Title: 10 TRUTHS AND A DARE
Author: Ashley Elston
Pub. Date: May 4, 2021
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 304
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
This companion to Ashley Elston's beloved 10 Blind Dates follows Sophie's high-achieving cousin Olivia as she juggles last-minute P.E. credit, end-of-year parties, and a secret new romance in the chaotic week before graduation.
It's Senior Party Week, that magical in-between time after classes have ended but before graduation, chock-full of gimmicky theme parties, last-minute bonding, and family traditions. Olivia couldn't be more ready. Class salutatorian and confident in her future at LSU, she's poised to sail through to the next phase of her life.
But when the tiny hiccup of an unsigned off-campus P.E. form puts Olivia in danger of not graduating at all, she has one week to set things straight without tipping off her very big and very nosy extended family. Volunteering to help at a local golf tournament should do it, but since Olivia's mom equipped her phone with a tracking app, there'll be no hiding the fact that she's at the golf course instead of all the graduation parties happening at the same time. Unless, that is, she can convince the Fab Four--her ride-or-die cousins and best friends Sophie, Charlie, and Wes--to trade phones with her as they go through the motions of playing Olivia for the week.
I really enjoyed 10 Blind Dates and the Messina family, so I was thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for 10 Truths and a Dare. While I didn't enjoy this one quite as much, I still liked being around the Fab Four, catching up with Sophie and Wes, and seeing more of Charlie's antics. (I really hope the next book is about him!) I didn't mind the Evil Joes, since there presence also brought Leo into the mix.
My main issue with this book was the conflict. I've never been a fan of lying in books, since telling the truth usually resolves all of the main character's problems. In Olivia's defense, she didn't want to disappoint her family and friends, but I think they would have been happy to help. I doubt it would've been the one thing she was remembered for, and thought the lengths she went to were a little excessive at times. She even convinced Wes, Sophie, and Charlie to go along with her insanely complicated plan, which had them lying to their friends and family to cover for her. Since I love how welcoming and boisterous their family is, it bothered me that they would chose to lie instead of asking for help. I really wanted Nonna to figure it out early on and bust them.
I also didn't like how involved Olivia's mom was in her day-to-day life. It felt a little over-the-top. I understood her wanting a location or tracking app on her daughter's phone while they were away, but they live near 100 other family members that could have checked in on their daughter. The app felt like an invasion of privacy, and her commentary felt too intense most of the time (Charlie and Wes were understandably bothered by it). She would offer suggestions on clothing and honestly knew way too much about her daughter. Maybe this just wasn't my experience growing up, but I find it hard to believe that a parent would behave this way all the time.
I did enjoy the sweet romance that builds throughout the book, and didn't mind the slow-burn since everything else was so chaotic. The tender moments between the two of them made me smile and reminisce about what it was like to be young and in love with someone new. Everything is exciting; each stolen moment worth cherishing.
I wish my senior parties has been this elaborate! They definitely sounded memorable and like they'd be a lot of fun. I think it's great the parents were involved, too. Although, I'm not sure how the keg made it into the one toga party, haha. If this had been my high school experience, I think everyone would have ended their senior year on a high note. I can totally understand why Olivia wanted to make it to them despite everything else she had going on. I'm bummed on her behalf that she didn't get to fully enjoy them with her friends.
While the Fab Four are still my favorite characters in this book, I did like seeing more from Olivia's other friends. I wish she had opened up to them a little earlier, since it was clear they cared about her and were concerned about her whereabouts (she kept missing parties, was late to events or had to leave early, and always gave vague excuses that weren't believable). I think they deserved better from their friend, just like her family deserved the truth from the start. Overall, it was a quick read that only took me a day to get through once I finally had time to sit down and read it. (★★★⋆☆)
Ashley Elston is the author of several novels including: 10 Blind Dates (a Top Ten ALA Quick Pick and the companion to this book), The Rules for Disappearing (a finalist in the Best Young Adult Novel category of the International Thriller Writers Thriller Awards), This Is Our Story, and The Lying Woods. She has a liberal arts degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and worked for many years as a wedding photographer before turning her hand to writing. Ashley lives in Shreveport with her husband and three sons. For more information about Ashley and her books, please visit www.ashleyelston.com.
Praise for 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston:
2020 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Top Ten Title
2020 Florida Teens Read Book List
"POSITIVELY DELIGHTFUL—all caps—from beginning to end."—NPR
"This piece-by-piece romance doesn't need its Christmas theme to sell, but it makes it glitter all the more."—Booklist
"A fun story of finding love, getting to know yourself, and getting to know your family."—Kirkus Reviews
"In a funny holiday romance that has Sophie dog-sitting in a hockey rink, watching porn at a drive-in theater, and playing the Virgin Mary in a middle school Nativity, Elston cleverly reflects the family members' personalities through their choices of dates for Sophie."—Publishers Weekly
About Ashley:
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of 10 TRUTHS AND A DARE, US Only.
Ohh I have not read 10 Blind Dates yet, so thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it! I enjoyed it more than this one, but both were sweet stories. <3
DeleteTo have to go to all that trouble because your mom is tracking your phone. lol
ReplyDeleteRight? Although, if she had given the class the attention it deserved (even though it's golf), it wouldn't have mattered that her mom was tracking her phone.
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