Dare to Hold Paperback – April 14, 2015

Meg Thompson is pregnant and single. She feels like she always picks the wrong guy except once with her best friend Dylan. It’s like she is following in her mother’s footsteps. She knows she has to stop leaning on men and stand on her own. Meg went out with her friends one evening and some guy wouldn’t leave her alone. Scott Dare was as the bar with his brother and had seen Meg. He was attracted to her ever since he took her statement at the hospital when her ex boyfriend pushed her into a glass cabinet and almost lost her baby. Scott sees the guy hassling Meg and goes over to stop it. Scott ends up taking Meg home where she says that her friends were trying to get her to have one last fling before she started showing. Little does Scott know, but Meg is attracted to him, but she doesn’t want to fall in her old ways. Scott tells her if she wants a last fling, then he will be happy to help her out. They agree that this is just for the night, but the next morning Scott knows he wants more. He leaves like she asked, but he plans on coming back to see her. A few days later, Scott shows up at Meg’s apartment and Med is upset. Meg tells him that her ex was there yelling and trying to get in even though there is a restraint against him. Scott tells her he is going to protect her. You need to read the book to see what happens.I just love the Dare family. Scott chose the wrong woman in the past and he is still suffering. He thought he would never love or trust someone again, let alone get married again. His family is very supportive and wants him to be happy. Of course, there is his father that was not much of a father for him growing up. He is still trying to get over his father having another family. He is also unhappy at his job as a copy. Luckily one of his brothers has a proposition for him that will help him get out of his boring job. Meg was such a sweet girl and had a miserable childhood. She didn’t want to turn out like her loser mother. I loved the book and encourage you to read it.

Meg was introduced to use in the previous book, she was Dylan's best friend and kind of on her own without much family. She is dealing with a lot and an abusive ex, and she is trying to do it on her own.She is looking for one night of fun and then back to reality because everything in her life is about to change. She is looking forward to the change but she also knows her life wont be the same.Scott, like the rest of the Dare's has issues. He is also scarred by their father and can't believe that he can be better than his father. So he settles for commitment less relationships. Since this seems to be the same thing Meg wants he's willing to help her out.Meg and Scott instantly connect and one night turns into more and things start to get serious between them. And it starts to feel that Meg has someone in her corner. And someone is there to help her when she needs it. The crazy thing about it is that Scott isn't sure this is what he wants but he can't seem to help stop helping her.I also loved watching Meg start to reach out and make some friends other than Dylan. She was not as alone as she use to be and I was so happy to see that for her. Finding her friends and people that were on her side was really great to see because of how alone she was.Meg and Scott were perfect for each other but they chose to deny it. They both have their hang ups and have to work through it. It took some time but they were able to work through it and figure out what they needed.I also love how the Dare family always welcomes the new people in with grace and kindness, not everyone has a good family or family at all but being welcome into one that cares so much is an amazing thing to read about.

**I received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review**Kindergarten teacher Meg Thompson first met Scott Dare in Dare to Touch when she got into a scuffle with her ex and Scott was the responding officer. It was obvious at that time that there was an attraction between the two, however because of all Meg has gone through in her life, and most recently with her ex and the father of her unborn baby, she decides that she needs to stand on her own and not rely on anyone else, but especially another man.One night while Meg is out with her friends, Scott notices that she is being harassed by a man and swoops in to get her out of the situation. She explains that she was out with her friends because they think she should have a one night stand before her pregnancy progresses much further. After hearing this, Scott suggests that he be the one to be that one night stand. Meg agrees and the attraction that they felt the first time they met explodes and when the night is over, Scott knows that one night will never be enough with this gorgeous woman.After a particularly busy week at work where their contact has been limited, Scott shows up to Meg’s apartment and walks in to find a shaken and scared Meg. Turns out Meg’s ex has violated his restraining order and this sends Scott into uber protective mode. In order to keep the woman that is starting to mean so much to him safe, Scott sticks close to her and when things escalate, he moves her into his house. Meg and Scott continue to grow closer and learn more about one another. Things are going well until Scott shares what caused the demise of his first marriage and this sends Meg reeling. What she thought could potentially be the start of a great future, now looks like it could be a just a repeat of the past. Can these two overcome their pasts and get the fairy tale ending?Carly Phillips does a great job of creating characters you want to root for and gives us an engaging story with the perfect dose of hotness! I would highly recommend this book and while it can be read as a standalone, reading the other books in the series does help you to familiarize yourself with the other characters.