Review: To Dare by Jemma Wayne

My go to books seem to be thrillers and historical fiction at the moment and I could not pass up on the chance to read To Dare by Jemma Wayne. This is a thriller with much acclaim from authors such as Hilary Boyd, Saskia Sarginson, Rosamund Lupton and Louis De Bernieres, so I was very excited to start reading.

REVIEW

Three women, three stories with three very different personalities. Veronica and George are just moving into their new flat, hoping for a fresh start and hopefully to heal from a recent loss. Their neighbour, Simone is trapped by her abusive and controlling husband Terry, whilst trying to look after her children and Sarah, Veronica's childhood friend is about to reenter Veronica's life, with old tensions resurfacing and painful memories about to spill over into each of their lives. To Dare was an intense and dark read. I wouldn't say it was a gripping thriller, or even a typical  thriller as such but more of an emotional thriller. I do feel like this book should come with some trigger warnings as a lot of difficult subjects are covered, although the author does handle them well. Each of the three women felt almost scarily real to me, I feel like I have met each of them and experienced parts of what they are going through/went through at different points in my life. I had a particular dislike of Veronica as she is a master manipulator, and there were a fair few instances that made my blood boil and wonder what exactly she was trying to gain. I felt a huge sympathy to Simone and her terrible husband and how she felt like she deserved to be treated the way she was.
There were a few unexpected, jaw dropping moments in To Dare that I didn't see coming and I was keen to find out how all the three women would come together, but it was more of a slow burner. Not to say that it wasn't good, but I would have liked it to have a bit more of a build up, although that is a personal preference.

Part of the To Dare Blog Tour