Here I am again… fessing up to reading a book two without realizing a first book existed. Clearly, I need to pay more attention when I nab digital ARCs. At least with this style of serialized romance novels, you can jump in out of order and the story will make sense. You’ll just meet a couple who is already living their happily ever after before you walk that journey with them.

Anyways, The Dating Dare by Jayci Lee is the sequel to A Sweet Mess. It jumps into a wedding, where Tara is the maid of honor. She spots the best man (and brother of the groom), Seth, checking her out and decides to call him on it. Predictably, this leads them to hanging out after the wedding, where they get drunk and Seth dares Tara to go on four dates with him without falling in love with him. Tara is okay with this because she doesn’t let men get close and Seth is moving to Paris in a month anyways. She clarifies that he’s not allowed to fall in love with her either, and we’re off to the races.

The Dating Dare is a classic case of the not-really-dating trope. It’s entirely predictable because of it. It makes for a great comfort read in that regard, since nothing is too terribly shocking. It’s an easy and enjoyable read with bare minimums on the spice, so it’s good for those who don’t like to read more adult scenes.

I did enjoy the touches of Korean culture sprinkled throughout The Dating Dare. I think Lee could have added more, honestly. The references were so sporadic, I would kinda forget in between them. I’m not sure if there was a reason for that choice, but there’s my two cents and full endorsement of embracing diversity.