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A review by hayleybeale
10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston
2.0
Convoluted is the only way to describe this novel. There are so many contrivances that the plot feels manufactured rather than organic and the characters are just pieces to move around the boxes. I understand the desire to have a quirky structure to a novel but this goes too far. (I found out after I read this that it’s a sequel to Ten Dates which focused on one of this novel’s support characters, so maybe reading that would improve this? Personally, I doubt it)
Olivia won’t get to graduate as she hasn’t completed her PE requirement but if she works at a golf tournament for four days the coach will sign her off, but it’s the week of all the senior parties. Olivia is too embarrassed to tell her mother who is away on business, but as her mother is tracking Olivia’s phone and wants pictures from all the parties, Olivia comes up with a hare-brained scheme to swap phones with her three best friends - Charlie, Wes, and Sophie - so that they can be in the right place and maybe get the requisite shots as well as answering Olivia’s mom’s incessant questions. Also,Olivia comes from a giant family who just blend together except Nonna, who likes to cook, Uncle Michael, who’s gay, and the twin cousins who are the enemies of Olivia and her friends. Plus the first ten chapters start with a truth and the last one with a dare. Oh, and an old friend, Leo, is staying with the hated twins, playing in the golf tournament and, without much reason, is Olivia’s love interest.
Phew.
So that all comes out in the first chapter or two. After that, the story just plays out as you might expect: there are some misunderstandings, some close calls, and a cliffhanger ending. But it all feels a bit rote and the plot, as we used to say, rather shows its petticoat.
It is well enough written and is perfectly fine for a rainy day if there’s nothing else on your bookshelf or in your Kindle, but there are many more novels that are just a better use of your time.
Thanks to Hyperion and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
Olivia won’t get to graduate as she hasn’t completed her PE requirement but if she works at a golf tournament for four days the coach will sign her off, but it’s the week of all the senior parties. Olivia is too embarrassed to tell her mother who is away on business, but as her mother is tracking Olivia’s phone and wants pictures from all the parties, Olivia comes up with a hare-brained scheme to swap phones with her three best friends - Charlie, Wes, and Sophie - so that they can be in the right place and maybe get the requisite shots as well as answering Olivia’s mom’s incessant questions. Also,Olivia comes from a giant family who just blend together except Nonna, who likes to cook, Uncle Michael, who’s gay, and the twin cousins who are the enemies of Olivia and her friends. Plus the first ten chapters start with a truth and the last one with a dare. Oh, and an old friend, Leo, is staying with the hated twins, playing in the golf tournament and, without much reason, is Olivia’s love interest.
Phew.
So that all comes out in the first chapter or two. After that, the story just plays out as you might expect: there are some misunderstandings, some close calls, and a cliffhanger ending. But it all feels a bit rote and the plot, as we used to say, rather shows its petticoat.
It is well enough written and is perfectly fine for a rainy day if there’s nothing else on your bookshelf or in your Kindle, but there are many more novels that are just a better use of your time.
Thanks to Hyperion and Netgalley for the digital review copy.