character, but the book 100% stands alone. So if you’re new to Carly […]
Dare to Tease by Carly Phillips - Jo Reads Romance
24 March 2021 at 8:58 pm[…] is the twin sister of Braden, the hero from the previous book, Dare to Stay. She’s a no-nonsense sports agent who’s been burned by love in the past and doesn’t put much […]