I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it. I can't say exactly why I didn't like it. I thought going in I would love it based on the premise but it fell kind of flat. I think because parts of it were predictable; other parts unrealistic.

Thank you #netgalley and #crookedlanebooks for the eARC.

"𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲."

Hannah and Scarlett are the best of friends, and when they meet Thomas in college, the chemistry is explosive. They create The Daring Game, which starts off with some innocent acts but quickly escalates to more daring deeds. Hannah and Thomas are attracted to each other, but the rules state they can't fool around with Scarlett. There were some *steamy* scenes in this thriller that almost left me clutching my pearls!

When Hannah and Thomas break the rules, tension among the friends grows as do the stakes in the game. Scarlett's final dare to Thomas leaves one young man's life changed forever and ends with Thomas's expulsion from school. There's no contact from him, and all traces of the game, including the notebook where all the deeds were recorded, seem to disappear.

Fast-forward sixteen years...Hannah is unhappy in her marriage and keeps tabs on Scarlett via social media, who seems happy and fulfilled. The two only speak a few times a year, but then out of nowhere, Hannah gets a mysterious letter from Thomas, who is back in town. With Scarlett out of the way and their desire for one another never waning, the two begin a dangerous affair, and for the first time in a long time, Hannah feels allive...until the day she and Thomas are called to the secret meeting place of The Daring Game, where they’re welcomed by a single dare—“to tell the truth.”

This was a twisty, high-stakes thriller with the best of red herrings and exquisitely crafted characters. Hannah is far from a vapid housewife, and when you read her backstory, I dare you to sit by and feel nothing for her as she wonders, 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞? 𝐎𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫? This tale was 100% believable, and I was fully invested throughout. Many thanks to NetGalley and to Crooked Lane Books. DON'T YOU DARE will publish May 16, 2023.

This was a hard one to rate.

It's told from Hannah's perspective in both present and past. In the present she is unhappily married with two daughters struggling along. In the past she's a college student with a hot boyfriend and her best friend Scarlet. In the present she is reintroduced to her hottie college boyfriend and then everything is turned on its head when their old game is played, the Daring Game.

This was good but not great. I enjoyed unraveling the past and the game. I liked the mystery of who was watching them, controlling them. But parts were too predictable and I didn't really like Hannah. This could have had more thrill, twists, and shocking revelations but instead seemed to focus on the woman cheats on husband trope.

I did not find this book enjoyable. It was predictable and none of the characters were likable. Hannah is in her thirties, she has two daughters, and she is unhappily married. When Thomas, an old college boyfriend, appears in her life for the first time in 16 years Hannah is transported back to her college days. Back in college her best friend, Scarlett, and her friend Thomas played a game they called the Daring Game. The longer they played, more out of hand the game became. When Thomas reappears, they begin to play the Daring Game again, will it get as out of hand this time as it did when they were in college?

Book Title: Don’t You Dare
Author: Jessica Hamilton
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: May 16, 2023
My Rating: 2.5 rounded up!
I read "What You Never Know" by Jessica Hamilton and thought it was great and have been looking forward to her latest novel.

This story is told Present Day as well as Past. As we follow Hannah – aka Henny.
Story starts present day with Hannah married with children. She and Evan have been married for 14 years. They met in college. Hannah doesn’t work and spends most of her time reading and drinking wine.
Note: This actually had me laughing out loud as these were the two things that got me through the pandemic. I was probably reading as much as Hannah but not drinking as much wine. I did put on the Covid 10 ~ thankfully not Covid 19!

Past: College days Sixteen years ago - best friends Scarlett and hottie Thomas enjoy playing the ‘Daring Game. Scarlett dares Thomas into a situation that ends in tragedy. When Thomas gets expelled from school and leaves without a trace, it seems like the Daring Game has ended.
Hmmm

Personal Note: I enjoy college thrillers. It was a fun time in my life however certainly never anything like this trio did. My college experience was visiting the local college bars and dancing the night away – well until my grades took a hit!

This was not the read I was hoping. I was disappointed since I enjoyed her first novel.
I was anxious to read Ms. Hamilton’s ‘Author’s Notes’ as I was curious as to her motivation.
However, this is an early uncorrected galley so it wasn’t included.
https://www.jessicahamilton.org/about

Want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this early e-Galley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 16, 2023

I loved this one. The characters were so well written and the plot was unique and well thought out. This was one of those rare books that is so well written that you feel like you know the characters and are actually in the book. Totally immersive and spine tingling!
This moved at a really good pace with plot twists and turns. The then and now chapters really brought this one to life. I didn’t want to put this one down.

Don't you dare skip out on this amazing read. Yeah I couldn't help myself there. But this was amazing. I was hooked and fighting for reading time to really get into this. Amazing book

Hannah, Thomas and Scarlett are college friends who find thrills in playing the Daring Game. They thrive on making each dare more sensational than the last. Within the dares, the dynamics of the trio are also at play. Then, one dare goes a little to far. The trio is separated, and the game stops. Then, years later, the game is back. Hannah receives a message from Thomas. Someone knows their game and wants to start them up again. However, they're not sure who it is, but this human seems to know a whole lot about them. This one was great at bringing the thrills and suspects of who might be behind the game as the story went. I also always love an overlay of the past and present storyline, and this one utilized that device well. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this May 2023 release!

A great fast paced thriller with surprising and exciting end. I loved every minute of it. THanks to NetGalley for advanced copy for a honest review.

Back in college Hannah, Thomas and Scarlett all played The Daring Game, a game that ended in tragedy. Now 16 years later Hannah is unhappily married with two kids. She hears from Thomas and he wants to restart the game. Why, after 16 years Hannah wonders. Trouble quickly arises and secrets and lies are revealed. This was a great book and full of suspense. Hope to read more by this author. Thanks NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC!

Thrilling, steamy, and mysterious. 3 friends play a daring game with each dare riskier than the last. The last dare results in a tragic accident.

A great fast paced thriller with an explosive ending!

Thank you netgalley and crooked lane books for the e-arc.

Summary
Hannah and Scarlett were best friends from the moment the met. Inseparable. Then, in college, they meet Thomas and the duo becomes a trio. The three concoct their own, more dangerous, version of Truth of Dare. Essentially removing the option to choose truth, and dishing out punishments for unfulfilled dares. Simply called, The Daring Game. With each round, the dares grow more and more risky until irreparable damage is done.

Sixteen years later, Hannah is unhappily married, Scarlett has moved to Australia, and neither of them knows where Thomas has been or what he’s been up to. Until, out of the blue, Thomas reaches out to Hannah and invites her back to the Daring Tree. The two begin playing the Daring Game again without Scarlett. But, just as last time, things escalate and what follows is love, loss, revenge, and redemption.

Review
What a rollercoaster! Don’t You Dare has many constantly contrasting themes changing smoothly at every turn. From steamy romance to loveless marriage, from free and wild to restrained and confined, from best friends to strangers, from past to present. So many interwoven themes to keep you engaged throughout.

Every character is pretty unlikeable in their own ways. Many of them selfish or hypocritical. Honestly though, this made me enjoy the book more because I was questioning everyone. With so many unlikeable characters, everyone seems capable of the worst.

Very sexy and fun to read thriller!

(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.)

Don’t You Dare by Jessica Hamilton is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year! Hannah, Scarlett, and Thomas were all best friends in college and had a deep connection. They played something called the Daring Game. They would dare each other to do small things at first , Eventually the dares get worse and more dangerous. Something bad happens and Thomas gets kicked out of college and they never really speak again.
Present day Hannah is married with two kids and her marriage is struggling. One day she gets a strange letter in the mail from Thomas. They reconnect and start playing the Daring Game again. Being with Thomas again reawakens Hannah. She’s been sleepwalking through life’s since he left. She is having a great time with Thomas. However, someone is watching and knows what is going on and starts threatening them. I don’t want to say too much more about the plot and give anything away.
I enjoyed this book so much! I love books that have dual timelines. My favorite books are the ones that take an ordinary person and put them in a dangerous situation and then I get to read about how they do or don’t get out of danger. I have read Jessica Hamilton’s previous book, What You Never Knew and it was outstanding also. Jessica Hamilton is quickly becoming an author that I will read without even looking at the description of the book. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions on my own.

I couldn’t stay interested in these characters and their behavior. The story line was also very slow paced.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book alternated between college days of three wreck less, co- dependent, brought-the-worst-out-in-each other students, and a depressed, directionless alcoholic mother-and-wife. Maybe it's me, who cannot imagine myself doing even a quarter of these dares, it was hard to imagine the exhilarating thrill they got from the dares, and binding power that came from it.

Overall, a quick and fun read.

Oh my gosh I really, really enjoyed this book! It literally hooked me from the first page and kept me on my toes!

I'm sorry, this book drove me crazy, and not in a good way. The plot seemed to move pretty slowly, with the only consistent thing being the main character's poor choices. Also, she's absolutely clueless... one of the "big reveals" was something that was entirely obvious from the moment it happened. Yet, she was shocked. The final action sequence was so nonsensical that it actually made me angrily rant to my boyfriend. It felt like much less of a thriller novel and more a chronicle of a woman cheating on her husband for the majority of the book, followed by a lightning fast escalation to a bunch of action that made no sense. It was a great premise, but execution leaves something to be desired.

Received an advance copy of this book via Netgalley. It’s not my usual fare but it kept me interested, gathering pace the closer I got to the end. A fun read full of characters whose motives draw you in.

So many twists and turns. The characters were very likeable and the book was fantastic. It definitely kept me engaged and I did not want to put it down. The ending happened quickly. I loved how the book went to the past and to the present; I felt as though this transition happened seamlessly. I can't wait to read the authors other book.

I found the plot interesting but some parts of the book seemed way too rushed, especially the ending. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Land Books for the ARC!