Release Date: May 14, 2013Published by: Little Brown Books forYoung ReadersReview Copy: ARC, 397 pages
When a simple round of truth or dare spins out of control, three girls find it’s no longer a party game. It’s do or die.It all started on a whim: the game was a way for Tenley Reed to reclaim her popularity, a chance for perfect Caitlin “Angel” Thomas to prove she’s more than her Harvard application. Loner Sydney Morgan wasn’t even there; she was hiding behind her camera like usual. But when all three start receiving mysterious dares long after the party has ended, they’re forced to play along—or risk exposing their darkest secrets.How far will Tenley, Caitlin and Sydney go to keep the truth from surfacing? And who’s behind this twisted game?Set against the backdrop of Echo Bay, an isolated beach town haunted by misfortune, Truth or Dare is a highly charged debut that will keep readers in suspense from beginning to end.
Guys all I have to say is *sigh*. I currently sit on the edge of not writing this review but I feel that not all of my reviews can be beautiful and sparkling and that I must be honest with you all. Everything about this book made me think it was going to be amazing and I was really excited to find it in a package, the only thing that prevented me from reading and reviewing earlier was an event month and then a reading slump. I am glad I waited it out in the end because this book would have suffered greatly being picked up during that time. The reason for this is quite simply that I felt the majority of the book was dragged out and I couldn't do it. Yes I finished but it took me 4 days instead of my normal 1-2.
Jacquline Green deserves credit for creating a story that has developed characters and taking the time to give each of them their own backstory and problems. The only thing was that their pasts were well developed and explored but who they were now was only skimmed upon and left me frequently wondering who they really were now. This may be all part of the mystery and some people may enjoy it but it was not for me. The other downfall of the ample amount of time spent exploring each girl was that it slowed the plot down and when it comes to mysteries I just feel that they need to move forward at a steady pace or the entire book suffers.
With the slower pacing I also found this read became more of a teen drama than a mystery/suspense novel. This may be a big selling point for some because there are readers out there that enjoy this type of read but you need to know that, that is the type of read that you are in for. When the dares started I was really ready for the book to amp up and start gaining speed because it's kind of a do or social suicide situation and when you are in high school (even if you aren't in the "it crowd") social suicide isn't really an option. Sadly though the Dares and the stakes were high, the pacing and happenings between each dare had me wanting to skip ahead and find out if the person would follow through or deal with the repercussions.
I will admit I had my suspicions of who was at the bottom of it all but until 2/3 the way through I was not completely sure. This may be the absolute best part for me and what kept me reading: I honestly had to know. The fact that everyone was sure it was one person or another made me question a few of the people that weren't being examined but even more than that I wanted to know how the person knew things that even the characters themselves had never mentioned out loud. Basically what I am saying is that even though it all felt like a teen drama you did want to know who it was and how they knew everything and even with me believing I knew who it was, I had to know the why.
Although Truth or Dare was not my cup of tea, I seriously believe there are people out there that will love this one. The thing that I have learned about reviews where the books were not gushed over is that you can see some things that may not have been mentioned otherwise and I hope that you guys can find something in this to help you pick this one up.
I am going to give away my ARC copy to one reader :) The only thing I
ask is that because it is an ARC that you leave a review somewhere. You
don't have to be a blogger to enter but give it a rating on GR or Amazon.
Good Luck everyone and I know one of you will enjoy this!!
I feel everyone has different tastes in reading. What one person might like might not be another's favorite. So mostly if a blogger doesn't care for a book, I usually don't let it affect my opinion of the book. But if I haven't read the book yet and I come across a lot of negative reviews, then yes, I would be wary in choosing the book. I would not want to waste time reading a book I might not like. However, if the subject matter seems really intriguing, then I would read it anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on who the person is. Sometimes I know that if someone likes something then I will like it, but often there are people who i know don't like what I like, so when they don't like something, it doesn't necessarily mean that I won't like it ☺ It also depends why they didn't like it!
ReplyDeleteHmm, it sounds good, but your review makes me hesitant. Although something about the book reminds me a Pretty Little Liars. Secrets, lies, somebody watching you, you know?
ReplyDeleteI'm always a little hesitant when books drag though. I tend to DNF books that drag too much. I may have to trust your judgement on this one.
It kinda does affect me a little and does make me a little hesitant however, I would still like to read the book to find out if I like it or not.
ReplyDeleteI love reading reviews but I rarely trust bloggers. It's strange because I trust a friend or two on Goodreads and that's about it. I like to check the book out for myself before I decide to skip it altogether.
ReplyDeleteI prefer honesty but not in a nasty way. I like to hear what the blogger didn't like but not in a way that offends the author. I have books I DNF and think bloggers should have that right too.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather see an honest negative review than a false/dishonest positive review.
ReplyDeleteIt really sucks you didn't like it. I've been excited for this one for a while.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to negative reviews, I really like them to be completely honest. Because I really care about other readers opinions. If I'd looked at the reviews for Tyra Banks' book, Modelland, I would have saved my self 15 bucks and my time. But I didn't look at one review and I'll forever to ashamed to even have it on my shelve.
This past week, there was one book (I can't remember what book. It had a dancer with red flower pedals as a dress on the cover), I loved, loved, loved the cover. It was beautiful. One of the best covers I've ever seen. Now, I've been known to buy a book just on the cover. Not even read what the book was about. No second thoughts. But how I found it was a blog I follow and she gave it like, 2 stars. Upset that the beautiful cover didn't get a good review, I looked really quick on GoodReads and found a lot of 2 star review and most of the good reviews only had 3 stars. In the end, I didn't get the book because of the not-great reviews. If I find a really good deal on it (like a blogger cleaning their shelves and selling books for a great deal), I'm sure I'll give in and buy it (the cover was so pretty, I swear) but I'm not going to spent 10-20 bucks on a book I won't like.
I've written two very, very, very negative reviews and I tried to just say what I really hated about the book so others will know that, say, they hated stupid main characters, they know this book has one of those but if they still want to give it a try, borrow it from someone and not buy it.