Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Dare by Elle Kennedy

8 reviews

shaesensual's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

"I'm too young to be this unhappy, and too loved to be this alone"

This quote really describes my change of heart about the final 15% of this book because this felt like something the main character had already discovered before reaching this point in the story.

Light spoilers ahead, but I've got a lot to rant about. So much time is spent building a foundation of trust, support, and honesty between these characters only for that to be thrown away in an instant. Not only do things blow up again, Taylor then takes the unnecessary step of insulting all of Conor's deepest insecurities. Taylor struggles with her self image due to her weight, which I wish took up less of this book because she's a more dynamic character than that, but when Conor has his own turmoil, he doesn't start calling her fat and saying nobody could possibly want to be with her. Taylor, on the other hand, says things to Conor that I might consider unforgivable even taking into consideration the circumstances. Her actions were just to harm him and it felt like taking 1,000 steps backwards in their growth as a couple. And he somehow manages to immediately forgive her and even says she was right. Additionally, there is a lot of gratitude for Conor's reaction in this final section of the book as if its so remarkable, but I can't honestly imagine an adult who would have reacted any differently. This book would have received a 4.25/4.5 rating from me without this major shift towards the end or bad just ended after the gala conflict.

Really wish this had a stronger ending overall as this was the weakest book in the series.

The positives: the fake relationship into real was really great. I loved all the "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" comments when they were still both unsure. I thought their flirting dynamic and conversations together were fun and cute. Overall a really fun couple to read about.

The spice was spicy in this book! I loved seeing repeated scenes of foreplay leading up to their first time having sex. Standalone, these scenes are great but the fact that their first time happens immediately following the biggest fight in their relationship and Conor's sudden change of heart makes it less sexy than it could have been because that conflict is still right there. And, in all honesty, I had no interest in the final sex scene after Taylor gets sexually exploited. The resolution with Conor and from that type of trauma was too quick for me. Not to mention “fuckturtles” was beyond weird.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Misogyny, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Dysphoria

catastrophiclyss's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

britwalsh16's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

OMG! This book is EVERYTHING! Like the amount of emotions I am feeling right now is insane! I am Taylor, Taylor is me! I identified sooo much with her it was insane! & Conor with all his talk about body positivity & all his support of Taylor, just made me swoon to no end!! I NEED a man like Conor! He is everything!! If I could give this book 10 stars I would! 100 stars! They go through a lot of very serious stuff, & it was all written so beautifully! I just couldn’t put it down, but also, I did not want it to end!! Give me more of Taylor & Conor please!! Pretty pretty please!!! 🥺🙏🏻

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

kat7794's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

vanessa1982's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Violence

lilypilly's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

She's my future now, and I'm hers

Nah I actually loved Conor though, why is he one of my favourites and I didn't even know who he was until Hunter's story? He was such a cutie and bless his heart. I could relate the most to Taylor's body issues compared to any of the other issues covered in this series. It was almost like Elle Kennedy wrote a book about me. Again, I'm missing that fall head over heels in love with someone, like I know they love each other, but it's missing that all-absorbing love. 
This was a good book, feeling unfished though for the last book in Briar U. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content

Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol

When Taylor gets dared to have sex with Conor Edwards, the hottest boy on campus who gets whatever girl he wants, things arent looking good for Taylor. But Conor is more interested than she thought, Taylor is the most interesting to approach Conor in a year, and he'll take her up on whatever crazy offer she has. When they agree to fake date to mess with Taylor's sorority, the lines become blurred between what is real and what isn't. As a video of Taylor on a porn site kissing a fellow sister gets uploaded, feelings get pushed aside in an attempt to save each other.

sophies_reads's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

abbbymyles's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Fatphobia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual harassment