It is Marley’s senior year in high school and it is time for the senior pranks. They start off innocent enough but as the dares get more daring the consequences could cost you your life.

I’m a picky YA reader but if I see it is by Natasha Preston, I know it will be good. Her books bring me back to the days where mundane things are life and death and young love is suppose to be forever. This book has all those feelings and more. Although, there are quite a few questionable choices, I remember that we are reading about young adults who don't always make the greatest of decisions. Marley is an exceptional main character, that I really loved!

Okay she has done it again!!!

Not going to lie the beginning of it wasn’t trapping me, i felt like it was slow BUT that’s because I THOUGH I had figured it out since the beginning only to be a total different story than what I had thought it would!

The ending had me mind blown I was definitely not expecting that last part!!!!
If you like y/a musher mystery with a good twist i highly recommend this one
In the beginning I would’ve rate it a 2.5 but after that ending it has to be a solid 4 ⭐️

This story started out very akin to I Know What You Did Last Summer, but definitely ended up taking its own twists and turns!
I loved some characters, hated several characters and switched those ideas of which characters to love or hate over and over as the plot rolled out and the ending came to fruition!
While some of the ending was predictable, there were definitely some turns I didn't see coming as well!
Overall a fun ride, as I find most Natasha Preston novels to be!

I’ve read other books from Natasha Preston and loved them all so I was really excited when I was able to get an arc for this one.

This was such a good book, I was hooked early on. I would say it’s a fast and easy read for thriller lovers. It was pretty easy to figure out what was going to happen though which I didn’t mind. Though it does have some twists that you don’t expect. I will definitely end up getting a physical copy once it’s out.

The ending was good but I wish it explained more of what happened afterwards because it leaves you to wonder on some things. I feel like they kind of left what happened to Atlas open ended

⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Dare by Natasha Preston

As high school seniors, the end of the school year is full of pranks. But these pranks aren’t the usual pranks, and things go wrong. Pretty predictable but okay.

This book just ended without enough explanation. Why did Jesse lose his mind? Why did Marley’s friends turn on her like they did? How did she know how things were going to turn out? Why did she do what she did? How did Ruthie know what she knew? There were a lot of unbelievable actions and perfect coincidences for everything to work like it did. (Also, Marley had a doorbell camera, but her parents never knew of anything she was doing.)

There were some weird things that the author put in this book. There were three weeks of school left, yet they had already taken their finals. Why was there this big quiz that not everyone had to take? One time, Marley didn’t go to English, she went to crafts instead. Were people allowed to come and go off campus as they wanted?

Now that I’ve written this review, I’m not really sure how I feel about this book. I’m not sure why it’s getting three stars instead of two, but I’m sticking with it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title for review.

Who doesn't love a good dare. This thriller kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me turning pages until late. If you like large casts of characters and surprise twist endings, this one is for you.

It is a senior tradition for a series of pranks to be completed. Most of the dares are innocent. Egging houses, releasing chickens, and similar pranks. Unfortunately, the dares keep escalating, and when Jesse is dared to drive a dangerous road with no lights … the inevitable happens. A man is dead and four friends have covered it up. Can they trust each other? What other secrets were being kept?

The Dare is a stand-alone mystery that will pull readers in immediately and keep them engaged throughout. The final climax doesn’t happen until the last chapter and that made this pulse-pounding mystery that much more enjoyable. Preston has created characters with hidden depth, even if I can’t believe the actual events would be possible (although they are plausible). The Dare is a great escape read for all Preston and mystery fans.

Thank you, Netgalley, Delacorte Press, and Natasha Preston for the opportunity to read Dare by Natasha Preston.

This YA thriller involves a group of seniors conducting different pranks as a passage through high school. These innocent pranks turn into dangerous dares that leave the seniors covering up their tracks. It has you questioning friendship and reanalizying who you can trust. It took me awhile to get into the book, but once 40% completed, it had me anticipating what would happen next. The ending, though twisted, really caught me off guard and kinda made me sad.

Thank you again for the advance copy for an honest review.

The Dare is coming on May 7th!! Preorder now wherever you get your books!!
Thanks so much to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for giving me a complimentary eARC upon my request for review considerations!! All opinions are my own.
What’s it about?
I triple dog dare you . . .
As senior year comes to an end, senior pranks are just beginning. It all starts innocently enough. Marley and her friends—Atlas, Lucia, Beckett, and Jesse—egg houses, set chickens free on the quad, and fill the principal’s office with glitter-filled balloons.
But when Jesse accepts a dare to drive the red route, a ten-mile stretch of winding road that’s notorious for car wrecks, at top speed, things take a turn for the worst.
Now, the five friends are bound by a tragic accident—and a dark secret that threatens their bright futures.
Summary from The StoryGraph
Why I Started This Book
I read The Twin, but it wasn’t my favorite. I’ve been wanting to give Natasha Preston another try, so when I saw this book on Netgalley I didn’t hesitate to request it!
My First Thoughts
The book jumped right into the action, which is something u like. Although I did notice a similarity to Panic by Lauren Oliver which I’ll talk about later in my review.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
This book was pretty good, just not my favorite book ever!
What I Loved
The Dare is super edgy! I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next, and if everything was going to blow up!
The book is really well written, and the plot is very well executed! The book has all of the aspects that you’d expect from a mystery and more!
The novel is super twisty! I was on a roller coaster of emotions, and there was definitely some crazy plot twists that you need to watch out for!!
What I Disliked
Borrowed from a lot of other mysteries, specifically Panic. While I think the novel was really well written I just couldn’t shake the feeling that this was Panic 2.0. This does make it perfect if you loved Panic, but for me it felt just a little too similar.
Book vs. Movie
There’s no movie for this book.
Should You Read It?
Maybe! If you like mystery books or Natasha Preston novels you should read it! Also, like u mentioned above, if you like Panic by Lauren Oliver this is made for you!
Conclusion
The Dare by Natasha Preston is a twisty thriller and mystery. I loved how edgy it was, and the big plot twist. The book felt pretty similar to Panic, but overall it was a well written mystery novel.

Love, lies, betrayal and good old senior pranks. The Dare follows a group of friends who just want to have a little fun during their senior year when their senior prank goes horribly wrong. Marley, Atlas, Jesse and Lucia except a harmless prank from their nemesis/ex-friend Rhett one night to drive down the road with their lights off and each of their lives will be changed forever.

This book was a bit slow in the beginning as we get more details on the senior pranks, love lives of the characters and background of how these senior pranks came together. I can honestly say this book and some pretty great twists and turns and some of them I didn’t even see coming. This book will take you on a wild ride and I highly recommend it. This book was a solid 4.5 stars!

The Dare is a wonderful YA thriller that had me questioning Marley and her friends from the dare to the very last chapter. By the time I hit 40% of the book I couldn’t stop reading and did so until I finished.

I loved the plot of this book, it was well paced out, but had twists and turns that keep you hooked as you try to figure out what is happening. I loved that you knew what happened to the original victim from the start, but it’s the aftermath that is unknown. Can’t wait to read mod books by Natasha Preston!

A fun and twisty thriller with twists and turns around every corner. When a dare goes wrong can you really count on your friends row have your back? Marley finds out the hard way that you don’t always really know the people closest to you…

It’s the end of Marley’s senior year of high school, and that means it’s time for senior pranks/dares. The Wilder brothers set the stage for pranks by doling out dares to the participating seniors. Every year, the dares get more and more extreme. Suddenly, the dares turn deadly and Marley and her friends are at the center of it.

I’ve read YA books that did not feel like YA books, but “The Dare” is firmly in the YA category. As an adult, I gave it a 3 star rating because even though it was dealing with adult topics, it felt very juvenile... the dialogue especially. However, I think if I were reading this in middle or high school, I would have loved it. It definitely gave me “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibes.

***SPOILER AHEAD****



As for the ending, I hated what happened with Rhett. To ruin someone's life because they stopped being friends with you in middle school? Absolutely hated it.

In this small town senior prank's are running ramped since we are reaching graduation. The dares are getting thrown around and getting more and more intense. Marley is given a killer dare by her ex-best friend Rhett. They didn't expect to end the night burying a body.

This was totally a popcorn thriller. It wasn't amazing or mind blowing but it was fun a quick to read. I find it underwhelming when you know who the killer is right away. I like the chase and the questioning of finding out who did it. I was craving more of the dares and seeing them followed out. that was really the reason i waas so interested in this story. so that was a major let down for me. again it was fun and quick and a great pallet cleanser

This book was fast-paced, chilling, and absolutely nail-biting. Once I got into the story, I couldn't put the book down. The main character, Marley, had such an evil intelligent side to her that ended up saving her life in many ways. I loved how senior pranks turned into one of the best thrillers I've read. I wasn't expecting the twist and turns that occurred and wouldn't be mildly surprised if this book tops the charts!

Release Date: May 7, 2024

Thank you NetGalley for releasing an early copy of The Dare by Natasha Preston in exchange for my honest opinion!

The dare written by Natasha Preston due to be published May 7th 2024 by Delacorte Press.

All the high school seniors get pranks, and Jessica is nervous for hers. So when she learns that she has to drive danger alley, a windy dark stretch of road, with no headlights, she is scared.
As Jessica predicted, things take a turn for the worse. Now, she and her four friends are tied together forever by a dark secret.
Will one of them tell? Or will this secret stay with them?
This was such a fun YA thriller that kept me guessing until the last minute. I absolutely loved the ending.

I just love all of Natasha’s books and this was just as good as all of her other ones I can’t wait for more to come in the future.

Thank you Netgalley, Natasha Preston and publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

2.5⭐️

This was ok. The last 15% really pulled this one thru for me otherwise I think it would have likely been a DNF under different circumstances.

The pacing of this book for me was fairly slow and a bit dull. I wasn't finding it standing out from other stories with this same hit and run trope. The aspect of the dares were interesting but I didn't really understand how Red had so much power over all these classmates.

The ending is really twisty and back stabby. This was fun and quick paced. I would continue reading from this author although this one missed the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Okay. Natasha Preston. Your books have a hold on me.

I struggled a moment at the start thinking um. This is I know what you did last summer. But then I’m thinking about a Natasha Preston ending and am like okay there’s gotta be something different. And. There. Was.

The friends garbage. I was even rooting for Marley. Glad she was coming around BUT

Rhett. Why? Why did she do that?

#justiceforrhett

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read and review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s!
This was a quick, extremely enjoyable read, that definitely had “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibes, but also had some amazing twists and turns that kept me guessing. The truly satisfying ending was not one I saw coming, that’s for sure!

I first of all want to say that I was really excited when I found out I was picked to read the arc copy of The Dare by Natasha Preston! Thank you to NetGalley! I really like Natasha Preston’s books. I’ve read almost all of them and this book, The Dare, did not disappoint! It was full of twists and turns and It really had me guessing throughout the book. I was suspicious of everyone! I thought I knew how it was going to end and I was way off! I definitely recommend this book!