The Dare by Natasha Preston

This book is about four teenagers who are seniors in high school. As a rite of passage for being seniors in high school, they are assigned a dare. The dares start off easy, but then progressively get more serious and complicated as the book continues, until eventually someone ends up dead. The dares are no longer funny pranks, but can land you in jail -or worse- if you aren’t careful. Will these four survive an accident gone wrong, or will it slowly tear this group apart???

NetGalley had sent me this book as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review (so thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the chance to see this book early!!); I am just late posting this review, which I will explain later on.

I have read almost every Natasha Preston book since she was releasing them from Wattpad; I love her as a writer and her books always have very interesting endings.
This book, however, was just alright for me. The first half of this book shows us the Main Dare: drive down danger alley without headlights on. This one dare triggers all of the events for the book, and shows the readers what happens after the dare takes place. The rest of the book pretty much just shows other minor dares that don’t cause as much chaos, which I felt was a little disappointing. I also felt that the book was mainly just the four main characters going back and forth on what they should do about what happened the night of the Main Dare; after the first 30% of the book it slows down tremendously in that middle 40%. And in my opinion that made it harder for me to get through this book. Then, the last 30% was where it picks back up as fast paced and with all the twists. I love Natasha Preston’s twists because they are usually very left of field and they ALWAYS surprise me. However, as much as the first and last 30% made the book so interesting and made me feel something, I am giving this book only 3 stars because of the main 40% seemed more bogged down than usual, and that made it harder for me to read, which is why my review is coming quite a while after this book was published.
I do believe, also, that I might be outgrowing the Young Adult Thriller side, as a lot of it always has the social media aspect to it, like the multimedia texts and TikTok posts and etc, which I really don’t care for in YA. But this is just my own flaw as a reader.

Overall, 3 stars ⭐️ for this, and thank you again to NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I like this author and the new book did not disappoint!! Set right before the seniors get out of school for the summer and then go off to college. The last couple of days the seniors perform a lot of dares and if they don’t follow through there will be steep consequences. Quick read and great twists!!

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read! This was my first Natasha Preston book and also my first YA book as an adult. This was a great book, especially if you like YA! It was a fun ride. Glad I finally got a chance to read this one!! Wish I would’ve read it sooner! So great! But I don’t think YA is my genre of choice. 😊

What I enjoyed most about The Dare was its fast-paced narrative. Preston does a great job building tension, keeping you hooked as the characters deal with guilt, fear, and the consequences of their actions. There are plenty of twists, some predictable and others genuinely surprising, which kept me flipping pages late into the night.

That said, some aspects of the book felt frustrating. The characters, while interesting, sometimes made choices that seemed irrational even under pressure. Marley, in particular, could be a bit inconsistent—at times strong and determined, at others frustratingly passive. Additionally, the ending, while shocking, felt a bit rushed. I would have liked a little more development in the resolution to balance out all the buildup.

Twists and turns throughout the book! Suspenseful, fast read, with twists and turns that make for a book that you can't put down. Students that enjoy a good mystery and thriller will definitely enjoy The Dare.

Natasha Preston is a popular thriller author in my library, and this will be a solid pick to add to the collection.

I'll be honest, at this point The Dare is a DNF for me, BUT I may go back and finish it at some point. I've started reading it two different times, get to a point, and then I'm drawn out of the story. I will blame this on being immersed in adult thrillers for the last year or so. Compared to my preferred reads, The Dare is more predictable and includes WAY more teenage drama.

However, I'm a school librarian and I know that my students absolutely love this type of book. I think Natasha Preston writes in a way that will keep teenage readers engaged. I think that the story itself is interesting, particularly the dare game that the characters are wrapped up in. I think the characters are a great mix of relatable and unlikeable. I'm giving this book a 4 star review, despite my ability to finish it right now, because I DO think that it will appeal to the intended audience and I'm confident that they will enjoy it.

The Dare was my first novel by YA author Natasha Preston and I am pleased to say that it won't be my last! I'm eager to check out more of her YA suspense novels from my library.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
As senior year comes to an end, senior pranks are just beginning. It all starts innocently enough. Marley and her friends—Atlas, Lucia, 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 danger alley, a ten-mile stretch of winding road that’s notorious for car wrecks, with no headlights, things take a turn for the worst. Now, the four friends are bound by a tragic accident—and a dark secret that threatens their bright futures.

My Thoughts:
This was a pleasant change from some recent YA thrillers that I have picked up. I really enjoyed the fact that this one was suspenseful and kept me turning the pages, while still being clean (without any spice/steam or language). While it was extrememly farfetched, and I did guess a couple of things, there were some twists and surprises in the last 20% of the book that I wasn't expecting. I found myself rooting for Marley and was surprised at how irritating her friends became and how quickly they turned on her. Like I said, this was pretty out there in terms of being super believeable, but it was such a great escape and a quick read that I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a suspense book with twists and turns. My tween really loves listening to MrBallen and other similar true crime podcasts and is always looking for more thrilling books to read and I'm excited to share this one with him in the near future.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Natasha Preston never fails in being the queen of plot twists that are nearly impossible to see coming. As a fan of “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” I was very excited to see her take on the classic horror storyline, and she did not disappoint. Seeing Marley’s change throughout the book of an unwilling participant to a ringleader in her own right taking everyone down around her made my jaw DROP, especially in the last few pages of the book. Ultimately, a satisfying ending that I think even the biggest thriller fans would enjoy.

This was my first book from this author, even though I’ve seen her work everywhere on Facebook and TikTok! I was excited to dive in! This was a great popcorn thriller. It was very fast paced and kept my attention the whole time. However I was not the biggest fan of the ending. I still had a lot of questions and would have liked some closure. After doing more research I realized she’s known for these types of endings. Either way I still enjoyed it!

Thank you so much @delacortepress and @netgalley for the copy of this eARC!

QOTD: Do you trust your friends, or are they keeping secrets from you?

I had an incredible time reading this YA thriller—it was a thrilling rollercoaster from start to finish! The plot twists kept coming, and the way everything intertwined completely blew me away. The protagonist was fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this journey alongside her. And that ending? Absolutely Satisfying!

The story begins with a seemingly harmless senior dare that spirals out of control, leaving Marley and her friends facing murder charges. When those closest to her turn their backs, Marley is left to navigate the chaos alone.

This book has suspense, rich character development, and plenty of drama. The twists kept me on the edge of my seat, and the pacing was so fast and intense, I couldn’t stop reading to find out what would happen next.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4

YA thrillers are usually hit or miss with me. I did enjoy this one but I was expecting more of a jaw dropping twist. It did have me interested enough to keep reading. There were a few times when I thought I knew what was happening but I was wrong. I will read another book by this author because I have heard such good things and I did enjoy this book.

This book was fun to read. I want to thank those involved in giving me a chance to read it.

However some of the book was unbelievable. The characters kept going around and talking about a crime every chance they got. How did no one over hear them. I loved the ending and how it all worked out.

Feeling just a bit conflicted about the ending.

The story itself was pretty fun to read, however, once I sat down and truly started to think about the story, it all kinda just fell apart. 2 stars from me.

Natasha Preston did it again I loved this book honestly a 10/10 for me I love her writing and can’t wait for her next book !!!

This book kept me guessing. It was very thrilling and I loved the dare concept. First time I’ve read this author but I plan to read more!

I enjoyed reading The Dare by Natasha Preston. I have never read a book by her before.
It was a good book. I definitely felt it was written geared towards young adults as the main characters were graduating high school. That is not the author's fault, I should have checked into it further as I am in my 40s.
Most of the book was a little predictable until the reader got to the end. There was a decent size twist toward the end. It was an enjoyable, quick read.

WHAT DID I JUST READ! I really liked this one! I wasn't really expecting much out of this one, because like how far can a prank really go, but I was invested in this story! It was thrilling and had me guessing!

Thank you for an arc of this book. Oh I absolutely love anything and everything by Natasha Preston and this was no different!