Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Dare

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Dare by Elle Kennedy

9 reviews

katharina90's review against another edition

medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

1.5

I always appreciate a FMC in a larger body but the constant internalized fatphobia and low self-esteem was repetitive and annoying.

Also the repeated lack of communication by everyone... Yawn!
(

To make things worse there are two breakups due to this. He refuses to communicate, they break up. She gives him a bunch of shit for it, then turns around and does the same thing, leading to second breakup. Lazy writing.

)

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ourhandsfull's review against another edition

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Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This book needs content warnings for sexual harassment and sexual assault. I wouldn’t have read it if I had known. The incident came out of nowhere in chapter 37, and the author completely failed to mention that the sorority itself should have been sanctioned for sexual harassment and hazing. This is vile.

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shaesensual's review against another edition

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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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britwalsh16's review against another edition

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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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abidavisf's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Phew, Elle Kennedy does it again. I’ve not seen myself in one of her protagonists quite as much as I do in Taylor. I’m flawed. The Dare was healing for me, eye-opening and really quite surreal.

As always, the spice and the banter was on point, and Elle navigated really tricky topics with grace. The shining star, however, is definitely Taylor’s insecurities and the way we get to see how the rest of the world truly sees her. I wish I could read the minds of the people around me like we got to read Conor’s.

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rey_naes's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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rochelleriekert's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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dlrosebyh's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

1.0

finally saying goodbye to these characters, even if i’m not in favor of it.

controversial to a lot of opinions, i actually loved the dare. yes, it’s a romance book just like the other books in the series, but compared to the other books, it has more depth to it. it tackles relevant topics like fatphobia, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and body shaming— in a non-misleading way.

i agree that it may not be the best closing novel for a series, but as a stand-alone, it’s a pretty good book.

conor and taylor’s relationship is very realistic in terms of college romance. it pisses me off that they won’t talk about their problems first and always ends up taking a break from their relationship. but as i’ve said, it showcases a realistic relationship, so i couldn’t bother to give it at most 4 stars.

still bittersweet about leaving these characters, but it is what it is.

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lesleygetslit's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

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