Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
What this book is about:
Dash is a 16-year-old guy whose parents were badly divorced. His father doesn’t really care about him and that has led Dash to adopt a rather arrogant and ironic way of dealing with life and people. Lily on the other hand is a cheerful 16-year-old girl who loves spending time with her family and spreading joy around. With the help of her brother and his boyfriend, she decides to leave a red notebook filled with dares in a bookstore so that she can find her Prince Charming. But little does she know that the guy who picks up the notebook is Dash and he is definitely not what she expected.
A pleasant, Christmas young adult contemporary book that offers a nice time during the Christmas holidays. To be honest, this book wasn’t that great for me. Both protagonists, Dash and Lily, felt very unrealistic. Some of the things they said to strangers are things that I found pretty weird and pointless. Both of their characters felt too much. Maybe that was the point but I personally couldn’t connect with either of them, so I ended up not really caring about what was going to happen at the end.
You think fairy tales are only for girls? Here’s a hint – ask yourself who wrote them. I assure you, it wasn’t just the women. It’s the great male fantasy – all it takes is one dance to know that she’s the one. All it takes is the sound of her song from the tower, or a look at her sleeping face. And right away you know – this is the girl in your head, sleeping or dancing or singing in front of you. Yes, girls want their princes, but boys want their princesses just as much. And they don’t want a very long courtships. They want to know immediately.
Concerning the whole story, I have to say that it caught my attention in the beginning as I found it interesting. During the middle it became quite indifferent and the end, in my opinion, was bad. It ended in a ridiculous, trying-too-hard-to-be-funny way that I didn’t appreciate. I won’t say anything more to avoid any spoilers but yes, the ending was quite disappointing for me.
The important people in our lives leave imprints. They may stay or go in the physical realm, but they are always there in your heart, because they helped form your heart. There’s no getting over that.
But apart from all these little (and bigger) things that didn’t do it for me in this book of dares of Mr Dash and Lily, I liked the very Christmasy atmosphere surrounding the events that took place and it was a nice, pleasant read about the holiday season. That was the reason that I bought it, to get into the Christmas spirit, and it served it’s purpose. If you like young adult contemporaries and want a book with a cheerful Christmas romance then this could be a good option for you!
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