LaVonne W. (Grnemae) -
Kelsey James, the daughter of the mayor elect of Dallas Filomena James, is part way down the aisle for her wedding when the groom and the best man, grasp hands and run out the side door of the church. Filomena is furious because she is now humiliated but Kelsey could not really care as she was only getting married because her mom wanted her to be married.
Tasha Williams, Kelsey's best friend, has a solution. Kelsey has 2 weeks vacation already schedule and Tasha tells her, she will get the money back from the honeymoon trip that was planned and she will take care of giving Kelsey a nice 2 weeks away from her mother. She starts calling it "the Christmas of Dares" and makes Kelsey promise that she will fulfill 5 dares in the 2 weeks. Kelsey reluctantly agrees. Tasha puts a blindfold on Kelsey and off they go. When they arrive at their destination, Kelsey is not happy because they are back in a resort town that has both good and bad, mostly bad, memories. She is even more upset with Tasha when she realizes that the owner of the B & B is the boy/man, Noah, she had a crush on 10 years ago. Kelsey realizes that Tasha set her up but decides to just go with the flow and try to enjoy herself,
The story focuses on Kelsey and Noah as they start to rekindle the friendship they had for many years when they were ages 11-17, All the while Tasha keeps giving Kelsey dares and she fulfills them. Kelsey also learns to start to do the things that she wants to do not what her mother or any other person wants her to do.
It is a nice story of personal growth, friendships and deciding what each of them wants for their future.
Tasha Williams, Kelsey's best friend, has a solution. Kelsey has 2 weeks vacation already schedule and Tasha tells her, she will get the money back from the honeymoon trip that was planned and she will take care of giving Kelsey a nice 2 weeks away from her mother. She starts calling it "the Christmas of Dares" and makes Kelsey promise that she will fulfill 5 dares in the 2 weeks. Kelsey reluctantly agrees. Tasha puts a blindfold on Kelsey and off they go. When they arrive at their destination, Kelsey is not happy because they are back in a resort town that has both good and bad, mostly bad, memories. She is even more upset with Tasha when she realizes that the owner of the B & B is the boy/man, Noah, she had a crush on 10 years ago. Kelsey realizes that Tasha set her up but decides to just go with the flow and try to enjoy herself,
The story focuses on Kelsey and Noah as they start to rekindle the friendship they had for many years when they were ages 11-17, All the while Tasha keeps giving Kelsey dares and she fulfills them. Kelsey also learns to start to do the things that she wants to do not what her mother or any other person wants her to do.
It is a nice story of personal growth, friendships and deciding what each of them wants for their future.
Susan F. (scoutmomskf) -
Good book that started with an emotional low and proceeded through a roller-coaster of feelings. A stunned Kelsey is left at the altar when her fiancé runs off with the best man. To top off the embarrassment, her mother, the newly elected mayor, harangues Kelsey, blaming it all on her. All Filomena can talk about is how it affects her, with no sympathy for Kelsey. The only one who is there for Kelsey is her best friend, Tasha, who talks Kelsey into taking off, daring her to say yes to cutting loose a little, challenging her to accept five dares from Tasha. To that end, Tasha takes Kelsey to Twilight, home of Kelsey's teenage crush.
Kelsey and Noah have a history. They met at camp when they were children, and their friendship grew each summer when they reunited. When they were seventeen and junior counselors at the camp, their friendship grew into something more. But they were torn apart by Kelsey's mother, who didn't approve of Noah or anything that took Kelsey's attention away from her. And for the next ten years, Filomena used every manipulative trick in the book to keep Kelsey at her side. As a result, Kelsey was browbeaten into being at mom's beck and call.
I loved Kelsey and Noah's reunion. Kelsey's friend Tasha got her to agree to do five Christmas dares while they were on their trip. Tasha is determined to break Kelsey free of her mother's shackles and push Kelsey out of the comfort zone of pleasing Filomena at all times. Kelsey's first sight of Noah is of him in a Christmas apron, standing under a mistletoe arch, brings back memories of their old attraction. Noah is hit just as hard. A push from Tasha (the first dare) has Kelsey laying a lip-lock on Noah that blows them both away.
I loved watching the rekindling of the relationship between Noah and Kelsey. With Tasha's help, Kelsey is slowly breaking free of her mother's chains, opening her up to the possibilities with Noah. I loved Noah's determination to help her along by showing her how special she is. There are some delightful scenes between the two of them, as well as some very steamy ones. With both having been burned in relationships, each insists that they are not looking for love, but the more time they spend together, the more each one finds their mind leading in that direction. I loved watching Kelsey's transformation as time, distance, and positive reinforcement worked its magic on her. But Filomena wasn't done with her yet, and I was worried for Kelsey when her mom pulled her latest stunt. It didn't help that Noah had a boneheaded reaction, hurting her badly as a result. The ending was terrific, with Kelsey finally getting some real help from her father that gave her the tools she needed to confront her mother. That was such a satisfying scene. Then Noah had his big moment that was the icing on the cake. The epilogue was fantastic.
Kelsey's mother was a real piece of work. She was definitely a character I loved to hate because the way she treated Kelsey was terrible. I found Kelsey's conversation with her father regarding Filomena to be very interesting, with some intriguing parallels to current times. The character I loved almost as much as Noah and Kelsey delightful Tasha. She was so comfortable with who she was that she was a great role model for Kelsey. She was also the best friend Kelsey could have. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her push and pull Kelsey out of her Comfort Kitty persona and show her what she was capable of. It was also fun to see her growing relationship with Sean.
Kelsey and Noah have a history. They met at camp when they were children, and their friendship grew each summer when they reunited. When they were seventeen and junior counselors at the camp, their friendship grew into something more. But they were torn apart by Kelsey's mother, who didn't approve of Noah or anything that took Kelsey's attention away from her. And for the next ten years, Filomena used every manipulative trick in the book to keep Kelsey at her side. As a result, Kelsey was browbeaten into being at mom's beck and call.
I loved Kelsey and Noah's reunion. Kelsey's friend Tasha got her to agree to do five Christmas dares while they were on their trip. Tasha is determined to break Kelsey free of her mother's shackles and push Kelsey out of the comfort zone of pleasing Filomena at all times. Kelsey's first sight of Noah is of him in a Christmas apron, standing under a mistletoe arch, brings back memories of their old attraction. Noah is hit just as hard. A push from Tasha (the first dare) has Kelsey laying a lip-lock on Noah that blows them both away.
I loved watching the rekindling of the relationship between Noah and Kelsey. With Tasha's help, Kelsey is slowly breaking free of her mother's chains, opening her up to the possibilities with Noah. I loved Noah's determination to help her along by showing her how special she is. There are some delightful scenes between the two of them, as well as some very steamy ones. With both having been burned in relationships, each insists that they are not looking for love, but the more time they spend together, the more each one finds their mind leading in that direction. I loved watching Kelsey's transformation as time, distance, and positive reinforcement worked its magic on her. But Filomena wasn't done with her yet, and I was worried for Kelsey when her mom pulled her latest stunt. It didn't help that Noah had a boneheaded reaction, hurting her badly as a result. The ending was terrific, with Kelsey finally getting some real help from her father that gave her the tools she needed to confront her mother. That was such a satisfying scene. Then Noah had his big moment that was the icing on the cake. The epilogue was fantastic.
Kelsey's mother was a real piece of work. She was definitely a character I loved to hate because the way she treated Kelsey was terrible. I found Kelsey's conversation with her father regarding Filomena to be very interesting, with some intriguing parallels to current times. The character I loved almost as much as Noah and Kelsey delightful Tasha. She was so comfortable with who she was that she was a great role model for Kelsey. She was also the best friend Kelsey could have. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her push and pull Kelsey out of her Comfort Kitty persona and show her what she was capable of. It was also fun to see her growing relationship with Sean.
