This story centres around the lives of 3 very different women: Veronica, a middle class teacher who desperately wants a child; Simone, who has two children by two different men and lives with a violent partner, and Sarah who was once a close friend of Veronica's.

We are quickly drawn into their lives, particularly Veronica's and Simone's at the start as they live next door to each other. Characters are well drawn and not particularly likeable but as the story unfolds, their complexity makes for very interesting reading and thought about a number of issues. Each character is gradually revealed through their psychological flaws making a fascinating read.

This book was very, very good!
I was hooked early on, the characters were all so real and well written.
So many twists and turns and lots of think about, desperately sad in parts but very real and true to life.
The story mainly centres around two families living very different lives and the challenges they all face, meanwhile the nailbiting scenes creep up on you.

Well written story. Kept me engaged the entire time. A page turner for sure! Looking forward to reading more books by this author!

Great read!
Can’t wait to read more by this author after reading this book. I have devoured this book in one sitting

Three women, all fighting their own battles leads to a highly addictive and suspense filled book. I struggled to put this down once I started; To Dare brings together the story of three women, Simone, Veronica and Sarah, all of them living very different lives that become intertwined as the story progresses.
I felt it easy to connect with the characters, none of which are completely likeable but difficult not to create strong opinions about, it is their flaws that make them so interesting.
I enjoyed the interlinking stories and flashbacks in this book, it covers some hard hitting subjects such as domestic abuse, struggles with fertility and oppressive friendships but is in no way preachy in its delivery of these themes.
To Dare is very different to anything else I have read recently. I have never come across a book that has left me with such strong opinions and conflicting thoughts about the main characters. A true success.

Three sets of families (Sarah, Simone and Veronica) with their hope and dreams overlapping. This was a very interesting read, how strong emotions can distroy lives. How true love conkers all. How what you see is not always what you think.

Thank you Netgalley for another amazing book.
This book was filled with beautiful and heart wrenching moments.
I loved the characters, shouted at them and cried with them.
Completely amazing 5 star book.

Steel yourself before you read ‘To Dare’ by Jemma Wayne. That’s not because it’s poorly written or because it focuses on difficult world-shifting events or shocking global injustice. Far from it. This domestic tale looks in rather than out and the view is terrifying.
Told from the narrative viewpoints of beautiful, charismatic primary school teacher, Veronica, her childhood friend, Sarah, successful lawyer and mother of two, and Simone, another mother and neighbour of Veronica, embroiled in domestic abuse, the author focuses closely on female relationships, childhood influences and why we justify poor decisions.
All of these women are vulnerable and yet only Simone is obviously so. Physically and emotionally abused by her partner, Terry, she is so keen to keep the status quo that she turns a blind eye to his appalling treatment of her children. The scenes inside their grubby flat are full of tension and often difficult to read, not because the violence is always explicit but because it is so convincingly portrayed, making the reader wonder how many families live in a permanent state of stress. It’s easy to imagine these situations from the way in which Wayne depicts such scenes: the toddler freezing when she hears a raised voice; the boy with the permanently hunched shoulders; the mother desperate to placate yet knowing that anything she says may justify a slap in this toxic upside-down world.
So, Veronica and Sarah are fortunate in comparison to Simone? Yes, economically and educationally. However, Wayne paints an equally toxic picture of their childhood friendship and the different ways in which this is remembered. These details were equally difficult to read. There was more than one moment in the novel when I hoped that Veronica would meet her just desserts before remembering that, like Simone’s children, growing up she had also felt neglected by her parents.
That these domestic miseries take place in and around beautiful Primrose Hill reminds the reader that there is no such thing as a perfect life. What stops ‘To Dare’ from being a full-on misery read is the courage that the women show as they learn to face their demons, acknowledge their faults and begin to move forward. A very powerful story. Anyone who reads this novel will not forget that ordinary people are capable of both great cruelty and great courage.
My thanks to NetGalley and Legend Press for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

To Dare is a suspense-filled, well-paced novel that will have you gripped with it's original and inventive plot, It deals with many sensitive subjects delicately and with sensitivity. One to add to your to-read list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Legend Press for the arc of To Dare by Jemma Wayne.

Thanks to Jemma Wayne for writing this emotional thriller.

This is told between 3 perspectives of 3 women, Simone whom is physically and emotionally abused woman who has two children, Sarah who's job is as a lawyer is friends with Veronica who the other perspective is, Sarah is also very happily married and also has 2 children, then there is Veronica who is also happily married but is very desperate to have a baby, she works as a teacher and former bully.

This has some triggers of abusive relationships, rape, domestic violence, mental abuse, child abuse, child neglect, drug abuse, alcoholism, miscarriage, death, sexual harassment, drugging of others,

This was a very emotional book, but was a great psychological thriller was a little confusing at first then all the characters merged together then it really pulls you into the story and gets really interesting.

Well done for a portrayal of serious issues was done in a sensible way so well done for that Jemma Wayne.

Definitely recommend
5 Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“To Dare” by Jemma Wayne starts off at a slow pace, somewhat confusing with a trio of characters which eventually all mingle together. Then halfway through the book the pace picks up and really pulls you into the story. A good mixture of characters, sad and happy.
A great debut psychological thriller.

The book jumps between the perspectives of three women: Simone (a physically and emotionally abused woman with two children,) Veronica (a teacher, a former (?) bully, and a newlywed who desperately wants a child,) and Sarah (a lawyer and former friend of Veronica who is now happily married and has two children.)

The middle of the book as the suspense was building was the best part. I thought it was interesting to see how each character's current outcome was so heavily defined by their teenage years, and jumping in timeline usually made sense (although every once in a while was confusing since it wasn't clear when everything was happening.)

The beginning of the book is a bit slow and complicated, which makes it harder to get into than some other psychological thrillers that are out there.
In a really good thriller, you want to be hooked from the first page, and I found the whole first chapter confusing. There's also a fair amount of background that comes to light early on in order to make the rest of it make sense, and you just need to get through it. Eventually, though, the book picks up speed and gets more interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the arc of this book. It has not influenced my review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review. To Dare was one of those books that you say "wth" is going on and sorry to see that you are reading the last chapter. I really enjoyed this book.

Overall a good read, took me a while to get into this story line and found it hard to follow personally.

Thank you to Netgalley and Legend Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Very intense book. Very emotional in all dimensions. Would have liked the characters to come more o life. Saying that still a good book

The opening of this book is tense... 
It doesn't let up much.
There's a lot of issues that will trigger some.
I went through various emotions of frustration,disgust,sympathy,dislike ,despair and probably some others,at the three main female characters.
Not always likeable,but compelling reading

An interesting premise but extremely hard to follow with very little character development. I wouldn’t purchase it but might get it from the library

So dark so chilling a book that drew me right in& kept me reading late into the night.The author has a writing style that ratchet up the tension and won’t let go till the last page#netgalley#legendbooks