It’s the end of Marley’s senior year of high school, and that means it’s time for senior pranks/dares. The Wilder brothers set the stage for pranks by doling out dares to the participating seniors. Every year, the dares get more and more extreme. Suddenly, the dares turn deadly and Marley and her friends are at the center of it.

I’ve read YA books that did not feel like YA books, but “The Dare” is firmly in the YA category. As an adult, I gave it a 3 star rating because even though it was dealing with adult topics, it felt very juvenile... the dialogue especially. However, I think if I were reading this in middle or high school, I would have loved it. It definitely gave me “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibes.

***SPOILER AHEAD****



As for the ending, I hated what happened with Rhett. To ruin someone's life because they stopped being friends with you in middle school? Absolutely hated it.

In this small town senior prank's are running ramped since we are reaching graduation. The dares are getting thrown around and getting more and more intense. Marley is given a killer dare by her ex-best friend Rhett. They didn't expect to end the night burying a body.

This was totally a popcorn thriller. It wasn't amazing or mind blowing but it was fun a quick to read. I find it underwhelming when you know who the killer is right away. I like the chase and the questioning of finding out who did it. I was craving more of the dares and seeing them followed out. that was really the reason i waas so interested in this story. so that was a major let down for me. again it was fun and quick and a great pallet cleanser

This book was fast-paced, chilling, and absolutely nail-biting. Once I got into the story, I couldn't put the book down. The main character, Marley, had such an evil intelligent side to her that ended up saving her life in many ways. I loved how senior pranks turned into one of the best thrillers I've read. I wasn't expecting the twist and turns that occurred and wouldn't be mildly surprised if this book tops the charts!

Release Date: May 7, 2024

Thank you NetGalley for releasing an early copy of The Dare by Natasha Preston in exchange for my honest opinion!

The dare written by Natasha Preston due to be published May 7th 2024 by Delacorte Press.

All the high school seniors get pranks, and Jessica is nervous for hers. So when she learns that she has to drive danger alley, a windy dark stretch of road, with no headlights, she is scared.
As Jessica predicted, things take a turn for the worse. Now, she and her four friends are tied together forever by a dark secret.
Will one of them tell? Or will this secret stay with them?
This was such a fun YA thriller that kept me guessing until the last minute. I absolutely loved the ending.

I just love all of Natasha’s books and this was just as good as all of her other ones I can’t wait for more to come in the future.

Thank you Netgalley, Natasha Preston and publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

2.5⭐️

This was ok. The last 15% really pulled this one thru for me otherwise I think it would have likely been a DNF under different circumstances.

The pacing of this book for me was fairly slow and a bit dull. I wasn't finding it standing out from other stories with this same hit and run trope. The aspect of the dares were interesting but I didn't really understand how Red had so much power over all these classmates.

The ending is really twisty and back stabby. This was fun and quick paced. I would continue reading from this author although this one missed the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Okay. Natasha Preston. Your books have a hold on me.

I struggled a moment at the start thinking um. This is I know what you did last summer. But then I’m thinking about a Natasha Preston ending and am like okay there’s gotta be something different. And. There. Was.

The friends garbage. I was even rooting for Marley. Glad she was coming around BUT

Rhett. Why? Why did she do that?

#justiceforrhett

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read and review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s!
This was a quick, extremely enjoyable read, that definitely had “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibes, but also had some amazing twists and turns that kept me guessing. The truly satisfying ending was not one I saw coming, that’s for sure!

I first of all want to say that I was really excited when I found out I was picked to read the arc copy of The Dare by Natasha Preston! Thank you to NetGalley! I really like Natasha Preston’s books. I’ve read almost all of them and this book, The Dare, did not disappoint! It was full of twists and turns and It really had me guessing throughout the book. I was suspicious of everyone! I thought I knew how it was going to end and I was way off! I definitely recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this ARC of The Dare by Natasha Preston.

This was a wonderfully done young adult novel. When I requested this book, I thought it would be fun to switch up my reading and do some young adult books to break up my normal flow and I was not disappointed.

Everyone remembers their senior year of high school because it is a point of culmination. It’s a time when you can reflect and try to hold onto old friends while making new friends and starting the potential rest of your life. Some senior years are more memorable than others and for Luce, Jesse, Atlas, Marley, Ruthie, and Rhett Wilder this year will be no exception.

Rhett is in charge of the senior dares and like his predecessors, he’s determined to make each dare worse than the last. The only thing more dangerous than the dare is not completing it for a fear that your secrets and your life may be turned upside down. The Wilders, also have an issue with Marley‘s neighbor Arthur, whose land they’ve been trying to acquire without success for a very long time. That being said, Arthur and his grandson, George will also inadvertently roped in to the senior pranks.

What they don’t know is that these dares will ultimately turn deadly, friends will turn against friends, lives will be lost, and so will love. Can Marley survive high school and go to college like she originally planned? Can she and Atlas have the future they’ve been planning since they started dating? More importantly who doesn’t get to walk away with a happy ending?

This novel kept me guessing at every page and every plot twist. The ending was a total shock that I didn’t see coming. The Dare is an absolute Summer must read!



Pub Date: May 7, 2024
🌟🌟🌟🌟

I'm grateful to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for my review! 😊

3/5

Having read several of Natasha Preston's books, I can assure you that her works are a great option if you're searching for a quick read to binge!

This novel had a bizarre finale and offered a strange perspective on senior pranks gone wrong! This is the ideal book if you're searching for an excellent YA mystery or thriller.

Even though it wasn't my favorite of hers, I like how concise and simple it was to read and comprehend.

The Dare was one heck of a wild and crazy ride. I had a love-hate relationship with this one but it was a fun and easy read.

This is my first Natasha Preston novel and I wasn't sure what I was expecting going into it but it won't be the last of hers I read. It is definitely YA and so I had some difficulty tolerating the characters but that's just because I'm old and almost 30 with no time for the teenage drama so it won't affect my rating. The pacing worked well and there were enough twists to keep me engaged and wanting to know how everything was going to go down. The final twist wasn't super ideal but I suppose that it does serve its place in the story.

I'm in between 3.5 and 4 stars because overall I enjoyed the story but there were a few things that irked me such as some far-fetched ideas happening and why they were even in that predicament in the first place but i could easily argue that if it was that realistic, we wouldn't have a story. The characters were pretty unlikable and I'm struggling with how I feel about the FMC but <i> The Dare </i> was definitely plot driven rather than character driven so I'll accept that. For sure worth the read and one of my more favorite YA thrillers I've read to date.

Thank you so much Netgalley, Random House Children's Publishing, and Delacorte Press for an arc in exchange for an honest review :) all thoughts are my own.

I am a big fan of Natasha Preston's thriller books so first off a big THANK YOU to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this one early. Once again I was not let down, this book had me hooked from the very beginning. I loved the characters, the story, and the twist. The book was pretty fast paced and kept it interesting throughout the whole book. I know there are people out there that are familiar with this author's previous books and will rate the books low due to the ending not being what they wanted, which I feel is unfair, but if you are familiar with her others don't let that keep you away from this one. I believe this ending, without giving anything away, was well done and have a lot more people happy than if she had decided to end it differently. Since I have read her other books, I found myself trying to predict what she was going to do to end this book in a way I was familiar with but she had me surprised. I really like that she kept me on my toes and delivered a twist I wasn't expecting. If anyone is looking for a fast paced, not always predictable, and easy read book then look no further. This one will definitely be added to my collection of her other books once this one has officially been released.

“The Dare” is a captivating young adult novel filled with unexpected twists and turns that keep readers on the edge of their seats. From start to finish, the story maintains a fast pace, making it a very quick read that’s hard to put down.

What sets “The Dare” apart is its mind-blowing ending. Just when you think you have everything figured out, the author delivers a finale that will leave you reeling. It’s the kind of ending that sticks with you long after you’ve finished the book, prompting you to revisit the story to uncover all the subtle clues you may have missed.

Overall, I loved “The Dare” for its gripping plot, well-developed characters, and the way it keeps you guessing until the very end. It’s a must-read for fans of young adult fiction who enjoy a good mystery with a satisfying payoff.

This book had me captivated as soon as I picked it up. The Dare starts off fun...but does it always stay that way?

4 stars

This book was such a fun mystery. I loved all the plot twists in this book. I also like how this book didn’t end on a cliffhanger.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC of this book!

Now that I understand Natasha Preston is considered a "YA Thriller" author, this makes more sense for me. I kept feeling like this was aimed at an audience much younger than me with less thriller-reading experience.

First, I want to thank NetGalley and Delacorte Press for granting me an opportunity to read and review The Dare.

I am torn on the star rating for this, but have settled on 3 stars, though given the ability, I would push it up to 3.5 stars, keeping in mind that this is a YA novel.

First, the plot of the story is a good one and has lots of potential, Marley, along with her longtime boyfriend Atlas, and her best friend Luce and her boyfriend Jesse are the quintessential teen quad besties, They are seniors in high school and while they aren’t the super popular kids, they seem to be well-liked enough, smart, and seem to have bright futures ahead of them. But insert the foil here, because Rhett Wilder (former bestie of Marley, pre-high school) is rich, powerful, and influential among his peers and he has a reputation to uphold as he takes the traditional senior prank period at the end of the school year to dangerous new levels. Rhett’s dares are, as expected, pushing the limits of what senior pranks are supposed to entail and one of his pranks threatens to change everything for Marley and her crew. Friendships and relationships are tested after one fateful night and of course, be ready for a twisty ending.

I loved the idea of the story. I loved the tested relationships, the focus on consequences of actions and how those consequences snowball. I loved Marley’s quick thinking and the ways in which Preston illustrated how smart and cunning Marley is. She is deserving of her place in college and we, as the reader, are rooting for her no matter what because we have become so immersed in her story and look on her almost as a close friend or family member. There were so many times where I was angry at Marley but still rooted for her, knowing what was deep within her heart.

So why 3-3.5 stars? The books reads like a YA book and that may seem like unfair criticism. It’s a YA book. Of course it should read like one. But there is a fine line between YA books which have YA content/characters and YA books with juvenile writing. This is all easily fixed with some editing. Certain lines are just unnecessary and almost insulting to a reader, YA or not.

***Potential spoilers ahead, though I’ve tried to be careful***
Over explanation of certain things were distracting. For example, the following exchange between Marley and Luce in chapter 6;
Luce runs toward me as I walk into the school building. “What do you mean ‘George is back’?” she asks, holding up her phone so I can see the screen. “You’re showing me the message I sent you. I already know what it says.”

The exchange felt overdone and juvenile and was distracting to me as a reader. It felt like bad acting. There were similarly distracting pieces, but not so plentiful that it turned me off from the book.

Plot holes/inaccuracies also contributed to my lower star rating. As the consequences of “that night” really start catching up with the foursome, despite their best efforts, there were too many details which seemed far-fetched to me. Their attempts to cover their tracks were also weak in some ways, while strong in others. Still, I tried to give some creative license to Preston and remove reality from things a bit. The AirTags, however, went too far. As a mother, I tried using an AirTag for my daughter’s backpack to track her bus ride home and realized the AirTag only updates every several minutes. So the concept of using them in the story wouldn’t work for accurate real time tracking, making them an ineffective tool.

Additionally, I could give some leeway in believing one character would sort of “go off the deep end” mentally, but for almost all of them to just function day to day without crippling remorse was unrealistic to me.

***Definite spoilers ahead!***

Finally, the last twist at the end. I have trouble believing it would end that way with Marley has completely changed from who she was to who she is, and the only thing that helps soften that is that Marley herself states so many times that she is not the same person she was; that they’ve all changed as a result of that night; that nothing about them would ever be the same again. No one is redeemable by the end. No one. Atlas, Luce, and Jesse we know all turned out to be disappointments morally. Rhett started becoming more likable but would it have lasted? Marley didn’t bat an eye at throwing the others under the bus even though just chapters before she said that she deserved any punishment coming her way. She kind of pulled a 180 fairly quickly. And then even George was guilty of his own crimes. His attempts to kill his own grandfather were just… cold. And then by the end both he and Marley are cold individuals who will seemingly end up together and I don’t see that being a healthy or functional relationship.

So…. In the end… This gets 3 to 3.5 stars for me because let’s face it… teens will gobble this up. They are not dissecting the book as critically as I am. And as a teen, I likely would have gobbled it up and given it at least 4 stars easily. From a jaded adult perspective, I just can’t do it.

I am extremely grateful to have read this ARC. Natasha Preston is an autoread/autobuy author for me and she does it again with The Dare. Senior year is coming to a close for Marley and her friends and the senior pranks are beginning. The fun and silly tricks and pranks are there sure, but when Marley are her friends are dared to drive at night with their lights out, things are tragically wrong.
Preston does a fabulous job at not only telling the story but building the characters, showing us their lives and friendships and making us, as readers, want to know what is going to happen.

Filled with twists and turns and teenage drama, dare I say this is my favorite Natasha Preston book to date? It made me a little crazy, but kept me flipping pages! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Marley’s high school has a hierarchy and the top of that list are the Wilders. The Wilders boys make senior year unforgettable by coming up with dares that each senior must complete. Refuse and you will regret it. Marley knows Rhett Wilder will be gunning for her and her friends but she has no idea just how dangerous the dares will be . Can Marley and her friends make it out unscathed?
This is my first novel by Preston. I didn’t realize that it was a YA thriller when going in and it definitely reads like one. I don’t mean that as a negative, the story was more juvenile than I am used to. Overall, this is a decent read. Without saying too much (spoilers) this starts like a very similar book and I was annoyed at the similarities but at about 60% starts to turn and form it’s own path and conclusion. I would definitely call this thriller “light”.