This book feels like summer. Like Sarah Dessen meets Jenny Han.
It took me awhile to get into this book, but once I finally got sat down and reading- I couldn’t stop. All of the characters are so developed, and have so much chemistry which makes some really really fun and lighthearted dynamics.
This book is more than you would expect, it shows so much of teen life during the summer- everything from summer jobs, days at the beach, bonfires, and some really sweet romance.
Junie is the main character, she’s an overdramatic teen just trying to make this a great summer, balancing the community Theatre, trying to fix and maintain some friendships and cope with moving into her mom’s boyfriends house. This book has so many different subplots and tropes, which I absolutely loved.

Juniper Nash made a bad decision that’s left her pining after the boy she kissed last summer—her friend Graham Isham. Good thing she quashed all feelings she had for him. Now, they spend their days avoiding being alone or talking about what happened as she tries to mend their friendship. But when Junie ropes her friends—and their friends by extension—into the community musical, she realizes she still has lingering feelings for Graham. But she already ruined his life. He’s off limits if she wants to fix things between them and not make things weirder for their friends. But the more time they spend together—especially as she deals with her new prickly likely-soon-to-be-stepsister, moving from her home, jealous girlfriends and mean peers—the closer they get… and the harder it is to fight their feelings for each other.

This book was so sweet. Juniper is messy and chaotic and quirky. I loved her. The whole time I was reading, I just kept thinking about how the town and the characters reminded me of Gilmore Girls. The friend group was absolutely perfect, and I loved Tallulah. While the book was fun and had great summer vibes, it also had characters dealing with the aftermath of their heavier backstories. Graham was the perfect love interest, and Milo and Lucy were the perfect best friends. And let's face it, friends to lovers is my favorite trope! This was a very cute book!

Summer YA beach read. Teen drama, angst, and friendship all on a Florida Key. Nothing over the top but enough to keep you interested and rooting for everyone. A few twists and turns to keep you reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC

I liked the characters but I struggled to connect with and enjoy the storyline. I can not pinpoint what wasn’t working for me.

Enemies to lovers with brother’s best friend to friends to lovers emotional rollercoaster! I adored Indira and Jude’s story and the care and delicacy that Mazey Eddings dealt with their traumas and their stories. Eddings has a knack for making readers fall for her characters despite their most craggily bits being so raw. They feel real and flawed, and we are on the struggle bus with them with plenty of heart, humor, and hotness along the way. I love how Eddings brings back the whole group from her previous works in new and endearing ways and creates new favorites as the Callowhill group expands (and somehow makes me want to trek to Philly). Thanks so much for the advanced reader copy from NetGalley and the publisher. I literally squealed when I snagged my copy, and I’m so looking forward to others reading Eddings’ sweetest, gooey-est, most heartfelt couple’s story yet.

The characters were well developed and well written but I just couldn’t connect with the material. It’s similar to how I’ve grown to not love Gilmore Girls because the main character just hit for me but there is an audience for this book and that audience will love this book.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for this eArc for my reviewer.

2/5 stars! I wanted to like this story. The concept of friends to lovers to awkward friends intrigued me. My issue, which to be fair comes up relatively frequently with YA romcoms, is the immaturity of the main character. Why must we write our teenage characters as making only the worst decisions constantly? Kids sometimes make dumb decisions but one after another after another? I liked Graham's character a lot but he couldn't save the ridiculousness that was Juniper.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

To me, this book didn't stand up to Markum's debut, which I absolutely adored. It felt full of cliches: life on the beach, working in a shop, friend conflicts and difficulties with dating. The characters felt 2 dimensional and the conflicts were uninteresting. There was none of the flare or uniqueness that I felt were in her first novel.

Summer in a small beach town! small group of childhood friends! Community theatre! Friends to friends with benefits to enemies to friends to ????

It took me some time to get into this one, and there are still some elements that didn’t click for me, but here are some that did

When the book starts, something has happened to drive the main couple apart. What worked for me is that this was not a miscommunication trope, but a genuine deeply rooted issue. The dialogue and interactions were smart and authentic.

Now for some Gripes:
there was a moment when the MC was just very Straight about something and made a comment that felt out of place- not in a homophobic way, just a ??? kind of way

This could also be something that I happen to be very sensitive about, but I didn’t understand the MC’s reasons for hating her stepsister so much. Tallulah would make a comment about being vegetarian or being environmentally conscious and the MC would launch into a tirade about how arrogant she was and I just did not make the connection

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Will be reviewing a physical copy of this one. Thank you again for the ARC and hopefully this opens up a space for someone else.

Very different from her debut, This May End Badly, but I think that’s a good thing. Markum is showing her range of YA storytelling. I feel like Junie got picked on a lot here, always being advised to take the high road, which was frustrating, but she was also stubborn and occasionally oblivious, so it all balances out. She and Graham could have worked on their communication skills to avoid some setbacks, but then I remember they’re only 17, so they’re actually doing pretty well.

A girl with a complicated relationship with her best friend that went up in flames after a summer fling, a new family situation, and a play that will take over her life. Juniper “Junie” Nash Abreheart is in love with Graham Isham, her best friend whom she kissed... and after a summer fling their relationship ended in flames and now their friendship is on the rocks. Junie did an unspeakable thing that ruined their friendship and she knows it ruined Graham’s life and now they spend their days sidestepping conversational landmines and acting as if they are okay. But Junie knows she is very much not okay, she is still in love with Graham but can’t forgive herself for what she did to him. On top of this she is dealing with the fact that her mother wants to move them into her boyfriend’s house along with his daughter, a surly teenager who is always rude to Junie and she can’t stand her. Yet with the community theater production happening, Junie has one thing to look forward to: her dad coming to visit... yet the reality is that he is constantly setting her expectations up and crushing them. Junie is dealing with a lot of conflicting emotions: from her love of Graham to her constant denial of their relationship, her selfishness, and her stubbornness. Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me, I adored the author’s other book and this one was a miss. I just couldn’t stand Junie at all and didn’t get what Graham say in her and why he constantly forgave her. Graham was a great love interest, but Junie wasn’t a great protagonist unfortunately. The story really just didn’t capture my attention and I found myself just hoping it would end soon. It was pitched as being perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls but it just didn’t feel that way. I didn’t get the cute summer town beach vibes or the sweet romance, it just was not what I had expected or hoped for. So while this one didn’t work for me, give it a go if you are interested in stories about friends to lovers, complicated family relationships, and teen drama and family drama with elements of a play in it.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

You Wouldn't Dare is a quintessential summer read about growing up, falling in love and daring to be yourself. It's a love letter to Florida, found families and high school theatre. I don't often compare books in my reviews, but this took me back to classic YA contemporary reads like Amy & Roger's Epic Detour and Lock & Key.

You Wouldn't Dare follows a soon-to-be-senior, Junie, who finds out that she and her mother will be moving at the end of the summer to a town 20 minutes away. She's spent her whole life in North Shore and is particularly worried about letting go of the connections she's made, especially with her childhood best friends - Milo, Lucy and Graham. Complicating things are Junie's precarious relationship with her soon-to-be step-sister Talullah, and Graham, her best friend with whom she had a fling last summer and has since just barely patched up a friendship. Things get messy when Junie ropes all her friends into saving the high school theatre summer production.

This book seamlessly covered so many questions that arise with adolescence - parental & sibling relationships, friendships, romance, career pathways, and even community relationships. I was quite impressed by the number of characters involved. That said, it was a little bit difficult to keep up with all of the different introductions at the beginning. This slightly detracted from my reading experience. However, I quickly acclimated and became immersed in the story.

This book's heart lies in how effortlessly it captured the complex dynamics of high school friendships. I fell in love with each of Junie's three best friends. Their final moments felt like saying goodbye to the ensemble cast from a beloved TV show. It was beautiful seeing her work through these relationships and mature. More YA novels need to feature strong friend groups like this one!

Graham was such a sweet love interest! I won't lie, I became a little frustrated by the will-they won't-they towards the end, especially when it became clear what exactly was holding them back. However, simple complications and miscommunication leading to fallout are apart of growing up. I loved the ending we got to their story.

Overall, this was an endearing read that I would highly recommend to those seeking a wholesome YA contemporary.

Although this took me a long time to complete, I’m so happy I did! It’s a great story to wind down with and to explore the world in the theater, restaurant, and in friendship. The characters are so relatable and I loved the character growth through the story. Sometimes, I did kind of lose the theater aspect and influence in the story, but overall, it all flowed nicely. I’m beyond happy to have read around Markum book! I love her work!

4/5 stars! To our friends who love found family, friendship, love, and self-discovery!

**Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free review copy! I am leaving this review voluntarily!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of YOU WOULDN'T DARE by Samantha Markum. I loved Markum's last book, and I feel the same about this one. The summery, Florida island atmosphere, the tight-knit community, the bantery group of best friends, the high school play—a lot about the vibes of this book that weren't even necessarily connected to the main plot or theme just contributed so much to why I enjoyed myself. But then the main theme was also great, of course. The MC Junie had a great character arc of learning to overcome her guilt and mistakes and admit to her feelings and take the risks of a romantic relationship with Graham, which was also connected to her feelings about her neglectful father which she had to overcome to accept her new step-family. The heart of this book was sincere and real, even as the surface was often light-hearted and funny. I found it delightful.

I went into You Wouldn't Dare with high expectations (I loved This May End Badly and grew up devouring beachy small town YA) and it blew all of them out of the water. This is the spiritual successor to my favorite Sarah Dessen books, and Samantha Markum has cemented herself as one of my top autobuy authors.

Long story short, I want to live in this book and in Junie's world (even if Florida in the summer is my worst nightmare). Her friend group was vivid and distinct. I loved watching her navigate her relationship with Milo and the growth between her and Talulah. The second chance here was done excellently, and I simply adored Graham.

I absolutely adored this book! I wasn't sure what to expect going into it, but it ended up being one of my favorite reads of this year. The story took place in Florida and it felt so real. The community that was built between the characters in this book was done so well. It felt as if I was a part of the story. The attention to detail from the traditions of the main friendship group to describing where the characters were, was absolutely perfect.

This book was a romance but also was filled with found family, friendship, and lessons learned by Junie, the main character. It's the perfect book for the summer but also was a great late-fall read. Every time I picked up the book, I was transported to the warmth of the summer sun.

All of the characters were likable in their own ways, even if they had moments where they were "overreacting" or not being the best version of themselves. Junie and Graham's relationship took so long to build up - but that's what made it even better. Nothing felt rushed in this book, but nothing felt slow either.

I'm so excited for this book to come out and for others to read it! I highly recommend it. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy!

This is the perfect YA for the summer time. Just enough drama to keep you engaged, great character development, some awesome scenes in the story, and an over all happy feel good book.

I really enjoyed this book and cant wait to recommend to more people!!

You Wouldn't Dare by Samantha Markum is a cute novel that really has you rooting for Junie and whatever she wants, especially since she's losing out on everything she has at the end of the summer. With her mom moving them in with her boyfriend on the other side of town, they'll be moving out of her beloved home near her friends. She's walking on eggshells with one of her best friends, Graham, because they let their friendship turn into a relationship the previous summer and no one in their group was sure how to act after that. Her father is mostly absent. And her soon to be stepsister Tallulah? Just don't go there!

But Junie gets everyone to go out for summer theater and it's mostly fun...and so is this novel. It has some slow points, but overall is enjoyable. Thanks to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

**Review will be published March 23rd, 2023 on my site and socials**

*sigh*

I will still recommend Markum’s first book, This May End Badly. But unfortunately, I can’t recommend this one. It was the complete opposite of everything I loved about TMEB.

Junie spends over 3/4 of this book selfishly entitled, saying every wrong thing, being mean to her almost half sister AND the cute boy and I couldn’t take one more bit of it. I’m all for a character arc with growth, this ain’t it. She did one nice thing at the end and that was great and all, I guess.

The only true saving grace here was Graham. He was sweet and the steadfast kind of hero I loooove. Frankly I don’t know why he kept putting up with Junie.

And the play?? It did NOTHING for the plot other than help me move faster through the book because I skimmed right over these scenes. I did not care that Junie was in a play. Or that she dragged all of her friends into it. Or they had to recast someone. Or etc. etc. etc.

Alright I’ll stop. I hope to try Markum’s third book and that it is a redemption.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: heated make-outs
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: small scale injury, emotionally unavailable father, underage drinking and smoking, loss of a mother (off-page), near drowning