Just One Dare: The Dirty Dares

Carly Phillips

Apr 2022 · The Kingston Family Book 5 · Sold by CP Publishing

About this ebook

A one night stand with no names exchanged.

Six years later, she comes face to face with her baby’s father again.

Aurora Michaels isn’t the same girl she was that spring night. No longer homeless and living in the back room of a diner where she worked, she’s now a member of the wealthy Kingston family. She has her daughter, a career and has adjusted to her new normal.

Billionaire Nick Dare is a man who takes charge. He runs the hotel arm of the family empire and his life revolves around business and travel. A quick stop at his brother's movie premier has him doing a double take.

The woman who haunts his dreams is there. He’s been given a second chance and is determined to make the most of it.

When he learns about their daughter, Nick becomes a man on a mission. Aurora and their child are his. Even if he has to knock down Aurora’s emotional walls to prove it.

Ratings and reviews

***5 Stars*** Ever since meeting Aurora in Dare to Stay I was crossing my toes that she’d get her own HEA one day, so when Just One Dare was announced I was all in and this baby did not disappoint in any way. It was a fun, quick read, filled with lots of laughs, heart and heat and made my bookish heart all kinds of happy. I adored Aurora and Nick. Ok, I’ve always liked Aurora. She’s been through a lot in her young life and through some amazing luck has had a huge life shift that she appreciates, but doesn’t take for granted. Nick is just a good guy. He may have certain rules that make others' eyebrows raise, but I found them to be straightforward and honest. Their journey to their HEA could have gone in so many directions, but I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the path they took. It wasn’t too angsty or OTT, it was just two people who had one night, no expectations who collide again and hey, there is not a kid in the mix, a very cute and precocious kid. I just really liked how Aurora and Nick handled everything that was thrown their way. The chemistry was there, the bantering was a lot of fun and I liked how everything worked out for them. This was a great addition to the series. As I’ve already stated, it wasn’t filled with a whole bunch of angst or anything too over the top plot wise and the little drama that was there only served to help the story along. I loved catching up with the Kingston’s and how they all rallied around Aurora and Leah. Nick’s family was also great, and I really need a visual family tree for the Dare clan because WOW, and since there are a few single people amongst his siblings, I’m sure we’ll be getting stories on them at some point in the future. ~ Copy provided by the author & voluntarily reviewed ~

Just One Dare is the 5th book in the Kingston Family series by Carly Phillips. We are finally getting Aurora Michaels' story. Aurora had been put into foster care early in life. When she finally aged out at eighteen, she decided to celebrate and have a little fun with the cute guy who came into the diner where she worked. They agreed to only one night, and no last names. Little did Aurora know that she would end up pregnant by Nick, the guy who rocked her world. Fast forward six years, Aurora and her daughter Leah are now part of the Kingston family because of being the illegitimate daughter of the now dead patriarch. Lucky for her the entire family has welcomed her with open arms. Imagine Aurora's shock when she is attending the premiere of her Cassidy's new movie and she sees Nick. Turns out Nick is part of the Dare family. Nick sees Aurora and knows that this time he is not letting her get away. When Nick finds out that he also has a five year old daughter with Aurora, he knows he is going to do everything in his power to establish a relationship with both of them. Just when Nick thinks he has moved forward in dealing with Aurora's abandonment issues, something happens and he ends up two steps back. When something happens that affects Nick to the core, he finally decides what he really wants in his life going forward. Now he just needs to convince Aurora to get on board and when she finally does, it is just the perfect ending! I just loved this second chance at love story. You couldn't help but root for Aurora after all she had been through. She is one tough lady! I also just adored Nick. He lived his life in a certain way because he couldn't find anyone who measured up to Aurora. Together these two just sizzled. Now I can't wait for Nick's twin, Jade's story!

4.25 stars-- JUST ONE DARE is the first instalment in Carly Phillips’ contemporary, adult THE KINGSTON FAMILY erotic, romance series, a series interconnected with the author’s Dirty Dare /Dare Nation series. This is twenty-four year old, single mother Aurora Michaels, and billionaire Nick Dare’s story line. JUST ONE DARE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but for back story and cohesion I recommend reading book one JUST ONE NIGHT. Told from dual third person perspectives (Aurora and Nick) JUST ONE DARE follows the second chance romance and relationship between twenty-four year old, single mother Aurora Michaels, and billionaire Nick Dare. Approximately six years previous, Aurora Michaels had a one-night stand with a man named Nick, and several weeks later discovered she was homeless and pregnant with Nick’s child. A few months would pass before Aurora was discovered by the family she never knew, a family of billionaires and businessman into which our heroine was immediately accepted. Fast forward to present day wherein Aurora, now a part of the Dare family, comes face to face with her past, a past that never knew what happened to the one that got away. Enter hotel magnate Nick Dare, and the man with whom Aurora will fall in love. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Aurora and Nick, and the potential fall-out as Aurora struggles with issues of trust having watched everyone she knows walk out of her life. Nick Dare never knew the last name of the woman that had stolen his heart but a movie premiere would bring Nick face to face with Aurora Michaels, the half-sister to the Kingston siblings, and the woman who had given birth to the daughter he never knew. Hoping to reconnect and become a part of his daughter’s life, Nick begins a slow seduction of our story line heroine, the woman with whom Nick will fall in love. The relationship between Nick and Aurora began as a one night stand in which neither knew the last name of one another; a secret baby relationship such that Nick wanted to be more than a father but the man with whom Aurora would fall in love but as the man in charge of the chain of Dare hotels, Nick was constantly called away for emergencies and meeting, emergencies that threatened Aurora’s tenuous trust of our story line hero. The $ex scenes are passionate and erotic without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters from both the KINGSTON FAMILY, DARE TO LOVE, DARE NATION and the NY DARES series. The reconnection between Aurora and Nick looks back on the history of two families almost destroyed by betrayal, secrets and lies. JUST ONE DARE is a story of family, friendships and relationships, love and acceptance, second chances and happily ever after. The fast paced, character driven premise is captivating and entertaining; the romance is seductive and fated; the characters are charismatic and dynamic.

About the author

Carly Phillips, whose real name is Karen Drogin, was born on July 7, 1965 in New York. She received an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University. She eventually became a lawyer, but never really enjoyed practicing law. After having her first child, she decided she wanted to write a romance novel. Seven years later, she sold her first book, Brazen, to Harlequin Temptation. She is now the best-selling author of numerous romances including Simply Sinful, The Playboy, Summer Lovin', Hot Property, Cross My Heart, and Lucky Break. She also writes the New York Times bestselling Dare to Love series.