Loved this one! So easy to read and lots ofntwists and turns along the way. Definitely a quick read and one I recommend.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked this book up. This book has a lot of trigger warnings: sexual abuse, domestic violence, rape, I could go on and on..

This story is told from 3 different angles by 3 different woman, but it in brings them together. I went into this book blind, and I wish I would've had a trigger warning on the cover or something. I didn't connect with any of the characters in this story. I did however feel really bad for all of them and what they were going through in life.

Unfortunately I was rather disappointed by this book. I don’t know if I was expecting more but it fell flat for me

This story is about three women, Simone, Veronica and Sarah and their struggles.

I could not connect with the characters and I found myself not caring what happened to the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

To Dare follows the lives of 3 women who could not be more different in their lifestyles and upbringing.

Veronica and George are moving into their new home in Primrose Hill, but they are having doubts after the neighbours kept them awake with their loud music and shouting. They are worried that someone was being hurt.

Simone is Veronica’s neighbour and has battled with drug and alcohol, she lives with Terry who is also a drug addict and an alcoholic and her 2 children.

Simone has a new job but is scared to tell Terry who is both emotionally and physically abusing her. She wants to change her life but how?

Sarah is happily married and has 2 children. She meets up with her old school friend Veronica, when she discovers Sarah teaches her daughter. Veronica is keen for them to meet up but Sarah’s memories of their time together are not so sweet.

I loved this book!  The totally compelling story of three women, whos lives collide, in a very unflinching climax. This book explores themes of what is means to be a woman, a parent, a neighbour, a friend, and the power struggles that exists, sometime invisibly, between them all.  Parts are quite uncomfortable to read,. It does get very dark.  The characters are well crafted, and the book is gripping from the start.  I will certainly be looking out for more books by this author.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

This book for me was a slow burner and I really enjoyed this book told from the perspectives of the three main characters - Simone, Veronica, and Sarah which I think makes for a really good read.
On the other hand.... I really wanted to enjoy this book! But it just wasn't for me. I couldn't get into it.

Thank you Netgalley for this copy of To Dare by Jemma Wayne. I feel like the description did not do this book justice. This dark compelling novel is amazing. Wayne does an excellent job on her character development. And her writing style will have you flying through the pages. You won’t be able to put it down!

I found "To Dare" a fairly dark, bleak read. We move through three narrative perspectives - Simone, trapped in an abusive relationship (her story, which contains fairly graphic depictions of child abuse, is particularly difficult to read); her neighbour Veronica with her own history of abuse; and her childhood friend Sarah, who tries to avoid reconnecting with Veronica at all costs. The story has a very effective claustrophobic feel - almost every character is trapped in different ways, and their efforts to find freedom or relief seem to always end in other people being hurt. An intense read, with a thankfully satisfying conclusion.

Trigger Warnings: abuse, rape, domestic violence, manipulative behavior, infertility, child neglect.

Well if ever there was a book that should come with a warning label, To Dare should probably be one of them. I thought I was divining into a chicky domestic thriller but boy was I wrong.

Veronica moves into her dream home with her husband in hopes that a baby will be shortly behind.

Next door, Simone lives in her run down apartment with her abusive husband and terrified children.

Their lives become intertwined through late night calls to ask them to keep the drug fueled parties down and concern for Simone intensifying with every cry through the bedroom walls.

Things become even more complicated when Sarah, Veronica's childhood best friend comes back into her life. We learn how deep childhood wounds can go and how some hurts are impossible to let go.

This book is an exploration into just how dynamic women really are. The secrets they keep, their resilience. I greatly enjoyed getting to know these three women. At times, my heart would race when they would be in a sticky situation or backed against an impossible situation. The writing is masterful. Pure and simple, I never once was pulled out of the storyline due to a writing error and I will be looking for more of Jemma Wayne in the future.

Thank you Netgalley and Legend Press for an advanced reader copy of To Dare for my honest thoughts and review.

To Dare was a tough book for me to get through due to its inclusion of some very dark topics such as rape, violence, addiction, and abuse. I love reading psychological thrillers, but once this heavier material is added in I do not enjoy reading as much.
The book is told from the views of three women, and their backgrounds affect how they cope with the various challenges that come into their lives. It also shares the connection between the women and how their lives affect one another's. Jemma Wayne is a skilled writer, as so many of the descriptive passages really affected and hit me hard! She does a wonderful job with a very heavy story.

To Dare intertwines the lives of three women and demonstrates the good and evil that each person, no matter their background or current situation, has within.

I was really impressed with the way the author wrote tension into many of the scenes, and how you were pulled back and forth between hating and sympathizing with a given character. While there is a lot of dark material covered, there is nothing quite explosive and I think I missed that. I also think the book could use a bit of pruning and streamlining, maybe cutting about 10-15% out.

Note: I received a free eBook copy of To Dare from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a brilliant read and had me hooked from the very beginning. Its a raw, dark story of power and control that plays out in two separate families. Very well written with strong characters that are not all likeable!
Will definitely be looking at more titles from Jemma Wayne.

Highly recommended, read if you dare!

Thank you Legend Press and Netgalley

To Dare follows the lives of 3 women who could not be more different in their lifestyles and upbringing.

Veronica and George are moving into their new home in Primrose Hill, but they are having doubts after the neighbours kept them awake with their loud music and shouting. They are worried that someone was being hurt.

Simone is Veronica’s neighbour and has battled with drug and alcohol, she lives with Terry who is also a drug addict and an alcoholic and her 2 children.

Simone has a new job but is scared to tell Terry who is both emotionally and physically abusing her. She wants to change her life but how?

Sarah is happily married and has 2 children. She meets up with her old school friend Veronica, when she discovers Sarah teaches her daughter. Veronica is keen for them to meet up but Sarah’s memories of their time together are not so sweet.

I loved how this book brought 3 very different women together who are all dealing with their own issues. I was immediately gripped by their women’s lives and I thought their characters were well written. The story covers a wide range of issues in a sensitive way.

I would definitely recommend this book. It will stay with you long after reading it and makes you look at your neighbours differently. How well do you really know anyone?

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

This book is based on 3 different characters. The topics are pretty heavy for each character. It made me feel so many emotions. I really loved the ending and felt a real connection with the characters .

This book is heavy! Going into it I thought I was going to read a typical, thriller but I was wrong. Its hard hitting and has a lot of advisories in it so definitely look at that before going into it. Through multiple stories there are ,ots of topics covered which are all important but I don't think they needed to all be in one story. Wayne does a good job of character development through the 3 women.

To Dare is a dense multi-layered story about three women who connect with each other on a common point. I’m not sure how to review the story! It was hard to get into the plot and like the characters, but the story gave me a lot of strong emotions towards the end which made me care for Veronica, Simone and Sarah. The writing of this woman’s fiction is great suchlike a thriller! 3.75/5 ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley & Legend press for the arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

This has been a book I've wanted to read for a while, it has been sitting in my wish list but I am honoured to have been allowed to read this for an honest review by Jemma and NetGalley.

This ARC was incredible. I was hooked from the beginning and after the anticipation of waiting to read the book, it did not disappoint. The twists and turns throughout the book had me sitting on the edge of my seat, sometimes shouting at the book!

I may have a slight book hangover from this one. Thank you Jemma for allowing me to read this!

I thought I was opening a thriller and soon found out this story follows the lives of 3 seemingly different women as their lives intertwine and they are experiencing heart ache, trouble and sadness. Reader beware of many sensitive topics.

This is one of those books that was strong until the ending. Sigh. I hate when that happens! Still, it was a good read. It wasn't really a psychological thriller the way I thought it would be, however. And do take care if you find domestic violence triggering - there were a lot of graphic details here. Veronica and Simone are neighbors, but they seemingly come from two different worlds. Veronica is "posh" and struggling with infertility. Simone lives with an abusive partner, struggles with drug addiction, and has two small children she cannot really care for. She cannot even get a part-time job without her partner flying off the handle.

When Veronica and her husband complain about the non-stop noise coming from next door, the women's worlds begin to collide.

But even more important to Veronica is Sarah, an old childhood friend who ends up being the mother of the one of the students Veronica teaching. There are a LOT of thematic issues in play here: infertility, jealousy, power trips, domestic abuse, getting even, trying to find peace with one's past. At times, they muddle the power of each other a bit.

And then the ending. I just didn't understand it! One of the main characters is led to believe something happened, but another bears silent witness that it did not. Instead of feeling like a twist, it just felt confusing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Genre: General Fiction/Literary Fiction
Publisher: Legend Press
Pub. Date: July 1, 2020

This novel explores many themes through a multi-layered style, maybe one too many. You will read about addiction, domestic violence, rape, child abuse, dysfunctional friendships, jealousy, class biases, miscarriage, and claustrophobia. Wayne does a good job in all her themes. However, I am not sure that they all need to be addressed in one novel. Taking on too much can create a cramped read. Wayne’s astute observations make for a good literary fiction tale. Think the author Ann Patchett. Yet in this novel, the characters’ troubles, written in detailed and lengthy prose, gave off a melodramatic women’s fiction feel, especially the ending. No matter the genre, this story is dark. This reviewer has no problem reading disturbing fiction though others may.

Three women narrate the story. Two are childhood friends and the other is a neighbor to one of them. Their lives are entwined by chance and proximity. Simone grew up with money but in adulthood, she lives in poverty. Rebellion against her parents led her to a teenage marriage with a boy who lived in the slums. After his death, drug abuse and loneliness bring her into a disastrous second marriage. This time to a man who is mentally and physically abusive to her and her children. Here the author shines in exploring the reasons for her character’s spiraling downfall where she confuses abuse with love. Through Simone, Wayne does an excellent job of showing the reader the definition of Battered Women’s Syndrome.

We also meet Veronica who is a wealthy teacher. She and her husband just moved into their dream house. However, she is mentally depressed. The trauma of her miscarriage and the stress of not being able to conceive again are destroying her marriage. Again, Wayne shines in her descriptions of Veronica’s emotions regarding her infertility. They are good enough to make you wonder if she interviewed couples going through this issue. Then there is Sarah who in the present is a middle-class lawyer married with two children. In Sarah and Veronica’s childhood years, they were best friends. When she re-enters Veronica’s life as an adult, the friendship goes haywire. I compliment the author for nailing their preteen jealousies complete with dangerous dares and power games, which hurt one of them so terribly it left her with claustrophobia. In the present, both of them revert to their childhood personas. Here, I thought things became unbelievable. It is hard to swallow that two grown women would have a “Mean Girls” sort of friendship. It reads like a corny women’s fiction novel.

All three women are fighting their own demons, meaning the reader should be cheering them on. However, I did not. Or I did until the plot began to feel silly to me. When the three female stories are weaved together, rather than enhancing the novel they lose some of their intended punch. I do give the author credit for writing about three often-unlikable female characters. At least, I think that she did this on purpose. (Spoiler: The tale has an open ending, but hints that the women will do well in their futures), which is usually the case in women’s fiction. Women's fiction can be done well when it taps into the hopes, fears, and dreams of women today. However, in this novel, with its many themes, it comes off as excessive, exhausting, and sometimes silly. This is a shame since Wayne is clearly a talented author and I would read her again. I found “To Dare” to be a decent read, that with some editing, could have been a very good book.