This was an enjoyable, fast read. Despite my busy schedule, I was able to read this in two sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The story revolves around Lily Fracton, who is your standard victim of school bullying. For someone who was bullied at school (though nowhere as extreme as this), it was an emotional read in places. I am pretty sure that the author must have experienced some elements of what she put into the story. As the story progresses, Lily's mental state declines and the supernatural/psychological aspects of the sorry begin to emerge to great effect.The violence is quite vicious in parts, and I got quite a thrill out of seeing the brutal revenge enacted.
I like all sorts of horror and can really imagine sitting down to watch this as a film if they ever made it.

“Bully Me- I Dare You” by Megan Monroe
Lily hates every day she goes to school, where her bullies will torment her. Her trauma and torment cause her to feel powerless, but her reflection speaks to her and tells her horrible things. When it all becomes too much, bodies start to drop.

This book is good for anyone who would love a horror novella and worth the read but it just wasn’t for me. Lily didn’t feel developed enough for me and I would like to have seen what she was like before the bullying and more of a build up to her extreme action instead of being dropped into the middle of it. 2 out of 5 stars.

-Bully
-Revenge
-Torture
-Rape
-Self-harm
-Suicide

According to Amazon this is a YA book aimed at 12-15 year olds - but in my opinion this is a little bit too brutal for a 12 year old.
There are very explicit descriptions of bullying, revenge, torture and rape - I have never read anything so brutal and if my kids were reading this at 12 I don't think I would be very happy 🙈
Anyway, back to the book! This definitely had the shock and wow factor. It was only a novella so didn't take me long to get through it at all.
I did enjoy it, and I really felt for Lily, who was the main character, who got severely bullied.
Great read, but I can imagine a lot of people would find this too much - so just be prepared if you don't like brutal, explicit reads.

Lily is a senior in high school and every day she gets bullied by Kate and her friends her mom tries to console her but it doesn’t help but talking to her image in the mirror does. Unlike other peoples reflections however Lily‘s talks back even does her best to help Lily. When Lily has a dream about one of her bullyers Jenna and finds out the next day the girl was murdered at her home Lily is the Stalinist when her school classmates start blaming her she doesn’t know what to do but when they start blaming a kindly man who has low intelligence but is nice to everyone things really get interesting. Because it seems Jenna was just the beginning. Usually horror stories do not have a wow ending not in my experience but this one definitely does because when it ended I was like… Wow! I really am not a big fan of books we’re just the one getting bullied gets in trouble but I must say I found the story so compelling and write it all in one setting cannot wait to see what else Miss Monroe has to offer. I really enjoyed this book and want to read more from such an intriguing mind. I definitely recommend this book if you love horror especially very gruesome and very imaginative horror then you’ll love Bully Me… I dare you! by Megan Monroe. I definitely did! I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Couldn't completely get through the book because of the formatting of the Kindle version and by the time I tried to download for Netgalley app, the book was archived. The beginning really took off quickly and I was very interested to see how the story would go. Hoping to be able to purchase for our Quick Reads section and finish the rest!

Wow this was insane or maybe brutal is the better word. It was non stop violence and it evoked such raw emotion in me. I was so annoyed at the bullies and the savagery of their actions and the fact it was non stop for Lily. I sympathised with her and understood her actions and need for them to stop. Not sure I would have survived more if this wasn't a novella. I liked the narrative but not a revenge reflection isn't exactly original. Overall, a decent read.

Bully me - I dare is a fast paced novella surrounding the ongoing bullying Lily, a teenager. With novella’s , because they short can leave the main character a little 2D. Saying that, Lily emitted such a deep sense of despair, anguish and hatred which basically boiled down to being bullied.

The tempo of pace picked up through the narrative as well as the gore. The premise of the book reminded me of a film I watched called Don’t Look, where the reflection of the girl in the mirror takes over.

My favourite quote,

“ chop ,chop, slicy, slicy. Gotta pay if you don’t play nicely “ Did actually make me laugh as it was well timed !

Would have loved to of read more about Lily and her family background. All in all a great novella and loved the cover too.

This book sounded so good to me. I thought I'd really enjoy it. But, the consistent spelling and grammatical errors made it difficult to read and completely took me out of the story. I'd love to read a well edited version of this story.
I am grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Bully Me - I Dare You” by Megan Monroe is an extreme horror novella I was excited to jump into once I got access to it. This is actually the first book I was ever given an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) for through NetGalley/BookBuzz as the cover and description spoke to me.

Now, before I begin my review, I found a few trigger warnings I wanted to let everyone know about beforehand. They are…

- Bullying
- Self-harm
- Suicide
- Suicidal thoughts
- Rape

If any of these trigger you, please do not read this novella. Moving along, this started out pretty interesting and actually had a very creepy intro I enjoyed. Unfortunately, this went downhill pretty quickly for me as I immediately noticed a lot of issues and ultimately felt misled by this book.

When you have “An Extreme Horror Novella” literally in your book title, that’s a very bold statement to make. Extreme horror is literally some of the most disturbing, offensive, vile, disgusting, sexual, you name it kind of wild reading material. I’m talking so over the top, you will feel dirty and weird with every flipped page. This “extreme horror novella” is nowhere near that for a myriad of reasons.

There are some violent scenarios here and there but they are very generic and honestly, not all that extreme. These needed to be fleshed out more so I could literally feel the extremeness in my bones. It needed a lot more gruesome detail to be in the realm of true extreme horror and this completely failed in that regard.

I completely understand this is an ARC but it also needed better editing as I feel this wasn’t even edited at all. I found several typos, extra spaces, and grammar issues that drove me nuts. I know being a professional sports writer and editor enabled me to probably catch these issues every single time they come up but when I read a sentence that says “there’s nothing wrong will being a killer” when it should be “there’s nothing wrong with being a killer”, that’s a huge no-no in my book.

My golden rule is if you’re an author and you’re giving ARCs away, it needs to be perfect before it ever hits the eyes of an ARC reader. Otherwise, it should not be given as ARCs and sure as hell should not be published.

For an extreme horror novella that’s barely 141 pages, there is way too much dialogue here and not enough extreme horror. If you’re going to label this as such, you have to bring the heat. Again, extreme horror always implies some very controversial and wild content that is guaranteed to have readers squirm and make weird faces while reading because it’s that insane.

I’m talking “WOOM” by Duncan Ralston. Crazy extreme horror like “Dead Inside” by Chandler Morrison that I literally had to take a shower after finishing because I felt grimy. You know, extreme horror books that tell you immediately that this is literally going to scar you beyond your wildest thoughts. “Bully Me - I Dare You” is nowhere and I mean nowhere near any such extreme levels.

This novella is mostly a story about bullying with a slight horror twist of the violent kind. The story doesn’t logically or even scientifically make sense at all when it comes to the plot, characters, dialogue, events, and overall delivery. It was all pretty unrealistic just by the flow of the story and it just didn’t make much sense as I got to the end.

This stems from poorly developed characters and a plot that just never came together. The main protagonist of Lily definitely needed more building up right from the start. Why is she acting this way? What is her backstory? How does one transform as she did without any rhyme or reason? Again, where Lily started and where she ended up, it was not fleshed out enough or anything. No plot twists at all and just presented as it is what it is. This needed to be tightened up and explained a whole lot better for it to make sense.

The same goes for other characters as well. Edward, Mira, Detective Blackwood, and all these random bullies had no real character development. This entire story was severely lacking anything that had meaning or purpose. Even the ending was more of the same as I got tired of repeated phrases and situations. Constantly saying “bile rose in my throat” or “bully me, I dare you” three or more times is overkill.

My whole thing is that it is extremely hard to write a successful and effective novella because you only have so many pages to work with that have to be on point. In this case, this was 141 pages and the majority of it was filled with dialogue and fluff. Every single word, page, and chapter needs to be perfect for it to be successful. Even more so if you’re dubbing this as an extreme horror novella and it didn’t even give me anything remotely close to that. This is a very specific and well-established subgenre of horror and is like that for a reason. It was simply not extreme horror in any way, shape, or form and you will see it a mile away once you’re 20% in.

I give “Bully Me - I Dare You” by Megan Monroe a 1/5 for not living up to the title of it being “an extreme horror novella” due to a lackluster story that didn’t bring anything fun, innovative, or crazy to the extreme horror subgenre. It needed a lot more extreme horror, depth, better character development, and proper editing. This wasn’t even that scary, creepy, or disturbing. If you read and enjoy extreme horror, this will be one disappointing novella that you will regret reading. I wouldn’t even classify this at all as an extreme horror novella and would say it’s mostly a bullying story with some violent scenes that have a horror twist to it. Stay away from this one, it’s not worth it.

Well that was brutal! Poor Lily has been savagely bullied for too long and finally snaps. This a tale of revenge that is not for the squeamish.

This book definitely had me gripped right away, the dark atmosphere kept me on edge, especially as the darkness kept building and revenge was enacted!

2.5 stars.

My first go at extreme horror, I would say it was a neutral venture. Stomach wise, I can hold up to it just fine. I do feel like the extreme brutality is a bit of a cover for lack of a well thought out plot. But that’s not to say that this was plotless, perhaps the plot just wasn’t particularly interesting to me. I would read another novella from this author given the chance.


P.S. That reflection bitch is strong as shit apparently! She’s up in there like HULK SMASH.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

An absolute rollercoaster of a horror novel! The author has brilliantly captured the harrowing experiences of Lily, a girl tormented by bullies at school, and the eerie friendship she forms that ultimately leads to a nightmarish descent into darkness. This skillfully weaved tale blurs the lines between reality and the supernatural, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The relentless tension and suspense throughout the book are commendable, making it an unputdownable read. If you're a fan of horror with a touch of psychological thriller, this book should be at the top of your reading list!

Buckle up, folks! Bully Me - I Dare You is a spine-tingling, nail-biting horror story that will grip you from the very first page. This isn't your typical ghost and gore fest; it's a dark and twisted exploration of the human psyche. From the moment I picked up this book, I was hooked. Megan Monroe's storytelling is so immersive that you'll find yourself questioning what's real and what's imagined. If you're looking for a chilling tale of revenge and madness that'll leave you sleep-deprived, this is the book to read. Trust me; you won't be able to put it down!

I love coming across a good short novella that really grabs. Lily has a story that does just that. A horrible life being bullied daily and a reflection that may be a little more on the side of revenge, present Lily with more than enough opportunities to act out. Even when she doesn't realize she wants too.

I really enjoyed this story. In terms of a novella, it had a gripping storyline and very realistic character's, well some, anyway. I guess I was able to relate a bit, as I too was bullied, but never to these extremes.
My only issue was that my kindle version was really bad. But thankfully I was able to read the pdf on the netgalley app. I want to thank the author and the netgalley for this opportunity.

Stormi Ellis

I have a soft spot for stories of bullying and revenge. In this novella, an innocent girl is the victim of years of bullying. She feels worthless and hopeless, but her mirror self promises to help her find justice. It's fun because it's over-the-top and even gory, even though it doesn't hold together logically. If you enjoy realistic horror, you will probably enjoy this. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this.