I'm so happy to help announce the latest book in Carly Phillips' awesome Dare to Love series! DARE TO SEDUCE is out now, so what are you waiting for? If you need a little more, check out the excerpt!
Dare to Seduce (Dare to Love #8), by Carly Phillips
Publish Date: November 17, 2015
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-ARC, provided by the author
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
Rating: 3.5 STARS
(From Goodreads) Max Savage has had a thing for Lucy Dare for as long as he can remember but he values his long standing friendship with her brothers too much to cross the line. When Lucy shows up at an engagement party on the arms of another man, Max doesn’t like the changes he sees in her.It’s now or never. Max can think of one way to convince Lucy she’s with the wrong guy. He’ll dare to seduce her …
Lucy Dare has spent years trying to keep herself comfortably separate from those around her - her brothers, her cousins, her boyfriends. Max Savage is the one who won't allow her to be that way around him.
Max is the Dares' best friend and has been since they were kids. He has had a huge crush on Lucy since he knew what boys and girls do together, and, for fear of messing up his friendship with the brothers, never acted upon it. He even married someone he liked less just to try and get Lucy out of his system, and even that didn't work.
But, now Max has Lucy's brothers' blessing, so he's going for it. And when Max sets his sights on something, he gets it, no matter what. Max definitely was determined, too. Sometimes I wasn't sure why he tried so hard, because Lucy really was hard to break down.
Man - that woman was difficult to love. After losing her parents, she has decided that the best way to never experience that kind of hurt ever again is to never love someone that much again. So, she pulled away from her brothers and their new families and tried to be content living on the outside looking in. I had a hard time relating to that. I would think that losing your parents would make you treasure the family you have left even more, instead of the opposite.
Max is determined to finally get the woman of his dreams, so he keeps pressing on Lucy to open up and to be open to loving again. To her credit, Lucy tries hard. But, it's not something you either do or don't do. So, it's not as easy as either she or Max would like. There are lots of ups and downs as Lucy tries to find her way back to how she was before her parents died.
Max was awesome. I loved his strength and determination. I loved his friendship with Lucy's brothers. And I loved how he was patient with her. I had a bit harder time warming up to Lucy and relating to her situation, but there was never any denying that she and Max were perfect for one another.
I really love this series by Carly Phillips, and can't wait to continue it.
Max Savage glanced across the lush green lawn of Gabriel and Isabelle Dare’s Bedford, New York, home, his gaze focused on the sexy brunette he couldn’t get out of his head. Lucy Dare, dressed in a conservative pants suit, her luxurious dark hair pulled into a bun, stood beside her date, a Hollywood director who was a douchebag of the first order.
The last time Max had seen Lucy, she’d been her wild and free self. Then she’d hooked up with that guy and she’d changed. And not in a good way. He wanted fun, sexy Lucy back.
“How badly do you want to punch that guy’s teeth in?”
“So badly,” Max muttered, then glanced over, realizing the question came from Lucy’s brother, Decklan Dare.
Max shook his head and changed his answer, because it would do no good to let his best friend know he was obsessing over the guy’s little sister. He’d kept it to himself for years, partially as an excuse to deny what he really wanted, but regardless, this wasn’t the right time to bring up the issue.
“Who do you mean?” Max asked.
Decklan rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. I know you hate that Spielberg wannabe as much as we do.”
“Can’t say he’d be my first choice for your sister.”
“That’s rich considering it’s your fault she’s with him to begin with.” Decklan eyed Max with distinct annoyance in his gaze.
“How the hell do you figure that?” Max asked.
Decklan’s older brother, Gabe, joined them, and from the look on his face, he’d clearly caught the tail end of the conversation.
“Face it, Savage. We know you have a thing for Lucy,” Gabe said.
Just how the brothers had gleaned that bit of knowledge was beyond Max. Nobody had a better poker face than him.
Decklan merely nodded in agreement.
“You didn’t take your chance last time she was in town, and now she’s with that asshole,” Gabe added, angling his head toward where his sister stood with Lucas Kellan.
“Well, fuck.” Max wasn’t about to deny what had clearly been more obvious than he’d intended.
Both Dare brothers narrowed their gazes on him, waiting for an explanation.
“What? I didn’t think you’d approve, and I wasn’t about to mess up years’ worth of friendship if you didn’t.” He was sticking to the tried-and-true excuse he’d told himself for years. In reality, Max had his reasons for staying away from
Lucy for so long and for fucking up more than just his life in the process. But they were his, and he wouldn’t be sharing them.
“The only way you’d compromise friendships would be if you used or hurt my sister. If your intentions are honorable, I have no issue,” said Gabe, the man who’d raised Lucy after their parents died in a car accident.
Max glanced at Decklan. They both knew Max’s recent past. He’d married young, lost his wife, Cindy, in a car accident, and had a subsequent lack of serious relationships since. What Decklan didn’t know was the guilt Max harbored over the emotions he hadn’t been able to give his wife, due to the feelings he’d always had for Lucy. Hell, he’d married Cindy because he didn’t have those intense feelings, and everyone had paid a price.
Max shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat and glanced at Decklan, who, like Gabe, was extremely protective of his sister. “You too? You’re okay with this?” he asked.
His best friend shrugged. “Well, you’re an asshole but you’re our asshole.” He slapped Max on the back, his expression sobering. “Look, Cindy died four years ago, and you haven’t been with anyone seriously since.”
Neither one of them mentioned Max’s penchant for sex clubs on the weekends. It had been a way to fill the emptiness inside him, nothing more.
“But Gabe is right,” Decklan said. “I see how you look at Lucy. You should do something about it if your intentions are solid.”
They finally were. For years Max had denied his need for Lucy and the emotional bond he knew they would share if they took things to the next level. Fear had driven him. Now Max was finally ready to go after the woman he’d always wanted.
“Just don’t blow it or we will have an issue,” Decklan cheerfully added.
Max didn’t need to be told twice. He made his way across the lawn and veered between guests, coming up to where Lucy and her date stood by the bar.
Carly Phillips is the N.Y. Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of over 50 sexy contemporary romance novels featuring hot men, strong women and the emotionally compelling stories her readers have come to expect and love. Carly’s career spans over a decade and a half with various New York publishing houses, and she is now an Indie author who runs her own business and loves every exciting minute of her publishing journey. Carly is happily married to her college sweetheart, the mother of two nearly adult daughters and three crazy dogs (two wheaten terriers and one mutant Havanese) who star on her Facebook Fan Page and website. Carly loves social media and is always around to interact with her readers. You can find out more about Carly at www.carlyphillips.com. Website: www.carlyphillips.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlyphillips
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarlyPhillipsFanPage
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10000.Carly_Phillips
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Carly-Phillips/e/B001I9W0MS
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