Don't you Dare is the newest thriller by Jessica Hamilton that comes in and goes out with a BANG!
It begins with besties -Hannah and Scarlett- and some crazy college games like Truth or Dare but you can say with a twist.
Drinks are being poured. Stalkers are staked out in bushes. Personal files and personal photos are being shared. Homes are being robbed.
Oh, did I mention lives are being destroyed. Kids are involved. Marital affairs are plentiful.
Can I just get a cup of tea to go? lol....
No, seriously this is why I don't drink!
Revenge, jealousy, drama, nosy neighbors and yes death.
However, first we must learn that Daring Games aren't all they're cracked up to be. Someone is always getting hurt. One guy Thomas Sutton was expelled.
Yet, we find that 16 yrs. later that that past can creep back and destroy us because everyone has a story to tell and a secret too keep hidden.
Just ask Hannah as she sets sail with Evan and kids on a new journey. Until, she's facing divorce after receiving a letter from Thomas.
Three-somes, sexual encounters, it's all too much for some but happily shared with others.
The private background on Hannah and even on Rob's brother Jefferson was something else that added so much fuel to this growing fire.
The fact that Jefferson was seriously injured in an accident creates plenty of friction and rubs more than a few the wrong way.
That ending was a shocker as Jessica Hamilton puts us on the HOT SEAT of this game Truth or DARE with someone taking the fall.
Whom will be the next to step right up...or , shall we say, take the fall....
Thank you to Jessica Hamilton, Crooked Lane Books, Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
This newest work comes out in May 2023! Add to TBR!

DNF at 50%. I had a hard time getting into this one. The description of this book was very promising, but unfortunately, I didn't get what I expected. This whole daring game was a brilliant idea, but the storytelling was flat for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I loved this juicy thriller! It’s about three friends that played a risky daring game back in college. Now, years later, their paths cross again. Will they return to their old ways. Can they trust each other?

This is a twisted story about three college friends who played Truth or Dare in college until a dare goes horribly wrong.  Hannah and Scarlett are the best of friends and when Thomas enters the picture, their relationship is strained.  Hannah and Thomas are attracted to each other but cannot be together per Scarlett’s rules.  Scarlett is the puppet master, and everyone follows her lead.   Fast forward 16 years and Hannah reconnects with Thomas who wants to start up the game again.  Hannah is stuck in an unhappy marriage, and welcome’s Thomas’ attention.   There is a lot of chemistry between Thomas and Hannah, and they begin an affair, sneaking off to have sex whenever and wherever they can.  The sex scenes are pretty graphic, and if this isn’t your thing, you might want to skip past those parts.  I personally didn’t have any issue with them.  Soon, someone else is playing the game and knows about Hannah and Thomas’ affair.  Let the crazy games begin!

I loved everything about this twisted, sexy thriller!  I enjoyed reading about the dynamics between the friendships.  Scarlett was a true master manipulator, even years later, but things are not always as they seem.  You don’t know who to trust or believe throughout the story and there are shocking twists throughout.  I loved  the dual timelines and found the ending very satisfying.  

I loved this book so much I immediately purchased the author's debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

Okay. This book was a little surprise dose of university throuple, mixed with mom needing an outlet, mixed with murder and revenge. There was quite the load to unpack here. 

Let’s start with the university storyline. It was not enjoyable for me tbh. It was a tough read to read about how desperately infatuated the main character was with her friend that turned into a manipulative, pity-inducing throuple that just made you cringe every time you read it because you were made at the instigator while feeling horrible for her somehow too.

Fast forward to the current daring game. Just how would that happen. Yes let’s explode our lives to do a dare because we’re a bit bored. Sounds good.

Drinking problem? Why do we need to give every female in a thriller a mental health issue that we use as a plot device? The answer is we don’t.

Honestly that’s most of my thoughts.

Do you dare? After reconnecting with he college boyfriend and restarting a game of risku dares Hannah finds that the secrets around her life become too much!  
Definitely a book i wouls recommend and read again.

Was this a predictable book? Yes. Was it an enjoyable read? Also a big yes.

I usually am not the biggest fan of thrillers, so I get easily satisfied with them. This may be the case, but the truth is that I enjoyed the story, the fast pace, the eerieness that accompanies it every now and then. The main character is a solid one, a very faulty-if-she-was-a-real-person character, but you'll soon see yourself rooting for her (which is saying a lot about how much I enjoyed this book, since Hannah makes a series of very questionable choices).
It's the kind of book where you can see every single character as being the bad guy. You can't trust a single soul, and that heavy atmosphere drags through the pages, translating itself into a very nice book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this e-arc, in exchange for a honest review.

3.5 
It took me a while to really get into this book, I kept finding myself putting it down. I did find the plot really interesting though and about halfway it did pick up. The writing was good too I I just wasn't wowed by it overall though unfortunately.

I liked this book overall but didn’t care for the horror aspect .overall it was well paced and nicely written but just wasn’t my cup of tea because of the horror aspect. 
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

Holy cow. I just finished this, and I can’t believe all the feelings this book has! The started as a sexy psychological thriller, and ended almost as a darkly romantic horror story. There was mystery, suspense, twists, thrills - what a ride of a book!

Hannah, Scarlett and Thomas were best friends back in school, and this is the “past” part of this past/present book. They had what we would now call a throuple, but eventually that turned into a couple as Hannah and Thomas ended up spending more time alone. After a fateful night, the three friends split, and eventually Scarlett moved to Australia while Hannah got married and had two kids.

This group’s friendship is not only different because of the sexual experimentation, but because they were in a long-standing game involving dares. Not “truth or dare” dares - these are actually pretty crazy/scary dares, and if they weren’t done, the punishment would be severe. Nobody had heard from Thomas in years, but one day, Hannah anonymously receives a dare. She knows only two people who would know this game exists, and she used to be in love with one of them. Does she get involved? (Of course she does, or we wouldn’t have this great story!)

This book was totally twisted, very dark, and utterly delightful. Hannah was the main character, and despite of (or because of) her faults, she’s very compelling. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book, but I was very pleasantly surprised by what was both a sinfully trashy and very thoughtful book. 4.5, rounded up because I couldn’t easily put it down!

(Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Jessica Hamilton, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be published May 16, 2023.)

Thank you net galley for this ARC. This is a thrilling read from the start. It adds a new spin to the game of truth or dare. Definitely worth your time

Hannah and Scarlett meet Thomas in college and start playing The Daring Game. The dares get more intense until one ends in tragedy. It seems the game has ended as Thomas leaves town. 
Sixteen years later, Hannah is unhappily married with two children. Her husband is a d*ck and she's a stay-at-home mom who drinks too much wine. Then, she unexpectedly hears from Thomas, and they re-ignite the Daring Game. (Scarlett is in Australia.) 
There is that chemistry between Hannah and Thomas that comes from your first love and soon things get complicated. There is quite a bit of sex, so if that's not your thing, this book probably isn't for you. 
Someone finds out about them and the Daring Game and starts threatening to tell Hannah's husband everything. 
Is it Scarlett?  Or the nosy neighbor?  It will keep you guessing!
I really enjoyed this fast-paced suspense novel. 
Recommend!

Don’t You Dare is a standalone psychological thriller by author Jessica Hamilton. Jessica Hamilton is a new author to me but I had seen her name around and was keen to try a book by her. This one doesn’t disappoint. Perfect for fans of Lisa Unger or Lucy Foley. 
The story follows Hannah in the present who unhappy in her marriage and feeling stagnant in her life, Hannah is excited to meet an old friend, Thomas whom she hasn’t seen for many years. In the past, Hannah, Thomas and their other friend, Scarlett were an inseparable trio who started up a dangerous game of dares which led to their friendship dissolving after a horrific event. In the present, someone is leaving Hannah notes daring her to ‘tell the truth’. Who has started up the games again and why. You will just have to read to find out. 
This book was thrilling, twist-filled and while slightly predictable at times a whole lot of fun to read. I’d highly recommend this one. I will be going back and reading more by this author. 
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an arc of this book.

This was better than I thought it would be! I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the stakes were high enough that it made you sweat but not high enough that it felt too dramatic.

Don't You Dare by Jessica Hamilton is hands down an absolute blast to devour! 

Woah! I simply couldn't put my Kindle down once I started!
I enjoyed Hamilton's debut What You Never Knew, DYD was even better! 
I was so excited to open this book up and y'all it delivered! 

The characters are highly complex and so interesting to read about. 
Very realistic and in a story that’s so intriguing. 
The mystery aspect of this novel was extremely well crafted and kept me on my toes for the entire book. I was trying to figure things out right up until the very end. Definitely kept me engaged.
The writing style of Jessica is superb. I could almost feel like I was right there. Amazing! 
This story kept me hooked from the very start. 
Another great read by Jessica Hamilton! 

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I did not enjoy truth or dare! I didn’t enjoy dare or truth so there were no good options for me in that game. I guess overall I’m not a big game person, but hey it takes all kinds.

Hannah and Scarlett are best friends, then they meet Thomas in college. They hit it off and come up with the Daring Game; a game where they each dare each other to do different things. As the triangle becomes a love triangle, jealous rages and the dares get more daring. Things go awry when Scarlett dares Thomas for something inexcusable. Years later, Hannah has moved on with her life and in an unhappy marriage when Thomas comes back into her life. As they begin to place the Daring Game again, things quickly become dangerous again. Will Hannah be able to escape this rendition of the Daring Game unscathed? Or are things destined to take a turn for a dangerous?

This one was so fun and explosive. It was a non-stop ride from the get go and I did not see the twist coming – at all. I did have a few hunches but was still pleasantly surprised. This was a great psychological thriller and it kept me engaged. The pacing was fast and unputdownable. The publisher says if you enjoy Wendy Walker or Riley Sager, you’ll enjoy this one. I haven’t read Wendy Walker, but I have enjoyed many Riley Sager books and I agree.

This one is out May 16th of next year. I want to thank @netgalley and the publisher, Cooked Lane Books, @crookedlanebooks, for my e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

#DontYouDare #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out! Really solid read.

Do you want to play a game?? How about truth or dare! Hannah has been living a dull life married to her husband Evan for the past 16 years when she receives a text message from her high school sweetheart, Thomas, asking her to complete a dare.  The message immediately brings her back to her high school days when she, Thomas, and friend Scarlett all took turns to complete a dare.  Hannah is also excited to her from her old flame Thomas again and decides to take on the dare.  Soon the game becomes more then both of them expect.  Will the final dare be the end of them??? Read on to find out, you won’t be disappointed.

An even 3 stars for Jessica Hamilton's, "Don't You Dare". Suspense-filled and a quick read all together.

Possibly the best Psychological Thriller I’ve read for the last few years
A great story narrated by one of the main characters
She’s a stay at home mom that relies on wine to get her through the day
When a man from her college days reappears in her life, and initiates a game of rare and forfeit from their youth, things start to spiral out of control quickly.
But who actually is in control.
Dark, with a touch of “spice” this is a brilliant story