11 August romance releases to heat up your summer reading

The Dating Dare by Jayci Lee

Jayci Lee’s A Sweet Mess brought romantic foodies a deliciously sweet tale full of love and baking back in 2020. Now, Lee returns with The Dating Dare, which has less cake but plenty of romance and charm to make up for it.

The novel follows Tara Park, who doesn’t do one-night stands or serious romantic relationships. Both of those things are subject to change when she meets her best friend’s brother-in-law, Seth Kim, who the book’s synopsis describes as “temptation personified.”

Add in a game of Truth or Dare that leaves the pair heading out on multiple dates with one another, and Tara and Seth may wind up taking their fling far more seriously than either initially planned:

"“Neither of them are ready for something serious and both have past relationship baggage they’ve been ignoring, but with a shot at forever on the line will they follow their hearts and take a chance on happily-ever-after?”"

Of course, there are obstacles on the way to taking things to the next level — most notably, the fact that Seth is moving to Paris soon. That just means the drama is going to get very, very interesting. Perhaps we’ll even get a fictional trip to Paris. Does it get more romantic than that?

The Dating Dare is available in audiobook, ebook, and print formats from Aug. 3, 2021.