REVIEW: If You Dare by Jessica Lemmon

If You Dare 
by Jessica Lemmon
Release Date: July 21st 2015 by Entangled: Lovestruck 
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks
Author's Links: Goodreads, Website, Twitter, Facebook

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...

NOTE: This title was previously published November 2013 on Flaunt as a novella but has been significantly revised and lots of yummy new scenes added to give readers a full-length category romance full of humor and sizzle.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

If You Dare was such a quick entertaining read that had me laughing and rooting for the characters as I read the book. 

Their relationship started with a bet, and they were both ready to prove each other wrong. Lily McIntire has had her fair share of ups and downs, after ending a bad relationship and her job, she moves on to work for one of her friend's company in order to start again. Yet that doesn't end up going well after meeting one of her co-workers, Marcus Black. After winning a trip to Hawaii, Marcus and Lily go out to celebrate with their co-workers, but after having too many drink, Marcus bets Lily to stay the night at a well-known haunted mansion and he'll give her the tickets in return. What Lily didn't know was the Marcus had an ulterior plan behind the bet, and he was going to do whatever it takes to scare Lily right into his arms.

Ever since Marcus has been working at the same company as Lily, he has a connection that he can't deny. He knows that Lily has something against dating a co-worker ever since he asked her out, but he is determined to win her over by offering his trip to Hawaii to her. But it only too them one night in the haunted house to realize that their connection is bigger than they thought, and maybe giving each other a chance might work, only by keeping this a secret. As the two of them start to reveal things about their lives, Lily starts to see Marcus in a different way and that is starting to scare her, especially when she might be falling in love with him.

I really enjoyed reading If You Dare, it was fun and the characters are so competitive that they are willing to do whatever they can prove the other wrong. Marcus is charming and goofy, he was my favorite character in the story. Lily is all about work, and her past has gotten in the way for her to move on. Now that Marcus is willing to do anything to win her over, she has to decide if seconds chances are possible. The setting of the story was what attracted me to reading the book in the first place, not every story has a unique setting as this one and that made it that much more exciting and enjoyable to read. I have read other work by the author before and they do not disappoint. Her characters have fun personalities and it is easy to get into the story from the very start. The ending ties everything very well, I especially loved the epilogue. Overall, if you're looking for a fun and entertaining romantic story then I would highly recommend reading If You Dare. :)

***ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. :)***

My Rating: 4.5/5

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Review: Merger of the Heart by Melia Alexander

Merger of the Heart 
by Melia Alexander
Released Date: December 29th 2014 by Entangled: Lovestruck
Pages: 249
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N
Author's Links: Goodreads

A satisfying category romance from Entangled's Lovestruck imprint… 

He's about to acquire a whole lot more than a business… When her grandfather dies, Jessica Adams inherits the family construction business. But there are strings attached. Big, deal-breaking strings. For one, Jessica's grandfather was in the process of selling the company to a national firm. And two? The big wig who made the offer for Jessica's business is none other than Daniel Spencer, her ex-lover and the father of her seven-year-old son. Only Daniel doesn't know. What started as a standard business acquisition has turned Daniel's entire world―and his plans―inside out. But even as he offers her the deal of the lifetime, everything changes when he meets her son. Their son. Now Daniel is laying everything on the line to put together a much different kind of merger...if he can convince Jessica to take the biggest risk of her life.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

Merger of the Heart was a well-written story full of romance, second chances, and a merger between two individuals that changes the course of their lives for the better. 

Being the first book I've read by the author, I wasn't sure what to expect of the book. Needless to say I was rather impressed with the story line, and characters themselves. There was a lot of character development that took its own course throughout the story without feeling forced. The story starts off following the death of Jessica Adams's grandfather, amidst all that is happening around her at the time, she finds out that her grandfather has left her a construction company that has been in the process of getting sold without her knowing. Now not only does she have to stop the contract from getting completed to save her grandfather's legacy, and the one of her son. Without knowing who she was going to bump into next, she is surprised to see that Daniel Spencer, an ex-lover who dumped her the minute he could, is the one buying her grandfather's company. Old wounds are open, and a secret that she has been hiding for seven years is revealed the minute Daniel enters her life again. 

Daniel Spencer has always dreamed of making it big some day. Having worked endlessly to make his dream come true, the minute he returns to make the deal that will get him to where he wants to be, he was not expecting to find Jessica, his ex-lover, declining his offer. It could have been the deal of a lifetime for her and for everyone else working at the construction company that her grandfather loved, but she changed the game by saying no. Now Daniel's plans change as soon as he sees the little boy that calls Jessica “mom,” and what surprised him the most was the comparison that he has with the little boy. 

The chemistry between the two main characters is undeniable, they have their own pasts that have kept them from being happy. Jessica has hidden her son from his father, and Daniel is afraid of not meeting the expectations that he has for himself, and when he finds out that he has a son, he worries that he won't be a good father. So, there is definitely a lot that the characters have to learn and overcome if they want to find happiness. I really enjoyed reading the interaction that Daniel has with his son, it was cute to read. Jessica is a loving mother, but she wants to keep a strong face when her son is around, which made that relatable to read. As a reader I connected with the characters, and really rooted for them to fix their relationship. Overall, the story was captivating and I really enjoyed reading it. I recommend it for those that are looking for a quick romantic story. :)

***ARC provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.***

My Rating: 4.5/5

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