I Dare You (Dare #1) by Shantel Tessier
ABOUT THE BOOK
What do you do when the devil has you in his sights? You show him that you can play his game.
Austin Lowes is new to town. She’s running from a mom who hates her to her dad who cares nothing about her. Only a few months and she will be free, or at least, that’s what she hopes … until she meets him.
Cole Reynolds is the devil disguised as a man. He wants her fear, he wants her blood, and he wants her soul. Just a little game, he says, I dare you. Will Austin survive him, or will she lose herself and the game?
Secrets are revealed and justice will be served, but at what cost? Who survives and who doesn’t?
MY REVIEW
This is book one to a series I can’t wait to continue. I have read several Tessier books and I was happy to see the characters weren’t as over the top as others she has written. Yes, there are some bloody and triggering situations, but there is some humanity between the protagonists this time.
Cole Reynolds is a broken young man with a devastating past and a savage future based on revenge. His life is built on dares and he is getting vengeance on the people who killed his friends in a tragic accident. But one deadly night everything changes when a beautiful and rebellious young woman gets thrust into the middle of his dangerous game.
Austin Lowes is new in town and on her first night she sees a murder by a group of crazy boys who catch her in the act and make sure she is an accessory to the crime. She’s alone with no friends, a family who doesn’t care, blackmail hanging over her head, and the leader of the Great White Sharks (GWS) wants her for his own no matter the cost to her. Let the games begin.
I love Cole and Austin’s tension-filled dynamics. Every nasty and manipulative thing Cole throws at Austin is countered with cunning and deviousness. Austin is a true hero in my book as she gives as good as she gets. I love how everyone underestimates her. Her life is very lonely and destitute with a drug-addled mother, a perverted stepfather, a wealthy pig of a father, and a stepmother who is not who she seems. Cole is a tortured soul with a tragedy weighing on his shoulders. The car wreck that killed his friends and injured him several months ago is his impetus for his revenge. The dares he shares with his group of friends are lethal and Austin is his sure bet to complete his last dare by ruining her in the process. But his feelings for her are changing. She intrigues and calms him. She sees him for who he really is, the boy who made a choice to save another. But will he choose her over his boys? Over his revenge? Give this book a try and see the gripping ending.
In my opinion, the secondary characters were as interesting as the main characters and I can’t wait to read more about them. Cole’s best friend Deke and Austin’s friend Becky play an important role in the story. In addition, the villains are many, and they all get their just desserts.
Ms. Tessier doesn’t disappoint. This story is charged with mystery, intrigue, action, and sexual chemistry. The characters are well-developed and the plot is intense. I dare you to not like this fantastic dark romance.
BUY THE BOOK
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shantel is a USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author. She lives in Oklahoma with her high school sweetheart, who is a wonderful, supportive husband and their two daughters. She loves to spend time cuddled up on the couch with a good book and considers herself extremely lucky to get to do what she loves while wearing pajamas. Going to concerts and the movies are just a few of her favorite things to do. She hates coffee, but lives off energy drinks. Although she has a passion to write, her family is most important to her.
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