I Dare You (Ruin Me Duet 1) by Monica James-review
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 23, 2026
One brutal night shattered Hallie Holiday’s life.
By morning, the girl everyone knew had vanished.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
Only silence.
Three years later, Hallie lives under a different name in a town where no one knows her past. Staying invisible is the only way to survive.
But fate has a cruel sense of humor because he is the last person she ever expected to see again.
Kit Rivers—her childhood best friend’s older brother.
The town’s favorite bad boy.
The boy every girl wanted.
But the boy she remembers is gone.
When their paths collide again, the pull between them is instant.
And in a town where men have mysteriously turned up dead…that kind of connection could get someone killed.
Hallie knows who’s responsible.
Jupiter Lemmings.
If Hallie tells the truth, she exposes the killer—and the truth about the night that destroyed her life.
But if she stays silent…Kit could be next.
Hallie has spent three years running from the past.
Now she must decide how far she’s willing to go to save the man who saved her.
However, some secrets don’t stay buried forever.
And when they surface…someone always ends up dead.
••••••••
REVIEW: I DARE YOU is the first instalment in Monica James’ contemporary, adult RUIN ME dark erotic romance duet focusing on Hallie Holiday aka Olivia, and brother Kit and Dandy Rivers.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there WILL BE triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from first person perspectives (Hallie) following several years in the life of our story line ‘heroine’ , I DARE YOU focuses on the aftermath of extreme betrayal and brutality against our story line heroine. Bullied throughout most of her life, having lost her parents at a very young age, life and everything it offered would send Hallie Holiday into a spiral, searching for something or someone to take back control. Befriended years before by brothers Dandy and Kit, Hallie would be forced to leave their friendship behind as she embarked on a journey of vengeance, a journey she would not be taking alone.
The world building is complex as Hallie goes from childhood to a nineteen year old woman who is seeking freedom from the demons and ghosts of her past. As a young girl she faced the wrath of her uncle, the brutality of the bullies, and the loss of her innocence at the age of sixteen.
I DARE YOU is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and control, murder and mayhem, obsession and madness.The character driven premise is dark, dramatic, gritty and intense with a twist I deciphered early on. The characters are desperate, determined, broken and dark. I DARE YOU ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
Monica James spent her youth devouring the works of Anne Rice, William Shakespeare, and Emily Dickinson.
When she is not writing, Monica is busy running her own business, but she always finds a balance between the two. She enjoys writing honest, heartfelt, and turbulent stories, hoping to leave an imprint on her readers. She draws her inspiration from life.
She is a bestselling author in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, and the U.K.
Monica James resides in Melbourne, Australia, with her wonderful family, and menagerie of animals. She is slightly obsessed with cats, chucks, and lip gloss, and secretly wishes she was a ninja on the weekends.
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