Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Title: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
Authors: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: MiraInk (5th October 2012)
Blurb:

I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the self, please.

At the urge of her lucky-in-love brother, sixteen-year-old Lily has left a red notebook full of dares on her favourite bookshop shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept.

Curious, snarky Dash isn’t one to back down from a challenge – and the Book of Dares is the perfect thing to keep him occupied this Christmas.

As they send each other on a snowbound scavenger hunt across Manhattan, they’re falling for each other on paper. But finding out if their real selves share their on-page chemistry could be their biggest dare yet.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

I picked this book up in my local bookstore on a whim. I’d heard over the blogosphere that this book is the perfect book to get you in the mood for Christmas, and whilst I was somewhat dubious about these claims I thought I’d give it a go. Instead of a book full of Christmas cheer, I found a charming, unputdownable contemporary romance that stole my heart a little.

Some books you pick up on a whim and start to read only to find yourself disappointed; as I steadily consumed this book page by page I found myself utterly charmed watching Dash and Lily’s thoughts and adventures play out on the page. Honestly I only had one small gripe with Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares and that was that the ending didn’t quite meet up to the rest of the book, and yet it still somehow works. Both Cohn and Levithan have done a fantastic job writing this book.

I found both Dash and Lily to be really brilliant narrators and protagonists. There were slow moments in the narrative, but they came at just the right points so that the story flowed brilliantly. At times I found Lily a little hard to understand, but I instantly liked Dash and together they drew me into their worlds. The secondary characters – Dash’s friends, and Lily’s family – were brilliant. I really enjoyed it whenever they were on the stage, not only because they were great characters, but because they added to the story.

The plot is, to be honest, a little clichéd. Once you’ve read the blurb you should know pretty much what you’re getting, and how the book is going to end. Yet the journey to that ending wasn’t quite like I expected it to be; Cohn and Levithan threw in some twists I did not see coming.

If you’re looking to get into the Christmas spirit then you would be MUCH better to get out a copy (from your shelves, or local library, or bookstore) of The Night Before Christmas. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a fun, contemporary romance that is only 260 pages long then you should definitely check out Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares.