Dare You to Lie was a book we both enjoyed last year. The sequel, Don’t Say a Word, releases on September 17th. Today we get to participate in the blog tour hosted by TBR and Beyond. A big thanks to them, the author and publisher for providing us with an ARC to read an review for this tour.
Today we will share our review of Don’t Say a Word and our favorite quotes. There is even a tour wide giveaway, so let’s take a look!
Don’t Say a Word (Hometown Antihero #2)
by Amber Lynn Natusch
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: September 17th, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
Synopsis:
Kylene Danners’s ex-FBI agent father is in prison for murder and she’s hell-bent on getting him out. But trying to investigate in the small town where a defensive lineman is a hero no matter who he tries to kill and the girl who gets him locked up is public enemy number one is dangerous. Dark secrets are everywhere in Jasperville—the kind Ky can’t walk away from.
When rookie FBI agent Cedric Dawson returns to town to finish an open investigation, he goes undercover at her high school—as her ex. Determined to keep her from interfering, Dawson’s plan backfires after Ky gets an anonymous call about missing girls officially labeled as runaways—runaways that didn’t really run away at all.
Because dead girls can’t run.
And they don’t say a word.
BOOK LINKS
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43263260-don-t-say-a-word
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dont-say-a-word-amber-lynn-natusch/1130016121?ean=9780765397713#/
Bookdepository: https://www.bookdepository.com/DonT-Say-Word-Amber-Lynn-Natusch/9780765397713?ref=grid-view&qid=1564876975024&sr=1-10
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/don-t-say-a-word-24
Cover
Candyce I’m normally not a big fan of people on covers, but I do love the creepy vibe this cover has. Especially the line on the cover “Silence isn’t golden – it’s deadly”. That made me want to dive right in!
Isabelle To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of the covers in this series, in part because there are people on them. These are just not my type of covers. But I do think they fit the story quite well and knowing the themes in this book, the cover fit perfectly.
Plot
Candyce As I’m typing this, I’ve actually read Don’t Say a Word twice. I was really lucky to get the ARC in March and read it right away. For this tour I needed to read it again, so I could grab some of my favorite quotes. I’m happy I decided to reread this story again, because it’s so good! Don’t Say a Word was just as good, if not better the second time around!
The sequel basically starts where the Dare You to Lie ends. We’re in the middle of the aftermath of the events that took place during homecoming night. I won’t go into too much detail, because I will end up spoiling the first book. You really do need to read the first book before reading Don’t Say a Word.
Kylene is still trying to solve her father’s case when something else lands right in her lap. There are girls disappearing and let’s just say not in the greatest circumstances. Dawson is back in town to solve the case and will be going undercover at Kylene’s school. To help solve the case, they even pretend to date.
If you’re looking for a book filled with sarcasm, suspense and a plot that leaves you on the edge of your seat, definitely pick up this series. Besides the cases the characters are working on, there are other things happening. It’s clear that the town they’re in is really messed up and we see day to day high school life. There is even an aspect of romance in this story, that leaves you wanting more. That being said, I love that the love story didn’t take over the story. There is definitely some tension there, but the author never lost sight of what was really important.
I’ve noticed that when I read thrillers I love trying to figure out who is behind all the crimes going on. In Don’t Say a Word, I was not able to figure out who it was. There were plenty of suspects, but the author really knew how to make me doubt the suspects. I definitely see that as a talent, if you’re able to leave a reader guessing until the end.
Even though Don’t Say a Word does have an ending, there are still plenty of loose ends that need to be addressed and I can’t wait for the next book! If you love books with amazing characters, a mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat, a town with a lot of issues and lots of sarcasm, definitely pick up this book!
Isabelle I was so happy to receive this ARC of Don’t Say A Word. Ever since finishing Dare You To Lie I had been looking forward to the sequel. This series quickly became a favorite in the YA mystery/thriller genre and I hope we get many more Kylene Danners books.
So we start almost immediately after the events of Dare You to Lie and get started on a new mystery right away. This new mystery is also connected to the bigger overall mystery of the series and our favorite fed, agent Dawson is in town to solve this case. Dawson goes undercover at Ky’s high school and pretends to be her ex-boyfriend.
The Danners-Dawson duo is AMAZING and one of the reason I loved this sequel so much. Amber knows how to write witty, sarcastic, badass characters and these two are setting off fireworks when they work together. They’re on opposite sides of Kylene’s dads case but we get see a partnership grow between them while they work on the missing girls case.
I thought the missing girls case was really intriguing and it all came together wonderfully. There are quite some suspects and I couldn’t figure out what was happening exactly. Amber makes you doubt everyone although I was pretty sure about who it wouldn’t be. And while I was mostly right, I was still surprised right up until that fateful moment. I also liked how it was connected to Ky’s dad and I can’t wait to see how all of that will turn out.
Like I said, this was one hell of a YA mystery/thriller and on of my new favorites. As a huge Veronica Mars fan, I’d highly suggest this to all my fellow marshmallows, but even if you’ve never even heard of VM, this might be a book for you. We get the suspense, the wonderful characters and just a hint of romance. And might I add, this is how you write a love triangle!!
Characters
Candyce As I already said, this book has an amazing cast of characters. Our main character Kylene is a sarcastic young lady that won’t be stopped when she sets her mind to something. She’s determined to get her father out of jail and she feels the need to help the girls in town. Kylene can’t stand people not getting justice. I love how strong she tries to be, but I really hope she starts opening up to the people who love her more (like she does more near the ending). Her sarcasm is a mechanism to keep people at bay, but sometimes you need to lean on someone.
Tabby is a friend and I have to say one of my favorite characters. She’s so cheerful and excited to do things. When her friends are in need she’s there and will definitely help in any way she can. Tabby is a friend everyone would want in their corner.
Garrett is Kylene’s best friend and I loved that their relationship was only platonic. It’s refreshing to see a guy and girl be best friends and nothing more. They’re like family to each other and would do anything to keep the other safe (which he definitely proves at the end of the first book). I felt like we saw him a bit less in this book, but I still really enjoyed him.
Dawson is a character I’m still trying to figure out. I think there’s a lot more to him than the tough FBI agent that we see. We got a few glimpses of his softer side, but I think he’ll surprise us a lot before the series is over. He’s very dedicated to his job and wants to prove he is good at what he does.
Last but not least, I just need to mention Gramps. Even though he’s at the age he should be retiring, he keeps on going for Kylene. He loves her a lot and I really enjoye the coversations they’ve had. I wouldn’t mind a grandfather like him!
Isabelle The characters in this series are what makes this more than just a good mystery/thriller. I’m so invested in all of them and truly hope everyone makes it out alright. And to be honest, I’m not 100% sure about that haha.
Kylene is our Veronica Mars main character and I love her a lot. She one hell of a bad ass girl and super sarcastic. Even though basically the whole town has a not so great opinion of her, she keeps doing what she thinks is right. And if you ever have a problem, this is the girl you want in your corner. While she does Muay Thai and knows how to shoot a gun, she isn’t an unrealistic supergirl and definitely gets into trouble every now and then. She slowly learns that she can open up about her emotions and weaknesses to her friends, although she isn’t completely there yet. I’m expecting to see more of that in the next novel.
Tabby and Garrett are two of those wonderful friends and I really enjoy them. I feel like we didn’t see nearly enough of Garrett but whenever he popped up you could see the amazing friendship he and Kylene have. They truly love each other as friends and I’m so happy there is no romance there. Tabby is another great friend and I love her bubbly and optimistic personalty. She also a romantic and I hope my ship involving her sails by the end of the series 😉
We see a bit more of AJ in this one and he was a joy to read about. I really liked getting to know him better, he’s a pretty decent guy and he has a lot of history with Ky. Agent Dawson plays a big role this time around and I definitely feel different about him than I did in Dare You To Lie. The banter between Ky and Dawson is so much fun and brings a light-hearted tone in between the darker mystery parts.
Candyce’s Favorite Quotes
“Well, I hope he has a really burly cell mate named Bubba who likes to snuggle.”
“You have met me, correct? Do I scream warm and cuddly, ‘get your free hugs here’ to you?”
“Life doesn’t wait for you to feel better before if comes at you again. It’ll knock you down and stomp on you, but you can’t give up. You keep fighting until the fight’s over, you feel me?”
“The kid that throws the football is the town hero and the girl that catches a would-be killer is public enemy number one?” he asked. I nodded. “This is one ass-backward town, Danners.”
“Isn’t that a girly superhero movie?” AJ asked. As if choreographed, Tabby and I slowly turned to glare at him like he’d just told us our pants made our asses look big.”
Isabelle’s Favorite Quotes
“Will it plays be like this?” I asked him. “Will I always view life through this filter?” “I wish I knew the answer to that”, he said. “I’ve still got mine.”
“So you’ve managed to bring two people who dislike one another together because they both dislike you more?” she asked. “That’s pretty impressive Ky. Even for you!”
“What we want to believe and what’s actually true are rarely if ever the same thing, Danners…”
“Navigating a great friendship wasn’t always easy. It’s important to have people in your life willing to call you on your shit when it’s warranted. But it’s equally important for them to hear your side and not kick you when you’re down.”
“I really prefer raspberries…”
AUTHOR INFORMATION
AMBER LYNN NATUSCH is the author of the bestselling Caged series for adults. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, and is still deeply attached to her Canadian roots. She loves to dance and practice Muay Thai―but spends most of her time running a chiropractic practice with her husband, raising two young children, and attempting to write when she can lock herself in the bathroom for ten minutes of peace. Dare You to Lie is her debut YA novel with Tor Teen.
AUTHOR LINKS
Website: https://amberlynnnatusch.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5399219.Amber_Lynn_Natusch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmberLNatusch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthingsnatusch/
TOUR SCHEDULE
Of course we’re not the only blog participating in this blog tour. If you want to visit the tour stops that the other amazing blogs are posting, click here for the full schedule!
GIVEAWAY
Prize: Win a physical copy of Don’t Say a Word arc (US/CAN Only)
Starts: August 23rd 2019
Ends: August 31st 2019
If you want to participate in the giveaway, click here.
Amber Lynn Natusch did it again with Don’t Say a Word! She left us wanting more and we can’t wait to see how Kylene’s story will continue. Have you read the first book, Dare You to Lie? Let us know in the comments what you thought of it if you have!
Great review
Yay! SO glad you guys enjoyed it and perfect quotes! I love it! Thank you for being on the blog tours!
Thanks for having us! 💜
You both had great quotes. I didn’t have many highlighted from when I read it, so I had so search a bit. I definitely would have chosen some of those, too.