During the book I was thinking “I’m really enjoying this and I’m eager to find out what will happen in the football game.” It’s not a great 4 ½ stars.
During the book I was thinking “I’m really enjoying this and I’m eager to find out what will happen in the football game.” It’s not a great book but it fit what I wanted. It was not full of cliches and typical overused predictable things like so many other romance novels. It was more of a real story. Good relationship development.
There was nice tension leading up to the two sex scenes. The scenes were not done in detail. They were described after the fact.
This is book 5 in the 8 book Dundee, Idaho series. Each book can be read as a stand alone but I prefer reading them in order. Various characters have small parts in subsequent stories.
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 304 pages. Swearing language: strong but rarely used. Sexual content: two scenes vaguely referred to no details. Setting: current day Dundee, Idaho. Copyright: 2005. Genre: contemporary romance, football, post-divorce....more
I really enjoyed the slowly developing romance, but the author was not good with things outside that relationship.
Too many New Adult authors have turnI really enjoyed the slowly developing romance, but the author was not good with things outside that relationship.
Too many New Adult authors have turned me off on 1st person point-of-view. But this author is reminding me and showing that 1st person can be good. The New Adult stories I don’t like have most of the conflict in the mind - everything is angst, grief, pain, mental anguish etc. Zapata does it differently and well. She has great relationship development and interaction. It’s engaging to see the slowly developing relationship and wondering how and when they will ever get together.
My main complaint is that several times the author skipped over important scenes and then briefly TOLD what happened afterward instead of SHOWING what happened. It was jarring, like holes in the story. The author was only able to write about Vanessa and Aiden and did not show important action between Vanessa and other characters. Examples are in spoilers below.
(view spoiler)[ SPOILERS: Vanessa visits her mother in El Paso for her mother’s birthday. It was a horrible time and Vanessa left after 3 hours. Apparently she and her sister Susie had an argument and Susie’s husband left a bruise on Vanessa’s arm. We don’t hear any conversation or see any actions during that visit.
Later in the book apparently Aiden saw the brother-in-law and said or did something, but I have no idea what that was. Maybe my mind wandered for a minute, but I have no idea what happened. Vanessa was not present.
Vanessa has a display table at a book convention and no one visits her. Then Aiden shows up and sits with her which brings crowds to her table. There is no detailing of that wonderful time showing Vanessa talking to potential clients and giving out her brochures. As soon as Aiden joins her the scene switches to afterwards saying she had a successful time. (There were details showing people’s reactions to Aiden when he first walked in, but no details showing Vanessa talking to people while Aiden was sitting next to her.)
Vanessa’s friend Diana is in the hospital. Vanessa says she has to go there. There is no conversation between Vanessa and Diana. It just skips to afterwards with Vanessa saying the boyfriend hit/hurt Diana. I needed to know more about Diana's life. This felt thrown in. (hide spoiler)]
In spite of the spoilers, I still enjoyed the book.
There is one sex scene. There was warmth and desire.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: Callie Dalton did an excellent job.
DATA: Narrative mode: 1st person. Unabridged audiobook length: 16 hrs. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words but not often used. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 1. Setting: current day mostly Texas. Book copyright: 2016. Genre: contemporary romance, sports romance, football....more
This feels like: read a hundred romance novels, pull out bunches of good things, and arrange them into this book. I dNot good for me. I did not smile.
This feels like: read a hundred romance novels, pull out bunches of good things, and arrange them into this book. I did not find interesting or intriguing characters. I wanted something different, special, or humorous, but I didn’t find it. But, I think many romance readers are less picky than I and will be happy reading it.
The guy is the rich dominating corporate guy who sees her, has to have her, gives her a great job, and buys her great things to wear. It’s kind of wishful thinking for females.
I was frustrated with the heroine’s STUPIDITY causing the big breakup.
There were seven sex scenes, some several pages long. I skimmed some of them. I was not emotionally pulled in. The author was using grandiose phrases, which meant the characters were having great sex, but I wasn’t. I did not feel anything. Some of the phrases were: he came harder than ever before, the best orgasm of her life, the biggest tidal wave of heat and sensation he’d ever experienced.
Immediately after reading this book, I read Valiant by L Dohnner. The first sex scene in that book was sooo hot, I was fanning my face going “whew.” It was really well done. I only mention it as a comparison, because I felt nothing like that in Dare to Love.
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Kindle count length: 2,801, 257 pages. Swearing language: strong words used, but not often. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 7. Setting: current day mostly Florida. Copyright: 2013. Genre: contemporary romance, football....more
I’ve read the paperback three times and recently listened to the audiobook. I laughed a lot the first time I read it.It was so fun to be in this book.
I’ve read the paperback three times and recently listened to the audiobook. I laughed a lot the first time I read it. I didn’t laugh as much in subsequent reads because I knew what to expect, but I still loved it.
Phoebe’s mother died early and her father didn’t love her. He kept her away in boarding schools and camps. She was raped, but her father didn’t believe her. She creates a false front, looking and acting like a Marilyn Monroe-Mae West-blond-bombshell-bimbo. She’s afraid of sex, but she talks as if she has many lovers. She appears silly and not smart, but underneath she is very smart. Because of this false front her dialogue does not fit her inner motivations. But it’s believable because her false front is her protection. And it provides good dialogue and conflict.
There are no details about the rape. It consists of Phoebe telling her father afterwards that she has been raped. Some readers avoid books with rape scenes. I think this might be mild enough not to bother them.
Dan was a football star and is now head coach of a pro football team. Dan and Phoebe conflicts are entertaining. And Dan’s intense desire for Phoebe melts me. There’s some really cool passion.
SEMI-SPOILER ABOUT DAN’S MOTIVATIONS: Dan’s had sex with lots of women, but he no longer wants that. He’s looking for a wife who likes domestic activities and children. He starts dating a kindergarten teacher thinking she fits. But then he finds himself drawn to Phoebe. He can’t resist his lust for her. Yet he tries to resist as the honorable thing to do since he doesn’t view Phoebe as marriage material. END SPOILER.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: Anna Fields did a great job with male and female voices.
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 387 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: none. Number of sex or kissing scenes: about 8. Setting: current day mostly Chicago, Illinois area. Copyright: 1994. Genre: contemporary sports romance, football.
OTHER BOOKS: To date, I’ve read all books by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, except for the first one which is out of print. Dates below are copyright dates. In the two series, I recommend reading them in order (but not required). Some characters have minor parts flowing into future books. It’s nice knowing their backgrounds.
WYNETTE, TEXAS: 5 stars. Glitter Baby 1987 & 2009 (2009 version has changes) 4 ½ stars. Fancy Pants 1989 5 stars. Lady Be Good 1999 5 stars. First Lady 2000 4 ½ stars. Call Me Irresistible 2011 4 stars. The Great Escape 2012
CHICAGO STARS (Football): 5 stars. It Had To Be You 1994 5 stars. Heaven, Texas 1995 5 stars. Nobody’s Baby But Mine 1997 4 stars. Dream A Little Dream 1998 4 stars. This Heart Of Mine 2001 5 stars. Match Me If You Can 2005 5 stars. Natural Born Charmer 2007 4 ½ stars. First Star I See Tonight 2016
NON-SERIES NOVELS: not read. The Copeland Bride 1983 (writing as Justine Cole) 2 stars. Just Imagine 1984 (aka Risen Glory) 5 stars. Hot Shot 1991 4 stars. Honey Moon 1993 4 stars. Kiss An Angel 1996 3 stars. Breathing Room 2002 4 stars. Ain’t She Sweet? 2004 5 stars. What I Did For Love 2009 (Meg visits, from Wynette, Texas series) 3 ½ stars. Heroes Are My Weakness 2014...more
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