I was looking forward to this sequel after loving 10 Blind Dates last Christmas, and I wasn't disappointed.

I hope there are 20 more books about the Messina family, because I love them. The author's writing truly captures the dynamics of a large, close-knit family. The "10 events" format is unique (themed graduation parties, in this case) and adds extra fun to the story. I'd recommend this for any fans of lighthearted YA romances!

This was like a warm hug. At this point I will read anything about the Messina family, no matter the plot. I just love this family so much.

This book mostly follows Olivia, who we met in the first book, as she tries to ensure she graduates after a PE mishap. Basically, Olivia screwed up and now she has to spend the entire week working a golf tournament instead of going to fun parties for grad. This would be bad enough, but the hitch is that Olivia's mom is tracking her every move, and Olivia doesn't want anyone to know that she messed up. So naturally, she employs Sophie, Charlie, and Wes to attend parties for her and field her mother's texts- basically pretend to be her all week. (This is why we get the others POVs sprinkled in, which I thought was a really fun touch).

I loved Olivia's voice, even more than I love Sophie's. Olivia is the epitome of anxious gifted kid, and it was very relatable lol. I also loved watching her not only have to ask for help, but also come to realize how much people love her for her. I really loved the message of making sure you don't only place value on one thing- you are worth more than your one defining "thing". Olivia is such a fun character to read from, and I loved the addition of everyone else's POV.

The romance in this was really cute too! Of course my favourite thing about these books is the familial love, but I still really liked the romance. I thought it was really sweet and I liked how much they balanced each other. I also really liked how Wes, Charlie, and Sophie dropped all past qualms with the love interest (no spoilers lol) just because Olivia genuinely liked him.

This family is just so good. It's the best part of these books, even if the romance is always really cute. The Messina family is loving and chaotic and loyal and ridiculous, and reading these books just feels cozy because of it. It is exactly as chaotic as a real family this big is, trust me, but I appreciate that in the end the characters still really love being a part of the mess. I could read about this family doing basically anything, and for some reason I just love it so much. I also really liked that this book didn't forget to show friendship love too. It's got all kinds of love represented and I really love that.

Overall this book just feels like being surrounded by love, loyalty, and support. It's like being in Nonna's kitchen, with constant food and company. It is just so nice. And the plot is always so much fun! This one has the chaos of everyone pretending to be Olivia, but it also has all these really fun, vividly described, awesome parties with different themes and activities. It is so much fun to read about. I loved the idea of everyone going to all these over-the-top themed parties, and it was really fun to imagine all of them.

This book just made me so happy. I hope this isn't the last Ashley Elston writes from this family, cause I love them all so much.

What an adorable story! Even though I had already pre-ordered it, I was still thrilled to receive an ARC of this book, so thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me early access in exchange for an unbiased review.

I devoured "10 Blind Dates" by Ashley Elston last year and was so excited to hear that she was writing a companion novel with Sophie's cousin, Olivia, as the main character. This book lived up to my expectations. So many things I loved about "10 Blind Dates" were present in "10 Truths and a Dare" too: hilarious and sweet family dynamics, humor, a sweet romance, rivalry with the "Evil Joes," and tricky situations only the Messina family could get themselves into. I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience and can't wait to get my hands on the physical book on Tuesday.

Was this book ground-breaking or life-changing? Probably not... but I was HAPPY while reading it and caught myself grinning through several parts. Sometimes that's just what we need.

I find myself recommending "10 Blind Dates" often, and I'm sure I'll add this one to my recommendations list too.

I read 10 Blind Dates and fell in love with the writing, with Olivia and her extra large family, so when I saw there was a companion novel coming out I had to request it.

It's senior week at Olivia's school and she couldn't be more ready for graduation and to start the next chapter of her life at LSU. As we all know, nothing can ever truly be perfect in a book, so there's a tiny inconvenience that could throw her future plans off! The only plan Olivia has for the next week? Take care of things without her obtrusive, meddling family finding out.,

Olivia and her friend's plan to get through the week is full of hilarious hijinks, touching family moments, a little romance, and a little humor. The "Fab Four" is truly the group to beat. They're all incredible characters that I need at least 10 more books on!

The book is so fast-paced that I found myself reading it in almost one sitting,.

When I found out that 10 Blind Dates' Fab Four were making an appearance in a new book--with Olivia as the protagonist, no less--I immediately smashed the "request" button for the ARC on NetGalley. Two days later, 10 Truths and a Dare was happily downloaded onto my Kindle and I was diving headfirst into it.

I think I went into this book expecting a bit more than it delivered, but overall I still enjoyed it. It was lighthearted and funny, full of hilarious moments and cringe-worthy mistakes. The main thing I loved about this book was Olivia's family. Same as in 10 Blind Dates, they're quirky, rambunctious, and a whole lot of fun. Also, Olivia's mom's level of nosiness was truly legendary; her phone tracker stalking of her daughter was low-key creepy, and I seriously pity Olivia. Her mom really needs to learn to mind her own business and find something more exciting in life than literally watching her daughter's every move.

I enjoyed reading about Olivia's relationship with the Fab Four: her cousins, Sophie and Charlie, and friend Wes. I loved how easy and casual they were around each other--it felt very authentic. They had a great dynamic and were fun to read about. I unfortunately can't say I was a huge fan of the romance in this book; I just wasn't very invested in it. It had the potential to be cute, but it fell flat for me.

Some of Olivia's choices were simply awful and made me SO FRUSTRATED. Like...not telling your parents you might not graduate?? I get her point about not wanting the news to become family gossip--but come on, Olivia, you thought nobody was ever going to find out? Seriously? Also, the whole phone switcheroo was just it's own level of chaos and mayhem. How that whole shebang didn't epically crash and burn is beyond me.

Also, the ending was a bit too perfect for me. Like, after all the drama and secrets and general chaos, it all wrapped up so nicely and easily? I think not. It was a tad too unrealistic for my liking. It was a very "happily ever after" ending, and it just didn't sit well with me.

That's a wrap on my review of 10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston! I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as I'd hoped to. Even though it was cute and amusing, the plot and writing were a bit lacking. However, I still recommend this to anyone who liked 10 Blind Dates! I gave 10 Truths and a Dare 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I loved reading this! After enjoying 10 Blind Dates, I was looking forward to reading this book and spending more time with the Messina family. The story was everything I hoped it would be!

I love the family relationships in this book! I was never very close with my cousins as I grew up, but my family lived near my grandparents and had a special relationship with them. It was nice to read a book with strong family portrayals.

There are several perspectives in the book, even though Olivia is the main character and has the most sections. Each character was unique and fun to read about, and I enjoyed seeing the main characters from 10 Blind Dates again.

The plot was fun and kept me glued to the page! Olivia’s character development was done really well, and I loved the way the book ended. No spoilers, but it was great!

I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more books by this author!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Content:
Clean romance
Mild swearing with one moderate word popping up several times

This was a nice companion novel to 10 BLIND DATES. I enjoyed getting to jump back into this crazy family and getting to reunite with the Fab Four.

Right off the bat, we get to say hello to our favorite family of rugrats and weirdos. This time, however, we get to see things through Olivia's POV (mostly). I love that the same shenanigans from book 1 are seen here. We have some family meddling, some Fab Four scheming, and some wonderful misunderstandings to bring it all together. For me though, it was getting to join this family once more that really did it for me.

I also really liked that this book had multiple POVs. While the book is focused on Olivia and it's her story, there are a few times when we get to switch to the POV of someone in the Fab Four. I especially loved seeing Wes and Charlie try to figure out how to be Olivia when texting her mom. It was hilarious to hear their thoughts as they tried to navigate girl talk. As an added bonus, I loved hearing Wes' thoughts when he was around Sophie, his girlfriend. It was so great to see my OTP still thriving.

The book started out a little slow. Even though things were happening, I wasn't super invested until about 1/4 of the way through. That's when the "plot" really began. In the beginning, all it did was show that the goal of the book was for Olivia to get her PE credit, but it didn't really focus on that. There was a small focus on Olivia's romance, but even that wasn't amazing. Just kinda there.

Honestly, I think my biggest problem with the book, and the reason I debated between a 3.5 or 4 for the rating, was the plot. In theory, this story was fun and exciting, but some reason, that didn't translate on paper most of the time. I was lowkey bored through most of the book. I enjoyed the characters and wanted to see Olivia get her HEA so I stuck around, but I wasn't particularly motivated to finish this book based on the plot.

Overall, this was a fun companion novel to 10 BLIND DATES, but I think I would have been okay without it. I won't be actively recommending this book, but I think if you're already a fan of book 1 then you won't regret reading this one.

I absolutely loved being back with the Messina family!

10 Blind Dates is, in my opinion, one of the best contemporary novels in the YA genre. So, needless to say, I was completely giddy that Elston decided to tell another story featuring this family.

We get Olivia as a main character this time. There’s still the wacky Three’s Company type shenanigans I was hoping for but we get a bit of Caddyshack mixed in with it.

Elston knows how to play with your emotions. I got so stressed out when Olivia was stressed out. I cried no less than three times. I laughed A LOT. I love Elston’s way of storytelling and I’ll just sit here hoping we can get a Charlie book next. *fingers crossed*

This is my second book of Elston's and I can honestly say I haven't been let down! It was a cute story and I found each page just left me wanting more right up until the end.

Rating: 2.5

I really liked 10 Blind Dates, so I thought I'd like this too. I don't think the 10 format works for this book like it does the other. I also don't think the family dynamics and the relationship was as well done.

I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy of 10 Truths and A Dare by NetGalley, in return for a review. However, I promise that this review is 100% my true opinions!
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This book is amazing! It is a companion book to the amazing 10 Blind Dates, and follows Sophie’s Cousin Olivia. Olivia and her cousins are getting ready to graduate when she is informed that without her off-campus PE form she can’t graduate. The problem is the coach won’t sign the form without her working for it. So she ends up being forced to work a golf tournament. So to evade telling any of her giant family that she might not graduate, she and her cousins come up with a plan. They will swap phones with her so that her when her mom tracks her she will appear to be exactly where she needs to be. It sounds easy in theory, what could go wrong.
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This book was written so well! I was hooked by the first sentence and didn’t want to put it down. I felt transported into the world and totally immersed. There was graduation, family, teen deviousness, secret romance, friendship, drama, and so much more. This book was perfect for getting me out of my reading slump as well! I totally recommend you pick up this book when it comes out!

Truth: School has always been Olivia Perkins' thing. It's the reason she took so many AP classes that she had to squeeze in an off-campus gym class, the reason she knows exactly what she wants to major in next year at LSU, and the reason she will be salutatorian for her graduating class.

Truth: Olivia has been looking forward to Senior Party Week since she was a freshman. Every year graduating seniors host extravagant themed parties and they are not to be missed. With invites that include pajama parties, tea parties, a rodeo themed party, a scavenger hunt, and more, Olivia's week is packed. Sure, her mother has a tracking app on Olivia's phone while Olivia is home alone but she can handle that, right?

Truth: All of Olivia's plans change when she finds out she might not graduate because she never completed the hours she needed to pass golf.

Truth: No one can find out about this mess and, with some help from her cousins and best friends, Olivia might be able to keep it under wraps. All she has to do is work at a golf tournament for four days while swapping phones with Charlie, Sophie, and Wes so that Olivia's mom (and the rest of her enormous family) never finds out.

Truth: Senior Party Week is turning out to be nothing like Olivia expected with fewer parties, a lot more sunburn, and one cute golfer that even a planner like Olivia never could have prepared for in 10 Truths and a Dare (2021) by Ashley Elston.

10 Truths and a Dare is a companion novel to Elston's 10 Blind Dates which follows Sophie's post-breakup shenanigans over winter break while she reconnects with her boisterous family--including cousins Olivia and Charlie and childhood friend Wes--and herself. This book is set the summer after Sophie's adventures while Olivia works to make sure she graduates on time. Sections from Sophie, Charlie, and Wes's point of view also show readers what's happening while they are on phone duty pretending to be Olivia.

This story has a lot going on with parties, swapped phones, a very high-stakes golf tournament, and lots of secrets. Chapters start with a party invitation and a truth from Olivia, tying back to the book's title and adding one more layer to an already packed story. For me, this felt like one element too many and working a bit too hard to fit Olivia's story into a structure that made more sense for Sophie's book.

That said, this is a still a really fun story filled with lots of great moments leading up to summer and graduation. Elston dedicates the book to the graduating classes who didn't get these classic high school experiences because of the pandemic. My hope is that some of them can enjoy it vicariously with Olivia and her family.

10 Truths and a Dare is a fun, summery story filled with excitement for what's next and nostalgia for what won't come again. Recommended for readers looking for a summer romance where you'll fall in love with the main character's family right along with her love interest.

Possible Pairings: Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway; 29 Dates by Melissa de la Cruz; I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo; Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks; Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno; Save the Date by Morgan Matson; Summer Days and Summer Nights edited by Stephanie Perkins; My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma; Recommended For You by Laura Silverman; This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura

I loved 10 Blind Dates by Elston so I knew I had to read the next installment in the series. Pretty sure it can read as a stand alone, though. Like it's predecessor this is just a fun read full of romance, a little character growth, and plenty of family shenanigans. A nice read for anyone who likes teen romance.

10 Truths and a Dare is an entertaining, fluffy YA novel about family, repairing mistakes, and finding oneself outside of their familial identity (especially in a large family). Just like its companion title, this book delivers on the fun and humor, but don't expect any heavy topics or serious issues to be explored. If you love cozy YA stories with a hint of high school antics and a dash of humor.

Loved this novel. I had a great time watching characters go to the different grad parties. I wanted more from the main character, but I truly loved all of the side characters. Perfect summer read.

This is an adorable YA book about graduation week that ALMOST lives up to the goodness of the first book (10 Blind Dates). You can definitely read this book as a standalone, but I enjoyed knowing all of the characters from the first book.

Olivia is the class salutatorian, but gets an e-mail from her principal saying that he does not have her form for the off campus PE class she took. She will not be able to graduate if she does not have credit for this class. So, she finds the golf coach for the class and asks him to sign the form. He says she missed too many classes to get credit, but she can make up that time by helping work the golf tournament this week.

This is senior week where there are lots of graduation parties, and Olivia will have to miss them in order to work the golf tournament. It’s a sacrifice she is willing to make. However, her mom is out of town and made her install the Life 360 app on her phone since she is staying home alone. Her mom is obsessed with tracking her location, and Olivia doesn’t want her to know about the credit/graduation debacle. So, the fab four group takes turns switching phones with Olivia and attending these graduation parties while Olivia is at the golf course.

I loved that their big family was a huge part of this book as well, and that we got to see so much of the Fab 4 cousin/friend group. The shenanigans that they get up to in this book are perfect. It felt very realistic to me while still being creative and fun. I can totally see a high school senior doing most of the things in this book to keep a secret from their mom while making sure they graduate.

I loved Leo’s character, but I felt like we were missing some history with him. There is definitely history with him, but it is never explained in this book. I can’t remember him from the first book, but I assume that’s where we learn more about him. The romance between Leo and Olivia was so sweet and the perfect amount for a YA book.

4 stars
I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

This was not technically bad but I was definitely disappointed. I didn't love the main character. She's supposed to be a salutatorian but was incredibly flaky and inconsiderate of her PE teachers time. Her mom was completely overbearing. There was some decent family vibes but no where near the charming level.of book 1. I didn't like that the structure didn't follow the title. (There was a brief mention of the game but it wasn't actually played.) I didn't feel any particular way toward the romance.
If I had read this without reading book 1 it would be rated it higher but unfortunately it just didn't stand up as well.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5
I really enjoyed this book! Going in I didn't know much about the plot but I knew I wanted to read it because I loved 10 blind dates by the same author, so I was very happy to find out that it is a companion novel to 10 blind dates! It does spoil an event and the couple of 10 blind dates so if you want to read both read 10 blind dates first. I liked seeing the golf tournament as it wasn't something I was familiar with, but I was glad that it wasn't too heavy on golf terms. I loved seeing more of the family especially since they remind me a lot of my family. I did feel like the romance was a little rushed and didn't have much chemistry but that was really my only complaint. This was a very fun contemporary book that I would definitely recommend as a great summer read!

I'm so disappointed by this book. I heard so much hype about 10 Blind Dates by this author that, when I saw this on NetGalley, I put in a request for it as fast as I could. Unfortunately, this didn't mesh well with me. For starters, I didn't like the main character at all. She felt so two dimensional. She barely had a personality and I felt like her only special quality was that she was salutatorian. We never even got to see why she was supposedly so smart. It was basically just all told to me with no evidence to back it up. Also, I didn't really get why the book was formatted the way it was. I get that the author was trying to go along with the 10 things theme, but it really felt forced. The truth and dare thing was mentioned very, very briefly at the beginning of the novel and then never brought up again. I just didn't get it at all. I liked the love interest, but the other side characters were hard to keep up with. There were so many side characters! I don't love stories with plotlines that could have been completely avoided in the first place, so this wasn't up my alley. I still don't understand why she blew off her gym class if she's obsessed with school. As someone who also loves school, it just didn't add up for me. Overall, I'm sad that I didn't like it very much. I'm definitely going to read Blind Dates to see if I like it better than this.

This book follows Olivia and her family/friends. Olivia finds herself facing the possibility of not graduating and is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. As a result, she finds herself having to volunteer for a golf tournament during a week of graduation parties. Sounds simple, right? Wrong! Her parents are out of town and her mom is obsessed with tracking her location. So, Olivia must recruit her friends to trade phones and go to the parties so that her mom doesn't find out and come home sooner.

This is a fun, light read. I was able to get through it pretty quickly. The characters are comical (and relatable). Everyone has a group of Evil Joes, right? Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely pick up a copy for my classroom.