Monday, June 16, 2014

Review: The Dare by Hannah Jayne

18478536Release date: July 1st 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:
Two jumped off the pier that night...but only one came back alive

Bryn did everything with her best friend Erica. So when someone dared Erica to jump off the pier one night at Harding Beach, Bryn was right by her side. But when Bryn made it back to the surface, Erica was nowhere to be found. 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...

*Approved by publisher via Netgalley in exchanged of an honest review.




The Dare had a lot of potential to be so much more. It had a great opening and I was invested in the mystery and wanted to unravel what was taking place as much as Hannah, but somewhere along the line it lost a hold of me and turned out to be a fairly okay read. Sadly, I didn't get fireworks. 

There were some things that irked me. Like the way her friends were sometime-ish with her. And there was also an instant where Hannah ended up in the hospital and acted as if she was obliviously about the consequences of what she'd done. At that moment I was like, hello you did that. Who knows, maybe it was that just didn't interpret that part clearly, or maybe the writer wanted to depict that particular event as another way to let readers think this is some delusional teen. Either way, I didn't quite get that part. 

Aside from the story being a bit draggy sometimes and some things not being clear, it kept my interest enough to finish reading it because yeah, I wanted to know who was making her life a living hell. I did like how the parents were portrayed, because in my opinion, if I was Brynna's parent I'd react the same way and would find it hard to trust her to stay clean. Her behavior was just too unpredictable so I don't blame them. I do like that they care enough to do what they did, and in the end, they were just concerned for their daughter after what she'd been through and still goes through. That part of the story I got.

In regards to other aspects of the story outside of the suspense and Brynna coping with the guilt of her best friend's death, I wasn't too convinced by the attraction between her and Teddy, but I did like Evan and how he tried to include her and cheer her up. That instance where he and his sister came down hard on Brynna kinda turned me off him and Lauren a little and I felt like the reaction was a tad extreme, especially on Lauren's part.

Overall, I liked the writing and description, especially when it came to the parts of being in water. I truly felt like I was in the ocean or pool with Brynna and that was startling. Aside from the things that bugged me, The Dare is an interesting young adult suspense and I wouldn't mind reading more of Hannah Jayne's books. 



12 comments:

  1. I was curious about this one, and it does sound pretty good. I'm glad that this was a good read for you. Great review!

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  2. I read an eailer book by this author and though much the same. could have been so much more. I thinks he has great ideas but the reading just wasn't as deep or intense as I had hoped for. I been tinkering with the idea of reading more by her. I think maybe one day I will, maybe this one. great review.

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    1. Thanks, Jenn. You should give this one a try. You might enjoy it more than I did.

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  3. I have heard a lot about this book, but I have been on the fence with it. With what you said, it does sound like it would be an interesting read. Still, I don't really like when things drag, or when they are unclear. Thanks for the review!

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    1. I think you should still give it a read. It could be.

      Thanks for stopping by, Nat :)

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  4. I only skimmed your review because I hope to start this one really soon. I'm happy to see that overall you enjoyed it, despite a few things that irked you. :)

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  5. I'm on the fence with this one the blurb makes me want to read it but I'm not a fan when things start to drag I lose interest real quick. Thanks for the review it was very helpful!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you'll pick it up soon :)

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  6. It's nice that some parts (the water) and the premise worked for you. But I'm sorry you lost interest un the story. Thanks for the review!

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    1. Yeah, maybe it was just me. Hope you give it a read too. Thanks for stopping by, Drea :)

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