ARC Review: Take Me if You Dare by Nina Crespo

Take Me if You Dare was a short and sweet novella from Nina Crespo. I was excited to read this one since I usually love the Brazen line from Entangled, and while this one did have some heat it left me with some mixed feelings. While I liked it, I didn't love it. What starts off as a one night stand between Jasmine and Ethan quickly turns into more, even after she tried to leave him only with a note. But soon they find themselves drawn together again, and don't want things to be over yet. They agree to two weeks together before Jasmine returns home, knowing that a long distance relationship would never work. But as their time together draws to a close, they both realize that they want more. Can they take their fling and have a chance at a relationship though with the distance between them?

I liked Ethan and Jasmine, but they both had their issues for me. Ethan was afraid to commit because of his job and the dangerous situations he found himself in. As a soldier he had seen too many guys killed in action that left women and children behind, and he didn't want to put anyone through that. But he was really sweet with Jasmine, and he made an effort to treat her well and do nice things for her. You could see him starting to develop real feelings for her, and he started to rethink his stance on things. Jasmine was smart and dedicated to her job. She had been hurt when her fiance cheated on her and got another woman pregnant, and it had left her scared to put herself out there again. But she took things too far with Ethan by constantly running from him without ever really talking to him. She was developing real feelings for him, but acted immaturely and ended up hurting both Ethan and herself. While these two had a lot of chemistry and I could see them starting to form a connection, it felt rushed to me. I think it was honestly a combination of the time period in which this book takes place as well as Jasmine's constant running.

I will also say that besides the problems with Jasmine and the connection between her and Ethan, I felt that this book was rushed. They started off as one night that turned into two weeks, and yet instead of just seeing each other for the two weeks they decide to live together? I mean these two had never met before and suddenly they are staying with one another? It just didn't ring true for me, and I found it unrealistic. I will say that I liked that Ethan originally started off as the one against commitment, and yet he ended up being the one to force the issue. I just wish that Jasmine had been able to get her head on straight much quicker. While I did enjoy this story, I wish that it would have ended a bit differently. I liked the ending, but I did feel as though it was rushed after everything that happened and I wish we had been given a bit more of what happened for these two after everything had played out. This book was enjoyable though, and if you are looking for something short and sweet while steamy you might give this one a shot.

**ARC Provided by Entangled Publishing**

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