Not my favorite. Had a very hard time getting through and relating to anything in the book. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

I love the narrator and she was the main reason I chose this book. Some of the characters were the type that I love to hate I stayed intrigued during the the whole story and enjoyed the thriller aspects although sometimes it felt like overkill.

Unhappy marriage, nosy neighbours, jealousy, and revenge. Fun little romp.
Spoilers follows.



The ending felt a little rushed or too easily tied up. And turns out he was also cheating, and main characters are friends again, and nosy neighbour's behaviour explained away and now also a friend...perhaps all the pieces falling into place so easily made it feel rushed.
Still very much enjoyed the story. Kept me guessing and suspecting everyone.

2.5 stars. Don't You Dare was a fun little read. I didn't particular care for the characters and I think that lack of investment is what dropped my rating down from what would've been a solid 3 stars. I didn't know who the culprit was but I couldn't say I was rooting for Hannah or Thomas, or invested in their past or futures really lol. Aside from character development, the book was entertaining and I think if you can find appeal in the protags that you'd enjoy this one!

I am so thankful to NetGalley, Jessica Hamilton, Dreamscape Media, and Crooked Lane Books for granting me advanced audiobook access to this twisting/turning thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. Don't You Dare is set to hit shelves on May 16, 2023 and I can't wait for more of my pals to read it.

Hannah's gratitude for their long friendship lets Scarlett get away with anything. Scarlett's jealousy and desire for control makes her want to get away with everything. This ruins Hannah's relationship with Thomas and then lands her in a miserable marriage with someone who only wanted a perfect cookie cutter wife, which is FAR from Hannah. When Thomas returns from nowhere, things spiral out of control quickly without Scarlett's interference. Hannah learns some truths about the past that re-frame everything, but someone's desire for revenge leads to a tragic end.

I was very excited by the idea of the daring game, and I expected to love this novel. There's a lot of sex in this novel, and that's just not interesting to me. While reading it, it felt like reading a bingo card of thriller tropes; there are just so many in here. I guessed the end when the character was introduced and a bunch of the side stuff. I read maybe 3 thrillers a year, so it's not great when I can figure it all out.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC
3 Stars
I was super excited to read this book by Jessica Hamilton. The truth may set Hannah free—but only if she dares to risk everything she knows and loves.

When Hannah and Scarlett meet Thomas in college—the chemistry is instantaneous. They grow closer while playing the Daring Game, where each dare is riskier than the last. As the trio grows closer and jealousy develops, Scarlett dares Thomas one final time—a dare that ends in tragedy. When Thomas gets expelled from school and leaves without a trace, it seems like the Daring Game has finally ended.

Sixteen years later, Hannah is unhappy in marriage and in life. That is, of course, until she gets a mysterious email about the Daring Game from none other than Thomas himself. With Scarlett out of the picture, the sparks begin fly between them once more. When Hannah and Thomas are called back to the place where they first played the game, they are welcomed by a single dare—“to tell the truth.”

Someone else is playing the game and knows about their affair, going as far as leaving a cryptic message in Hannah’s house: Don’t You Dare. Hannah’s list of suspects is long: Could it be her noisy neighbor, Libby, who has a few secrets of her own? Or did her husband plan this as revenge for the torrid affair? Is Scarlett back and ready to play again?

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

The narration of this book was thoroughly enjoyable and her voice was so easy to listen to and just get lost in for hours! The story revolves around Hannah, a mid-thirties wife and mother who’s past unexpectedly comes to the present to upend her world. The story was good and the writing was done well, but unfortunately I saw the ending coming well before the twists and revealed. I’m sure many others may not, but I read a lot of books and it was fairly obvious to me. If you’re into mysteries and thrillers, this book may be right up your alley!

Im on the fence about this book i liked some parts and others i didnt. I did not enjoy hearing the main character have feelings or thinking back on her feelings about thomas when shes married. I do like the dares part. To me this sat in the middle of my rating scale

Hannah is an unhappy housewife with two kids. She is married to Evan and unfulfilled but she loves their two girls. There is some mention of a past event that has put a strain on their marriage and led to her drinking more. Out of the blue she is contacted by her college sweetheart Thomas and is immediately swept back to her past when he dares her to do something. Back in college, she had this daring game with Thomas and her best friend Scarlett. Hannah is the narrator and we hear from her in past and present to learn about the game and what happened in college and what has gone on in the years since. The dares got them in a sticky situation in the past. Quickly, Hannah starts making terrible decisions and is caught up in the daring game and is on a collision course to another bad situation when she starts an affair with Thomas (ick). Soon, it seems like someone is aware of the aware and is daring them to do things in order to keep their secret. Is Scarlett back? Is it nosy neighbor Libby? The ultimate reveal and fallout is just what you would expect.

Overall, this was a fast paced read with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and just enough detail to make sure you know what is going on but not get bored. I definitely wanted to find out who/what the deal was, however, I did not like Hannah and she made the absolute worst decisions. Heavily drinking housewife and infidelity are not my favorite plot points but that is not the fault of the book. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Would definitely recommend this quick read. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was excellent.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in advanced for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Don't You Dare
by Jessica Hamilton
Narrated by Hillary Huber

Rating: 3.5/5.0 Stars

This book wasn't really my thing for the first half. It got a lot better and took off in the second half. I didn't love the characters, though the ending made sense and worked. Oh, I had the ending figured out a few hours before the end of the book. It was just a weird setup. Hannah is an alcoholic. She's having an affair. She's pretty bitchy to her family and neighbors. I just didn't like her very much. That being said, the flashbacks to what happened that led up to and ultimately led to Hannah, Thomas and Scarlett ending the Daring Game when they were younger was presented well. I was curious as to what her neighbor's problem was, what with the lurker and her always acting so darn strange. I don't want to give anything away, but this is a decent listen, if you know that it's going to take a bit to really take off and get moving. Ms. Huber did a good job narrating!

Thanks to Dreamscape and NetGalley for the chance to listen to and review this ARC!

Wow, this book caught me off guard!! At first, I thought this book was going to be more of a romance book, but the thriller aspect blindsided me! I could not stop reading it!

Hannah is a 36 year old mom of two who is in an unhappy marriage and is feeling stuck in her life at home. She’s living in her childhood home and suffered a terrible loss last year which she is still recovering from. Her husband Evan is getting upset with her daily glasses of red wine, and believes that she’s neglecting household tasks. One day while opening the mail, she gets a letter with a dare. She is immediately brought back to her college days when she and her two friends, Thomas and Scarlett would play the daring game. The dares were a range from petty theft to doing drugs and pranking other college mates. Hannah meets Thomas after 16 years apart, and it’s like nothing has changed between them. They start to play the game again, but at the same time, there is a suspicious person following them and catching on to their game. Hannah’s life takes a turn and becomes extremely complicated and she works to find out who is plotting against her, but also finds out other details that will blow her mind.

This book kept surprising me and I loved it. This was my first book by Jessica Hamilton and I can’t wait to read more. Thank you to netgalley for this ARC as well as Jessica Hamilton, the author!

4.5 rounded to 4 only because I figured one of the twists!

What a ride!!! This was a fun book to listen to on audio. The twists and turns kept me guessing and on my toes!! The characters were all unlikable but it worked with the story! I’d recommend!

I very much enjoyed this book. There were definitely flaws to the overall structure but I was pulled in so deeply by the characters and emotions of the book, that I more than ignored the flaws, I was reframing them so they were strengths. In many ways, this was a typical thriller, focusing on a woman in an unhappy marriage wanting to relive her glory days of college, and getting a chance when an old flame returns to her life. When they restart a daring game they played together, things soon fly off the rails. I enjoyed the main character, for all her messiness, just enough that I wanted her to win, but not so much that I was surprised when she was a mess. The twists weren’t massive surprises, but they were good turns on old tropes. I also loved the resolution. For me, a good resolution will forgive many things, especially in a thriller, which is exactly what happened in this book. Overall a solid read that I am glad I picked up.

Oh my, I started this book with high expectations and I wasn't let down. I will say, it wasn't exactly the ending I was hoping for, but it did the book justice. Jessica Hamilton does a great job making you feel hated for some people, and happy for others (regardless of the situation) all while trying to figure out who did what and when and with who. It might sound confusing, but in the end, all is understood. Enjoy!

This book was just okay for me. It was definitely entertaining but was pretty slow until the last quarter when things started ramping up quickly. Every character was pretty unlikeable so it was hard to feel bad for them or root for them at any point. The ending was pretty predictable as well. There wasn't enough tension and suspense for me, it was more like a domestic drama than a thriller.

It just didn't work for me- grown adults, daring each other to shoplift candy bars and ask for a phone number in a bar? Pass.
Plus, you have Hannah- a depressed alcoholic who is obsessed with sex- but not with her husband. Never thought I'd read about a 40 year old woman masturbating in a public bathroom. Pretty sure that has like never happened. Sex? Sure. A man masturbating? Sure. A woman? It just doesn't make sense to me.
She stays with her husband for her kids, but she is a crappy mother. (Depressed, yes, but also crappy. And not too depressed to have an affair.)
I found the story very predictable- I had everything figured out early on. And I do mean everything- including the connection between past and present. <spoiler> I figured it was Libby's brother, not brother in law, just because of the whole last name thing. I just figured she married brother's best friend. But I still consider it figuring it out. I knew it was her husband and I knew it was because of the football star's accident in college. And if you didn't figure out by the bazillion times the neighborhood's creeper and the cameras were mentioned that it would end up being Thomas, then I don't know what to say, lol. </spoiler>

I listened to the audiobook. Narrated by Hillary Huber, it is mostly fine, but there were sections that she obviously rerecorded. The tone, volume, pace- all was off when you'd get to those spots.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This book was bizarre. A lot going on. Hannah was not at all a likable character or relatable for me. Honestly I didn’t like any of the characters in this one. You want to feel bad for Evan but at the same time he is kind of a jerk.
So many characters in and out as well.
It wasn’t horrible but I didn’t enjoy it really either. Kind of mixed for me.
Narrator was good.

This review could go sooooo many ways, and I honestly don't know where I am heading. I will flush out my thoughts and see what remains.....

The plot was pretty interesting, Hannah a mom gets a blast from the past note daring her to meet at the "Daring Tree"where she and her 2 college friends met up and dared each other to do stupid edgy stuff (Seduce a teacher, shop lift etc)The dares got more and more shady until finally one dare went too far.....

Present time, Hannah reconnects with Tomas one of her college friends and they restart the game.....

Okay so a little bit Young Adult feel, but it roped me in.....speaking of ropes....y'all this book was just to "adult" for me. There is a reason I avoid Harlequins and Erotic Literature, I don't want to read that. I want to read a thriller! Hamilton takes every opportunity to take this book to a NC-17. I understand for the plot certain encounters needed to happen, but spare me the details and the flippant attitude about it.

None of the characters in this book were remotely close to likable. In fact Hannah is a joke of a mother (yes we have the whole mommy is too drunk to cook, do laundry shtick --groan) She treats her 2 girls terribly and her husband no better. However her husband is no Mr Beaver....he is a piece of toilet paper stuck on your shoe as you come out of the wal mart restroom)Hannah's two friends Tom and Scarlett are stuck in high school. I was so frustrated with how silly and dumb their little charades were. Hannah was just dumb to go along with it all.
Okay so take ALL of that above.....and Hamilton absolutely threw me for a loop with the twist! Well done Ms Hamilton! I totally did not suspect the ending....AT ALL. I thought I had totally figured it out. So snaps for her! Maybe she was purposefully distracting me with all the gross sex scenes, and horrible characters??? Either way it worked! I gasped at the end!! So.....you decide....is my 3.5 a 3 or a 4???

Thank you Netgally and Jessica Hamilton for this advanced audio copy listen of "Don't You Dare". I was not influenced for this honest review.