Reviewed by Louisa
TITLE: Five Dares 
AUTHOR: Eli Easton
NARRATOR: Tristan Josiah
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 6h 9m
RELEASE DATE: December 19th 2017
BLURB:
Andy Tyler has been the class daredevil since middle school. Over the years, he’s convinced his best friend, Jake Masterson, to perform some dangerous-looking stunts with him. But the dare they attempt on the night of their college graduation goes sideways. The firecrackers explode too soon and both of them end up with badly burned palms.
But hey, nothing gets the “terrible two-o” down for long, and they recuperate in style at Andy’s family cottage in Cape Cod. As the weeks go by, both Andy and Jake grow frustrated over the inability to use their hands for all sorts of daily activities—including getting off. So Andy begins a new series of dares that don’t just cross the friendship line, they obliterate it.
But what might be mere sexual relief to Andy is serious business to Jake, who only recently got over years of secret pining for his straight best friend. Inevitably, the burns heal, summer ends, and hearts are broken. To fix things, Andy will have to face the greatest dare of all.
REVIEW:
Andy and Jake are best friends and have been for forever. They love being the centre of attention and as such have made it their ‘thing’ to do dares. The first dare of the book leaves them with bandaged hands and unable to do very much for themselves. Luckily Andy’s family has great insurance and a house in Cape Cod that they can hide in for the summer.
I really like Andy and Jake. They are funny, happy and easy going characters. Together they get up to mischief and are always looking to have a good time. I enjoyed their antics throughout the story. There are also plenty of secondary characters, though none of them stand out the way Jake and Andy do.
I really don’t enjoy the way the story goes back in time to show us parts of the two men when they were younger. It is a valid story telling technique and I can see why it was done. But for me, it just drags me out of the story and breaks up the flow. I also found the first half of the book a tad tedious. Lots of thinking and hearing the guys thoughts. And because the story swaps back and forward between Andy and Jake’s POV, sometimes I felt like I was just hearing the same angst over and over.
That being said, Five Dares is funny and well written. It is what you expect in an Eli Easton book, a good time enjoying a wonderfully crafted story. It is rather New Adult with the guys just leaving collage. But the sex scenes are hot and do a lot for the storyline. The two boys attraction feels real and you can easily understand their struggles with it. Overall I enjoyed the 6 hours I spent with Jake and Andy.
RATING: 
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