Hannah Jayne

"Blaming herself for her best friend Erica's swimming death, seventeen-year-old Bryn tries to make a fresh start by burying her memories of that awful night. But when a Twitter post from "EricaNShaw" pops up on her feed and a chilling voice mail appears on her phone, she realizes that someone isn't ready to let go of the past"--Provided by publisher.

The Dare

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

This book was jointly reviewed by myself and my co-blogger, Becca!

We were very excited to read this story together, thus we felt we should review it together as well. This time we went for more of a discussion review, as we felt like we both had a lot to say about this one. Enjoy! :)



  Lisa
: Well, where do we even begin with this one, huh? I guess we should start immediately at the beginning. Chapter 1. Definitely creepy, right?! I thought that was a great way to start this book. After that beginning, I thought for sure we would be gripping our Kindles until our fingers turned purple. I guess we didn't quite end up being that creeped out, but there definitely were a few parts that made the hair on my arms stand on end.


  Becca
: After that first chapter we both thought we were in for a suspenseful and frightening book and were excited for a little change up in our reading. There was some creepiness here and there after the first chapter, but it died pretty quickly for me along with the likeability of the MC Brynna. As a matter of fact I didn't really bond with any of these characters besides Evan (whom I absolutely loved!)


  Lisa
: Oh, Evan.

As far as Brynna goes, there were a few things about her that I struggled with. I could definitely see where her fears were coming from. She was scared $hitless, and rightfully so. I just couldn't grasp the fact that she didn't go to anyone, not one single person, about the things that were happening to her. And A LOT of really creeptastic things were happening to her! (view spoiler)[ First, someone was trying to kill her. She definitely had every right to be traumatized. Mean, hurtful things were written on the mirror in lipstick, she could sense she was being followed, and even at one point someone tried to drown her. The part I didn't get was why she didn't tell anyone. She insisted the person she kept seeing was Erica, her BFF who had died. So I can see how telling someone she thought it was Erica could potentially lead to their thinking she was crazy. But couldn't she leave the "Erica" part out and still tell someone that she was feeling threatened? I just didn't get it....  (hide spoiler)]


  Becca
: I know right?! I totally got why she was scared but we just kept asking ourselves and each other... WHY didn't she go to someone for help or at least tell someone what was happening? I mean seriously... (view spoiler)[someone is trying to kill her and her answer is to drink an entire bottle of NyQuil? (hide spoiler)] Unfortunately, I just did not connect with her character at all and instead of fearing for her and sympathizing for her I was just annoyed. However when Evan was pulled into the drama and became a target, then I was so upset! I was surprised that Brynna is almost drowned and I was like "Meh, whatever" and then Evan is harassed a little and I am like "Oh NO, you leave Evan alone you... bad guy... or girl!" LOL :)


  Lisa
: Haha! The texts going back and forth between Becca and I when Evan gets pulled into the drama were not pretty. I don't want to give anything away, but these kids definitely have a tough year in school.

Although it was tough to connect with the characters, I did find myself, at times, very into the story and wondering how it just would play out. It was definitely creepy at times, though maybe not as creepy as I would have desired. But what really threw me for a loop was the ending. I mean... seriously?!


  Becca
: I think that my need to see how it played out and to find out "who done it" kept me into this book. I thought that the premise was interesting and the plot intriguing. It had an I Know What You Did Last Summer or Scream scary movie quality and I liked that. Now... that ending... ARE YOU KIDDING!? It was so jumbled and rushed and I really was having trouble keeping up with what was happening. There were so many things that just did not add up... for example... (view spoiler)[ how did the dress get switched? Or how did she see a girl choking her at the pool? (hide spoiler)] Then all of a sudden it just ends and I was literally sputtering... I never knew what it was like to actually sputter until that moment LOL :) I was just like... Wait! What? Who? When?


  Lisa
: Yup. Exactly. Wasn't the ending I was expecting, or honestly, that I was hoping for. It definitely felt too rushed with way too many questions left unanswered. I'm totally with Becca on this one. I'm the same way as her in that I really wanted to know how this story was going to end... but that was just not what I was expecting. Way too many things I'm still dying to know. Like (view spoiler)[ if the killer wasn't Erica, why did Bryn keep seeing her everywhere? And like Becca mentioned, how the heck did the dress get switched? Answers, people! ANSWERS!!  (hide spoiler)]

I'd have to say this book was just "okay" for me. Although some parts were a little slow, others were very intense. I didn't bond with the characters as much as I normally would like to, but Evan saved that for me. He was awesome. The neediness and secretive personality of Bryn made it hard for me to relate to her. I just couldn't comprehend why she was making the choices that were made. And the end... well, it just didn't work for me. It was just way too rushed. My overall verdict: enjoyable, yet left a lot of questions answered.


  Becca
: If it weren't for Evan the characters would have been a gigantic let down, he was a bright spot in this book for me! I completely agree with Lisa, the rushed ending and unanswered questions made this book a let down. For me any redeeming qualities the book had were gone after that. My overall verdict is the same as Lisa's. I am sorry to say that the little bit of enjoyment I received was not a big enough pay off for the extremely erratic and frustrating ending. It was a major disappointment because I had such high hopes at the beginning :(

(Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the review copy!)


  Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Two jumped off the pier that night...but only one came back alive. Brynna and Erica were friends, best friends. They did everything together, until the night they jumped off the pier at Harding Beach...and only Brynna made it back. A year later, Brynna is still picking up the pieces. She's in a new school with new friends, but she can't shake the demons of her past. Then a Twitter post from "EricaNShaw" pops up in Brynna's feed and a chilling voice mail is left on her phone. Someone isn't ready to let go of what happened. Brynna barely survived losing Erica. She doubts she'll survive Erica's return.

Nicole king

I gave this book an automatic 5 stars because of how beautifully written it was and how I literally could boy put the book down. This books talks about friendship, and talks about mental health, the book also talks about addiction and I think these are good topics to read about. The book was over all super interesting and entertaining I will definitely be reading it again. 

The Dare

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