FRANK, Ella & BLAINE, Brooke - Dare To Try Tome 1 : Dare You

I have been waiting for Bash’s story since Brooke announced he would have a solo book. And I got even more excited when it was announced it would be a trilogy. Co-written with Ella Frank. With Kieran Bailey as Bash’s prince charming. COME ON : HOW COULD I RESIST !!!! I was even more curious how it would playout since we learned in both confessions and prime time series that Kieran was the straightest to have ever straighten x) But with Ella’s track record with Temptation, I was not worried in the slightest that those heroes would find each other.

If you haven’t read South Haven nor Confession Henri & Bailey + Prime time series, it is not detrimental to you reading : but as a hardcore fan I can only suggest you do because you would enjoy the characters even more, especially Bash.

We begin the story with a scorching fire, and not the sexy kind : the destructive call the firefighters kind. Here come Kieran, Chicago’s sexiest firefighter (I promise it is his true title), and his team. I found the intervention’s depiction very vivid : if you watch Chicago Fire, you would find the same vibe during Kieran’s interventions, and I truly enjoyed this part of the book, because it was so realistic.

During this incident, Kieran saves a sexy lady in a red dress and beautiful high heels. Who would have known (except us readers) that it was our dear Bash, that loves to “cross-dress”. Personally, I would prefer to say, he knows his body and shows it off not giving a damn to clothes gendered norms, like dresses or skirts. Let’s say this meeting left Kieran quite dumbfound but also a bit curious.

I truly enjoyed this book for many reasons but the main one is that we go back to a universe we know and love. Brooke and Ella always succeed to bring us back in this universe, and show us fan favorites like Logan and Tate <3. Every character is connected to another and I love that about the Chicagoverse.  Bash and Kieran going to the Popped Cherry made my day :D One of the other things I loved is as always the humor ! You can’t go wrong with an Ella or a Brooke book because you will always laugh. There is witty banter, comic situations, sexual innuendos… that’s my jam !

Kieran and Bash’s story is first of all a story of friendship, despite Bash’s attempts (there were maaaany of them) to flirt shamelessly with Kieran. Kieran being straight and quite pen minded with two gay brothers, go beyond the flirting and actually learn to know Bash. Despite their different lifestyles and tastes, they can find common grounds on the things that matter. This book shows that you can learn a lot by talking to someone different than you, and that you don’t have to be afraid of this difference. It is a message that you see often in Ella’s and Brooke’s books and that is another reason why I love them. The sexual tension is building all the book long, along with doubts and questions concerning sexuality and attraction to a gender you had never considered this way before. I found this very smart written and realistic because sometimes sexuality is not a fluid or as easy to define. It is also not easy to reconsider your sexuality after so many years of being straight.

This book built the bases of Bash and Kieran’s relationship and I can’t wait to see what’s next, given the cliffhanger ! My guess is either it will be solved in Chicago, but since we were on Kieran’s ground, the second book might get us to South Haven, in Bash’s turf. I admit that I would love to see South Haven’s characters again, while Bash and Kieran try to figure out where they stand relationshipwise. We won’t have much time to wait since the second book, Dare Me, will be out on the 30th of August !