The Dare

by Natasha Preston

I triple dog dare you . . .

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.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Young Adult, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Horror, Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2024

About the author

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Cellar and The Cabin. Romance and YA Thriller writer, boy mum, Tom Hardy enthusiast. Always buried in a book and a glass of wine.

Amazon - https://goo.gl/VsxKPk
Facebook - https://goo.gl/vAAGsB
Twitter - https://goo.gl/JGrC4b
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Reviews

[May (previously Violet) · Rating 4 out of 5]

» no body, no crime - Taylor Swift «
0:53 ─〇─────3:22
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 4.25 stars
Spice Level 🌶️ - .25/5 (one mention of sex and a few quick kisses)
Age rating - 13/14+ (there are a couple of disturbing and intense scenes, but the gore isn’t bad, very little cussing)

⊹ ࣪ ˖ I think he did it but I just can’t prove it ˖ ࣪ ⊹

⁺˚⋆｡° 🚘 My Thoughts 🚘 °｡⋆˚⁺
Y’all
Y’all…
Y’ALL
WHAT THE FRONT DOOR WAS THAT ENDING?! I feel like my soul was tossed in a blender, punted across a football field, and thrown off an 8,000ft cliff.
The book was pretty fine, the fmc was super annoying, but the plot was engaging…and then…and then THE LAST FRICKIN CHAPTER
I will never be the same.

And that’s how you know it’s an incredible book ☝🤓

⊹ ࣪ ˖ No there ain’t no doubt, I think I’m gonna call him out˖ ࣪ ⊹

⁺˚⋆｡° 🔪 The Plot 🔪°｡⋆˚⁺
When I first started the book I thought it was predictable…until it wasn’t. I was sure I knew it was a certain person and then an incident occurred…so I was sure it was a different person and guess what?! An incident happened again. I didn’t know if I could continue bc of the main character until i started to notice that it was her villain arc.
I was not emotionally prepared for the chaos that unraveled at the end.
Like what da heck man.
Why did it end like that?! Why?!
But ngl, I lwk loved it….though I have trauma and I’m never trusting you again Miss Preston. I hope you’re happy now *breaks into Wicked* I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPYYYYYYY. Ahem moving on to the flippin characters, it’s gonna be hard to do it without spoiling but here we go.

⊹ ࣪ ˖ No, no body, no crime ˖ ࣪ ⊹

⁺˚⋆｡° 🚔 The Characters 🚔°｡⋆˚⁺
➥ Marley: She was a BUTTHOLE. Like seriously, spell it out with me: b-u-t-t-h-o-l-e. But as you keep reading you notice it’s on purpose, so if you are like i was and can’t keep reading it because she’s so annoying. You just gotta push through it, and read til the end. You’ll see what I mean
╰┈> Villains Aren’t Born (They’re Made) - PEGGY ♫₊˚.
➥ Atlas: Ngl this poor guy was misunderstood, he was struggling as much as she was. She wasn’t fair to him at all even tho he was a little bit of a pain.
╰┈> Sharp Edges - Linkin Park ♫₊˚.
➥ Jesse: Ngl his character was lwk freaking awesome. Obviously what he did was wrong, but it was intriguing and I kinda wish we could see the whole thing from his pov.
╰┈> Monster - Shawn Mendez and Justin Bieber ♫₊˚
➥ Luce: She was so sweet and didn’t deserve a single thing that came her way. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
╰┈> Death Wish Love - Benson Boone ♫₊˚.
➥ Rhett: I lwk hated him and loved him at the same time. I wish we had more of a backstory for him, and we got to see his home life.
╰┈> Renegades- X Ambassadors ♫₊˚.

⊹ ࣪ ˖ I ain’t letting up until the day I die˖ ࣪ ⊹

⁺˚⋆｡° 🪦 Conclusion 🪦°｡⋆˚⁺
Read this book, read this book, read this book. I can’t stress this enough. You might get annoyed but you can do it, the ending is more than worth it.

I will never recover.

⊹ ࣪ ˖ I wasn’t letting up until the day. he. died.˖ ࣪ ⊹

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

'𝐓H𝐄 𝐃A𝐑E' Is a young adult mystery thriller book by new to me author 'Natasha Preston.'

Once I saw this doing the rounds on Insta and the cover grabbing my attention, I grabbed it and dived right in. Dare after dare and this twisty tale of suspense pulled me into the storyline more and more each chapter.

And just when I thought things were all tied up perfectly I was left gobsmacked, that ending took me by surprise, I was so gobsmacked I couldn't believe what I'd just read and had to go back and reread it just to make sure and yep..Gobsmacked..

All players in this book played a big part.

Rhett and Marley used to be best friends from day dot since kindergarten days, they used to do everything together from camping to mucking around in the forestry which surrounds the township, then once highschool hit he just ghosted her without reason. Now they are seniors and the dares are coming full force until graduation.

Some easy dares are executed until one of the most dangerous ones lands in her lap along with her best friends, they have been dared to drive danger alley, a ten-mile stretch of winding road without headlights and if refused their deepest and most darkest secrets will be revealed.

Whilst taking part in this dare the unthinkable happens and they are all under the microscope because that night someone saw what they covered up and things start escalating out of control, best friends become liabilities making them untrustworthy.

Friends pitted against friend, this tight knit group of friends start crumbling, turning against each other leaving Marley not knowing who to trust and who is playing the biggest game of trying to frame her.

[Melany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, at first I wasn't expecting much. But the more you read, the more twists that happen. I loved the main character. I was SHOCKED by the things that happened throughout the last 10-15%. Some things I expected. Majority of it made me gasp as I did NOT see it coming. Truly amazing. Thrilling, shocking and so many twists to keep you on the edge of your seat! Such a wonderful read!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Random House to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

[Maggie 💜 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most frustrating book ever but I couldn’t put it down! When this happens means I actually really enjoyed it. That ending though, I was really pulling for Rhett! I can’t believe she did that. I was hoping this would throw in friends to enemies to lovers. It did NOT. Poor Rhett but I get it, he did her dirty before and like she kept saying she can’t trust anyone anymore. This was a wild ride though, it stressed me out so much.


Thank you, NetGalley & Random House Children's for the opportunity to read such a thrilling book!

[Chiara Servaty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, I was really rooting for her and Rhett…..

[ari [gin’s vrsn 🩵] [semi ia] · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐

now playing: burning down (with joe jonas) - alex warren

minor spoilers

14+

romance: 3/10 (one kissing scene. A sexual relationship hinted at)

cursing: 2/10 (hell, damn, bitch, ass)

violence: 6/10 (Non descriptive gore. Murder. Burying of a body.)

other: one time where it’s mentioned a guy has a boyfriend

tw: blood, grief, suicide mentions

first person, present tense

“I guess you never know someone you think you know”


– OVERVIEW –

What in the actual chicken nugget?

I have never been so utterly gobsmacked.

WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?!?!?!
I don’t swear. Never have. But the twists in this book had me gasping and holding back a wtf. Bc, genuinely, wtf…

I read this book on and off while listening to the audio version while crocheting Gregory Kirk Jimmy Bob IV (ty for the lovely name Silver Ivy), in one sitting. I physically could not put it down.

I have no words.

At the beginning it seems like it would be the same old same old, but NO. I did not see that coming at all. AT ALL—

I’m still reeling, like what…

This book kinda makes me want to commit arson, who’s up to join me? 😀🤌

“Can’t see the knife when you’re too close, too close”


– PLOT –

Crazy seniors act like fools 🤠👍

“Trust cuts deeper than lies”


– CHARACTERS –

Marley
⤷ I wanna punt her sorry little butt off a cliff

Atlas
⤷ I hate him

Jesse
⤷ I also hate him

Luce
⤷ Gee, guess what? I hate her too

Rhett
⤷ Eh, he was the only one I liked

George
⤷ 🙂‍↕️ BASICALLY I hate everyone besides Rhett


“Even as the days go by”


– CONCLUSION –

Just… just read it. Oh gosh, I need therapy now. I have trust issues

“The wounds remain beneath my skin, my skin”

[Emily Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, the storyline was great but most of the characters were so infuriating!

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

Natasha Preston is an author that I stumbled upon about 4 years ago. My first book was The Fear and I HAD SSSOOO MUCH FUN READING IT!!! I even convinced my mom to read it so I could have someone to vent to and discuss my thoughts with. THAT IS HOW GOOD IT WAS!!! My second book was The Island and I ended up DNFing it. Though I have nothing against influencers, I just don’t think a whole book should be written about them. My third book was The Haunting and, like The Fear, I convinced a friend to Buddy Read it with me. Unfortunately, I rated it 2 stars. I did an audiobook and physical book read along and I don’t know if it was the narrator of the audiobook or the story as a whole but, I just couldn’t get behind the whole premise of the story. And now we have The Dare. While the premise surrounds one of my favorite scary movies “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, the characters really ruined the vibe. I honestly believe that it is an amazing talent when an author can write an amazing story but develop very annoying and unlikeable characters. Seriously, true talent!!!

Premise: So. What’s The Dare about exactly??? We have an unknown town (name of town not included throughout the story) where every Senior Class participates in pranks or “dares.” What started out as a very fun and interesting yearly tradition turned into lives lost, seniors losing their college education, and people dying. This once very fun and interesting yearly tradition was high jacked by The Wilder Brothers (Everett, Emmett, Rhett, Garrett, and Truett), the richest family in this town and the boys who can afford to get away with any and everything. This year, Rhett is the brother in charge of the “dares” and he decides to focus all of his attention on Marley, Atlas, Jesse, & Lucia. While Rhett allows other classmates to get away with small dares (i.e., dying Mac & Cheese; releasing chickens in the hall; extinguishing the fire extinguishers), Marley & her friends are required to participate in “felony” & “misdemeanor” dares. And like everything that equals danger and death, their final dare goes horribly wrong. Their final dare leads to murder, a cover up, and friends turning on each other. Everything between these four friends goes haywire and results in Marley having to look out for herself in the best way she knows how.

Sounds interesting, right??? Well, this book was interesting. I absolutely loved the premise and the final chapters (chapters 28-34) made this whole book worth reading. The characters (i.e., Marley, Atlas, Jesse, Lucia, Ruthie, & Rhett), on the other hand, were just too much to handle. I understand that this book is YA, so the behavior of a lot of these characters was expected but to constantly be reminded that Marley doesn’t like Rhett over & over again was annoying. To have to read about Marley whine about her past with Rhett was too much. To watch these friendships fall apart was a headache, especially between Marley & Lucia. This book marks the second book that Natasha has written were a female friendship falls a part because of one friend is being honest and trying to protect both of them. I am just ready for something new. Honestly, I keep waiting for Natasha to deliver a book that makes me feel the same way that The Fear did. I am waiting for a book where not only the premise keeps me turning the pages but I can fall in love with, at least, two of the characters. I am just waiting for a book of hers to be fun from beginning to end. On December, 3rd of this year, her new novel, The Party, is going to be released and I am TRULY hoping for the best.

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for granting my request for an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for my honest and personal opinion!!!

~~~~~~~
***Pre-Read:***

Time to squeeze in an ARC…
I know…
I AM SSSOOO BEHIND!!!
🤭🤭🤭…

[Keila (speedreadstagram) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Random House Childrens, Delacorte Press @Delacortepress and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc! All thoughts are my own.


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 a fun YA thriller that kept me guessing until the last minute. I absolutely loved the ending. It just seemed like the perfect way to end things. So don’t give up, the ending is amazing. For me I knocked this up a half star and am rounding up my rating just based on it alone. I did struggle to get into this one, there were a lot of characters. This was a plot-based book, with little character development. I think that a little more time could have been given to getting to know who was who, especially for the main characters, but it still worked. I loved that the entire book seemed dark and moody, it matched the image of the cover perfectly. I do think for a YA Thriller this one was really farfetched. For me it is hard to believe that something like this would happen. While yes, it is fiction, I like to be able to relate in any way to a book, and this book was a struggle. I also found the characters a little annoying at times, but I quickly remembered that they are teenagers and that is normal.

Overall, this book was fun and kept me guessing and I would recommend it to those who enjoy farfetched YA Thrillers.

[Abhilasha]

🕯️⋆｡𝐩𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𖦹°📖⋆.
⤷aahhhhhhh I’m so freaking excited omg 😭 but if this book flops I’m officially done with reading and no book will ever get me to come back.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This town used to be safe. It was home, a place I would always return to. Now it’s tainted with death and horror."

Preston puts her own little wicked twist on ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ and makes you rethink about playing childhood games.

Who knew taking the dare could be deadly?

This book was a lot of fun and oh-so deadly. The characters will have you glued to the pages and the mystery will keep your mind racing. Usually, I can spot the twist from far far away but this one got me. I was left shocked. I couldn't believe it. I'm still wide-eyed about how this all played out. Don't you just adore unhinged characters?

The Dare sets itself apart from Preston's other books. It is twisted in devilish ways and will definitely put an evil smile on your face.

[Taylor Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not going to sugar coat this in anyway. Natasha Preston is one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to her new books. Opening this book, I was excited for a new thriller. When I say this is the worst book that I read of hers, I am serious. Normally, I love her books. This book was so repetitive. The same thing was happening in every chapter and the ending was terrible. A lot of things that happened were very unrealistic and cliché. This book read like it was written in a month extremely disappointed.

[Isadora (GR is evil rn) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was SO much better than I initially expected it to be!! It’s a murder cover up storyline which is definitely one of my favourites. The story takes place over a couple days, it’s fast paced and easy to follow as well.

I thought the main character Marley was super likeable and found myself rooting for her. Her “friends” deserved what was coming for them 🤭 I’ll be checking out other books my this author for sure

Absolutely would recommend!! Especially if you like the A Good Girls Guide to Murder series since this book is also YA but reads pretty maturely

[Kayla Hewett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marley, Atlas, Luce, and Jesse are seniors in high school and with that comes senior pranks and the dreaded senior dares from the rich kid at school. But, when a dangerous dare leads to a tragic accident, everything changes for the group of friends. Can they stick together and bury their secret or will the pressure of senior year and guilt ruin their friendship and future?
Review:
The Dare is marketed as a YA and it definitely reads as a YA thriller. It would be a great book for someone just starting out reading the thriller genre. It is a very fast paced read and is action packed which I really enjoyed. I did find it a little predictable and I didn't connect with any of the characters. But, I did really enjoy the very last twist at the end. It was a nice touch that I didn't expect to happen. Overall, I recommend picking up The Dare when it publishes on May 7th!
Thank you to NetGalley, Natasha Preston, and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for this ARC of The Dare in exchange for an honest review!

[Alyssa Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so I have some strong feelings about this book. I have nothing against Natasha Preston and I actually really enjoyed her book The Lost a couple of years ago, but The Dare was not really for me. Here are some reasons why:

ANOTHER WARNING: many spoilers ahead…

This first thing is more of a personal preference, but I don’t care whether a book is written in first perspective or third - you NEED to describe your main character. A few chapters into The Dare, I realized I was feeling confused. Because even though we get a few small descriptors of her best friends, we get no description of our main character, Marley. After finishing the book, I went back and reread the first few chapters to see if I was missing something, but it looks like I didn’t. Now, I do believe we find out that Marley has blue eyes MUCH later in the book, but as someone who loves to visualize the characters in the story, it really bothered me that I had almost nothing to go off of for most of the book regarding our main character.

Secondly, the characters were SO INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. Before anyone mentions that they’re teenagers - I know. Trust me when I say, I love reading YA books with younger characters, but the choices and actions of the young adults in this book were so stressful that I wanted to pull my hair out. I think I was even more annoyed that they would say one thing, and then do another. As a quick example - there were too many times where Marley’s friends would say “gosh, quit bringing it up, we don’t want to talk about it” but then proceed to continue talking about it (or even be the ones to bring that thing up in the first place!). And the way Marley’s “friends” kept constantly treating her like she was a ticking time bomb even when she would console them got SO old SO quick.

Third - Based on how frustrating and absurd the characters were acting, I was VERY convinced I had the ending figured out. I thought this was essentially like the White Bear episode of Black Mirror (basically I thought the whole plot of the book was all a massive prank/punishment for our main character). Normally I’m impressed when I’m wrong about the plot twists in thrillers, but in this case I was actually more frustrated. Because rather than the other characters acting intense to really put on a show for this massive prank on Marley, it turns out that every insane action and reaction was natural for those characters (…yikes).

So my fourth issue is more of a question - are we not supposed to know what secret Marley’s boyfriend and best friend had? The entire reason they did the very stupid and dangerous car dare was because they supposedly had a secret or secrets they didn’t want to get out. We do learn later that Marley’s boyfriend Atlas was planning to break up with her and go to college in a completely different state, but what was Luce’s secret? And what was with the odd look between her and Atlas? I thought this implied that maybe they shared an intimate moment at some point, but the author never explains this.

I would have said that the main satisfying part of the book was watching Marley set her friends up in the last 20% of the book. However, I couldn’t even enjoy that, because it didn’t feel realistic at all! And I’m not talking about the things she did to turn all of the blame on the other characters; I’m talking about how for half of the book she is in shambles over what’s happening, and then it’s like a switch is flicked and she’s completely different. We’re supposed to believe that this teenager who did something so awful that it affected her DEEPLY is suddenly able to keep it together and completely plan out the ways she can pin these murders on her friends? I just felt like I had whiplash from her change in such a short amount of time from breaking down to being able to lie to everyone and set up multiple people.

To throw in some positives: yes, I finished the book in only two days. The chapters are fairly short and Preston does a good job at pacing and making you feel like you need to keep reading. As angry as I was at the characters in The Dare, I still couldn’t put the book down. I think I would have loved her stories as a teenager myself, but everything just felt a bit ridiculous, illogical, and very YA. I’m still willing to give Natasha Preston another chance someday if the premise of one of her books sounds really interesting, especially since I did enjoy The Lost, but I’ll have to see.

[Chelsea | thrillerbookbabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Natasha Preston and Delacorte Press for my copy of this book. This book was about Marley and her friends senior year of high school. As is the tradition, the seniors embark on a series of dares, more troublesome than the last. But when Marley and her friends accept a dangerous dare, something awful happens and they have to live with the consequences. And now someone knows, and they’re threatening to tell everyone.

Thoughts: Classic YA page turner. This book was full of teen drama, unlikable characters, and a plot that was hard to believe. I think this book would be perfect for me in high school. There were a few twists that were thrown in and my main issue was all the plot holes. Why is there a family who has a bunch of secrets about everybody and forces them to do dares? Why are these kids so easily involved with murder? Why do Marley’s friends not care about killing a person? How can they so easily get all of this done? I read it fast, there were short chapters, but it didn’t make much sense. 2 stars

[Maghan Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me anxiety every time I flipped the page, I love it!😂

And that ending?!?! I really wanted Marley and Rhett to get together in the end…but clearly Marley had…other plans😫

[Kayla Hutchins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall liked this book but the second I got the the end and saw what she did to Rhett just ruined that for me. The entire time I wanted them to end up together and the fact that she used him really made me not like her or the ending whatsoever. Like really? You choose George?? Ugh.

[Serena Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting to love this as much as I did
First: this has got to be my favorite Natasha Preston book BY FAR. I did not see that plot twist coming at all and the entire book I was really intrigued.
Second: JUSTICE FOR RHETT dude was my favorite character, was in love with this girl enough to help her get away with MURDER and you're just gonna do him SO dirty. He was too good for you anyways😒 I wouldn't have even liked this book if it wasn't for Rhett🤧 like if ur not gonna take him at least give him to me😌

[mak ⊹₊⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for a copy of The Dare by Natasha Preston in exchange for a honest review!

Marley and her friends are just finishing high school, ready to start their new lives in college. Senior pranks are starting up, Marley and her boyfriend are excited to live in CA together, and things are great! Until Marley and her friends get a dangerous dare, one they can’t refuse, and suddenly all Marley can think about is what happened that night.

I’ve read quite a few of Preston’s other novels and didn’t really enjoy many of them. I always went back to her, however, because I have many friends that absolutely adore her work. Every time I’d finish one of her books and rated it low, my friends would say “You just need to find the one”, but every time I finished one, I’d sit and think about what a waste of time it was. The truth is, though I think Preston's writing is poor and the characters and plot are annoying, I do enjoy her books a teensy bit because it’s just fun seeing how ridiculous it may get!

The negatives:

The plot wasn’t very realistic or original. Part of the book is about a rich kid who gives dangerous dares to students and threatens to spill their secrets if they refuse to do the dare. Firstly, I can’t imagine that many 18-year-olds would do these dangerous and stupid dares. I can’t think of many secrets I’d protect by doing these crazy things. The whole dare thing sounds like something I’ve heard before anyway. I can’t remember, but it feels familiar; maybe the movie ‘Truth or Dare’? A whole other big part of the book is sort of completely ripped off from another popular thriller (one I won’t name because it’ll immediately give away the plot).

All of the characters were annoying. The main character narrated a lot of stupid things that just made me want put the book down. The other characters also said dumb stuff or acted weirdly for no apparent reason. Honestly, there wasn’t one character I was rooting for, which is an important part of story-telling. If I don’t care about any of the characters, why does it matter if any of them get hurt?

I also didn’t enjoy Preston’s writing style. It was so repetitive. In one chapter, it would give you the same information over and over and over, and this usually happens every chapter. Not sure if I could count every time Marley told me about her hateful feelings toward Rhett and how he was such an idiot. This same sort of thing applies to a bunch of points in the book. Also, a lot of lines just felt sort of ‘cringe’, as if the author wanted them to be cute and romantic or creepy stuff that people would repost on Pinterest.

I found a few lines/points confusing as well. Some stuff didn’t make total sense, and the character’s logic was odd.

The positives:

The pacing wasn’t too bad. There was usually a twist or turn that was slightly entertaining every few chapters.

The last 40% of the book was a lot better than the rest. The tropes used in it were a lot more interesting than the ones before!

All in all, if you want a light-hearted (there are dark topics, but the book doesn’t delve into them that deeply) thriller that maybe isn’t written the best but will entertain you, then you may love this book! It is a bit goofy and repetitive, but it’s something fast that will give you a chuckle or a ‘what even is this?’ look on your face.

[DarbyDoo ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ (cardens version)]

violet you gotta stop reviewing/reading such good books, my tbr can’t take it anymore😭😭

[Andi ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immediate “I Know What You Did Last Summer Vibes”.

Marley’s high school takes senior prank week a little too seriously. Instead of pranks, her ex friend, Rhett administers dares that everyone must complete or else. As you complete each dare, it gets riskier every time. When Rhett dares Marley and her friends, Luce, Jesse and boyfriend Atlas, to drive a dangerous road with their lights off, Marley isn’t so sure it’s a good idea. However, the ramifications for not completing the dare could be worse, so they do it. When it turns deadly, Marley and her friends have to do everything they can to conceal the truth. As she spirals, something feels off about that night. She starts to receive threatening messages. Someone knows the truth. But what is the truth exactly and how can Marley get herself out of this before it’s too late?

In true Natasha Preston fashion, this is fast paced and gripping. It also has more of an ending than any book I’ve ever read by her, so points for that. While I did enjoy the story, some parts were underdeveloped such as Rhett’s character and why he and his brothers did these dares in the first place. I also wanted more on his and Marley’s lost friendship and why she hated him so much for ditching her.

The ending was completely unexpected and while most people liked it and found it satisfying, I didn’t really. I felt like it was a bit out of character. Regardless, this had twists and turns that kept you engaged and wanting to know how it all plays out.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book.

[beccalynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book stressed me out lol. Not in a bad way though. The first few chapters I was annoyed and frustrated because they know the dares are bad and dangerous but they go along with it anyway. I got immediate bad vibes from Jesse. Even before the hit & run. I also don’t like atlas from when she mentioned he’s been weird with her. My heart broke when they discovered they (jesse) hit & killed Arthur. I dunno the fact it was him made me sad. Also i didn’t like how her friends immediately painted her out to be the bad one. Like she couldn’t hold it together… she had a normal reaction to what was going on. They were so quick to alienate her. Ew. They were horrible all 3 of them. Blech. It was just so frustrating. Anyway. I was hoping her relationship with Rhett would follow the enemies to lovers trope. So I was shocked when she framed him for what Jesse did to the house. But then again he did fuck her over. I love that for once in a Natasha Preston thriller it didn’t end the same like most of her other ones. In her other books it’s like we’re so close to a satisfying ending but the last second it all goes to shit lol. So I was really happy when they all got what they deserved and that Marley got away with everything & outsmarted everyone. Also very happy George is going with her to California. I wanted her to leave atlas and be with George but then i switched to Rhett because im a sucker for enemies to lovers lol. But overall I’m glad she has George.

Can’t wait for The Party to come out 🤗
After every Natasha Preston book I’m immediately looking forward to the next. ♥️

[Gabrielle Grosbety · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story really took me by storm, ensnaring me in its clutches till the very bitter end. Marley and her friends are connected by one terrible accident that will scar them for life. Everything changes about their dynamic as it becomes strained under the pressure of holding in such a tragic secret. Yet Marley’s friends are particularly worried about her and that she will spill what they vow to take to the grave. She just seems so fragile, vulnerable, and desperate to clear her conscience that it sets them on edge.

The reason this all started is due to a dare from none other than the notorious Rhett Wilder, who comes from a wealthy, powerful family. The dares take rapidly dark turns as people plummet to unseen depths, forced to live out their fates for fear of being blackmailed. While this book had some plot holes and I desperately wanted Marley to end up with someone different than she does, I loved how twisty and clever this plot was. It truly stole my breath away and was intricately woven so much so that you wonder who will gain the upper hand and outsmart who. Buckle up for a wild ride! This one will be sure to have you turning pages long into the night.

[allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m not one to write a one star review. In fact, this is only the second book ever that I think warrants a one star review. The book felt like it was written by a 3 year old… that’s coming from a 14 year old. The idea of a “dare” like girl this whole book could’ve ended if you switched schools it’s not that hard. It was slow and the ending was the most obvious “plot twist” of all time. Why did I put plot twist in quotations you may ask? Well, I wouldn’t even warrant it as one. This book made me want to stop reading forever. It made me lose hope in humanity. But the worst part, HOW DOES GEORGE END UP WITH HER. She killed Arther and just doesn’t care??? You must actually have real brainrot if you rate this book above a 3 stars. I think that this book will be great for my bonfire next week! Everyone who bought this book and was disappointed come over with it!!! We will all burn them and make smores.

[Torre Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[noelle ! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever read a Natasha Preston book where the main character doesn’t end up dead or in jail, so this is a first! I liked the twist on the last page. But poor Luce :(

[majkaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

TO ZAKOŃCZENIE??!?) przemiana głównej bohaterki niczym jacek soplica w księdza robaka

[shiloh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ★ | 14+
the dare | natasha preston

⇨ 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
i was due for a good thriller, and The Dare was just what I wanted to read!! the writing wasn't my favorite (often it felt rushed and had quite a few typos) but it was also simple which I liked a lot.
my favorite part was defining the pacing. It sucked me in and I never lost interest or got bored!

⇨ 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭
the plot was inherently genius but there were some flaws.

*MAJOR spoilers so just skip down to the next section, spoilers end at the green emoji*

First of all, the pin badge in the beginning was obviously important. It didn’t really fit in with Natasha’s simplistic writing so you could tell it happened for a reason.
Second, Marley’s whole villain arc? Sucked. Ari and I ranted about this for awhile and I’m sure we could longer so go to her review cause mine’s js gonna be ranting 😭🙏🏼
BUT. what. in. the. world?
Throughout the entire book Marley talks about her morals/motives: “bad people deserve jail”.
After her and her friends cover up the murder, she has wild second thoughts (in fact she never wanted to do it in the first place) but none of her friends seem guilty or regretful. She realizes how horrible human beings her friends really are, and upon finding out that her friends are going to use her as a scape goat, she decides to “frame” (is it really framing if they’re guilty?) her friends in a way that she won’t get caught. (Note: if she really followed her moral line of thinking, she would’ve turned herself in as well, but she was too selfish)
So she creates this elaborate plan (with Rhett helping her) to make sure the police arrest her friends and find them guilty, while she retains her “innocence”.
All goes to plan except at the very end when marley’s friends whats-his-face and his girlfriend leave the stayion on bail and go to confront marley and kill her. George saves her, blah blah, the police catch whats-his-face, and then at the end, she also gives up Rhett to the police because he’s also “a bad person” for betraying her when they were kids and then also issuing crappy dares to the seniors. Poor Rhett, who helped Marley cover up her guilt and convict her friends. Who comforted her when her boyfriend broke up with her. Who grew up as her best friend and kissed her. I understand he made bad choices, and was a bad person in a sense, but did none of his actions redeem himself to marley? (This part made me very sad, and very angry, yes, but its not what I have a problem with)
WHAT I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH, IS THAT MARLEY, THE WHOLE BOOK SAID THAT SHE WAS PUTTING AWAY THE PEOPLE WHO WERE TRULY BAD AT THEIR CORE, AND YET WALKS AWAY FREE WITH GEORGE. GEORGE, WHO TRIED MULTIPLE TIMES TO KILL HIS GRANDFATHER BY DRUGGING HIM UP AND SETTING HIM FREE IN THE WOODS AFTER DARK, JUST TO GET HIS INHERITANCE.
So tell me marley, how does George not count as a “bad person” when he FREAKING TRIED MURDER ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS.
anyways.

*END of spoilers*
💚💚💚

⇨ 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
There was barely any BUT I WISH THERE WAS MORE

⇨ 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
Idk it was cool. A map would have been nice though 😭

⇨ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
marley
get ur morals straight girlypop
rhett
I really liked him, I mean, its messed up what he did with the dares but other than that he was a chill guy who obviously cared about marley
atlas
idk I didn’t like him, he was a sucky boyfriend (he does get points for having a cool name though)
luce
she was kinda just there. a little annoying
jesse
UGH I despise him soooo darn much
george
I hate him almost as much as jesse

Okay all that aside, I'm so glad I tried a new author and i'll definitely be reading more of her!
If you like thrillers, I 100% recommend
this :)


content considerations:
romance: 0.5/5 (one kiss that wasn’t described, and high school relationship drama)
language: 4/5 (*ss, d*mn, h*ll, sh*t, b*tch)
other: *spoilers* death, murder, dead bodies, moderate violence, etc.)


Pre-review:
WHAT. I’M SO FREAKING MAD AT THE ENDING.

THAT’S NOT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO 😭

[eveonne ୨୧ ˚⟡˖ ࣪ - ia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
ughh i really hated the ending but everything else was SO good. i love natasha’s writing style so much but the ENDINGGGG UGH

i’ve read so many books by her by now that i should have expected this kind of ending but still 🥲🥲🥲