Dare to Risk (PIU’s Review)

Title: Dare to Risk (Dare #1)
Author: Kara Nash, Caitlin Ricci
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 29th, 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary, Cowboy
Page Count: 256
Reviewed by: PIU
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Blurb:

For successful businessman Bran Wilson, selling the large Montana dairy farm that has been in his family for generations is an easy decision. He hates the farm, the land, even the cows, and wants nothing to do with any of it. But there’s a glitch in his plan: a stubborn cowboy from New Zealand who is as sexy as he is aggravating.

Kaden Barker loves the Wilson farm, and respected Bran’s grandfather up until the day he died. With his two best friends, he’s taken over working the farm and caring for the cows, and he’d happily spend the rest of his days doing it.

When Bran charges into his life, telling him he’s selling the farm and there’s nothing Kaden, or his friends, can do about it, the animosity between them is instant. But so is the attraction, and only one extreme can win out.

I went in this book for some seriously needed hard cowboy loving and I am so sad to say that it did not meet any of my expectations. One MC annoyed the shit out of me and for the entire story I wanted to punch him on his selfish face. I generally never give less than a 3 stars and I am really sad to give this book a 2 stars rating. I just couldn’t help it. The plot development was very poor and the characters were annoying and immature.

Bran and Kaden are the MCs of this book. They clash from the beginning when Bran decides to sell the farm, Kaden and his friends are working on. Bran is said to have bad memories from the farm and he does not want to keep it in any way. Even when he starts to get emotionally attached to Kaden, Bran still remains a selfish asshole with no regard to others emotions. I loathed Bran. His reasons for getting rid of the farm and also whoring around were less than acceptable.

Bran’s parents had a divorce which is normal for any kid to be resentful but in no way is it shown that his father or grandfather treated him badly for making him react so horribly towards the farm, which has been in his family for generations. His reasons to “Burn the farm down” were not made clear. Also, he hates his grandfather for some reason which is also left unclear. Bran never for once tries to know his grandfather, who supposedly used to talk about him a lot to Kaden and his friends. So you can tell that he was an asshole at the start and he remained an asshole throughout the book.

Bran is shown to have feelings for Kaden but he was a horrible, selfish jerk to him till 90% of the story by callously wanting to sell the farm which meant so much to Kaden. His hot and cold reactions towards Kaden frustrated me. I wanted to smack him for always being an ass. There was nothing redeemable about him. I can go on. My resentment towards him is unending.

Enough was explained about Bran and his emotional problems and his seriously shitty attitude towards love, but in midst of all that there was very less scope to actually learn about Kaden. He is a dedicated farmer from a loving family. He is a hard worker who actually gives a damn about the farm. Kaden is attracted to Bran and they engage in some hot and steamy sex but that was the extent of the growth of their relationship. Kaden is the complete opposite of Bran and he was supposed to be the positive influence in Bran’s life to get him to behave like a caring human being but that did not work. I did not hate Kaden but there was not enough about him in the story to know the guy before an opinion could be formed.

The immature quotient of the book was intolerable. Bran and his best friend Chris are grown ass men with successful careers and their way of communicating was playing “Truth or Dare”. Yeah, you read that correctly. The game happened again and again throughout the story and annoyed me to no end. Can’t Bran have a proper conversation with his love interest, which is the norm for getting to know someone??? No!! He had to play “Truth or Dare” to air his dirty laundry. They behaved like 5 year old kids. It was ridiculous.

There were a total of 6 people in the entire story among which the author has already paired two and laid out the foundation for the pairing of other four. I did not like the other characters that well. I am sorry for sounding like such a bitch, but this story was a disaster for me and I am just being honest.

Bottom line, I did not like this book at all. I enjoyed the beginning but it went downhill pretty soon. Bran was a whiny, selfish diva with very little regard for Kaden and a book in which I hate a MC with my entire being, does not make for a very enjoyable read.