Review: the Dare

 

Title: the Dare

Author: Harley Laroux

Release Date: October 2019

Warning: This erotica contains scenes and elements that may be disturbing to some readers. Please review the full content warning below.

Jessica Martin is not a nice girl. As Prom Queen and Captain of the cheer squad, she'd ruled her school mercilessly, looking down her nose at everyone she deemed unworthy. The most unworthy of them all? The "freak," Manson Reed: her favorite victim.

But a lot changes after high school.

A freak like him never should have ended up at the same Halloween party as her. He never should have been able to beat her at a game of Drink or Dare. He never should have been able to humiliate her in front of everyone. Losing the game means taking the dare: a dare to serve Manson for the entire night as his slave. It's a dare that Jessica's pride - and curiosity - won't allow her to refuse. What ensues is a dark game of pleasure and pain, fear and desire.

Is it only a game?

Only revenge?

Only a dare?

Or is it something more?

This dark erotic novella is written in First Person POV and is about 32k words in length.

This book contains intense fantasy scenes of hard kinks/edgeplay, graphic sex, and harsh language. It is intended only for an adult audience. Beware: this is a dark, weird, kinky read. The activities depicted therein are dangerous and are not meant to be an example of realistic BDSM. Reader discretion is advised.

Kinks/Fetishes within: erotic humiliation, fearplay, painplay, knifeplay, consensual non-consent (CNC), orgasm denial, boot worship, spanking, crying, blowjobs, clowns, group sexual activities, spit, bondage, public play, bloodplay.

So, I was nervous about going into this book. I had no idea what to expect but the trigger Warnings had me questioning it (clowns. It's the clowns. I am absolutely terrified of clowns and don't want anything to do with them 😂😂). Plus it was banned on Amazon - and I've read some of Amazon's banned books and they were DARK. So I put it off. Well I got it for Christmas, and had a break after stressing over holidays and birthdays and between arcs and didn't know what to pick up. I figured I would finally pick up this book and give it a go because I was curious damn it! 

So, first it is a highly recommended book. Everyone always says how much they loved it. - for me, most of the time when a book is recommended so much... I just... Don't. I don't love it as much as everyone else. I don't see the hype over it. 

Don't get me wrong, the book was erotic. It was about Jessica finding out her kinks one night at a party when she ran into Manson. 

But, I like to be able to connect with the characters. This is a novella so there isn't as much to it, I get that. But I just didn't LIKE Jessica. She was the stuck up, popular B in high school. A year later and she isn't much different. But her calling down (even just in her head) everyone (calling them losers, freak, etc just bc they didn't run in her crowd) just really grated on me. 

I could do with how unrealistic some of it felt, it is a novella that takes place in one night, so I get that. & There is some history between the characters. But the fact that I didn't like Jessica at all and we spend the whole book in her head is what seals it for me. 

Otherwise, the book is a hot erotic romance. It does have some trigger Warnings that you should take into consideration but it's not as dark as it's made to seem. The clowns weren't that bad. And everything else is relatively mild for what it is. (Yes, it's all there the spanking, boot worshipping, fear it's more dubious consent then non consent though and orgasm denial, & blowjobs - but it isn't super dark & the group play is... Well, they aren't all doing everything all at once, but they are sharing). 

So if your looking for a quick erotic romance with dark themes then this book has it. I just wish the character was more likeable. 3⭐ out of 5⭐.