I received this novel as an ARC through Netgalley!

"Things always get better, sometimes you gotta embrace the change, to find a way through..."
___

I have to say it was an absolute thrill ride! "Win or Die" is a nail-biting, nerve-racking fiction that had me hooked from the start. It follows Cassie, also known as KJ74, who finds herself trapped in a deadly game intensified by a dare from an app she joined. The stakes couldn't be higher as our mouse races to escape a horde of cats, all while trying to keep her loved ones safe. Trust becomes a luxury—not even with the police. It is not just about survival; it's about confronting fears and making tough choices that will have you second-guessing everyone's motives because "Money was money, and people wanted to make it, whatever the cost.."

What really struck me about this book is how well-crafted the plot and characters are. The emotional rollercoaster it takes you on is nothing short of stimulating. Each dare draws you deeper into the suspense, especially as Cassie gets closer to her goal of raising money to pay off Sam's debts. It'll keep you turning pages while keeping you at the edge of your seat, guessing, wondering what the next dare will be and what will happen to the characters. Knowing beforehand that they weren't really after Sam made a difference in how I felt about the book, and I found myself contemplating all the possible "what ifs"—like, what if Cassie had chosen a different route instead of DareMe? Or what if they gave her enough time to raise the money? In addition, in her confession to Sam, before they cornered her, the weight of guilt she carries is evident, making her character even more relatable, and I found the scene incredibly moving. Imagine shouldering them alone for her brother's Sam'ssake!

That said, I did feel that some of the earlier dares dragged a bit, and I found myself skimming through a few pages. They didn't seem to carry the same weight as the later, more intense moments. But honestly, the overall experience was so gripping that these minor issues didn't take away from my delight. I was practically shouting at my Kindle (deffo didn't almost throw it) during those final twists—seriously, SIRE, why do you have to do this to us? (LOL)

I'd highly recommend "Win or Die" to anyone who loves a fast-paced thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat! Just prepare your nails coz' you might bite them all! HAHA!

This book did remind me of the movie Nerve, but I liked Cassie since she was only doing the Dare Me app because she was trying to help her brother get out of debt from some very shady bad guys who are willing to kill to get their point across and keep their vile plan working. That is a very strong family bond and helps Cassie to be brave, even foolish, to get the money before the deadline. Very high stakes indeed and as more is revealed it really amps up the suspense with how there is no one really that she can depend on for help (except for a couple really decent guys) because it is all connected . This book also drives home the point that apps can dehumanize people and make others just see the game and the money, not that a real person's life is on the line or that they may be culpable for murder and other crimes, that in the spur of the moment seem fun and a quick way to become famous and get cash.

So, one amazing thrilling pretty much need to read it one sitting and there better be a sequel after that what the heck ending! I really loved it and still shouted with how horrible people can be if money is involved and being anonymous.

This author used to be a five star all the way for me. But then he had a few books that were still good but not quite THAT good. I am please to say that this book WAS THAT good!
We start with two siblings whose parents died when Sam was quite young, leaving much older sister Cassie to bring him up, putting her life on hold - well tickover - for him. But he is currently rewarding that generosity by acting out. And now, it appears that he is in big trouble as he owes the wrong people a lot of money.
Cassie, ever the saviour as far as he is concerned, is determined to bail him out one more. But where is she going to get £19000 from. In ONE week.
Luckily, there is a new internet craze going about - DareMe - where users accept dares from sponsors for actually money. Silly things like flashing or kissing a stranger. That kind of thing. But these small fry dares only attract small money. She needs to go deeper into the game - to do the big challenges. But the bigger the spoils, the more dangerous the Dare... But she would do anything for her brother... no matter how big the price...
Oh my days. This was deliciously both over the top bonkers but, at the same time, totally and utterly credible. With the way internet challenges are these days I would actually be surprised if this doesn't already happen in some way, or if not, then it's not long coming. Sadly, on occasion, it's all a bit Darwinian at its best!
I loved Cassie though, cos even though she was a bit gung-ho and there was probably a better way of helping her brother, her heart was in the right place and she was a bit game for it all. She was also a bit on the Captain Scarlett side of indestructible, rather than being an ordinary person, and developed a lot of skills in quite a short time. But, all in the spirit of the brilliance that this book delivered. So I can forgive the odd incredible feat...
And as for what happened to the rest of humanity - if I told you, you wouldn't believe it. Until you too sit back and actually equate it all to what is going on in the world at the moment and then I bet you'll start to worry too... Scary days ahead...
And as I was reading, as it all escalated, I really needed to know how it ended. So much so that I actually read this book start to finish in one sitting. I did NOT want to put it down.
And then it ended THERE. Oh My Days! You can NOT do that to me... But you did, and I have to say that I actually kinda liked it!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

My thanks to Joffe Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Win or Die’ written by Darren O’Sullivan in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

From when their parents were no longer around Cassie has been responsible for her brother Sam but he’s in trouble after getting mixed up with the wrong people and owes them £19,000. He’s been given a week to pay and as Cassie attempts to find the money she reluctantly gets involved with the online app DareMe where participants get paid for completing open and closed dares. She starts with a simple dare but the more she takes part in the more dangerous they become until she’s playing for her life.

‘Win or Die’ is a fast-paced thriller written in two parts that has plenty of action, drama and twists and the further I’ve got into the plot the more tense it’s become. I was supporting Cassie all the way as she only wanted to help her brother get out of the dangerous situation he’d found himself in. This has been an exciting thriller that’s had me involved from page one and ended with a cliffhanger that may be promising more to come.

I was hooked from the beginning,
I've been in a reading slump so long but this fast Paced thriller got me out of it,

I would say it is similar to the film 'nerve' but also so so different (better)

Hoping the cliffhanger means a second book

I went into this book thinking it would be pretty much the same as Nerve, and while it borrows the premise, it is nothing like it in the long run. Nerve is fun whereas this is not. This books main character, Cass, is being hunted for what we can only assume is sport when she signs up to app DareMe in order to pay back a debt to some dangerous people. It starts out with little dares but escalates onto theft and borderline murder. A very intriguing book from cover to cover, and I do hope it gets the sequel the last chapter sets up for!

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for a complimentary early release copy of Win or Die by Darren O’Sullivan.

Wow this book was an absolute joy ride from the very beginning! The premise and pacing of the story had me hooked. Something intense is always happening and it kept me engaged throughout the whole book. The characters were interesting, I liked that we got multiple perspectives throughout the book to see how different characters were handling DareMe situations. There were never any dull or flat moments in Win or Die, the thrilling parts of the story were excellent and played out nicely. It really brought on the tension and kept me invested!

The ending of the story does feel a bit abrupt to me, the epilogue brought things together but I would have liked to see just a few more chapters before this end piece. I think something from Sam’s perspective would have been a nice addition. Overall rating 4.5!

Really fun action packed thriller, if you like thrillers with games you’ll love this. Kind of a race against the clock sort of thriller and well written and good pacing. Would recommend

Tightly plotted and entertaining from the jump, this keeps you on edge throughout. I would strongly recommend this

Thank you for this ARC. I have never read anything by this author- that is about to change. What a rollercoaster of a read. Loved the premise, the characters. A real page turner. Would thoroughly recommend to others.

Wow this really was hard to put down I read it in a couple of hours packed full of action a must read for thriller fans

This could have been so interesting but I had to DNF because I could not deal with Jamison’s point of view and I didn’t care for that part of the plot

This is my third book by the author and each time i am always astonished by how good and engrossed i get into reading these books.

From the get go there is unlimited amount of twists, action and suspense. An edge of your seat thriller read that will play on your emotions and have you rooting for characters that feel relatable and real.

We follow alongside Cassie as her little brother Sam has gotten himself into trouble and owes big money nineteen thousand pounds to be exact and has to have it paid in one week. After he is found beaten, Cassie as his big sister would do anything to help her brother which is where DareMe comes along. A new social media app where players film themselves doing dares to earn money. What soon starts out as simple dares becomes much more dangerous even risking your life to earn money for the cause of saving Sam.

Cassie is a character that i really rooted for and loved following alongside her, no matter how scary or daunting a dare was she went straight into it, it was heartbreaking but the resilience and strength she put into everything just showed how strong of a person she was and i rooted for her all throughout hoping for the best outcome. A brilliant character that i’m going to be thinking about for a while.

Win or die also shows how mob mentality and social media can make a dangerous situation arise for things such as popularity gains, online approval and making money and how something such as a simple dare can turn into something a lot worse even life threatening.

Told in short chapters which will engross and keeping you guessing who is the good or bad. Full of suspense, pure tension, and twists you won’t see coming.

You will be biting your nails until the very end when a bombshell moment even i did not see coming.

Definitely don’t want to miss this, a must read for everyone you won’t regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Joffe Books for the copy of this arc in exchange of my full honest review.
Publication Date: 16 April 2025

5/5 stars

I finished this last night and COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! Holy cow, what a banger this is!

I cannot believe how invested I was in Cassie and Sam.

This book was so clever and engrossing. The challenges were brilliant, the plotting was perfect, the dialogue outstanding and the ending? Yassssssssss!

Thank you so much to Joffe for gifting me a copy. It is my pleasure to write an honest review.

Rating: 4.0/5

Darren O'Sullivan discloses in his "Acknowledgements" section that the idea for this book was borne out of a conversation with John Marrs and there are definitely aspects of this novel that are reminiscent of something that John Marrs may have produced. However, it would be doing the author a great disservice to suggest that "Win or Die" is merely a facsimile of a Marrs story - it certainly isn't.

Cassie's brother, Sam, has got involved with the wrong type of people and now owes them £19,000. Cassie wants to help her brother, but how can she possibly raise so much money - and in just one week? That is when she hits upon the idea of using a phone app called "DareMe". Players carry out dares posted on the app in return for cash rewards. Some are just silly and potentially embarrassing, but others can be recklessly dangerous. It soon becomes clear that merely doing the silly stunts is not going to get Cassie the amount of money she needs, but she never anticipated just how much peril she was going to place herself in.

The story is split into two parts. Part One sets the scene and draws the reader in. Yes, you have to grant the author a degree of dramatic licence, but the reward for doing so is that it delivers an engrossing experience on the back of an intriguing premise. It also sets up the potential for an exhilarating "woman on the run" adventure in Part Two. One of the things that I particularly like about Part Two is that Darren O'Sullivan has constructed it in such a way that the clock counts down in what feels very close to real time, which has the effect of heightening the sense of involvement. Against that, there are times in the second half of the story that the writing is not quite as polished as it is in the first half. The element of the plot relating to the bad guys and their ultimate unmasking is a touch clumsy and predictable, but this can be forgiven in the context of how impressive the remainder of the book is.

I hadn't read any of Darren O'Sulllivan's work previously, but I dare say that is about to change.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one! This is my second book by this author and I was happy to be able to read it. It was fast paced, so much happens and you want to continue as you want to see what happens next. The scary part of this book, is something like this could honestly one day happen. People will do extreme things to get noticed and in the end make money. I liked Cassie and understood why she was doing what she did and was really hoping everything would turn out. There are some surprises (at least for me) and the ending was a nice set up to what could be another one!

I really enjoyed this book! The premise was intriguing and I was immediately hooked. The action started a few chapters in, providing enough background information on Cassie, the main character.

Cassie makes the difficult decision to join DareMe, and app that pays user to partake in open or closed dares. Unfortunately for her, she becomes wrapped up in a difficult situation, made worse by the fact that she doesn’t know what her opponents are after.

The writing was clear and the storyline progressed at a good pace. My only take is that I found the revelation of who was hunting her to be a bit underwhelming. Maybe I missed it but it didn’t jump out at me.


As always, Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I love the authors books and was very excited to get approved for this arc. This book is jam packed with everything you want from a thriller, twists, surprises and emotions. The authors writing style is always gripping and this is so well done. I still preferred the players but this one is an excellent read. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this arc.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I am a big fan of Darren O’Sullivan so I was excited to read his new book Win or Die. What a fantastic rollercoaster of a story that had me on the edge of my seat throughout. It was non stop action packed with emotion and so many great surprises. I highly recommend this book to everyone! Fabulous writing! I cannot wait for the authors next book. 5 massive stars.

If you want edge of your seat action constantly, this is for you. Dare me is a social media craze, where players film themselves doing reckless dares for money. Cassie needs money quick to save her brother. But soon, she’s playing for her life. I read this quick, could not put it down.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy