I really liked the premise of this book - a dare that leads to an unexpected romance. However, for some reason I just could not engage with this story. I liked the characters well enough and the writing, but I think the plot line lost me with the continual back and forth between the characters in the build up to the romance. It was a little too angsty for me, as I found myself slightly frustrated by Emma's insecurity.

Hats off to Lowe for writing some really interesting sex scenes though.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

This story addresses an issue that may be controversial for some people, light BDSM, although it has been not as explicit as others. But it’s not just about that and for me it’s been a really convoluted story, bordering on nonsense.

So much mental battle inside and between the two protagonists has sometimes been exhausting and that is what this story has the most. And the sexual encounters between them have also been a bit confusing, although as I am not an expert in these practices, I would not want to detract from their interest.

Neither Emma nor Lauren represent stereotypes of those who usually compose stories on this subject, I’m quite sure of that, so I don't think it will satisfy those who appreciate it.

I wish it was more interesting, but for me it hasn’t been enough.

This is a sexy, fun, slightly kinky, erotic novel. There are very nice scenes and good plot. For all the fans and aficionados of this genre, this book is a perfect choice.

Woah.
This is my first read of Sandy Lowe's, I will be honest, I picked it up because of the consensual non-consent element, and of course, because she's an Aussie lol I will definitely be hunting for more.

Truth or Dare has bever been more fun... or life-changing.
While drinking away her sorrows with her best friend after being fired in a big scandle, Lauren is dared to sleep with the next woman to walk through the door.

And in walks the seemingly quiet and shy librarian, Emma.
She has had a crush on Lauren since school and she is far from quiet behind closed doors.

Both characters have some past issues from childhood but seem to be, dare I say, perfect for each other.

Such amazing characters that are so lovable, and the sex... again, Woah!

“It’s not the struggle that makes it hot. It’s the surrender. It’s being the one you surrender to.”

There isn't too much I can say without giving you everything.
Grab this little baby and go in with an open mind, it most certainly will be worth it.

Lauren had her life on track until it all goes to shit in a very public way. Now she is back in her small town and boo-hooing the state of her life with her best friend at the local watering hole. Said best friends wants Lauren to get out of her funk so she dares her to have sex with the next woman who walks through the door. In walks small-town librarian Emma, who has no idea how hot and exciting her life is about to get! These 2 ladies carry a lot of personal baggage, but they somehow work. That being said I wasn’t sure if I would like this premise of this story, but it really did do it for me. I’ve never found words so arousing before. This author can definitely write SEX! I will be checking out more of her books.

This was an interesting book to read alla Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele Fifty Shades of Grey. There were quite a few kinky scenes in this book and the characters Lauren and Emma were really hot together. I think the author had a good idea. I just wish there was more background information about how they became whom they are, we only got a small amount of the people they are now. I actually really liked this book. If you love Fifty Shades of Grey then you will really like this book.

This story is funny and erotic. It has a lot of sex scenes involved, but I missed romantic aspect between them. I didn't know those authors before, I rarely read FF books, but I liked the writting style. It isn't typical romance story, but I liked it.

2020 the year of living life outside our comfort zone and pushing all the boundaries!
Reader Advisory: If You Dare contains explicit fantasies of non-consent.

Lauren West has recently moved home from San Francisco after she is part of a workplace scandal. Small town
Sandy Lowe told me about this book back in December 2019, so to say I’ve been patiently waiting has been an understatement. I love reading erotica, it’s one of my favourite genres, but this one interested me. Not only did it sound incredibly sexy, but I like when authors really push the limits on sex and show other sides to sexual dynamics that we are never exposed to in the real world.

What I loved about this book was how likeable both the characters are. They really drew me into the story and had me excited to go on their kinky journey with them. Lauren and Emma’s opposites attract dynamic was fantastic and really drew me in especially because it’s a trope I always enjoy. What I especially liked was the town sweetheart falling for the bad girl. And oh! Boy does Lauren radiate the sexy bad girl motif. But there is a softer side to Lauren, she doesn’t always show the world, and I think that’s what pulled me to her character development the most.

Emma reminded me of a kinky Miss Honey from Matilda. And this Miss Honey fan was so very excited to see Emma go from a shy, reserved to all out kinky lady. Emma was 100%, my favourite character. To watch her gain courage and tenacity throughout the book was a real turn on… maybe even more than her sexual fantasies! Maybe… just maybe!

The passion and heat were why I started this book, and I wasn’t disappointed, it was a pleasant surprise to enjoy the story and journey with the characters just as much.

The sex scenes in this book are not for the faint-hearted and will push your boundaries. Sandy Lowe really makes sure she ticks all the boxes on consensual non-consent making sure that not only her characters are comfortable in the dynamic but also the reader.

Well Damn!!! These two set the sheets on fire. I was worried for like a second my book would set alight. WOW! There is also an intimate connection between Emma and Lauren as well. They become protective of each other and genuinely want happiness.

I love when an author pushes the boundaries, plays outside of the “Lesfic” box and to write outside of their comfort zone. Sandy Lowe did this with If You Dare. It’s sexy, intriguing, and everything this erotica fan is looking for in 2020.

This story had the ability to great, however it fell just short. The characters were too rushed and didn't seem to have consistent development. I enjoyed both perspectives and would have loved to have seen the writer dive deeper into them. The foreplay scenes were hot and fun but so long it seems like that was the whole focus of the book, not the actual story.

I will definitely read more by this author, like I said great potential.

I did not finish this book. The characters changed so drastically and did not stay from the way they were at the beginning. I knew that there were fetishes and kinks in the book, and that consent was a topic, but I did not like the way the characters changed.

2.5 Stars. Lauren West is back in her hometown for the holiday, in a town where she thinks no one likes her, since her mother has a bad rep in the town. Her best friend dares her to seduce the first woman who walks into the bar. That woman is Emma Prescott. Emma is the town librarian and has had a crush on Lauren for a long time. Emma has intimacy problems and thinks Lauren might be able to help her and understand.

This book is okay. I mean, the plot only made a little bit of sense and the characters fell in love way too quickly. The characters at first, didn't seem to have a lot of chemistry and I did not really ever feel like they were a good couple. The book was not that well written which could be why I did not like it. There was a lot of drama between the two main characters and the town, which I did not enjoy. This book overall was not that great and I would not recommend it. It did have a lot of descriptive sex, and if thalis what you are looking for in a book, then this book is for you.

“It’s not the struggle that makes it hot. It’s the surrender. It’s being the one you surrender to.”

I think we can safely put this one down as not for everyone; it could have very easily been not for me. But except for one major thing that stymied my enjoyment, I fairly enjoyed this book, Sandy Lowe's writing style, the conversations that her characters had, and their chemistry.

The one major thing actually ISN'T the kink. I'm always down for d/s and power play, and while there was some consensual non-consent that got a bit too intense for me, I actually really appreciated all the conversations that were had about kinky lifestyles, and getting to know and accept yourself enough to confront and ask for what you want. There is a fair amount of sex in this book, but a lot of it is also just TALKING about sex; the characters unpacking their trauma, the characters negotiating with each other, the characters getting to know each other. The talking and openness was really refreshing. Lauren and Emma don't magically understand one another right off the bat, or magically click together, and I like that the book showed that they had to get better at communication for their relationship to work. Their chemistry was really intense; an absolute delight. (Also Emma's had a crush on Lauren since high school, and I'm a slut for pining.) I'm also a huge fan of the writing style. It was really fast and snappy and clever and insightful in a lot of ways, and made the reading experience go by really quickly. Other than a few jokes here and there that I didn't really enjoy, I thought it was excellent, and I'll readily read from this author again.

Also I love this cover! It's so swoony.

The one thing that tanked my enjoyment was the pacing. It was insta-love city over here. Sometimes insta-love is written in a way that I don't mind or I enjoy. Sometimes it's just a thing that I accept about a book. But here it was so FRUSTRATING because I really think that without that element, this would just flat out to be a better book. I said above that these characters don't instantly understand each other; they misconstrue each other's feelings and they're not 100 percent on the same page all of the time. I liked that, it's natural for the beginning of a relationship. (And I liked the fact that the misunderstandings didn't go on for too long; they worked to resolve them.) But for those same characters to be declaring ~undying love~ for each other a very short time later seems so very silly and unbelievable. The book takes place between Christmas and New Year's Eve, if you want to know just how insta-love we're talking. Yes, they were acquainted in high school, but still!

The important themes in this book were exploring yourself, being comfortable with yourself and your desires, confronting uncomfortable experiences in your past and how they may (or may not!) inform how you are as a person today. There were meaningful character arcs. The characters had great chemistry. But they did NOT need to declare love. This would have worked so much better as an HFN, with hints towards how they could fall in love in the future. Tack on an epilogue one year later, if you really needed to. Trying to pigeonhole this into an HEA just made the story suffer, in my opinion.

I really wanted to like this one more, but I still think overall it's a good book. You'll enjoy it if you like kink and don't mind insta-love. I'd love to read more from Lowe in the future, especially if it's better paced/more concentrated on the journey of the relationship.

Content warnings: consensual non-consent via roleplay/fantasy, slut-shaming, kink-shaming.

The best way to describe this book is with a fire emoji. It is hot, hot, hot from start to finish. If you are looking for high quality, sexy, kinky erotica, this is a must read. I'm still fanning myself.

If you want a quick sexy read this one is for you. I would not say there is all that much depth there but like I said if you are not looking for it you will not care about it. So I would recommend!

3.5 stars

Besides making jokes about someone's ex because they were bisexual, which is never cool with me, I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would.

To be honest, I picked this book up after seeing a few reviewers say they didn't like the consensual non-consent part. It's such a little understood kink, I was excited to see how this author pulled it off. Unfortunately, the scene/s lacked the edge I expected to feel with such a potent form of power exchange.

Kink aside, the author has created two very likable characters, and as a character-driven reader, I settled into this story and ended up enjoying it.

A very nice read with several hot moments. The story is well written and I really enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters. Sandy Lowe can certainly write beautiful, hot and exciting sex scenes. This is a very good book to read with your special someone. ;-)

I’d enjoyed the author’s previous novella collection a lot, and having seen Meghan O’Brien, my favourite author of all time, name checked in the acknowledgements I was so looking forward to reading this book. It’s well written and the sex scenes were super steamy with good chemistry between the characters. However, with all the talk about the kink and the disclaimer in the beginning about consensual non-consent I’d expected so much more from the book. The dynamic between the two leads had so much potential but the play scenes were way too tame. I felt the author could have gone a lot further. The ending didn’t feel realistic and the relationship between the leads turned romantic at lightning speed. Having said that though, Sandy Lowe is one of the authors I’m most excited about lately - good erotica is so hard to come by - and I look forward to her next work.

I was really looking forward to reading If You Dare. I have read a couple of short stories by Lowe and also read Party of Three. I must say that this one did not work for me. I found the story uninspiring and boring. I found myself skimming through the book just to finish. For sure this wasn't for me.

2 stars.

This arc was provided by netgalley and the publisher for an honest review.

I really liked this book. It's short, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do. It's really steamy, with well written sex scenes.

We follow Emma and Lauren after they meet at a bar and develop tension between them. They follow up in their desires and there's the possibility that it may turn out to be more.

I want to highlight how well written the sex scenes are. They talk during sex about consent, negotiation and they talk about how each of them is doing. They are always checking with each other and I loved it. Plus, it's hot.

My only complaint is that there's not much more to it than the hook ups. We learn about the characters but we don't see them interact much outside of the hooking up.

Overall, I would recommend this story for anyone looking for a well written lesbian erotica.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This isn't your typical romance novel. This was a fun read. This story is funny, erotic, and romantic. There is, of course, a lot of sexy times between the two main characters, which add spice to the story. I connected with Lauren and Emma immediately, and it’s easy to see their chemistry.