The Dare

by Elda Minger

Book Overview

Mindy wants to trust her groom-to-be, but the only way to get the dirt on his bachelor party is to send in her good friend Alyssa-disguised as the entertainment. Before she knows it, Alyssa's in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 073943862X
• ISBN13: 9780739438626
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Funny and Sexy- all in one

The Dare by Elda Minger is a great and fun book to read- perfect to pass away a cold winter night. Alyssia comes into town to be the maid of honor in her best friends wedding. Mindy the bride is having doubts about her fiance because of her bad luck with men in the past. Mindy comes up with a scheme to spy on her fiance during his bachelor party. Alyssia disguises herself as a stripper to keep an eye out on the groom. The best man, Connor, is keeping an eye on Alyssia- he wants a tame bachelor party but things get out of control. He and Alyssia spend the night together but he knows her as "bambi" the stripper. At the wedding the next day, Connor knows there is something familiar about the shy innocent and blushing maid of honor but doesn't immediately connect her to the hot, sexy stripper of his fantasy night. Eventually, he figures out the truth, but Alyssia has run back to her hometown. Connor decides that she is the woman for him and sets out to win her..flying out to find her, worm his way into her social circle and eventually acquiring a veritable zoo collection. The parrot, dogs, skunk, and pig provide much of the book's humor as they and Connor seek Alyssia's heart. This book was great to read..i hope that this author keeps writing funny, unusual, fast paced contemporary romances like this one...it doesn't disappoint!

Funny and touching

"The Dare" is a touching and sometimes hilarious contemporary romance featuring two likeable (if unrealistic) characters in Alyssa and Cooper.Minger does a reasonable job with character development, probably about average for a contemporary. Alyssa's character is a bit more fleshed-out than Cooper's. Cooper does an abrupt about-face midway through the book that makes him less than believable, although his actions towards Alyssa later in the book are tender and touching. The secondary characters are great, though, especially Cooper's adopted pets. The parrot Lafitte is especially hilarious, providing some needed humorous notes at times in the plot.The pacing of the book seemed erratic at times. Parts of the book dragged a bit, while in others I was amazed at the pace.Still, I enjoyed this book a great deal. I laughed out loud at several points, and Cooper's final grand gesture is both touching and hilarious. The characters were likeable, and Cooper's romantic gestures were sweet. I was rooting for these characters, and wanted them to be happy. I'm always happy to recommend a book with likeable characters that makes me laugh.

pleasant contemporary romance

San Francisco dancer Alyssa Preston arrives in Wilmette, Illinois for her best friend's wedding. However, the bride Mindy Bickham asks Alyssa to do her a favor. Following her former fiancé cheating on her just before the wedding, Mindy needs to know if her betrothed Tom stays faithful when strippers will be at the bachelor party hosted by his pal the best man Cooper Sinclair. Reluctantly Alyssa agrees and manages to join the striptease artists when one of the foursome went home ill.Alyssa puts on quite a show until Cooper stops her. Later Cooper and Alyssa make love, but she is gone by morning. At the reception, he figures out that the bride's maid Alyssa is the "Bambi" from last night who has made him forget about work for the first in eons. Alyssa flees to San Francisco and Cooper follows as he realizes that he loves his "Bambi".Any novel that has its two lead characters playing truth or dare is bound to be a lot of fun and that is the case with this book. The story line engages the audience though readers will agree with Alyssa that if Mindy has doubts about his faithfulness she should not marry him. Contemporary romance readers will find THE DARE is a pleasant story that entertains (no conscious implied reference to Joplin's The Entertainer) the audience from the moment Alyssa strips.Harriet Klausner