⭐️: 3/5

In college, best friends Hannah and Scarlett meet Thomas, and together the trio grow closer and closer as they play “The Daring Game”, where they each dare one another to do riskier and riskier things, until the game ends in tragedy. Now an unhappily married mother of two, Hannah gets a note from Thomas, who is back in town and wanting to reconnect and resurrect The Daring Game. Soon, both of them start getting notes from someone else who seems to know about everything they do, and Hannah is left with the questions of who they are and what they want.

If I were an alpha reader instead of an ARC reader for this one, I’d have a lot of comments (you’re in upstate New York, why are you talking in kilometers? What human person doesn’t know what goldfish crackers are??), but due to the circumstances, I’ll hold in most of those type of comments. The beginning of this book didn’t start off particularly strong for me, because I’ll be honest, the trope of the bored, sad, housewife who drinks too much with a controlling, derisive husband is overdone in my opinion. It sets up a predictable narrative that was exciting to read the first few times, but now nobody is surprised when what inevitably happens, happens. This may also be a me thing, due to the books I’ve read recently, but why is it that every FMC’s dream in life is to write a novel? Is everyone a writer?? Anyway, I did think that the time switching between past and present was done well and in an effective way to further the plot and the characters, even if there was something a little off about the pacing with the present storyline. All of the storylines were wrapped up well, if unbelievably, by the end as well, which I always appreciate in a thriller. Also, I just realized that this makes two books now that I’ve read in the past week that dated the present storyline before COVID, I’m assuming to just avoid allll of that, which, you know, I support 💁🏻‍♀️

Thank you to @netgalley and @crookedlanebooks for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hannah, Scarlett, and Thomas are best friends in college. To keep things fun and interesting, they make up the Daring Game, where each dare is crazier than the last. Both the dares and their friendships cross the line, and jealousy and secrets quickly develop—especially when sparks begin to fly between Thomas and Hannah. Angry, Scarlett issues Thomas a dare that leads to tragedy and his expulsion from school. It seems like the Daring Game is finally over.

Sixteen years later, Hannah is unhappily married. She receives a letter from Thomas referencing the Daring Game and her life is flipped upside down. Old sparks begin to fly between the pair once more, and their renewal of the game leads to an illicit affair. Then one day, they receive a mysterious letter daring them ”to tell the truth.” Someone else has joined the game and knows about their affair. Who is it, and what will the consequences be this time?

I really enjoyed this book! I could not put it down. The stories in both the past and the present are so good, allowing you to slowly piece together the whole picture. I also like when psychological thrillers add some spice, and the author definitely captured that with Thomas and Hannah’s dark and sexy relationship.

This is one of very few 5 star books that I’ve read so far in 2023. Do yourself a favor and put this one on your TBR list!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley & Crooked Lane Books for an eARC of Don't you Dare by Jessica Hamilton! Did I binge this book on a red-eye flight, avoiding sleep that was very much needed? I freaking LOVED this book.

Besties Hannah & Scarlett meet Thomas in college - and the chemistry is something that you see in movies. To keep things interesting in their already strange trio dynamic, they come up with the Daring Game, and each dare is riskier than the last. What begins as a platonic trio quickly crosses the line into something deeper, leading to jealousy, secrets and tension galore. A final dare leads to tragedy and a suspension from school. Sixteen years later, nobody has heard from Thomas since.

Okay, STOP THERE! That storyline would've been enough to keep me going - LOVED how this storyline rolled out in the "past" chapters, but there's another half of this novel that happens at the same time.

Sixteen years after, Hannah is married - unhappily. When she receives a mysterious letter about the Daring Game from Thomas - her life completely flips upside down, quickly. It quickly becomes clear that not only are she and Thomas playing the game again, but something more is going on.

This book gives it all:
-Neighborhood drama (Love those nosy neighbors)
-Past and present chapters, unraveling two stories at once - Adulthood & college life
-Lies, jealousy, complications of friendship
-Love & affairs - A dabble in a throuple -Suspense with some spice - Wowza

To be honest, I wasn't expecting what I got out of this book, but absolutely loved it. I think the entire synopsis gives a lot away re: the plot, so I recommend going into this one blindly and enjoying :) This will sure be a hot spring & summer hit for 2023!

It's gonna be a no from me. Too raunchy. I don't really think that works unless you like reading smut and that's not what I expected or wanted from this so I didn't finish.

Sorry this book is not for me. Way too much sex for a thriller. The characters are so unlikeable and I am kinda over the woman being the pass out drunk character. Just not something that I am enjoying but I see plenty of others who have.

This had an intriguing premise & was a book that I was looking forward to reading, but it just left me frustrated. I normally enjoy books with dual timelines, unlikeable characters and unreliable narrators, but the combination of all three in this book just did not work for me this time. I didn’t feel like any of the characters had anything redeemable about them - stalkers, manipulators, busybodies, psychopaths, gaslighters, cheaters, liars; they’re all such top quality people. All of this is told from Hannah’s perspective, someone who self-mediates with alcohol just to get through the day. We see her make one bad call after another in both timelines, which does not end well for her or anyone around her. I found the ending to be disappointing as I felt that so much build up had been focused in one direction and then it swung into another. Unfortunately, this book just did not work for me at all.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the copy of Don't You Dare by Jessica Hamilton. The premise was alluring - Hannah and Thomas reunite 16 years after Thomas is kicked out of college because of a dare gone wrong.Their college romance was complicated by Scarlett, but now Scarlett is miles away. Even though she is married with kids, Hannah embarks on a flirtation with Thomas. They resume a college game of The Daring Game, which might have been okay when they were in school, but didn’t really make sense now they are adults.
Hannah was not a likable MC. She drank so much and neglected her family and home so it was hard to care about her, especially when she was so clueless about Thomas. Her husband Evan was cold and distant and it was impossible to warm up to him. Scarlett, who we mostly see in college, was conniving and a bully. Thomas is a manipulative tormentor. They were all so unappealing I couldn’t wait for the book to end. Throw in the unexpected and gratuitous spiciness and this book was an uncomfortable read. If you love books where a lot happens with a couple of twists, you will like this book. I needed a more believable story and at least one character I didn’t despise. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I was excited to receive and read the ARC of Don’t You Dare after thoroughly enjoying What You Never Knew. But I was disappointed as I got into DYD since it’s about as far from WYNK as you can get.

Summary: Sex. Lots of it. I’m not a prude but sheesh it almost felt like soft core. NOT AT ALL what I was expecting.

At first I commiserated a little with Hannah - a middle aged mom in the throes of parenthood and marriage. But by the end of the book I hated all the characters.

Hannah is out of control. Scarlett is a psycho. Evan is emotionally abusive. Thomas is manipulative. the neighbors all suck and the storyline is predictable if you put thought to it. It is fast paced and I did keep reading bc there is enough to make you question if you figured it out correctly. But you did, in the end.

Hannah and Scarlett have been best friends since their youth. They went to the same college and in their sophomore year, they met Thomas. He was the only person able to break into their circle of friendship - and pushed it even further and deeper. They played a dangerous game, The Daring Game, that ended their friendship and something even worst.

Now, years later, Hannah is a stay at home mom, in a terrible marriage, whose only pleasure is her nightly bottle of wine and a good book. She and Scarlett are 'friends' but really online only. When Thomas returns, The Daring Game starts again, until is goes further than before.

This is a good, quick thriller - about the dangers of youth and the power of revenge. Jessica Hamilton was able to write an exciting plot, with a mystery and a line of romance that keeps things spicy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Don't You Dare is the first book I read by this author and I do see she has another one out too which I am 100% going to read now. I literally could not put this book down. As events unfolded, the main character's anxiety was palpable and I felt immersed in the story. Sure, the main character is flawed but you can't help rooting for her. I also enjoyed the past/present set up in this book which allowed the reader to slowly piece together how all the characters are connected. I wouldn't say the ending was completely predictable but I didn't get that crazy twist ending which is fine by me because I think it ended on a very interesting note. I rarely give books 5 stars but I think this one deserved it.

Don't You Dare
by Jessica Hamilton
Pub Date 16 May 2023
Crooked Lane Books
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Rating 4/5

In "Don't You Dare," you're constantly asking yourself questions and trying to figure out who is at fault? There are plenty of plot twists and red herrings to keep the reader on their toes.

It's been 16 years since Hannah has heard from or seen her ex-boyfriend Thomas, until she receives a mysterious letter from him. In the letter, Hannah recalls a dangerous daring game she played with Thomas and her friend Scarlett during their college days. When Thomas returns to town, a spark immediately ignites between him and Hannah, and they decide to renew their daring game. However, an unknown player has joined the game and is ready to reveal secrets. Is there a limit to how much people will sacrifice for friendship?

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sharing this suspenseful novel with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

I liked this book. It was a really good thriller it was pretty spicy at times, I didn’t expect that to be honest but it made the book that much more interesting. I had no problem staying interested in what I was reading. I hooked after the first 2 chapters.

I struggled to maintain interest in finishing this novel. In the beginning, I had a lot of sympathy for Hannah and what she was going through, especially with Evan as her husband. As the book and the relationship with Thomas continued, I started to connect with her less and less, wondering how someone who took so much pride in her title as mother could be so reckless completing all of the "dares" - also, they are in their late 30s, why are they daring each other as a way to connect? It just seemed off.

I also had a hard time reconciling past Scarlett with the current version, they seemed like completely different people. Not to say one could not change, but it was really different without sufficient explanation to maintain interest.

None of the main characters were likeable, none. The FMC was just a shitty human being throughout the entire book with absolutely 0 redeeming qualities; & the same could be said for the MMC. 0/10 would not recommend either of these people, & same will be said for recommending this book. The plot was what? Trying to not be caught being a shitty person? Trying to “keep the girls” while being a shitty person? Or trying to convince the reader that the neighbour across the street was also a shitty person trying to reveal you as a shitty person. Why were the things that happened with Scarlett even mentioned if NOTHING was going to happen in the book with them!? You could have cut the book in half with all the useless information stated throughout!

If you know me Im always attracted to stories with reunions of old classmates or people reuniting. How I loved this book. Loved her writing style, connected with the characters and what an ending. !

Don’t You Dare is a dual timeline thriller by Jessica Hamilton which explores the lengths people will go in the name of friendship, to points dangerous and toxic. The thriller centres around Hannah, an unhappy housewife who feels stuck in her life until she receives a mysterious letter from her former boyfriend Thomas who she has not seen or heard from in 16 years. The letter brings back memories of college and the turbulent, dangerous times when Scarlett, Hannah and Thomas played The Daring Game until the last tragic dare. Thomas returns to Hannah’s unfulfilled life and sparks instantly fly and they decide to renew the Daring Game. However, an unknown person has joined the game and is ready to reveal their secrets to dire consequences.

What I liked about the book:
-past (college era) and present (married with children) timelines
-dark academia
-fall season featured in book especially Halloween references
-little nuggets of information that were revealed in each chapter which made me intrigued and wanting more
-questions raised that Hannah struggled with- can you be a good mother but a bad irresponsible person/wife
-nothing is what it seems and do you really know people
-Thomas and Hannah’s sexy, dark and toxic relationship
-loved that Hannah was a bibliophile and hated the domestic duties of maintaining a home, which was very relatable
-the twists and turns throughout, as well as the explosive ending

What I didn’t like:
-Hannah frustrated me with her drinking and selfishness but I think it added to the story
-Scarlett was such a toxic, manipulative friend that I had trouble believing that both Hannah and Thomas could stay friends with
-Hannah’s horrible husband, Evan, a gaslighter and manipulator

My rating 4 out of 5

My final takeaway: This was a fun twisty book that fans of dark academia, and psychological domestic thrillers would enjoy.

Trigger warnings: gaslighting, heavy drinking, drug use, and rape

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for this eARC.

I really liked this book! I was sucked in within the first few pages and could not put this down! Jessica Hamiltons books are great reads and makes you want more! Definitely recommend this story.

Three college students….
Truth or Dare game….
Things go terribly wrong….
Jump forward 16 years….who is manipulating who? Who can be trusted?
This is a pretty spicy 🌶️ read so be prepared.
Definitely a psychological thriller that will keep you engaged with all the twisted and shocking things going on.

I could not get into this one. I know I'm in the minority with this but I just had to put it back down after reading about a fourth of it. I'll try again eventually but right now it's a no for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc..

Don't You Dare is a sexy thriller that will have you turning the pages all night long. Told in dual timelines, the past when Hannah is in college and the present when she finds herself in a loveless marriage. Hannah and Scarlett meet Thomas in college and play truth or dare. The three friends grow very close and jealousy of course ensues. Their final dare ends in tragedy and the game is over. Sixteen years later, Hannah (Henry) is married mother when Thomas reaches out again, sparks fly and the two are called back to where they originally played the game for one final dare. Will Hannah be able to tell the truth?