If You Dare by Jessica Lemmon

July 28th, 2015 Kimberly Review 47 Comments

28th Jul
If You Dare by Jessica Lemmon
If You Dare
by Jessica Lemmon
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Heat Level: One FlameOne FlameOne FlameOne Flame

He'll make her a bet she can't refuse...Lily McIntire is in the creepiest mansion in town. Alone. At night. Because she's an idiot-and can't ignore a dare from her cocky and infuriatingly hot co-worker, Marcus Black. But she'll be damned if she's going to give him the satisfaction of winning. Marcus has had a thing for Lily for ages, and he has no intention of losing this bet. His plan? Scare her out of the house, and into his arms. Once there, scaring her turns into protecting her and soon after, into seducing her. And his plan is working... Lily is having trouble relegating Marcus to the role of "asshat" as easily as before. He came to her rescue, and he's actually funny. Charming. Sexy as sin on a stick. But Lily has a strict no-love-in-the-workplace rule, and even one night of the best sex ever won't make her change her mind. So she's calling everything off... Surviving a night in the mansion might just be the easy part. Surviving Marcus's increasingly convincing advances is going to take everything she has. Losing is not an option...

I adore Jessica Lemmon’s Second Chance series, so when I saw If You Dare I had to snag it. If You Dare, is one of her earlier works and was originally a novella. The story has been updated and turned into a full-length novel. This was a fun, heated romance filled with snark and tenderness.

Lily McIntire works in a design office with Marcus Black. The two are top designers who often find themselves competing against each other. To Lily Marcus is a bit of a player and a bitter office affair at a prior job has left her skittish. As a result, the two replace their attraction to each other with teasing, jabs and one upping each other. I loved this banter. It was snarky and you could just feel the sexual tension simmering at the surface.  A celebratory night out for landing a huge account ends with the two of them enjoying some tequila. Things get a little competitive and somehow Lily ends up accepting a dare. She has to spend the night in a creepy mansion and if she is successful she gets to claim his Hawaiian trip. The tale that unfolds while predictable was heated, filled with banter and had me smiling.

If You Dare was a fun read, I ended up liking both Lily and Marcus. Lemmon did a good job of fleshing them out, showing their more vulnerable sides beneath her snark and his confidence. The tale is heated and the couple spends much of their time snogging. I loved the back and forth teasing and chemistry between them.  I closed the book with a smile and fond feelings for these too. If you are looking for a fun, standalone romance this summer If You Dare is sure to make you smile.

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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47 Responses to “If You Dare by Jessica Lemmon”

  1. Tika

    I loveee the sound of this! Marcus sounds like one of those annoying guys you love to hate, and Lily seems like she doesn’t take any shit! I’m sure their chemistry was through the roof! I could go for something light, sexy, and funny right now. Thanks for sharing Kim 🙂

  4. Lindy

    This sounds like a fun and sexy story. I love teasing and great banter in stories! I’ve read a few stories by Jessica Lemmon and enjoyed them 🙂 Great Review Kim!

  5. Braine Talk Supe

    It doesn’t sound like it’s as sweeping as her bad boys but I can always gobble up some Lemmon in my reading life. She knows romance so even if you just gave this 3.5 cups, I’m still down.

  6. Angela Adams

    I’m intrigued that the author turned her novella into a novel. Obviously, the characters had more to tell in their story. Thanks for the post.

  7. Heidi

    Sounds fun and cute, but I worry that the snogging will overtake the story and that always drives me nuts!

    • kimbacaffeinate

      LOL, snogging is kissing although we do get some heat. There was plenty of plot but this was had heat. Her Second Chance series book might be more to your liking..small-town feel, friends etc.

  8. Kathy

    I’ve never read a Jessica Lemmon book, but I love books that leave me a smile on my face and feel as if the characters became my friends. This does sound like fun. 🙂

  10. laura thomas

    Thank you for sharing this book. It sounds so fun! And your review tells me everything I need to know. I must read it!

  11. Ramona

    Snark AND tenderness? And a second-chance romance? I need to check it out, obviously – especially since it works as a standalone (me being too lazy to tackle a new series, lol…) Wonderful review.

  12. MIchelle

    Im glad you enjoyed this one too. I read it last week and really liked it. I loved that they just kept making dare after dare with each other. Very cute.

    Great Review!

    Michelle @ Book Briefs

  14. tonyalee

    Aw, I love the sound of this one! That is awesome she was able to develop a full novel from a novella.

  16. Katherine

    Sounds like lots of fun! Plus I can never resist a book involving a creepy old mansion. You’ve been killing my TBR lately!

  17. Debbie Haupt

    Hmm, thanks Kim. I haven’t read her yet and this looks like a great in between some serious stuff read. 🙂
    deb

  19. Nick

    I picked this one up the other day but I wasn’t really feeling it. I think it had to do with my mood a lot. I think I’ll be picking it up again though because it sounds like so much fun!
    Lovely review, Kim!

  21. Mary

    Banter and sexual tension can really make a romance for me. Love when you finish a book with a smile.

  22. kindlemom1

    Oh interesting that she turned this into a full length book. Glad that it worked and was a really good, quick read for you.

  23. Trish

    I haven’t tried this author yet but it sounds like I should. I like the idea that it was a novella that became expanded as it makes me feel like the author really cared about the characters and felt they had more to say!

  25. Melliane

    Oh that’s fun to see that she turned a novella into a full novel. I love the idea and if it’s good too, what more can we ask for? thanks for the review!