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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
**FOUR AND A HALF STARS**
I am a HUGE fan of A.J. Waines’ independently published series about clinical psychologist, Dr Samantha Willerby. Huge, I tell you! If you missed them the first time then here are my reviews of Inside the Whispers (book #1) and the more recent Lost in the Lake (book #2). So I was thrilled for A.J. (or Alison) when I heard she had secured a two-book deal with the independent crime fiction publisher, Bloodhound Books. The first book in that deal, Don’t You Dare, was published in the UK yesterday so a very happy (belated) book birthday to Alison and the team at Bloodhound Books!
Don’t You Dare has an eye-opening and really rather shocking first chapter which draws the reader into the story immediately. From then on in, I was hooked. We meet Rachel, mother to Beth who had her daughter at the tender age of 15. Beth is now in her early twenties and aspires to be an actor. But when Rachel walks into the pub where she works and finds her daughter being brutally attacked in the cellar, her instincts take over and she does everything (and anything) to protect her child. Including accidentally killing a man. Accidents happen though. After all, her daughter was being viciously attacked. Rachel lashed out to save Beth, she pushed the attacker, he fell and hit his head. Anyone would have done the same thing to save their child, right? Wrong, because Rachel convinces Beth that they need to lie about the accident and hide the body. And there the thread starts to unravel, destroying the most precious of relationships; the destruction of a mother and daughter…
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’m ashamed to admit that I became quite addicted to watching things spiral out of control for Rachel and Beth. At times, I had the same feeling as watching a tense drama on the television (peeking out from behind my hands). I wanted to find out what was going to happen but at the same time, it was tough to watch the devastation one terribly bad decision could wreak on such a strong bond.
I struggled to like Beth. As a twenty-something young woman, she felt quite childish and selfish. It was all about her and her career but I guess many of us acted that way at that age. (To be honest, my early twenties seem so long ago it’s hard to remember!) Did I like Rachel? I’m not sure. I did at the start of the book but I think my feelings changed for her as the story progressed. Rachel makes some pretty crazy decisions throughout the story and I can *kind of* understand her reasoning for doing some of the things she does (not hiding a body though, I really can’t understand that! 😱).
There’s very little downtime for the reader in Don’t You Dare. The plot moves at an addictive pace and keeps the reader hooked, waiting for the next bombshell to hit or the suspense to mount even more. The ending was totally unexpected and did leave me a little baffled. I didn’t see it coming (and being me, I was looking for clues). I’m sitting here, writing this review asking myself, ‘Really?!’. But I do appear to be the only early reader who has commented on this so I’m putting it down to being ‘just me’!
Would I recommend this book? I would. Told in the voices of both Rachel and Beth, Don’t You Dare is a very readable, hard to put down psychological thriller. Full of devastating secrets, the reader watches from afar as lives shatter and relationships crumble. I REALLY enjoyed it and can’t wait to read the next book (be it a standalone psychological thriller or the next Dr Sam book) from the pen of A.J. Waines.
Four and a half stars out of five.
I chose to read and review an eARC of Don’t You Dare. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
I am a HUGE fan of A.J. Waines’ independently published series about clinical psychologist, Dr Samantha Willerby. Huge, I tell you! If you missed them the first time then here are my reviews of Inside the Whispers (book #1) and the more recent Lost in the Lake (book #2). So I was thrilled for A.J. (or Alison) when I heard she had secured a two-book deal with the independent crime fiction publisher, Bloodhound Books. The first book in that deal, Don’t You Dare, was published in the UK yesterday so a very happy (belated) book birthday to Alison and the team at Bloodhound Books!
Don’t You Dare has an eye-opening and really rather shocking first chapter which draws the reader into the story immediately. From then on in, I was hooked. We meet Rachel, mother to Beth who had her daughter at the tender age of 15. Beth is now in her early twenties and aspires to be an actor. But when Rachel walks into the pub where she works and finds her daughter being brutally attacked in the cellar, her instincts take over and she does everything (and anything) to protect her child. Including accidentally killing a man. Accidents happen though. After all, her daughter was being viciously attacked. Rachel lashed out to save Beth, she pushed the attacker, he fell and hit his head. Anyone would have done the same thing to save their child, right? Wrong, because Rachel convinces Beth that they need to lie about the accident and hide the body. And there the thread starts to unravel, destroying the most precious of relationships; the destruction of a mother and daughter…
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’m ashamed to admit that I became quite addicted to watching things spiral out of control for Rachel and Beth. At times, I had the same feeling as watching a tense drama on the television (peeking out from behind my hands). I wanted to find out what was going to happen but at the same time, it was tough to watch the devastation one terribly bad decision could wreak on such a strong bond.
I struggled to like Beth. As a twenty-something young woman, she felt quite childish and selfish. It was all about her and her career but I guess many of us acted that way at that age. (To be honest, my early twenties seem so long ago it’s hard to remember!) Did I like Rachel? I’m not sure. I did at the start of the book but I think my feelings changed for her as the story progressed. Rachel makes some pretty crazy decisions throughout the story and I can *kind of* understand her reasoning for doing some of the things she does (not hiding a body though, I really can’t understand that! 😱).
There’s very little downtime for the reader in Don’t You Dare. The plot moves at an addictive pace and keeps the reader hooked, waiting for the next bombshell to hit or the suspense to mount even more. The ending was totally unexpected and did leave me a little baffled. I didn’t see it coming (and being me, I was looking for clues). I’m sitting here, writing this review asking myself, ‘Really?!’. But I do appear to be the only early reader who has commented on this so I’m putting it down to being ‘just me’!
Would I recommend this book? I would. Told in the voices of both Rachel and Beth, Don’t You Dare is a very readable, hard to put down psychological thriller. Full of devastating secrets, the reader watches from afar as lives shatter and relationships crumble. I REALLY enjoyed it and can’t wait to read the next book (be it a standalone psychological thriller or the next Dr Sam book) from the pen of A.J. Waines.
Four and a half stars out of five.
I chose to read and review an eARC of Don’t You Dare. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
Both mother and daughter, Rachel and Beth, share a secret that, if found out, will cost them everything. Rachel finds Beth pinned down by a stranger and assumes the worst. She strikes him, and he ends up dead. They each have their own reasons for keeping this a secret between them, even disposing of the body. For one thing, Beth is getting married in about a month, and Rachel it’s not about to let what happened get in the way of that wedding.
As they go through wedding preparations, something that slowly disillusions Beth, their secret is in danger of being discovered. Things begin falling into place, but definitely not in a good way. But then, there is a twist. And, Wow! What a twist! I couldn’t flick my screen fast enough! This incredible psychological thriller has a conclusion that truly shocked and surprised me.
Many thanks for Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for this ARC for review.
As they go through wedding preparations, something that slowly disillusions Beth, their secret is in danger of being discovered. Things begin falling into place, but definitely not in a good way. But then, there is a twist. And, Wow! What a twist! I couldn’t flick my screen fast enough! This incredible psychological thriller has a conclusion that truly shocked and surprised me.
Many thanks for Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for this ARC for review.
I was doing what any mother would have done without a second’s thought.
This book was a pleasant NetGalley surprise. I just love the thrillers I’ve been picking up from there lately, and this one was even better than I anticipated! I also really like the fact that there was NO animal cruelty – something that’s rarer and rarer in thrillers this days but made me really happy.
The one thing I don’t really understand about this book is the title… I think they could’ve done a better job with it! It just feels like it belongs to a different book, not the one I read. My other problem was that this was quite predictable. I hope not all the author’s books are like that…
Now onto the good stuff!
This was a thrilling novel that I read in less than 24 hours, in 2 sittings. It was really gripping and held my attention from the beginning to end. I do think some things got resolved too quickly/ were too coincidental, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this book. I give it a solid four stars and I’m definitely glad I read it. I enjoyed the writing style, loved the story and connected with the characters. I’m excited to read more from this author as this book was a very enjoyable read. A little bit generic perhaps, but really exciting nonetheless.
Oh, I also just noticed I’m the first one to review it! I feel quite important now (: I hope everyone else likes this as much as I did.
I would definitely pick up another book from this author, and might do so in the very near future. I see she has quite a few books out I’m interested in.
Would recommend to: fans of British domestic noir! If you like Lucie Whitehouse, you might enjoy this one as well.
A fun, easy read! Love all her books. Definitely did not see the ending coming!
A great thriller, but not also that, a story about how far you would go to protect your daughter, or even your mother.
I was hooked within the first two chapters because already there’s action. I loved how it began right away and it didn’t wait till the middle to begin. It’s a great way to hook the readers to the story. Waines doesn’t fail to deliver.
I loved how the mother daughter relationship aspect was linked in this novel. It proves that no matter how close you are, everyone has their secrets. It’s plays such a huge part in the story that when they unravel, you’re just shocked.
The twist was predictable if you’re really good at guessing plot twists but that ending...oof! I did not expect that all. Like I said, secrets are plenty in this one.
I finished it in a day because I just had to keep reading. It’s one of those books where you have to just until you get the ending.
The characters I really liked. Peter the fiancé, Beth the daughter, Rachel the mother. Even Adrian, Rachel’s father. His dementia made the story even more intriguing because of the little hints he would leave and then he would forget what he said. It really just made me want to flip to the last few pages and spoil it for myself. But I didn’t, and I’m glad I didn’t.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bloodhound Books for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was hooked within the first two chapters because already there’s action. I loved how it began right away and it didn’t wait till the middle to begin. It’s a great way to hook the readers to the story. Waines doesn’t fail to deliver.
I loved how the mother daughter relationship aspect was linked in this novel. It proves that no matter how close you are, everyone has their secrets. It’s plays such a huge part in the story that when they unravel, you’re just shocked.
The twist was predictable if you’re really good at guessing plot twists but that ending...oof! I did not expect that all. Like I said, secrets are plenty in this one.
I finished it in a day because I just had to keep reading. It’s one of those books where you have to just until you get the ending.
The characters I really liked. Peter the fiancé, Beth the daughter, Rachel the mother. Even Adrian, Rachel’s father. His dementia made the story even more intriguing because of the little hints he would leave and then he would forget what he said. It really just made me want to flip to the last few pages and spoil it for myself. But I didn’t, and I’m glad I didn’t.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bloodhound Books for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.