This is a wonderful YA story. I am an adult, and fully enjoy Natash Preston books! The thrills and twists keep coming!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with a digital arc of this book!

The Dare is the latest book by Natasha Preston. It follows the main character and her three friends at the end of their senior year as they try to cover up a dare that has gone terribly wrong. I enjoyed reading this book overall. It was a quick and engaging read, keeping me guessing until the end. I have read a few of Natasha Preston's books, and I feel that it is clear that her writing style has evolved since her earlier books.

I regret to say that I do not think this book was for me personally. I found many things that happened to be unbelievable, and the ending left me wanting more. It felt way too abrupt, and the reveal wasn't drawn out enough to make it seem worth it. I found it to be confusing to follow, and there weren't enough breadcrumbs dropped throughout the story for the reader to even guess the ending. Mystery/thriller books are supposed to be confusing in drawing out the suspense, but the confusion in this book felt more like the writer was just as confused as the readers were. I do read thrillers rather often, so this opinion may have been crafted after many books in this genre. If you are interested in the premise or the author's other books, pick this one up and give it a chance. I didn't hate it; it just wasn't for me. 3/5 stars.

This story was interesting. It started out with seniors giving each other dates as pranks. A date gone wrong where they hit someone with their car and the story is about covering it up. At times the characters were frustrating in the choices they made.

The Dare is a YA thriller that really seemed to have mixed reviews. I figured I'd give it a shot as the cover and synopsis really caught my eye. I have to say that I land somewhere in the middle on this one.
Senior pranks and dares have been around forever and there's no shortage here. But when one goes wrong, how these teens handle it seems pretty common and felt like a movie that I've seen way too many times.
There were little twists etc along the way, which made it interesting for sure. And the book went really quick.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Delacorte Press for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Pub Date: 07 May 2024

When I first started reading The Dare by Natasha Preston, I found it to be reminiscent of R.L. Stine's Fear Street YA Horror book series, which I enjoyed. However, at a certain point, the storyline veered and was almost identical to the movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer, which almost caused me to stop reading the book. I was hoping for something a bit more original and not a retelling of something that had already been done. There were other parts of the book which reminded me of The Secret Diaries trilogy by Janice Harrell. The on again off again friendship between Mia and Rhett was a bit bizarre and didn't make a lot of sense to me. The friendship Mia had with the other three characters was a bit strange as well, and certain things that happened between them seemed to come out of left field. Three out of five stars.

I absolutely loved this book! Natasha has been an author I’ve followed for a while now, and have been buying her books for a few years now. So having the opportunity to read this beforehand was amazing. This one has easily become one of my favorite of hers. The ending didn’t leave me wanting more, but left me super satisfied. The suspense and the not being able to predict what was going to happen next was top tier. I look forward to reading more from her.

The Dare was so much fun. It had a nice I know what you did last summer feeling to it. It was suspenseful at times and trust no one at all. The ending was crazy twisted. This aurthor always have crazy endings which I love.

This was a solid thriller with good pacing and interesting characters. I wasn't sure how it was going to end which was nice. The twists are good. I would recommend this if you enjoy thrillers. Special Thank You to Natasha Preston, Random House Children's and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Big thanks to NetGalley for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Dare by Natasha Preston is a YA thriller that reads like a YA thriller. The premise seems familiar enough and has a very "I Know What You Did Last Summer" vibe with a bit of a twist.

While I know this is considered YA, it reads a bit younger in my opinion; more like a Fear Street book from the 90's. This is not a bad thing however I found the characters to be very immature and unlikable. There are a lot of personality changes that don't make a lot of sense and the ending felt a little thrown together and far fetched.

Overall, I think that for a younger (14-16yr) reader this book would have all the pieces of a great thriller with twists to keep them guessing and end ending that will be a surprise.

This was the best Natasha Preston book yet! Teens in my library devour her books and I always buy two copies since they are paperback (and they literally end up in bad shape in a few months). I always have to recommend with a caveat due to the ending of the books, but this time I won't! There is still a twist, but in a good way. Highly recommended for fans of Natasha Preston and the genre!

The Dare is another solid mystery from Preston. She delivers likable high school students who find themselves in quite the pickle.

The Dare by Natasha Preston is a fun and engaging YA thriller that kept me intrigued through to the ending. The characters and the plot had me glued to the pages and the story's mystery had my mind racing. I was shocked with how the story played out, It's a great beginner thriller; however, there were a few plot holes that I was confused by, but overall had me interested through to the last moment!

This book gave me immediate “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibes, which happens to me one of my favorite horror movies. A lot of it was very predictable in what was going to happen. I didn’t really find much intrigue with it. I think the ending was a huge letdown. I was expecting more and his book just didn’t deliver.

Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for the arc!

In this story, high school seniors are dared to play pranks as one of their traditions before graduation. Pranks have become increasingly more daring and dangerous, and this time lives are at stake and friendships are tested. It was an entertaining story, even though it was a little predictable at times. Not the ending I was expecting (or wanting).

I really struggled getting into this book. I’ve had some Preston books I’ve loved, and some I’ve tolerated… but this one I just could not get into and ultimately couldn’t continue. The premise just seemed so ridiculous. The motivation to participate in the dares from the beginning wasn’t there, and I couldn’t get past it.

This is a story about a group of kids who let their senior dare’s get out of control! This one took me a minute to get into but once I did, it was a quick read.

We see betrayal’s by best friends. Lots of twists and turns. We don’t know who to trust in this one until the very end!

The Dare - Natasha Preston ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


This has been my favorite read by Natasha Preston. A senior dare goes deadly wrong for a group of 4 friends. Will their friendship withstand a murder or will they turn on each other?

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the arc of this book.

I would say with a few exceptions this was very much the vibe of the 90’s thriller “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, which is a movie I throughly enjoy. So due to that being the premise I enjoyed this book, it was essentially a quick, fun read .

If you're a fan of the movie I know what you did last summer you will absolutely devour this book. It's senior prank time and the Wilders have been in charge every year of handing out dares. They always escalate and this year is no different with Rhett wilder. Marley and her friends are first dared to break into Arthur's house and take a watch. The next dare is to drive blind on a sketchy stretch of road. After that night nothing is the same for Marley or her friends. They're keeping secrets from her, but she won't let herself go down without a fight. This was a fantastic thriller, fast paced and kept you guessing who you could trust.

I was fortunate to have received an ARC from NetGalley on this title.

The book gives me 1990s 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' vibes. A group of high school seniors get involved in a prank that cost them their friendship and potentially their future. As the teens navigate their future while trying to maintain their composure, someone is on to their secret.

A great thriller for young adults. I could easily see this turning into a sequel. Great plot, middle of the story feels a little repetitive but overall, solid read.