Blog Tour + Review: "One Little Dare" by Whitney Barbetti

I am super excited to participate in the blog tour celebrating the release of "One Little Dare" by Whitney Barbetti. This book is apparently the third in a series, but I didn't realize that until after I had finished it and got to the sample chapters included at the end, so I would say that it reads as a complete standalone. ;-) Based on how much I enjoyed this one, I will certainly be going back to read the first two books (One Little Lie and One Big Mistake) as soon as I find the time.

This book was not at all what I was expecting it to be, in the best of ways. While it was just as sweet and funny as the synopsis promised, it also addressed some serious topics, and I had all the feels by the time I got to the end. I highly recommend "One Little Dare" for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy and will be watching to see what Whitney Barbetti writes next!

About "One Little Dare"

Truth or dare? I always choose a dare. And no matter the dare, I always follow through.

Even if it means walking down a busy street in my bathrobe and hair curlers.

Or recreating that iconic When Harry Met Sally deli scene while on a crowded subway.

Or hitting on a handsome stranger in a bar.

And then … marrying that stranger. While in Vegas.

But the one thing I’m not supposed to do is fall in love with this man.

That wasn’t part of the dare.

Only my heart never got that memo.

My Review

"One Little Dare" by Whitney Barbetti was a sweet, funny, and heartwarming story that managed to address several serious topics with delicacy and humor. Main characters Tori and Liam were both incredibly likeable and well-developed, and I found it very easy to cheer them on to their HEA. Tori was quite impulsive at times, but her kind and caring nature was apparent, and I loved that she always stood up for her family and friends. Liam was her opposite in a lot of ways, but spending time with Tori and his old friends over the course of the story really brought out his fun side. Liam and Tori were a great match because he grounded her and helped rein in some of her more impulsive tendencies, while she reminded him that it was OK to take risks and have fun sometimes.

The attraction between Tori and Liam was obvious from the start, but it never felt like insta-lust or insta-love to me. Surprisingly, since this is an "accidentally married in Vegas" book, it ended up being kind of a slow burn; there were a couple of passionate kisses but nothing more than that until about two-thirds of the way through the book. The entire story took place in about a week, but Liam and Tori were together almost constantly during that time, so it was kind of like a road trip or similar forced proximity story because they were able to get to know each other very quickly. When they said they loved each other at the end of the book, I believed it because they had already learned so much about each other, including secrets from their pasts that neither had shared with anyone before.

Overall, I loved "One Little Dare" and highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I will definitely be reading more books by Whitney Barbetti in the future!

*ARC provided by the author via Wildfire Marketing Solutions. All opinions expressed are my own.