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.

I requested this audiobook because I absolutely love Hilary Huber, but this is a DNF. The main character is insufferable, and I genuinely don't care about how much she resents her life and her marriage.

I almost dnfd this book multiple times. I found all the characters annoying and horrible and honestly didn’t care about what happened to them. And there really wasn’t a mystery, not until the very end. I wouldn’t necessarily categorize it as a thriller like it’s marketed. And all of the sexual content made me skip parts. There was so much of it where they could have just implied things and used the words instead to develop the characters more

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?

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book

Thank you to #NetGalley and #DreamScapeMedia for the listen and review of #DontYouDare by #JessicaHamilton. This was a great book and I really enjoyed the twists and lies intertwined. I would highly recommend and look forward to more books by Jessica Hamilton.

Don't you Dare by Jessica Hamilton was a fun story with an interesting premise. It is a quick domestic thriller where I suspected everyone! I actually did end up correctly guessing who was behind all of it but it took me quite a bit of time to figure it out. I like it that the author gradually left enough bread-crumbs where you can figure it out without it being too obvious. I was worried I wouldn't like it at first but the book reeled me in early on and kept me pretty engaged. The narration by very good as well.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the free audio book in exchange for an honest review. This was narrated by Hillary Huber and very well done. I recommend the audio book if you choose to read this one!

Hannah is 35, has 2 daughters, and is a stay at home mom. She quit her dream job at the library when her husband put her into a mental health institution for an accidental overdose. Hannah drinks too much and is in a bad marriage with Evan, her whining and manipulative husband that keeps way too close of tabs on her.

Scarlett is Hannah's BFF from college who struck me as a spoiled rich girl.

Thomas is Hannah's hot boyfriend from college. He disappears when suspended from college due to a terrible prank that he pulled.

This is a dual timeline story told by Hannah in college and Hannah present day. Hannah gets a letter in the mail 16 years after college from Thomas reviving the Daring Game that he, Scarlet and Hannah played in college. Its basically truth or dare where in place of truth, there is punishment for not completing the dare. Hannah keeps Scarlet in the loop as she decides to play the game again with Thomas.

I agree with the minority of reviewers that this was not the read I was expecting. I despised all of the characters and found Hannah rather irritating and exhausting. I have read books where I did not like the characters and that makes it difficult to sort through. I sometimes still like the book despite the characters and story but this was not the case. This was closer to listening to Pretty Little Liars. My attraction to this book was the psychological suspense and the mystery twists. Instead, I more sex scenes than I like with characters I found shallow and deviant. The story also had a lot of unbelievable 'coincidences' and was fairly predictable.

ABSOLUTE MUST READ! The characters were easy to love but you will also catch yourself doubting each of them. Such a fun quick read that will hold your attention from the first page.

A suspenseful, romantic thriller that keeps you guessing. I loved this unique premise with dual timelines and very morally grey characters so you never know who to trust. The mystery ad me hooked and I really loved seeing how the characters changed from the past to the present and throughout the progression of the story more of their personalities and secrets get revealed by giving this small flashbacks. Generally the writing, fast pace and mystery was amazing it kept me on the edge of my seat and I was left guessing so nothing felt predictable. I would definitely recommend.

Unfortunately, I did not care for this book. The idea of the dares were interesting; however, the main characters were not likeable at all... The ending was okay, but still did not improve my impression of the book. The narrator was great!

Thanks NetGalley, Jessica Hamilton, and the publisher for this ARC

I tried to like this book. It’s not really a thriller.
It’s told from two perspectives the present and past. It needed more twists and unpredictability and less sex.

Sixteen years after college, Hannah is unhappy in her marriage and bored with the stay-at-home mom life she's somehow found herself in. So, when her old friend and former flame Thomas walks back into her life.... Hannah thinks he's the perfect remedy for her boredom..... until someone else finds out, and things get way out of hand.

I absolutely could not pause this book. Right from the first page I found this character to be so relatable. The drinking was a bit excessive to the point where it seemed unrealistic for her to be able to continue to function in her daily life.....but the idea of feeling like you're bored or in a rut is something I think most people feel at one point or another and her perspective somehow made Hannah sympathetic rather than annoying.

I just loved everything about this book. It's a great blend of mystery and romance (enough romance that it's NSFW but not so descriptive that you wonder if you're reading erotica). The writing is great. the narration is perfection. I just absolutely loved it. Can't wait for more from this author!

🌟🌟🌟🌟
Jessica Hamilton’s debut novel was a mysterious 4-star read so when I saw this book, with the same type of hauntingly beautiful cover, I couldn’t resist! I’m thrilled to say she’s done it again.

Her latest enthralling and titillating psychological thriller focuses on the obsessive and deviant friendship of three friends. Hannah and Scarlett have had a warped and solitary friendship since childhood. In college they meet Thomas and their duo becomes a complex trio.

Scarlett is the manipulative and controlling ringleader. Hannah and Thomas are pawns and she expects complete loyalty. Their relationship crosses boundaries, rules are broken and there are secrets between the friends and tension starts to build. They’re playing a game they call The Daring Game and Scarlett uses it to deceive her friends with riskier dares until the final dare ends in tragedy. Thomas leaves school and disappears from their lives.

Life goes on. Hannah marries and has children. Scarlett moves thousands of miles away. Then Thomas resurfaces in Hannah’s life and they resume The Daring Game…and their sizzling relationship. But someone is watching and taunting them. And finally dares them…tell the truth! Hannah can’t tell her husband. She’ll lose her children and he’ll destroy her life.

Great narration. This audiobook kept me listening from the moment I hit play. There are wild twists that are impossible to predict! I was fortunate that my husband was working out of town so I had very few interruptions. I hope her next book is on the way!

Sincere thanks to Dreamscape Media for providing this gifted audiobook through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#DontYouDare #JessicaHamilton #dreamscapemedia #giftedARC #netgalley #audiobookreview #honestreview #audiobookarc #comingsoon #TheDaringGame #4stars #thrillerfriendsunite #mysteryandthrills #readwithme #bookaddict #thrilleraddict #thrillersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #lovebooks #bookreviewersofinstagram #lovetoreadbooks #cantstopreading #fortheloveofbooks #ad #bookreel #igreel

Wow! This was so good!! I went in blind and had no expectations & i was so pleasantly surprised by this novel. It was such a page turner and quick read and i really enjoyed it! I was completely entranced. This date game was so intense and i really wanted to know how it ended up because i knew the stakes only rose in the past. And in the present for that matter but for different reasons.

I was so enthralled at figuring out this couple and the dynamics of the trio. And the intensity of it until the final climax.

I did ultimately figure out the ending but it was still fun to get to. Such a fab read!

3.75 🌟
The audiobook was really good and these days I am becoming a fan of audiobooks! I have read the book and enjoyed it and listening to the audiobook even made the story better! The eerie feeling as well as the psychological aspect felt more deep!

Lets play two truths and a lie, 1. I loved this book 2. I loved Scarlett 3. I wish Evan would fall off a cliff.
#bestfriends #secrets #couldbeastalker #couldbelove #narcissist #proof #lies #deadlygames

A thrilling mystery between three friends, secret lovers, spiteful spouses, and nosy neighbors!

Thanks to Net Galley & Dreamscape Media for this Audio Book!

Don't You Dare
By: Jessica Hamilton
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Release date: 05-16-23

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.


unhappy marriage.... old boyfriend.... old games.....
Wanted to keep reading. Was a bit disappointed in end. BUT still giving it 3 stars. Possible 3.5