| Title | : | Just Dare Me... |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0373792867 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780373792863 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 |
| Publication | : | First published September 29, 2006 |
That is, until Gabrielle and Dell find themselves competing against each other for the account at a wilderness survival weekend. Since he's in touch with the great outdoors, Dell figures that naturally extends to Gabrielle and those sexy legs of hers.... But Gabrielle has a few tricks up her sleeve.
And nothing stimulates a sexual appetite like a little fresh air, a tiny little tent and a whole lot of libido!
Just Dare Me... Reviews
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3 Stars! The story was sweet, fun and surprisingly spicy, but the narrator was just okay. Some of the characters she did well, but a few sounded either goofy, or like they had breathing problems; a chest cold and stuffy nose, as if they were gasping for air. One of them happened to be Dell, the main male character, and since he had a huge role in the book, it was somewhat ruined by that grating "voice". She did Gabby, the main female lead, surprisingly well, but that good was offset by the horrible voice for Dell.
So, overall a 4 for the story and a 2 for the narration. I did enjoy it, but I would suggest reading this one, as opposed to listening, had I done that, it would have been a full 4 stars! -
Just Dare Me... is a story of an office romance between Dell and Gabrielle, two marketing account managers who vie for the same major sporting good account. In order to decide who will get the account (and to make sure HR doesn't think the boss is favoring Dell), they are told to spend a long weekend competing in a survival wilderness contest where the winner gets the account.
At first it appears to be a very uneven competition that favors Dell, but Gabrielle is determined. The author really does her magic here, and it becomes a very entertaining story of wits vs. brawn. And will vs. luck. And privileged vs. unprivileged.
This was a fun read, and not at all predictable. And it was sexy hot too. Dell and Gabby made a great couple. I prefer romance novels where the sex scenes include passion, (instead of sex just for the sake of having sex), and this book delivers that very well. The ending could have been a bit stronger as it was quite rushed, but it didn't take away from how much I enjoyed it. As Blaze books go, this one was great. The audio version was a great way to 'read' this story.
4.5 stars -
The heroine Gabby is tired of not being taken seriously at the advertising firm she works for, and decides to make herself more assertive and go after an account she is desperate for. The hero Dell, a somewhat golden boy of the firm, also wants the account. Their boss decides that they should compete against each other at the wilderness survival weekend run by the company whose account the want. Dell knows that small, delicate Gabby doesn't stand a chance especially against him as he spends most of his free time doing this kind of outdoor activities. Yet there is something about Gabby that he finds totally alluring, and makes him feel a little protective. As the competition gets underway it seems Dell's overconfidence made him underestimate Gabby and she does surprisingly well. Gabby knows she is pushing herself to the limit but desperately wants to prove herself. What surprises both of them is how close they become and the undeniable attraction between them. Dell realises he wants more with Gabby but it is either the account or her, as neither of them want to give in.
This is a brilliantly entertaining book, with and interesting and fun plot. The situations the hero and heroine are involved in are wonderfully written, I was totally absorbed. The heroine is the star of this book; I loved her quirks and her will to push herself to get what she wants. The hero constantly getting knocked down from his arrogance and overconfidence is hilarious and so very entertaining to read.
I enjoyed this book up until the last quarter, and then it just lost it's way. The hero stabs the heroine in the back in such an awful way and then makes it seem like he is being a saint when he decides to step aside, it just ends up sounding incredibly patronising. I desperately wanted to heroine to fight back, but disappointingly, she didn't
A fantastic book, up to a point...
Originally posted at
http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot.... -
Predictable but enjoyable romance
4 stars
This was a fun romance as an 'ugly duckling' goes up against a gorgeous, confident man that she has worked with, and had a crush on, for a long time.
Any woman who has ever felt that she faded into the background will identify with Gabby and cheer her on as she tries to take control of her life. Dell is a good hero - outdoorsy, gorgeous and just a little bit cocky.
The story is very engrossing and keeps you turning the pages although the plot itself is fairly predictable. There is plenty of anticipation and build up toward the sex scenes yet there maybe aren't as many as I would have liked!
Overall, I was debating between 3 and 4 stars for this particular book. I settled on 4 as despite its slight predictability, it's a fun, entertaining and well-written book that I very much enjoyed. A good, light read for fans of Blaze romances.
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Registered on Bookcrossing -
https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/...
This is a fun read! Stephanie Bond writes great romance. I can't believe I've had it so long before reading. I actually finished reading it before midnight, but I am counting it towards my books read in 2022. -
I enjoy Stephanie Bond books in general. I'm confident she did not write from the view that struck men so please do not pounce on her. The book is full of "well she did not say no" culture. Being swept off your feet by a confident, cocky, attractive male is a great fantasy and I can get swept along like many. However the number of times Gabriele was placed in unwanted compromising situations made this book a little tough to swallow. Dell was constantly cutting of her oportunities to protest or give consent. Consent was always assumed because Dell was so strong and Gabby so weak.
Your mileage may vary.
I enjoyed Gabby's character for three most part and I loved the primary backdrop for the story. The development of Gabby becoming confident makes this worth the read if you are looking for something light. -
Gabrielle Flannery is a Marketing Executive and isn't what you'd call the outdoorsy type. Gabrielle has an embarrassing incident with a potted plant. Gabrielle decides to reassert herself and does a makeover before going on a wilderness survival weekend. Gabrielle competes against with the marketing golden boy and the office Hunk, Dell Kingston, over an outdoor gear account.
Things heat up during the wilderness survival weekend. This is another audio book that can be completed in 1 or 2 days. -
Protagonistas: Dell & Gabrielle
Profesiones: Publicista & Empresario
Pais: USA -
This was a cute, quick read and I really enjoyed the characters.
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Cute book. Read this ages ago, but didn’t remember it having so much chauvinism involved. Cute story though, with a very realistic growth of relationship.
TBR shelf read result: cute, but donate -
3-3.5 stars
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3'5⭐
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This is an older Blaze novel (2006) and the last of three in the mini-series 'Adrenaline Rush'. The first one was Just Try Me by Jill Shalvis and the second one Just Trust Me by Jacquie D'Alessandro. Those were really good and I gave both 5 stars, but this last one isn't as hot as the other two.
Though the story is well written the sexscenes were not frequent enough imo. The first (and only) time the couple really made love was towards page 200 (of 245). The heroine is a sweet, clumsy girl who takes charge of her life when she wants an important account. After reading an article she becomes more confident, while the hero turns into a bit of a bungler. It's all a bit to coincidental and I found it also unbelievable how she had 'the strength' to send him away each night when they were getting hot, while she had this huge crush on him for years and had turned into this self-confident woman who went after what she wanted. Why not go for him than? So no more than 2 stars for this Blaze novel. One of Stephanie Bond's other novels (She Did A Bad, Bad, Thing) is much, much better: I gave that 5 stars. -
gabrielle is a mousey junior marketing agent who has a massive crush on the office golden boy, senior marketing agent dell. she is klutzy, wears clothes that don't set her apart from the crowd. after gabrielle humiliates herself in front of the entire company at a farewell party, she crawls away to lick her wounds, and reads an article about becoming her best self. when she heads in to the office on monday, gabrielle asks to be put on the account that has been vacated. her boss decides that she and dell can compete for it during a wilderness survival weekend. dell, of course, is an expert outdoorsman, while gabrielle is much better at it in theory.
what i liked: i liked that gabrielle was so uncertain, but that she did everything in spite of it. dell was so over confident, and it was nice to see him in his element but not excelling at it. the relationship developed rapidly, but in a believable manner. i also liked gabrielle's relationship with her dog, even though he's only in the story briefly.
what i didn't like: the secondary characters. they felt more like cardboard cutouts than real people. -
My thinking over this book is little weird..While I was reading it,I was very into it so I thought I would rate it really high..But when I finished it and made a mental scrolling back, I realised it's not that amazing..
The story is different from others..I liked the fact that the characters changed much..Gabrielle turned into a sexy confident siren,while Dell realised that he is not happy and turned into a monogamous guy deeply in love with Gabby..I liked the changes..
However,what I think didn't work out so well is the beginning of the book.The duo's personalities were out of place..She is soo shy while he is soo arrogant..And the falling off the tree...
While it was well written,I just think the starting point was a little off and thus brought the whole book down with it..
But I can say that I enjoyed it,anyhow.. -
This was one of those books I forced myself to finish simply because I don't like to leave a book unfinished. Thankfully it was short enough that I didn't give myself indigestion. Gabrielle is cookie-cutter Ms. Sunshine, and Dell is a dickwad to the very end. Usually there's some sort of character development and turning point on the part of the male lead, but here, even though it came in the last 5 pages, it felt forced and insincere. I still disliked Dell and felt like Gabrielle was an idiot for going along with him. That's not exactly a recipe for a winning romance novel.
At least there was a pet bulldog in the story - I like animals. -
The "Hero" is a jerk. (And I'm usually a sucker for a happy ending, but this was just wrong.)
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I sought out this book because I like Stephanie Bond and wanted to read more of her stuff. I did not love this story. There were some elements of it that I did like a lot, but overall I was disappointed in the hero and found myself almost rooting against him a lot. It wasn't so much that the opposites attract theory didn't fly here, it was almost patronizing the way he finally admitted he wanted her. There were a few sweet moments and a few hot ones, but overall I wasn't dazzled.
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My daughter Elizabeth told me I HAD to read this book. She said it has the "secret crush" storyline which is one of her favorites. So I took her advice and read it.
And I'm glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's funny, touching, steamy (it is a Harlequin Blaze), and just a very entertaining read. -
This was a nice short listen. The story is quite funny, touching, steamy and entertaining. And I LOVED the ending! I would definitely look for more books by Stephanie Bond in the future.
Narration: Elena Stauffer is an ok narrator but many times she struggled with male voices. You could actually feel the strain in her voice. -
The reason I read this: I really liked BODY MOVERS by the same author, and the description made this one sound like it would be a playful romp.
Unfortunately, it just wasn't really that interesting. :( -
This was a book to pass the time - a good beach read. It was completely predictable and no extensive character development. I still finished it though because I can't stand to leave a book only partially read.
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ah ah ah this book is a lot of fun. and super sexy. I liked the character for themselves and sometimes wished it wasn't a Blaze...
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Was going so well until the end, where it just fell flat.
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3 1/2 stars! -
nice read;)
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I would have like more character developement, but it was a light pop corn read
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Another take your mind off work Harlequin. Disappointed with a lot of cheesy descriptions during the intimate scenes, but made the drive to and from work less boring!
