REVIEW: You Wouldn’t Dare by Samantha Markum

**I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley (thank you, Wednesday Books!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**

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Book: You Wouldn’t Dare by Samantha Markum

Release Date: March 28, 2023

My Rating: 4.25 stars

Rep: biracial (Filipino, white) love interest, Latino side character, bisexual Black side character, sapphic side character

CW: infidelity, mentions of death of a parent (mother) due to drowning

Summary: A rom com about trying to have the summer of your life before everything changes – only to realize change might be exactly what you need…

When Juniper Nash Abreheart kissed Graham Isham for the first time, she had no idea it would nearly be the end of their friendship.

More specifically, she had no idea that the terrible, unforgivable thing she did to keep their summer fling a secret wouldn’t just ruin their friendship, but also Graham’s entire life. Now, months since the fallout, Junie and Graham spend most of their time sidestepping conversational landmines on the journey back to normalcy.

Junie is sure the strangeness between her and Graham is her biggest problem – until her mom hires Tallulah, her boyfriend’s surly teenage daughter, to work at their family café, and then announces they’ll all be moving in together at the end of the summer. The only bright spot ahead is Junie’s dad’s upcoming visit, just in time for her community theater production. And then poor turnout soon threatens that.

But when Junie starts to realize the feelings she swore to take care of last summer have lingered, saving her production and managing her hostile relationship with Tallulah might be the least of her problems. Graham isn’t just off limits – their friendship has been mended to barely withstand a breeze, and the gale force of Junie’s feelings could be just what breaks them.

Samantha Markum’s You Wouldn’t Dare is about the risks and triumphs that come with being brave enough to take a chance at what you really want, including love.

SONG OF THE DAY

“Hurricanes” by Rina Sawayama

https://youtu.be/LbB1Qtq3FHY

Read my review of This May End Badly, another book by the same author.

I enjoyed this author’s debut, so I was intrigued by her sophomore novel. Although it’s no longer summer (as of writing this review), this book sounded like a fun summer read, which is what I needed in this moment. And I unexpectedly fell in love with it! In You Wouldn’t Dare, a summer can be full of changes that seem devastating — but work out for the best.

Last summer, Junie had a fling with one of her best friends Graham. Little did she know, their keeping their relationship a secret would wreck his life. Now, their friendship is awkward at best as they navigate going back to normal. This summer, though, is full of other changes: Junie and her mother are moving in with her boyfriend and his daughter Tallulah; Junie’s best friend Milo has a new girlfriend; and her dad might not make it to her summer community theater show after all, despite the work she’s put into recruiting people.

There was a plot in this book, but what I really appreciated was getting to know all of the characters so well. The author described this book as hoping to capture the feeling of a Sarah Dessen novel. I’ve read only one of her books a really long time ago, but I feel like I understand what she means and I think she definitely fulfilled that wish. You Wouldn’t Dare just felt so refreshing amidst a landscape of trope-ified stories. Instead, it’s messy and dramatic, not for the sake of tropes but for character development, and I loved it.

I really loved the characters and the tightly knit feeling of the island. Junie has grown up with her single mother, but they’ve always had such a solid support system. Junie in particular has a group of best friends that she’s been friends with almost her entire life, although she’s closest to Milo as Lucy is closest to Graham. I loved reading about her relationship with each of her friends, not just the awkwardness with Graham but also the way that she knows Milo as well as she knows herself. She also grows closer to Tallulah, her soon-to-be stepsister who despises her. They both learn to get over their differences and open to the other.

This book was also just a lot of fun! Junie is a part of the Drama Club and participates in the summer community theater show every year. This year, they plan to put on a play that requires a large cast; she strong-arms Milo into recruiting his basketball team and other people. There are a lot of hijinks, and I liked reading about the effort put into preparing for the play.

The romance was also so cute. Markum writes dialogue very well, especially between the protagonist and the love interest, as well as the tension between them. Junie never knows how to approach Graham now after unknowingly playing a part in the worst moment of his life. Now, the two of them are on good terms but not quite knowing what to do with the other. She still feels guilty and refuses to act on her feelings for him, which results in a lot of angst throughout the book.

I flew through this book in two sittings, unable to put it down. The characters were just so compelling, and I loved Junie’s character development. Both the friend group and the romance were so well-written; I can’t wait to see what’s next from Samantha Markum. You Wouldn’t Dare is a fun read for summer (or for when you’re missing summer), full of drama and new changes. I definitely recommend it for anyone on the lookout for a good contemporary!

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About the Author: Samantha Markum was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, where she got her great literary start writing Newsies fan fiction in middle school. She went to high school and college in Florida, where she mostly just collected sunburns, and eventually moved to Los Angeles so she could complain about how much she missed In-N-Out once she left.

She currently lives in her hometown of St. Louis. When she’s not writing, she can be found begging her dog for attention, buying too many candles, and ignoring the dust bunnies gathering in her house. When she is writing, you can find her staring at the wall in search of inspiration.

She is the author of This May End Badly and You Wouldn’t Dare.

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