I was given an advance copy from NetGalley years ago, and I finally picked it up! I had tried many times through the years to start, but something about the writing never captured me. The premise sounded interesting, but I found myself hurrying through the pages to finish. It's light and easy to read, but just wasn't doing much for me in the moment. I expect it was my mood. I'll give the author another read later on.

I really enjoyed this book and gave it a five stars after I read it. It is light hearted but the plot is gripping. I will most definitely check out other books by this author.

I enjoyed Kiss or dare by Charlie Lane. My first time reading this author but it won't be the last. Characters were well developed and interesting. The plot was interesting too and compelling.

Another heartfelt historical romance from Charlie Lane. Kiss or Dare is book three of the The Debutante Dares Series although it can be enjoyed as a standalone, I do recommend that you read the first two in the series as it is a great way to meet the other characters in the story. This story tells the love story of Lillian Clarke and Lord Devon. The tropes of the story include enemies to lovers, love beyond societal classes, bluestocking wallflower falls in love, Ton Society, Season/Marriage Mart, Married in Scandal, and Unrequited Love. I found this combination works very well together and created a wonderful romance story. The chemistry between Lillian and Lord Devon is electric and sparks fly between the flirty second son of a duke and an inventor’s daughter.

She’s risen like a Cinderella.
He’s more charming than any prince.
They shouldn’t be together, but fate can’t resist.
Can they find their happily ever after in an unlikely situation?

This is truly a wonderful Regency romance and I highly recommend Kiss or Dare along with the other books of this series.

Overall rating 4.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ | 4 Flames 🔥🔥🔥🔥

📚Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, comments, and interpretations of the story are my own and bias free. I did not receive any money in exchange for this review. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to review. Reviews are cross-posted to social media, goodreads, and blog. 🦄

Entertaining and a fun summer read.
Many thanks to Wolf Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lillian has had a crush on Lord Devon for as long as she can remember but he does not notice her AT ALL. After her disastrous last season, she commits herself to become an incomparable for the next year. And she does it. She transforms herself with clothes and confidence and successfully conquers the ballrooms the next season. She is determined to help other wallflowers find their confidence and their happy ever after. Meanwhile, the man she is trying to desperately to forget has taken up residence in her house as her fathers apprentice, which gives her very little room to move on from him.

Devon’s job is to wait. To sit around and wait incase he is needed to replace his brother as Duke. But he is determined to be a self made man and not live off his family’s money. Devon didn’t mean to become an inventor but, after meeting Lillian’s father, he wants to invent a machine that will filter the grinds out of a cup of coffee. He hasn’t been very successful yet, but he has successfully annoyed Lillian!

When an late night explosion sounds in the workshop, Lillian checks to make sure Devon is okay. But when she helps him solve his problem, he kisses her and things start to escalate…until her father walks in and demands that they marry.

They resolve to make the best of their new marriage but find that they quite enjoy each other’s company and intimacies. They open up and share their dreams as well as their fears.

Both Lillian and Devon have issues of feeling worthless or unnecessary; Devon as only being useful as a 'spare' to his brother and Lillian being an invisible wallflower. But when Devon finally 'sees' Lillian and Lillian "chooses" Devon, they both feel the attention and love they have been looking for.

While going after their dreams together and making a life, they stumble, but in the end, they both realize that they simply need each other.

I thought the story was very well done. They both had hang ups with insecurities, but I didn't feel like it bogged the story down or become tedious to hear about. I loved Devon's transformation from being a flirt in previous books to a serious inventor and husband. And Lillian determined to be "seen" and standing up for herself when the ton cuts her down.

Tropes
Historical Romance, Regency Era, Ton Society, Season/Marriage Mart, Self-Made Hero, Bluestocking Heroine, Wallflower Heroine, Virgin Heroine, Carriage Steam, Enemies to Lovers, Married in Scandal, Unrequited Love

Language: PG13+ (10+ swears, 0+ "f" + British swears); Mature Content: PG13+; Violence: G+
The suggestive innuendos so early in the book suggested to me that the sexual content would reach a level I am not comfortable with, so I stopped reading.

Charlie Lane writes really good flirty and fun historical novels. They have heroines we like and heroes we would like if we lived then. And the breeches help as well as the superfine jackets.
A novel to make you happy.

2.5 stars

I didn't like this book as much as I liked the others.
I found the story boring and even a little repetitive.
I think it was because the protagonists' motivations didn't convince me, I thought that their desires besides being silly weren't great difficulties to the point of carrying the entire plot. So much so that everything, in the end, was resolved in two chapters without enough conflicts, which only made the rest of the book unnecessary, I also didn't like the romance that much, the couple didn't convince me and I didn't feel anything for them.
I was sad that I didn't like this book that much, but I will continue the series, they are quick books to read!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Lillian Clarke has spent time in the ton as a wallflower, but now that her two friends have married, she's decided to throw off her wallflower status and turn into the new season's incomparable. When it works, she's shocked, but she glad that it's allowed her the chance to forget her feelings for Lord Devon, especially after she wrote him a scathing letter at Christmas. So when Devon turns up and starts working with her father on his inventions, Lillian wonders just why she has ti put up with him. And Devon may have started working with Mr Clarke to get to Lillian, but soon he realises he has a chance to invent something special, and work towards his dream of owning a coffee shop. But Devon is as stubborn as Lillian is, and soon the feelings they've both been trying to ignore won't be denied any longer.

I was hoping that Lillian and Devon would have a story, especially when their chemistry in the previous books was just waiting to be explored. I liked them both, but they aren't my favourite couple from the series. The plot line was enjoyable, and I really liked to see how independent both Devon and Lillian were, and that they had strong goals and morals. The couple really were perfect for each other, and they fought to prove their love to themselves, and each other.

A well written historical romance which has everything. It has interesting characters ,a good storyline and is easy to understand. I did enjoy it. I recommend that you read this book.

Lillian Clarke's first season did not go well for her
second season she is determined not to be a
wallflower.
Lillian had her heart set on Lord Devon but she soon changed her mind after a house party where he spent a lot of time drunk.
Lord Devon hates Lillian for speaking her mind and the truth about him. But he needs her father's help to invent a machine that improves coffee.
Once they are in the workshop together sparks
begun to fly between them.
This was a fantastic enemies to lovers troupe that lets the tension build between the two. There was lots of banter between the two that made the book hugely entertaining.

Lillian was a great female character, independent and determined to change her life for the better.

Devon was also a great character even though he was a bit of a charmer he had a strong sense of what he wanted out of life and how to achieve it.

This is book 3 in the series but Can be read as a
stand-alone.

Kiss or Dare by Charlie Lane

Lillian Clarke is a wallflower tolerated by the ton because of her fathers wealth but not for herself. Lillian friend Lady Jane will not marry him after her reputation has been compromised by being in a carriage alone . He begins to drink and is on a downward spiral until he receives an anonymous note detailing their disappointing and disillusionment at his current behaviour .
He then decided to smarten up his behaviour and becomes an apprentice inventor working with Lillian’s father.

A well written regency romance that has everything. An intellectual feisty woman and a charming Lord and bit of a rake who is not ready to conform and just wants to be recognised as himself not the ‘spare’ second son!

A very enjoyable fast read following the trials of Lillian and Lord Devon . 4.5/5

This book left me with many questions. Most important, why on earth is it supposed to be hard to make coffee?

We are introduced to Lillian as an innocent, if curious wallflower, and Devon has a reputation. It would have helped to read the previous books in the series, apparently I missed an important scene. We rejoin years later with Lillian having transformed herself into an Incomparable and Devon has found purpose in working in her father's workshop.

I do love an enemies to lovers, and we did get a good amount of antagonizing on both sides. I enjoyed the verbal jousting, and the sexual chemistry was good! Things did get slow at the end where they are clearly in love, with no real obstacles in the way except their own stupidity. They each have their personal goals, Lillian's to help other wallflowers, and Devon to be a self made man. Luckily it is nailed in his stupid head that no one is truly self made but it took awhile!

And most importantly, could the English really not put coffee grounds in a piece of paper so you don't drink them?!! I love a fun bit of historical fact, but this was completely absurd and could've been done in a much more satisfying way.

While I enjoyed the first few books of this series, I did not like this one.
It was not as amusing or engaging as the others and the problem lies in that the hero was the villian of the previous two stories.
The hero is a younger son/brother of a duke. A young lady demanded he help her rescue her friend from an unwanted elopement and traveled with him to save her. The hero was a wastrel younger son/brother, who spent most of his time drunk and amid debauchery. The hero has offered to marry the young lady repeatedly, but she didn't love him, felt he was a drunk and knew her friend loved him desperately. So, she kept refusing him and actually married a friend of his because they fell in live with each other. The heroine is the friend who loves the hero. Desperately loves him. She is so sick of his actions that she writes him an anonymous letter about how she once liked him, but now she doesn't because of his wasted ways. The hero reads the letter, figures out who gave it to him, because they were at a house party and no other young lady was in position to get such a letter to him. So he decides as revenge to become her inventor father's intern and tries to annoy her every chance he gets. You would think this would be a great story, right? I thought so also, but I was wrong.
I didn't like this story. It is so cluche' . Of course he decides to annoy her instead of confronting her. Of course he appeals to her. Father to learn about steam engineering. Of course she has a dull suitor. Of course her suitor thinks she is not quite up to snuff and thinks she is beneath him. Of course the hero hears snide remarks about the heroine and threatens the besmircher. Of course her suitor does nothing. Of course the hero tells the suitor he should stand up for her. And it keeps going on.
I give this book 1 star for being well written, with few grammatical errors.

The theme of Kiss or Dare, the third book in Charlie Lane's Debutante Dares series is all about being seen, not ignored and invisible.

Lillian Clarke had been an invisible debutante wallflower on the periphery of Society when she decided to be her own fairy godmother. She believed in herself, transformed into an Incomparable, and now wants to help others to be visible.

Lord Devon is the son of a Duke and visible by virtue of his place in Society, but no one sees the real man who wants to make something of himself. He is interested in a coffee shop but wants it through his own initiative rather than his inherited money or influence.

The road to HEA is not easy for this couple. I thought Devon was too proud when he wouldn't accept Lillian's dowry to fund his dream but when he used his hard-earned funds to save Lillian's dream...SIGH.

I enjoyed the writing and character development in this installment and look forward to more of the series.

This book was read thanks to NetGalley.

I LOVED THIS BOOK,

It has a lot of things that I love, but a male character that wants and proves the main lady how much he loves her its my favorite thing,, he is the second son, so he is often ignored by the world so he wants to do things for himself, so he became her father's apprentice, so they find themselves compromised a lot (it that time, if you were alone with a man, like without a chaperone, and somebody found you, your reputation was ruined,) they are just the perfect mach for the other and I LOOOOOVED IT.

A sweet story of two people who are perfect for each other, but it takes a journey to get them together!

Lady Jane would not marry him, even though he had compromised her by them being alone in a carriage. She had turned him down.. how many times? So he began to drink and make a wastrel of himself. He was the second son and only wanted to be recognized for himself

She had secretly fancied him, but now she was going to take a stand and become a rescuer of wallflowers and help them find husbands.

But fate steps in as he wants her inventor father to help him in his goal of becoming independent and they end up with her compromised.. at least to the world. So they will marry!

Truly enjoyed this one and know you will too!

I received a free copy from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

"Devon just about skipped from his brother’s townhouse to Brooks. The sun was shining, and the birds were singing, and even the horses moved their arses out of Devon’s way to shit."

This was a fun and lighthearted romance - some truly laugh-worthy prose at times, like above.

Lillian Clarke is the daughter of a wealthy inventor on the fringes of society. She was disregarded as a wallflower in her first seasons, and barely acceptable because of her dowry and being the friend of a scandalous Countess and Duchess. Devon is a second son, and brother to a duke, and knows that he serves no real purpose. He was rather lost and without direction for a bit, having been caught up in scandal in the recent past, and was drowning his sorrows for a bit. Lillian had a crush on him, but when he went into his downward spiral, she decided to stop wasting her time, as he did not even see her. Part of that included giving him an "anonymous" note detailing her disappointment/disillusionment in him. I guess it was her way of bidding farewell to her crush and moving on, but it also worked as an incentive for him to find another purpose in his life, especially as he figured out the note was from Lillian. Part of what Lillian wants to leave behind too is her wallflower status; she decides to do what she can to become someone to take note of in Society and to use that to help other wallflowers. To improve her social standing, she would have to work on keeping a spotless reputation, and to marry well.

Devon was angry and frustrated by the note and he made it his purpose to insinuate himself into Lillian's life to annoy her, by becoming her father's apprentice in a way. However, he actually found a purpose while there, to seek to improve another passion in his life - coffee. He wanted to invent a device to improve coffee, and work towards his dream of purpose, to run and own a coffeehouse. Despairing his uselessness as a second son, he is determined to invent a device to improve coffee, and come up with the funds to buy his coffeehouse on his own, eschewing using his inherited funds to live on, or fund his ambitions. He wants to be like Lillian's father - a self-made man; to become an independent entrepreneur rather than a useless gadabout dilettante living off the inherited wealth accrued by his family.

In his endeavours to invent his coffee improving device, he is at Lillian's house at all hours. They are always running into each other, and he does go out of his way to annoy her, and she gets annoyed with him frequently, but they are also fighting off their rather inconvenient attraction to each other. This becomes a bit a bit of an enemy to lovers story when they are found in a compromising position and end up being married to each other. But Devon's pride becomes a bit of an impediment, as he still insists on doing what he can to earn his own way, including eschewing Lillian's dowry to fund his projects, and his efforts to go it on his own end up being an impediment to Lillian's own efforts. It is when he realizes that even Mr. Clarke is not truly a self-made man - that his success was dependent on his partnership with his spouse, that Devon realizes his road to professional and marital success are tied together... and he finally sets his feet on the road to the HEA.

Initially I did not love this story; Lillian and Devon's interactions seemed rather immature and annoying. But then, as I read further along, and saw a bit more of the motivations behind the characters, I got more drawn into the story... and the funny bits did help. This was a fun story in the end and I did enjoy the redemption of Devon - he is more than the Duke of Collingford's annoying, bumbling fribble of a younger brother, as he was portrayed in the previous two stories.

3.5 stars out of 5.

Will Lady Abigail be featured in a future story? I rather liked her (though not her snob of a father). Or Lord Littleton - did not like him, but would like to see someone *dare* to take the stick out of his ass!

Lillian has given up on love. She desperately needs to find a husband who will give her credibility so she can transform the girls who are wallflowers into girls that will be noticed. Lillian is the daughter of an inventor and has been in the position of a wallflower. All she wants to do is give invisible debutantes the chance to marry well. Lord Devon was once someone she wanted for a husband, but he has not shown an interest in her and isn’t respectable enough for what she needs. Lord Devon, the second son of a duke, feels like he was born to replace his brother if something happened to him. He wants to make a contribution in the world. He is obsessed with coffee and the little coffee house he hopes to own. Everyone hates the grounds that come with the coffee so he enlists Lillian’s father to help him invent an excellent cup of coffee. He begins to notice Lillian and she rekindles those feelings for the handsome and unpredictable Devon.

This book is a delight. There is so much humor as Lillian and Lord Devon try to taunt each other and end up caring deeply for each other. I loved Lillian’s father who offers so much wisdom to Lord Devon. There is truth about girls who find it uncomfortable to fit in and are ignored by others when they have so much to offer. This is a great romance with characters that I loved.