Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the copy of Don't You Dare by Jessica Hamilton.
3.75🌟
I Recommend this book if you're looking for simple yet interesting book to get by.
Had a nice time listening to the audiobook. It has a Good pacing and is entertaining with some steamy scenes 🔥🔥. Though some parts are predictable it was still worth finishing.

Don't You Dare follows three college friends, Hannah, Scarlett, and Thomas through flashbacks of Their favorite pastime playing their daring gam and in the present 16 years later where Hannah is unhappy in marriage and in life. 
Out of nowhere, Hannah receives a message from none other than Thomas….it’s game time!

While this book was steaming and entertaining it was still a little far fetched. An enjoyable listen as the narration was on point. If you’re looking for a steamy thriller, this one might be for you.

Don't You Dare is a wild, steamy ride! I loved the author’s previous book and was excited to read this one. The story follows a woman in her midthirties stuck in her life, unhappily married and in a rut. She's devoted to her children, but finds her life banal and tedious. She often reflects on Thomas, her great college love. We know the narrator made some questionable decisions in college, but we're not sure what.

She had a close relationship with her best friend and Thomas and they played the Daring Game, where they dared each other to participate in escalating risky activities. Thomas returns and the Daring Game is resumed. Also at the same time, the narrator receives threats and there is someone lurking in their idyllic suburban neighborhood. The story took some excellent twists and turns. The style reminded me of Jeneva Rose. I listened to the riveting audiobook, which was perfectly narrated by Hillary Huber. A perfect summer read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook and audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

The story was all from Hannah's POV and primarily in the present but did go back to when Hannah and Scarlett met Thomas in college. It's essential to understand "The Daring Game" and to understand why their friendship fell apart. The story went along at a steady pace and kept me engaged through most of the story. Sometimes, I wished it would speed along, though. But, maybe I'm just a needy reader who is easily distracted. 😆🤷🏻‍♀️

I didn't particularly like Thomas all that much in the present. He came back into Hannah's life and took advantage of the fact that was in a vulnerable point in her life. Hannah made some really poor decisions, though!

I didn't really like Scarlett much in the past, either. She was kind of a stuck up self centered b!tch.

I felt like poor Hannah was caught in the middle whenever Thomas and Scarlet were in her life at the same time.

The relationship between Hannah, Scarlett, and Thomas in college was something I would not have guessed through. I did like that! It gave the thriller a bit of spice 🌶

Read this book If:
You like single POV
You like a love triangle in the mix of the story
A book about dares and how far someone will go to complete them intrigues you.

I absolutely loved Hamilton’s first novel and was so excited to see that she is releasing another one. This was okay in comparison. I enjoyed the premise with the daring game and the complicated friendships. The ending wasn’t the greatest and tbh, the surprise wasn’t really a real shock. A little disappointing!

Hannah, Scarlet and Thomas like to play games, games which (inevitably) turn nasty.

This was definitely not my cup of tea. The premise has so much potential, and I was hoping for something darker and more sinister, but this really is a childish game played by silly adults. Also, I'm not sure if thriller is an apt description, the focus so often turned to sex (it got a bit boring to be honest).

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my ARC.

This was an exceptional book, and I could listen to the audiobook. I will be buying a physical copy to add to my library. I would highly recommend reading this book or even listening to it. The narrator did justice by portraying the characters, the issues, and the plot. The characters were exceptional, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the lives and struggles of these former classmates and best friends. Plenty of lies, secrets, action, and twists will keep you intrigued and on the edge of your seat. There are some racy scenes that I could have done without.

This was a devilishly wicked sexy thriller or steamy thriller as you will! This seems to be emerging more and more as a new popular thriller sub genre and I don’t mind it! I think even sexy suspense works too? Im always a fan of a good domestic suspense story and a side romance and steam can definitely add a new entertaining element to it!

This one alternated between past and present timelines and I relished in the academic bits and also really enjoyed how delightfully dark it was at times! There were a few twists and several red herrings which left you continually guessing where this one was going!

This was also a multilayered plot as Hamilton explored some polarizing topics as Hannah questioned her marriage, being a housewife, motherhood in general and the notion of potentially feeling complacent and unfulfilled in these roles.

I’m certainly curious to see what Hamilton does next!

Hannah is unhappily married with two daughters, doing her best just to make it through every day. So when her friend Thomas from college unexpectedly reaches out with the suggestion to restart their Daring Game, she feels like things may be looking up. But their game always involved their third friend Scarlett in the past. Now that it’s just Thomas and Hannah, things begin to get heated. Walking a fine line, Hannah begins to realize that it’s not as easy as she thought to leave the past behind, and that the past may bring dangerous consequences for her future.

This was a solid mystery that was told with dual timelines – the first followed Hannah’s college years when the Daring Game first existed, the second followed her current life (2018). I enjoyed the author’s writing style. It was relatively straightforward but also included great descriptions that added much to the setting and feel of the read. I did want a bit more from the game, though – it was pretty tame and I’d been hoping for some more suspense or tension from it, especially in the modern timeline. It gave the book a more YA feel than I’d been expecting.

I did also enjoy the characters overall. Hannah was definitely flawed but still easy to understand and was written well. I enjoyed that the author [mostly] stayed away from plot-induced stupidity as well. Not to say that the characters didn’t do stupid things, but when they did, it was reasonable based on their personalities/circumstances rather than simply used to make the plot work.

That ending just didn’t quite do it for me though. I was hoping for a bit more punch or emotion or…something from it. I’m not entirely sure what it was lacking, but it was a bit mediocre. However, this was a somewhat spicy mystery/suspense that I did enjoy overall. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Narrated by Hillary Huber ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great voice. Would definitely love her to narrator more audiobook books

Story by Jessica Hamilton ⭐⭐⭐
The plot of this book was intriguing.
I liked both the main characters even though they had some issues that really needed to be sorted out by a medical professional, but overall the pace of the book was too slow for me.
Alot is going on but it all felt like fillers to get to the good stuff.

I received this as an audio galley to listen to for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for giving me access.

Don't You Dare is a college game of Truth or Dare -- minus the truth -- that has come back into play for some friends. The past is intermingled with the present with this dual timeline and I feel that this is really beneficial to the story.

This was a fast paced, steamy thriller that kept me hooked to the very last minute. There was some predictability, but that didn't deter me from my enjoyment of it. Definitely recommend to my fellow thriller lovers.

A bit too ridiculous and far-fetched for my taste, but it was decent entertainment. I really liked the narrator! I could recommend this to certain readers for sure.

Ummm….. this one was hard for me. I had a love hate thing going and I’m going to give this 3.5⭐️. I chose to listen to this and the narrator was a good fit and gave a believable performance. The story and or plot had a Gillian Flynn feel and what I mean by that is it was gritty and messy. It didn’t help that I didn’t like the main character. I will admit I didn’t see the twist coming and the last 30% was great. So there it is…. My thoughts
Thanks Dreamscape Media via Netgalley

I listened this audiobook as an ARC courtesy of NetGalley! I give this 2.5 stars, mainly because I never read a psychological thriller so obsessed with sex… it felt like the dares were all just sex dares, plus that one acid dare that brought another person into the mess. it was so weird? like not bad, but just way too much sex talk and not the smutty type. what i did like about it was the narrator chosen, as well as how the adults actually grew up at the end of the story, finally accepting the failures of their lives/marriages and moving on in life more maturely than they did during the bulk of the book.

I really liked this book - there was a lot going on and I thought the suspense was great throughout. It held my interest the whole way through and left me wanting more.

There was lots of twists and turns. The characters were interesting and the pacing was really quick. The main plot was strong and I liked how it ended.

Good read with strong narration.

If you’re ready for a friendly game of truth or dare, grab this book! This book is told from two time lines, past and present. This is a fast paced thriller that leaves you putting pieces together as you are unraveling the past. This book keeps your attention and reminds you that not everything is as it seems, and yet your heart is always right, right?!!

This is a heart pounding story, that is full of lust, love, friendships, and all the best and worst things about being Middle Aged.

Psychological thriller meets steamy romance. I would recommend this book, and the audio was done well.

I didn't love this one. You have to suspend disbelief quite a bit to enjoy the idea behind the novel. I didn't believe that an adult would so easily put her family in jeopardy to play a "daring" game with an old friend.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Grab a snack, and a drinky drink, because once you start this, you will NOT want to pull yourself away!

𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗲 by 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗼𝗻 is a (surprisingly spicy) psychological thriller, centered around three college best friends who start a very risky daring game. One night, when a dare leads to disaster, it results in a life altering change of plans. Years later, when Hannah and Thomas reunite, the daring game dares to start up again and my stomach was in KNOTS 😱

What I loved 🖤 I love a good plot twist and turn, and I can honestly say I did not see the ending coming! There were also enough edge of your seat scenes that made me want to keep reading to find out how the dare played out. Made for a very enticing read!

What I didn’t love 💔 It was VERY surprising how many spicy scenes were in this book. (Maybe not a negative for some?) But it did make me question whether or not this really was a mystery/thriller. (Maybe more of a twisted romance thriller?)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for for the ALC of this book!

A campus novel told in flashbacks that sees a twisted relationship between three college friends who play an increasingly dangerous game of dare. This one kept me guessing til the end and had some very relatable aspects (marriage in trouble, mental health and addiction struggles, miscarriage) as well as some harder to relate to parts, including infidelity and the weird threesome dynamic between the friends.

I thought I knew where things were going a few times and turned out to be wrong, which is definitely the sign of a good writer. I liked the audio narration by Hilary Huber but overall this was just an okay domestic suspense story for me. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

TW: infidelity, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, miscarriage

I received a complimentary copy from Dreamscape Media and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is my first book by Jessica Hamilton and I look forward to more books by the author. The book is based on the friendship of Hannah, Scarlett and Thomas who met in college. The trio start out playing an innocent game of Dares which ends in a tragedy.. Years later the game is rekindled between Jessica and Thomas with high stakes. Doe the truth set you free? I enjoyed the premise of this book, the character development and the narrator engrossed me into the story and I cannot recommend this book enough.