When I first started this one I was a little unsure whether or not I would end up liking it because I'm not the big fan of domestic suspense - HOWEVER this one was so much more than that!
10 years ago Hannah was in college playing a dangerous game of "Truth or Dare" with her 2 best friends/lovers Thomas and Scarlet. Now, she's an unhappy housewife and when her former lover/friend Thomas shows up and wants to restart the game she can't resist the excuse to spend more time with Thomas despite Scarlet's warnings from overseas.
I actually really felt for Hannah on this front - her husband Evan, isn't at all supportive when it comes to her mental health and is holding everything against her, but wont let her go. Meanwhile, someone who loves her and she actually has chemistry with is hoping to win her back. The added aspect of her toxic relationship with Scarlet seemed to amplify this - I just wanted her to be loved. I thought the narrator really excelled here and I felt all the emotion coming through.
The truth or dare aspect was almost second to the love story for me, but I didn't mind it. It actually added even more suspense to Hannah and Thomas coming back together and dealing with the game and all the mistakes they made in college along with wondering if Scarlet has anything to do with it. Don't get me wrong, they were definitely frustrating at times though!
The last 25% was great. There wasn't a quick and unsatisfying wrap up, it was a russian doll type ending, and while it wasn't happy, it was definitely satisfying and I'm glad the author took her time with it.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for this alc. It was an interesting listening. I loved and felt all good and bad with the main character. I was nor expecting the end at all. I love dual timlines and this was really done so good. Love makes the world goes around and here was really a vivid demonstration about it. How young people do all instinctivelly and point the finger to everyone else. It was a nightmaire so a perfrct thriller.

Don't You Dare By Jessica Hamilton- Review

I need to be honest. This might not be my best review. However, this is because Don't You Dare is a challenging book to review. It has things I loved about it and things (one big thing?) that dropped Jessica Hamilton's Don't You Dare very close to the great salt lake. But not quite. See my problem? Let me try it this way.




Don't You Dare By Jessica Hamilton- What I Liked

To begin with, the idea of the plot is unique and palpable. Jessica Hamilton writes Don't You Dare with a quick pace, wasting no time. There isn't any time for your mind to wander or boredom to set in. Instead, it just takes off and moves.

Second, the characters are all well-written. You may like them, and you might hate them, but they serve an essential purpose. They create more gray areas than I knew existed. Each main character and some side characters are neither good nor bad. It is like watching Game of Thrones. There are minimal cut-and-dry good or evil characters. Most of them either are morally gray or completely change from beginning to end. That is undoubtedly true for Don't You Dare.

For instance, the main character Hannah is a hot mess. On one side, it seems like she's an alcoholic that can't take care of her family. On the hand, you have her husband. Evan outright treats her like crap, right up to threatening her with divorce and taking the kids, all so he doesn't "fail." Then again, Hannah is having an affair. So there's that.

Thomas comes across as a nice guy. He seems to be the knight on a white horse coming to save Hannah from everything. The thing is, I never bought it, and that is because of how well Thomas is written. I didn't quite know why or how, but I just didn't trust him. Just under the surface, something kept niggling at me.

And then there is Scarlet, who spends most of the book halfway across the world. Yet, you know, you just know that something is coming from her. But is it a bad something or a good something? Good luck with that one.

Next, the timeline flashbacks work brilliantly. I loved them. They fit in seamlessly and upped the what the hell is coming level. But see, there is where the problem lies...




Thank you to Crooked Lane and Dreamscape Audio for the advanced audio copy. DoDon'tou Dare releases May 16, 2023




Don't You Dare By Jessica Hamilton- What Went Wrong

Remember when I just said that the timeline flashbacks upped the what the hell is coming factor? It is the only thing that does so. Don't You Dare was entirely predictable for me. YMMV. However, I started putting a few of the puzzle pieces together at about 25%.

Moreover, by the 50% mark? I pretty much had it nailed. This wasn't one of those exceptional reads where you figure out small things, but a more considerable reveal is coming that knocks you out. I had the whole thing. And that killed all the great things Jessica Hamilton has to offer. I can't say more on this front without spoiling everything.

But again, it is only fair I point out that this part was my experience. Everyone reads differently, and sometimes we all put together different pieces at different times.

Don't You Dare By Jessica Hamilton- Audiobook

This is an excellent production with one of the best narrators going. Hillary Huber knocks it out of the park. Whether she is bringing Hannah's messy, sarcastic, frazzled personality to life, or the busybody neighbor, Libby, to the main men: Thomas and Evan (who have distinctly different personalities), Huber kills it. Additionally, Dreamscape produces it fantastically. The timelines (past and present) are labeled perfectly.

And that is what I've got. So take it all and make your decision. Do you or Don't You dare?

Don’t You Dare is a fun mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. Hannah, Scarlett, and Thomas were friends from college who played what they called the daring game.

Years later Thomas and Hannah get back in touch and start to play the game again. Things get crazy and I was shocked by where everything went.

I loved getting little revelations throughout the story that bridged the college years to the present day. Finding out what made them stop playing the game and then finding out what really happened was thrilling.

Parts in the middle did annoy me and get a little boring. Hannah is having an affair with Thomas and a lot of the middle was around that, but it was setting up the rest of the story.

This was a fun, quick, and interesting mystery. Don’t You Dare is definitely one I recommend.

Besties Hannah and Scarlett meet Thomas in college, and the three become an inseparable threesome, until jealousy develops as Hannah and Thomas enter a romantic relationship.

The three like to play "The Daring Game" in which they dare one another to perform risky dares. The stakes get higher and higher, until one dare ends in tragedy, driving a wedge between the three, and Thomas disappears without a trace.

Hannah is heartbroken, but manages to move on with her life, gets married, and has two children. Sixteen years later, she's unhappy in her life and her marriage, and spends her days lost in the pages of books, often neglecting her responsibilities.

One day, she receives an email with a dare. It's from Thomas! The two reconnect, and unhappy Hannah finds comfort and solace in the arms of her first love. But someone else finds out about the affair and the daring game. Who could it be? The list of potential suspects is a long one, and Hannah has so much to lose.

Thoughts: I binged this gripping page-turner in one day!! I couldn't stop listening. Hillary Huber is a master narrator, and played this part brilliantly. I can't wait to read more by this author. What a wild, twisty ride! Definitely recommend.

4.5 stars rounded to 5.

Thank you #partners NetGalley and Dreamscape for my gifted ALC.

3 stars

This is a great listen for the summer: an engaging thriller that requires little thinking and many characters that readers will find fascinating in terms of their consistently bad decision making. What more could one want on the beach or by the pool?

Hannah, the m.c., is in a depressing marriage that involves some intense vitriol on both sides, but since she has two children and a lot of wine, she keeps on in this state for too long. When her college boyfriend reappears - which would cause me to run for the hills but to each their own, I suppose - Hannah finds an opportunity to make her life an even bigger mess by reconnecting with him and with their creepy game of dares.

It's tough to know who to root for here because in their own ways, all of the characters are terrible. At many points, I found myself wondering if the "villain" was actually the most reasonable! I also struggled with the resolution, though I'll leave out the details to avoid spoilers.

This is not the most gripping or creative thriller I've read recently, but it does fit the bill for that aforementioned summer thriller. Readers looking for the right book to accompany them in a low-pressure environment will find what they are looking for in this one.

Thank you, Net Galley, for an audio ARC of Don't You Dare by Jessica Hamilton. Wow! What a ride that was! This is a psychological thriller, and family drama all rolled into one. Hannah, Scarlett, and Thomas meet in college. They quickly became a throuple. Scarlet created The Dare Game. Sixteen years later, the games begin again! Also, the narrator did a fantastic job!

This book was great!
I was immediately drawn in& could not read it fast enough.
It was steamy & fun&fast-paced
The mystery had me on the edge of my seat & the final plot twist🤯…
you won’t see it coming!
I thought it was fun that the class reunion was also my graduation year &school colors 🖤💛
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books, Jessica Hamilton, &NetGalley for this arc as it was provided to me in exchange for my honest opinion.
Slated to publish 5/16/23

Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Hamilton & Dreamscape Media for an audio arc of Don’t You Dare in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

I was super excited about this Thriller. It was one of my most anticipated of the year. Unfortunately, it fell short and let me down.

Hannah and Scarlett have been best friends and inseparable until college when they meet Thomas and let him into their group. It is at this time that the friend create the daring game with each dare getting more and more risky until it finally reaches the point that Thomas leaves college and never comes back. Until her does. Several years later, Scarlett is in Australia living her best life and Hannah is unhappily married with two children. One day she receives a message from Thomas to meet him at the daring tree. Hannah and Thomas start back up the daring game with just the two of them as well as entering into an affair. As things progress between Hannah & Thomas, they start to receive messages to “tell the truth” and requiring other participation for Hannah & Thomas, only they have no idea who is behind these messages. Is it somehow Scarlett? Thomas thinks so. Or could Hannah’s husband have found out about the affair? Hannah doesn’t think so. Or could it be Hannah’s nosy neighbor? Possibly.

For me, there just wasn’t anything special about this book. The “whodunnit” at the end of very predictable and not a surprise at all. I can 100% guarantee you that if I was reading a physical copy of the book, I would have DNF’d it. I did not DNF the audio because I listen at such an excelled speed that I was able to fly through it fairly quickly. I absolutely hate every single character. The neighbor was obnoxious, the husband was exaggeratingly horrid, Hannah was whiny an self-deprecating, Thomas was shady and Scarlett was absent most of the book, but she was horrid in her younger year. I did not care what happened or didn’t happen to any of them.

I felt like there was so much potential with this book from the synopsis, but it just didn’t work and was quite boring.

I will not be recommending this book. I’m sorry!

2/5 Stars

This book was so unexpected. It was more than your every day thriller. It was sexy, edgy, relatable. It reminded me of the fearlessness of being a teenager, before your frontal lobe ever had the chance to risk assess. It reminded me of your first unadulterated love. On top of all that, it was thrilling, with a twist I definitely didn’t see coming.

PS: Evan sucks.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Thank you NetGalley for this audio ARC of this book. This was a dual timeline with very unlikeable characters. but for some reason it worked for me. I kept wondering what was going to happen even though I didn't like anyone. I don't really know how to describe this book other than you should read it.