Dare To Stay by Carly Phillips
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Willow and Braden are one heartache short of a second chance. Phillips gives the heart a reason to sing with a beautifully broken love story in need of a happy ending. Dare to Stay is a haunting tale of false starts, broken hearts and second chances. Love isn't always pretty, but it's the unpredictable journey that makes the end result worthwhile.
This is book #4, in the Dare Nation series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader enjoyment, and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this series in order.
Braden knew coming home would have its challenges. Having been abroad for two years working with Doctors Without Borders, moving home was going to be difficult. Little did he know it feel the same as soon as his arms were around a certain someone.......
Willow has trust issues that stem from a childhood inside the foster system. She said goodbye to Braden when he left and never looked back. To trust him again would not only be foolish, but could rally lay her out flat. Does she dare to confront the feelings that are still there between them?
This book started off the ground running. I loved each page, and eagerly turned to read on. These characters were so easy to root for. They genuinely seem to really care for one another and their story feels very solid and pace was just right on. I feel like this is the authors best work so far. I give this story a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!
***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.
All fourteen-year Adunni wanted was an education but her father had other plans for her. He had promised her mother that Adunni would be attending school but that was before her mother passed away and the rent became due. Now, Adunni’s bride price was dismissing both of the promises that he had made to his wife about Adunni’s future.
Adunni will become wife number three to Morufu. A third wife! I cringed when I thought of what that must have been like for her. To enter an established household with two other women and four young children already running around. As Adunni enters the house, it was a bit better than I had thought it would be. She’s not able to stay long, as a tragic event sends her packing and she is off to Lagos.
Adunni has always dreamed of going to Lagos but currently, she cannot follow those dreams as she must find a way to survive. Finding work with Big Madam, she finds the mansion impressive as she arrives for work, until she realizes that she’ll be a housemaid inside that mansion. Adunni days remain dark, as Big Madam relentlessly controls her, “expect me to clothe you and accommodate you for substandard work, do you?”
Adunni knows that she needs her education. She’s been out of school for too long and she knows that it’s her only way out of these dark days, that have become her way of life. An awaking begins to occur within Adunni and things start to change in the book.
I didn’t love this book as much as other individuals did. I did enjoy the book and the storyline. I guess the main issue I had was that the story didn’t captive me and draw me in. This is an interesting story with great characters, it just didn’t grab me like I thought it would. 3.5 stars
This is book #3 in the Dare Nation series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader understanding, and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this series in order.
Jaxon has learned the hard way that most relationships do not last. Taking a chance with his sister's best friend, he is learning that she is strong and sassy. Maybe this is a relationship that can last?
Macy needed help and the most unexpected person stepped up. Married to a Baseball Star? Well it appeals with both of them needing a rescue. Being attracted to that bod isn't difficult, either.
This story moved at such a good pace. It felt honest. The book appealed on a family level, as well as a couple level. I really liked the characters. They make a good couple. The sister didn't come across perfect, or rushed to be on the side of right. This was a very good read, since it felt real. I give this a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!
***This early copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.
This was mostly a wrong turn in my “learn how to be a supervisor in the middle of a pandemic” quest. It seems to have received more attention from fans of the author’s other work than people looking for business books, and so perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s much more a self-help book than a management book. Mostly it’s peddling the author’s particular version of emotional authenticity and connectedness. I don’t know that there’s anything bad about her vision per se, but I found the book off-putting: the peculiar phrasing she uses in her workplace (“let’s rumble about this,” “that’s outside of my integrity,” and so on), the self-help-y unspoken assumption that seems to saturate its pages that those who don’t see the light of her vision will bumble around blindly leading terrible lives. Admittedly, I don’t think much of self-help books. They’re quick and easy reads, as this is, but they rub me the wrong way.
And unfortunately, for all the author touts her Ph.D. and calls herself a researcher, this is very much self-help rather than pop psych. Typically, a pop psych book will discuss studies and their methodologies and results in an accessible way for a general audience. This author claims to have done a bunch of research, but her methodology is never discussed beyond vague references to interviewing people. And she never cites a single statistic, instead presenting the One True Way to Be Empathetic, for instance. Somehow I’m pretty sure no psychological research shows 100% unanimity on anything, unless it’s total softball questions like “is murder generally wrong?” At what point does “I talked to a bunch of people about this, and here’s the general consensus” cross the line from anecdote to science? I don’t know, but I’m not convinced this work has done so.
That said, certainly there’s plenty of common sense advice here, like “be clear about what specifically you’re asking people to do” and “try to be nonjudgmental if you want people to feel safe talking to you.” I think the book is a little overly padded with the author quoting long excerpts of people (particularly famous people) praising her work, and it’s probably most useful if you are the head of an organization looking to transform a workplace culture. It kind of annoyed me, but then it’s not my type of thing to begin with.
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