Sixteen-year-old Lily left a red notebook full of challenges on a shelf in her favorite bookstore, waiting to see if just the right guy would come along and accept its dares.

Despite his holiday-induced bad mood, Dash can’t help but accept Lily’s challenge when he finds the notebook. But instead of strictly following the rules laid out in the notebook, Dash has a series of his own dares to make.

As Dash and Lily trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook, passed back and forth at locations all across new York City, they cannot ignore the romantic pull they feel toward each other. But innocent Christmas-loving Lily is polar opposites with the pessimistic, word-loving Dash. Meeting in real life could either be fate or disastrous. So at which point do they set aside the game and their notebook versions of each other for a face-to-face interaction?

At first glance, the plot of Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is entirely charming. A mysterious scavenger hunt across familiar locations in New York City. A romance between two people who have never met. It sounds like a cute and cozy read with all the makings of a Christmas favorite. However, as much as I wanted to love it, I quickly became detached from the storyline due to the frequent suggestive and/or sexual comments made and the wordiness of the text.

If I were to sum up the book in one word, it would have to be pretentious. The main characters use words that I didn’t even know. And while there’s nothing wrong with that in moderation, the frequent use of such words quickly began to irk me. 

However, at its heart, this story is about taking risks and learning to step outside your comfort zone. Lily’s journey in learning to stand up for herself and become more fearless — as well as her deep love of family and holiday tradition — made her a relatable character I really enjoyed reading about. The mirror opposite of Lily is Dash. He is frequently described as “snarly” and generally unlikable. I did come to care about him toward the end of the story, but the fact remains: the duo is definitely an unlikely pair.

Overall, Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares will transport readers into the holiday cheer and chaos of Manhattan at Christmas. And if you can overlook some of the content, it’s a fun story about being open-minded and learning to embrace the unknown.

Rated: Moderate, for 17 uses of moderate language, 8 uses of mild language, and around 5 uses of the name of Deity. A character gives another the finger. Sexual content includes frequent suggestive comments, thoughts, or situations. A word search leads a character to pick up a gay sex manual. The sentence in which the words were found is included, as well as mention made of “graphic pictures” seen in it. Lily’s brother is found making out in bed with another boy. Dash sleeps with a girl (the interaction is nonsexual). Male and female body parts are briefly mentioned. Lily’s brother shirks his responsibility as the older brother while their parents are away — going so far as to tell Lily she can “get wasted or mess around with boys” so long as she leaves him alone so he can focus entirely on his boyfriend. Similarly, Dash’s father leaves hints that he should spend at least some of his Christmas money on booze and women. Drugs and alcohol use are mentioned. Two drunks boys crash at a friend’s house after partying at a club. One underage character sips from others’ drinks and becomes drunk. Intended violence (at the hands of a character’s friend) is mentioned briefly in one off-handed comment.

The post Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares (Dash & Lily, Book 1) appeared first on Rated Reads.