“The terrifying finale is a doozy, and Ky is a capable (can you say muay thai?), whip-smart, snarky joy. Readers will follow her anywhere, no matter how dangerous. Dark and thrilling.” –Kirkus When her FBI agent father is framed for murder, Kylene is forced to move in with her grandfather, back to the small town that turned its back on her, and the boy who betrayed her. All Ky cares about is … her.
All Ky cares about is clearing her father’s name, but someone won’t let her forget the photo scandal that drove her away two years ago. As the threats gain momentum, Ky finds an unlikely ally in the rookie FBI agent sent to keep an eye on her.
Determined to expose the town’s hidden skeletons, Ky unwittingly thrusts herself into a much bigger plot. They thought she’d forgive and forget. They’re about to learn they messed with the wrong girl.
“A quick-witted heroine, a fast-paced plot, and a twisty whodunit mystery kept me on my toes. Fans of Riverdale will adore Kylene Danners and devour this suspenseful story.” —USA Today bestselling author K.A. Tucker
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Dare You to Lie filled the empty spot Veronica Mars left in my heart. A smart who-done-it that kept me guessing to the end! I can’t wait for the next book.
A snarky, brave, likeable sleuth of a heroine; a thoughtful, fast-paced plot; suspense, mystery and a dash of romance. Fans of Veronica Mars will love this!
A quick-witted heroine, a fast-paced plot, and a twisty whodunit mystery that kept me on my toes. Fans of Riverdale and Veronica Mars will adore Kylene Danners and devour this suspenseful story.
A blackout. Lies. The Six. Friends turned enemies. A miscarriage of justice. Lives ruined. Secrets dark and diabolical.
Nothing’s what it seems.
Dust off your telephoto lens and brush up on your Muay Thai maneuvers because DARE YOU TO LIE’s all-out, good-girl-turned-mad, in-your-face-suspense-thriller is a conspiracy that will taunt you at every turn to solve its mystery—and my advice: Trust no one.
Kylene Danners didn’t return to Jasperville, Ohio searching for her happily ever after. She came back to right a wrong—two wrongs—one that will set her father free from an unjust prison sentence, and the other to clear her name as the town liar. If that means burying The Six a few feet under with their deceit, so be it. But a place like theirs and people like this don’t surrender secrets without a fight. Uncovering the truth will prove to be an epic battle to the death—one that few people will see coming.
Amber Lynn Natusch’s brilliant and fast-paced storytelling shines through in her strong, good-girl-turned-raw heroine, Kylene Danners. This is no after-school-special; it’s authentic, cunning, and fraught with the kind of devastating, real-life events that will hammer dents in anyone’s veneer. Natusch weaves in sharp-witted dialog for her well-developed characters, creating everything from behind-the-hand giggling to full-out barking laughter as I turned the pages. Read this book the way it was meant to be read: consumed in one sitting. Once you do, you’ll be clamoring for more.
If you’re a Marshmellow (a fan of Veronica Mars), add this to your TBR shelf. You’ll love it.
*I received an ebook ARC for review. I loved the ebook so much, I pre-ordered the hardcover with my own cash.
I had the opportunity to read this book as a beta reader and see the transformation of this book go from “I am loving the whole idea of this book” to “holy shit, you really nailed YA Mystery with the whole Veronica Mars vibe.” I did read the final version of this book and even book a physical copy because I love it so much.
The only way to describe this book and not give anything away is saying it is a great blend of Veronica Mars and Riverdale . If you are a huge fan of Veronica Mars, then you will love this book. It has all the mystery and suspense along with the “take no shit” attitude and some very hilarious moments with other characters and you get one hell of an amazing story.
Kylene is kick-ass heroine who decides she is not going to sit back and just take her father’s guilty sentence lightly. She knows that truth but needs to somehow prove it. But she has her own hands full starting back at the school she left because of her own problems there.
This book moves at a fast pace with a lot of moving parts and I love it. There is no slow down and you find yourself getting caught up in the witty and snarky comments from Kylene as well as her friends. I loved every single bit of this book and can’t wait for the next book to release.
This is Amber’s first dive into an genre outside of her normal writing and she delivers a page turner. If you love YA, mystery or just a great book that will keep you glued to the pages, this book is for you.
I am so floored by the astonishing revelations in this fast-paced edge of your seat nail-biting read that I don’t really know what to say. The storyline was flawless and well executed. The characters were all fierce and strong and the climactic moments were intense and bone-rattling. I cannot wait to read the next book. This is a must-read book so stop reading this review and get to it.- YA/NA Book Divas
{I requested a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley. I made no guarantee of a favorable review and the opinions expressed herein are unbiased and my own.}
I’ve seen many reviews comparing Dare You to Lie to Veronica Mars and I feel like that’s an accurate comparison. This definitely reads like one of those snappy, smart, edge-of-your-seat but maybe just a little bit campy teen shows that I am convinced I will never age out of.
I feel like there’s no arguing that Ms. Natusch is a gifted writer. I appreciated the witty dialogue and the smart humor. I loved that this wasn’t dumbed down or oversimplified. I feel like for YA readers – young and old – there’s going to be great appreciation that the book, and the characters in it, are smart, savvy, and strong. I particularly loved that Kylene was written with pluck, sass, and some kick-butt physical capabilities – while still coming off as a little bit vulnerable and relatable. She appealed to me emotionally as well as to that part of me that wants to cheer for the badass anti-hero.
I had some “first book in the series” issues that I’m guessing will not be an issue moving forward. There’s a lot of groundwork laid in this one and it dragged for me in places. However, now that the background has been laid out, I’m excited to see where this series goes from here.
First in Amber Lynn Natusch’s Hometown Antihero series, this book both surprised me and excited me. As a long time reader of everything this author has ever written, I wondered if young adult books would be her forte. Well, I always said that she could write the telephone book and I would read it, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I found the book to be well written and nonstop page turning.
Kylene is a seventeen year old girl who has moved in with her grandfather after her FBI agent father is found guilty of murder. So she’s back in the town that she moved from two years before following a horrible event that features six members of the football team and a camera. Any other girl would probably shiver in a corner when faced with these young men. Well, not so Kylene as she sets off to both prove her father’s innocence and prove which guy ruined her life. Once you meet this heroine, you will almost immediately know that she doesn’t back off from a challenge, much less when it involves people she cares about. She’s certainly someone that I would love to have my back in any situation. She’s also someone full of snark and feisty as they come. A big plus in anything I read.
There’s plenty of people to point fingers at, so good luck figuring anything out-a plus in any mystery. I had figured a part out, but certainly nowhere near all of it. There’s also plenty of suspenseful/scary moments to go through with Ky.
There’s lots of good characters besides the feisty Ky, most notably, her best friend, Garrett, a good guy. It’s refreshing to see a female and male be just friends-although I liked Garrett so much that I was half hoping for something there. Who knows, there might be something there? But probably not. Also important is the new girl in school, Tabby, who fits right in with Ky and Garrett’s friendship. I can’t tell you just how much I loved these characters! Oh, there’s many more and some villains as well, but the heart of this book were these three.
Natusch has written the YA book that I would have wished for when I was a teenager. It’s smart and sassy-due to its heroine, but it’s also about some pretty scary subjects. For this reason, I would recommend it for ages 14+. And that should say highly recommended. I can’t wait for the next book!
A witty, fast-paced, action-packed romp through the seedy underbelly of small town America. Kylene’s spirited voice leaps off the page! Beware: Once you begin this thrilling ride, you’ll be up way past your bedtime.
Equal parts fierce and funny, Kylene Danners is the friend you wish had your back. Natusch throws the reader into a pulse-quickening quest for justice that left me whiplashed in the best possible way. I want―no, need!―to see what Kylene does next!
Recently I’ve been wanting to add more mystery/suspense to my reading repertoire, so when I heard one of my favorite authors had one coming out, I was quick to sign up and read it. And I was not disappointed one bit! YA can be tough to read, but the past few that I’ve read have been written flawlessly with not much of that typical teenage angst. Plus, I can’t say that I’ve read a YA suspense/mystery before, but this one, I highly recommend because of the badass, zero shit-taking heroine that is Kylene Danners.
I’ve been a fan of Natusch’s work since her Caged series, so it was definitely a no-brainer for me to get my hands on this one. Dare You to Lie is one of those books that is nearly impossible to put down. You must devour it in one sitting and Amber made it so easy to do so. The plot was such an epic one that kept me completely hooked the whole time. Kylene was one of those heroines that started off as this good girl and then one drunken night ended up completely altering her life. So much, that her and her dad left town for a couple years hoping to put that night behind her, but soon returns to Jasperville when her father is framed for murder.
Now that she’s back to the place she never wanted to see again, her mom essentially leaving her, so she’s back to living with her grandpa. She has some scores to settle in the town where her presence isn’t exactly wanted. But Ky is determined to find out the truth of not only that night but also the framing of her father. But the deeper Ky starts to dig, there’s constant danger lurking around every corner. How far is she willing to go to find out the truth especially with the constant warnings and endless threats?
I loved Kylene so much, fear wasn’t something that consumed her. She was determined to find out the truth in any way possible, but I will say her spitfire tongue and actions would put her in some unlikely situations. Kylene was very much an act first, think later type of girl and it actually made me admire her even more. I was in awe of her investigative skills and it just made her that much more appealing. And we can’t forget her only two supportive friends throughout this book that essentially became her sidekicks in this whirlwind mystery towards justice.
Dare You to Lie was one of those reads where your heart just beats so quickly the entire time you’re reading. As more truths she uncovers, it just brought up more questions. But the main question that I had during the entire book was why her? Why have her be scandalized, only to cover the truth and none involved be tried. All evidence, swept under the rug, simply hidden away in hopes to never be seen again. There’s so much more to this than just her scandal, but what is it or rather, who is it? Ah, the questions I have are endless and I just want to know why they use Kylene as the forefront of it all. Even though some truths were revealed there are still so many that Kylene will need to uncover.
Many have said that this was akin to Veronica Mars, but I’ve actually never seen the show before. So if you were a fan, this book is definitely up your alley. Ahhh, this book had everything even the romance lover in me was yearning for it, but this just wasn’t that kind of book. I’m having a little bit of a love/hate that this will be a series because I don’t want to wait long for the next book. With the way this ended, it sets up the next book quite nicely and I absolutely can’t wait to get my hands on it.
The scandal, lies, betrayal, blackmail and the top-notch detective skills of Kylene and her friends make for an absolutely riveting story. Highly recommend for all you suspense/mystery and a bit of thriller fans out there!
This is the first book I read by Amber Lynn Natusch and I totally loved it. This one had me hooked from the beginning. Ky is a very likable character. Ky is a high schooler. Her life has just been turner upside down. Her dad is in jail and her mom left so she back in the town she left two years ago to live with her grandfather. There’s a lot going on in her life. There were pictures of her that got taken and posted before she left two years ago. She still doesn’t know who did it but there are six boys that she think know what happened. She also believes her dad was wrongfully convicted. Ky is a go getter, she’s not going to sit back and let things lie. She wants answers and she goes after them. There’s mystery and suspense and I was hooked as I was trying to find the answers Ky was looking for too while reading. I’m still questioning some of the locality of the characters. There one character that’s her friend but I’m a little lerry of him. I can’t wait to read the next one.
A fast-paced thriller with a whip-smart and smart-mouthed protagonist. I immediately loved Kylene, both for her “act first, think later” attitude and for her grit and propulsive drive to get to the bottom of the highly personal scandal haunting her return to her Ohio hometown. As Kylene works to uncover the truth about the person or people who wronged her, as well as her FBI agent father’s almost certainly wrongful conviction for murder, you’ll be drawn in by her bad-assery as well an endearing supporting cast. There are plenty of high-tension moments and mysterious subplots to keep even veteran readers of YA thrillers engaged and turning pages.