The Dating Game

by Avril Tremayne

2018 ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA RITA AWARDS FINALIST

You need to learn the rules, fast!

Sarah’s brother Adam has been educating her best friend Lane in the arts of the Kama Sutra for weeks, all in the pursuit of Lane’s real target, David Bennett. So when Sarah finds herself alone with David at an exhibition, weeping over her own terrible dating history, they strike up a conversation. A budding artist, he wants to paint her, so she agrees in return for a guarantee that he’ll find her a relationship that can last more than three weeks (her rather dismal personal best).

She reassures herself that she isn’t betraying Lane. After all, Sarah wants marriage and 2.5 kids, and David has made it more than clear he will never want that. Plus he’s going to sleep with Lane any day now. Isn’t he?

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2017

About the author

Lover of funny stuff, steamy stuff, and Campari. ​ Gin too. Okay - and wine. And cheese. Doer of courses. Travel tragic. Italian wannabe. Eater extraordinaire but does not cook. Avid shoe collector.

Reviews

[Dash fan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☆ Sexy and Fun!

This is the second book in the series.
Both books can be read as standalone books.

I absolutely loved the first book, however this one for me just wasn't as good.
I so desperately wanted to like it as much.

I feel the characters was lost on the continuous dialogue between Sarah and David.
I understand the need for back and forth conversation I just feel the actual story was somewhat lost.

We meet Sarah and David in book 1.
I loved the first few chapters where Sarah and David discuss Sarah's disastrous love life. It sets the story up and tied in nicely with the previous book.

So when David decides he wants to paint Sarah, in exchange for helping Sarah in finding a long term partner (one that lasts longer than 3weeks) and what she needs to change or do to meet her man. I loved the idea. I was very excited!

David and Sarah clearly have sexual chemistry and with Sarah's best friend Lane having a crush on David. Neither are willing to take the sizzling tension to the next level.

The chemistry between David and Sarah was clearly obvious to the reader. The way David reacts to Sarah's every move/ touch is made perfectly clear by he's quick arousal, very early on in the book.

I am finding this difficult to write my review because I didn't dislike this book, i did enjoy it.
 It was just missing something.
I just found the endless back and forth conversation a little tiresome.
It lacked the spark the first book had.
I missed the excitement and build up.

Maybe it was too similar to the first book that I was expecting more. I understand they are 2 different stories but the concept is virtually the same.

I think if I read this book a few months later and not straight on top of the first then I think my opinion may well be different.

I want to add that reading both books together for me probably wasn't the right thing to do. As I did find myself comparing.

I would also like to add that there is alot of sexual themes so approach with caution.

Overall a good read. I do hope there will be a story for Erica as she intrigues me the most.

I do recommend reading this book. It does have great characters, lots of sexual chemistry and some very funny moments.
Avril always creates the perfect sizzling and enticing build ups.

I do hope there is more to come from Avril as she is a very talented writer.

Perfect read for lovers of Chick Lit, Romance and Love.

I received this book from the Publisher in exchange for a honest and fair review via Netgalley.

[Antonella · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't get behind the storyline
Sarah is just oh so annoying
a companion novel to Kiss Don’t Tell which I liked

[Susan in Perthshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

David turns out to be way more interesting than he was in the first book. I really enjoyed this because of the witty, sparkling dialogue as much as the love story. Great hero in David and I really enjoyed his story. I liked Sarah and again the banter between her and David was great.

An excellent read!

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the follow up to “Kiss Don’t Tell”. In this story we get the same characters as the previous book, but the romance is now centered around Adam’s sister Sarah and Lane’s original love interest, David. This story starts on a pivotal night from the first book. Lane introduces Adam to David in an effort to get her relationship with Adam back on track. To know what I’m talking about, you’ll have to read the first book. Sarah and David meet and make an agreement of their own. Sarah will model for David and in return, David will provide Sarah with dating advice since her current success rate is dismal. She has set a goal of keeping a love interest for 3 weeks and 1 day in an effort to break the dating curse she feels she has.

Sarah and David are attracted to each other from the beginning, but Sarah won’t act on it because she thinks that Lane might still have an interest in David and she doesn’t want to break the girl code with one of her best friends. David doesn’t care about Lane, and is relatively indifferent to Sarah’s desire to keep their arrangement secret. Between the modeling and the dating help done out on the prowl, Sarah and David do what people do in romances and fall in love. Eventually Sarah comes clean with Lane and Erica about what she’s been doing and why she’s been avoiding them. Once this is done, she and David agree that he will be the person to break her curse and they will date for 3 weeks and 1 day. Both know going into it that they are in love with the other person. David has personal baggage tainting his views and at the end of the best 3 weeks and 1 day ever he holds true to the bargain and leaves Sarah. Oh the drama.

The book went on a little longer that it should have, but I still really enjoyed it. David and Sarah had great dialogue from beginning to end. I enjoyed reading about them. I also liked the way the author made David, who I thought was a creep in the first book (hello sexual harrassment) into a lovable guy. I really hope there’s a book about Erica coming up.

[Janet McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

All my reviews can be found at https://bookblog.gjmccarthy.co.uk/.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK/HQ Digital for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although this is a sequel (and I haven’t read Book 1), this book reads fine as a standalone.
I really enjoyed The Dating Game. It is a heart-warming, sexy, romantic tale full of suspense and miscommunication between couples.

Firstly, we have the agreement between Sarah and David, which makes for an excellent storyline, and their chemistry makes for an interesting read. Sarah agrees to model for David as a portrait model and in return, he will provide her with dating advice since her current success rate is dismal. She has set a goal of keeping a love interest for 3 weeks and 1 day in an effort to break the dating curse she feels she has.

Sarah and David are attracted to each other from the beginning, but Sarah won’t act on it because she thinks that Lane might still have an interest in David and she doesn’t want to break the girl code with one of her best friends. However, David doesn’t care about Lane, and is relatively indifferent to Sarah’s desire to keep their arrangement secret. Eventually, Sarah and David do what people do in romances and unwillingly fall in love.

Sarah feels guilty about avoiding Lane and Erica and decides to come clean about what she’s been doing. Once this is done, she and David agree that he will be the person to break her curse and they will date for 3 weeks and 1 day. They do this with the clear understanding that they are secretly in love with one another. To makes matters worse, David has serious personal relationship baggage and, at the end of the best 3 weeks and 1 day contract ever, he leaves Sarah! So frustrating! What will happen next?

This is an easy addictive read and I really enjoyed it. Now, I need to find the first book in the series and see exactly what went down between Adam (Sarah’s brother) and Lane.

[Bobbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dating Game is the best kind of sexy chick-lit. It's romantic, sweet, dirty, joyful and just a little bit suspenseful. Sarah and David's agreement makes for an excellent storyline, and their chemistry makes for an excellent read. David is one of those amazing book boyfriends that you don't want to leave when it's over, and Sarah is the perfect character to fall into, empathise with and connect with. This is an easy read, and an incredibly enjoyable one. It's seriously addictive too - I did not want to put it down, at all. I now need to find the first book in the series and see exactly what went down between Adam and Lane.

[Lauriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read Kiss and Tell so this was my first introduction to David and Sarah.
I loved the banter between them and the sexual tension was there from the start. The first time they have sex was so absolutely 'them'.
I gave this book 5 stars because I really enjoyed it, and I love Avril's style of writing. However as the book went on I found myself really wanting to slap Sarah. She kept going on and on and on about loyalty for her friend, misguided in this particular case, without once checking in on her friend, or with her friends. I felt the story was intensely focused on David and Sarah and the deal they made (he gives her dating advice in exchange for her letting him paint her portrait) and as much as she says she cares about her friends, she seems to spend the entire book avoiding them, until the meeting at the end, where all is revealed.
Still, I really enjoyed the book and I really want to read Kiss and Tell now (and a book about Erica would be awesome).

[Lee at ReadWriteWish · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dating Game is actually a sequel, but obviously it works as a standalone.

Sarah thinks she is cursed. Every man she dates breaks up with her before they reach the three week and one day mark. When she meets ladies man David, she agrees to pose for a painting in exchange for some lessons on how to keep a man.

The first part of the book made everything light and didn’t take itself too seriously. It almost fell into chick lit territory. There was conflict in the shape of Sarah’s best friend, Lane. Sarah believes Lane is in love (or at least lust) with David but there was never any doubt everything would be sorted and we’d get our HEA. I was just enjoying a bit of fluffy fun along the way. The sex scenes, and the build up to them, were well written. The heat factor was higher than average but there was nothing too crude that put me off. It all worked well.

Then, Tremayne added a couple of new complications, and unfortunately I found my interest wanned along with the book’s humour and sexiness. The scenarios she introduced were even what I would describe as a little far fetched. The book lost its chick lit feel and dove directly into a pool of 70’s anti-feminist cliches.

I did like Sarah’s backstory which David decides is the root cause of her relationship issues. David’s backstory was probably where I baulked the most. This is 2017…

David’s past experience with women also made me shudder and reminded me of vintage romance. For example, at one stage we find out that he usually has sex every 2 days, at the very least 3 times a week, and always with a different partner that he’s randomly met. Er… You’re getting into creepy Gable Tostee territory here.

Once Sarah learned of David's 'tragic' past that was affecting his future with her, the book dragged. The time it took from then to resolution was far too long. The dialogue heavy scenes read like a Days of Our Lives script on a couple of occasions.

4 out of 5 for the first part of the book, but my disappointment with the added silliness that screamed 70s Mills and Boon in the second half of the book pushed it down to a very generous 3 out of 5.

PS I don’t understand the American spelling and terminology in a book by an Aussie author with an Aussie setting Yes, removing confusing slang is one thing, but I found the almost... dumbing down? (for wont of a better term) for the American market disappointing.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 'Darling One' Stars!

ARC kindly provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Loved being able to continue on from Lane and Adam to David and Sarah. I loved both of these characters. Sarah being the bright sunshine pixie with her heart on her sleeve and David with the charming dimples but deep secrets. It was beautiful getting to finally see these two get come together and get it right. Chemistry was hot too....just saying!! *fans self*

I'm really liking these three friends....the blonde, the brunette and the red head! I would love a book that follows Erica's story. She deserves her HEA too. :). Will definitely check out more books from this author! Thanks again!

[Bookgyrl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is the sequel to 'kiss, don't tell', even when the time frame is about the same time. I liked the first book, but somehow did not feel this one. I thought it was a lot like the first and I did not like the whole argument the H/h were having near the end. I won't spoil it, but it seemed a bit OTT for me. It could have been solved so much easier. The author can write, that's obvious. However, there is a recurring theme in the books with very headstrong MC's (in this case the male character).
Better next time.

I requested and received an ARC via Netgalley and this is my honest review.

[Lisa McNair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is both poignant and serious, and funny--just the sort of read I love. The quick, witty dialogue made me smile and kept me reading and reading. David and Sarah were meant for each other from the start.

The secondary characters were also interesting--Erica needs her own story, and it was really great to see Adam and Lane (from Kiss Don't Tell) appear in this story.

HIGHLY recommended.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book as much a the first book about Lane and Adam. The author has written Mills & Boon books and I found this one to be very similar to a M&B in storyline. I didn't particularly like David and he wasn't my kind of hero. It also went on a bit towards the end.

ARC provided by Netgalley

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay story, I just couldn't get into the story from the start, what should have been a witty back and forth fell a little flat. Sarah started as a bit of a downer, crying and I wasn't sure why. David came across as cold. I wished I had read the first book in the series, I found myself feeling like I was plopped down in the middle of a story.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. I really enjoyed the continuation of this story in the first book Kiss don't Tell we hear Adam and Lane's story and in this book we get Sarah and David's story. Sarah first meets David at an art gala that Lane takes her to. Lane is interested in David and introduces them so Sarah feels like he is off limits. David is interested in Sarah and they strike up a deal where she will pose for his art work and he will help her break her dating curse. This book was cute and funny and a great chick lit read. I would highly recommend this book and will look out for more by the author.

[Love V · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not make if very far in this book, the writing style was hard to follow. at times I felt like I was reading an ancient book. I was really looking forward to reading this book too. :(

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[C bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

netgalley

good continuation, l liked this book

[Kimberly]

Don't care what happens at all. Moving on.