I loved the first book. Loved loved. Same for this book! I want to read more from this world if possible.

This is the second in Jayci Lee’s “A Sweet Mess” series. You don’t have to read them in order to be in the loop with what’s going on.

The Dating Dare had a cute premise, with a “will they, won’t they” vibe. While they both knew they liked each other, the back and forth of ignoring their feelings for one another got a bit tiresome.

3 stars because while the story and premise were cute, I still felt like it was missing something.

the dating dare was just absolutely truly adorable with the premise that truly pulled me in. with their dates with the dare of not to fall in love with each other, it definitely has a fake dating trope feel to it. seeing them go on these dates and of course develop feelings was really funny to see as in the usual rom com fashion the expected drama of feelings and resolution into a cheesy happy ending made my heart full! tara was definitely my favorite in her strong self independent personality looking out for herself and wasnt really looking for romance at the moment.

I loved this book! I don't think I've ever read a book about someone making a dare/bet with the other person to date them but it was super fun. I think the writing is fantastic, its fast and witty and I loved the chemistry between the two characters.

Appealing characters and funny dialogue made this a pleasant quick read. I will defiinitely recommend to patrons.

The premise of this sounded cute. I was really to fall in love with this, but I really didn’t click with this at all.

Tara and Seth have both been burned by relationship. They don’t want anything serious, so when they meet at a wedding their game of truth or dare turns into something else. Now, they are going on 4 dates with each other and trying not to fall in love.

The premise that I thought would be cute, wasn’t. I’m still not sure if it is the premise itself or the characters. I never connected with the characters. There were so many moments when I wanted to strangle them that I could never really get into the story that was going on.

There were a lot of moments that made this whole book feel forced. The dialogue and some of the scenarios they were in felt like it was forcing them to be closer together rather than focusing on Tara and Seth’s actual connection.

If I was reading smut, their horiness for each other would have been great but… there was a strong lack of smut in here.

This whole book really wasn’t for me between the characters, their connection and the lack of conflict.

I tried really hard to get into this book and it's completely possible it was just my mindset at the time. I can see myself enjoying The Dating Dare at a later date but right now, it just wasn't for me.

This is the perfect romantic comedy. There are wonderful characters, a fun plot to follow, perfect "mishaps" and sweet chemistry. There's everything you want in a romcom and more! I'm told that this s book 2 in a series. so I can't wait to read book one. I didn't feel the need to read book 1 first, so this can definitely be read as a standalone. I also hope we'll see some of these characters in a book 3. (4/5/6, etc!)


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This one is a cute and quick love story. This is a cute twist on the fake dating trope where the two main characters agree to a short term relationship with a specific end date. But, we all know better than that, right? Tara and Seth obviously can’t keep their hands and minds off of each other and, when the time comes for their relationship to end, it isn’t easy to let go.

This book was unfortunate. Probably a case of showing and not telling. There's a scene where the heroine is talking to her friend, and then they laugh for some reason over something that isn't funny. Also it felt like they minimized his emotions to prove that she'd struggled so much.

Tara is Aubrey’s best friend and the story starts right away which I loved. Tara isn’t looking for a long term relationship and in a drunken state agrees to a dating date with Seth. The only rule is that neither one of them can fall in love with each other by the end of the four dates can’t fall in love with each other.

loved this book even more than the first in the series! the characters were well developed and their relationship development was also so sweet!

A light-hearted and easy romance. I didn't quite feel a ton of heat between the characters but the story moved along at a good pace and included enough character development to keep it interesting.

This was a delightfully fun read. Tara and Seth are instantly attracted to each other, but they are both determined not to have a serious relationship. In fact, Tara only agrees to go out with Seth because he dares her to go on four dates with him and NOT fall in love with him. As their attraction to each other grows, they seem to start going back on their initial thoughts about their relationship--that it didn't mean anything because Seth was leaving the country soon and Tara didn't trust herself with love again. The tension of will they-won't they in admitting their feelings for each other and how their relationship began makes the story feel like an enemies-to-lovers story, even though it really isn't. The strong attraction between the two provides for some excellent scenes in the novel. I think you would get more out of this book if read in conjunction with the first novel (A Sweet Mess). It's been a while since I read that novel, so I think some tidbits of information were a bit lost on me--I felt like I was missing something at times. And the discussion about past relationships--the abuse, manipulation, and how the past affects our futures--was interesting, but Lee didn't dive very deep into these themes and topics, and so they ended up feeling a bit more like plot devices than genuine parts of the characters. Overall, I'd rate this 3.5/5.

This book was cute and a really quick read! It was enjoyable and I liked the characters. I didn’t want the book to end and I am excited to eventually read it again!

This was a great book, well written and I enjoyed the story and character iine.

thank you for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

Either I started this then put it down because I remember the beginning when I started it again.....I couldn't really connect with the characters. I agree with other reviews they just seem immature.

Wow wow wow! This book was everything I could want from a romance. Heart racing love, spice, and a beautiful storyline. I absolutely adore this book.

Tara and Seth are a couple to envy. Their love story was so beautiful. Jayci Lee writes one hell of a Romance. I can’t think of one thing I didn’t like about this book. 5/5 Stars. I would highly recommend this one to any romance lover. Brilliant. I can’t wait for the next one in this series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Dating Dare is a follow-up to another Jayci Lee book, A Sweet Mess, which tells the story of Aubrey and Landon. Although I haven't read A Sweet Mess, it's now on my to-read list because of how much I enjoyed The Dating Dare. While this book has all the cheesiness expected in the romance/meet-cute book genre, I found myself getting more invested in The Dating Dare than other romance books. Specifically, I just really liked Seth and Tara. Neither Seth or Tara play the manic-pixie dream girl/boy in The Dating Dare, which was refreshing to read. Moreover, I liked the plot of a dating dare because it was unique and fit Seth and Tara's personalities really well. Of course, I wouldn't say you can read this book and expect anything super different from the romance book archetype, but The Dating Dare brings realism and diversity to realm of meet-cute romance books. While overall The Dating Dare was a great read, I thought the plot's pacing could be more balanced - sometimes it dragged on forever and other times it just sped through significant events. But I wouldn't let that deter anyone from reading this book. The Dating Dare has everything a reader wants in a romance book, but brings excitement in its fun characters and unique plot.

I really tried to like this book but unfortunately it did not work for me and I can't exactly pinpoint why.