Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

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

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

This is another one of those books that I checked out from the library months and months ago, took it home to collect dust, and then returned it to the library. I have a few books at home doing this very thing as I type. Anyway, this was my second attempt at checking a "Kindle book" out from my local library. The difference in checking this out (again) is that this time I actually read the book! Go me!

I'm not really sure what I expected from this, to be honest. I haven't read any of Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan's previous works, including Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (I saw the movie though! It was just okay.) I guess that basically sums up how I felt about this book. I liked it, but overall, it was just okay. There were parts of it that I really enjoyed ("Shrilly". Ha!) and other parts that I thought were a bit lacking (Romance!!). 

I love the idea of the notebook though. I am a wuss (always have been) and I never would have been brave enough to do something like this. Especially in New York City! Talk about a city full of crazies. :) I can definitely relate to Dash and Lily in the respect that it's so much easier to write about your hopes and dreams and fears and aspirations, even more so when they are meant for a stranger, than to talk about them out loud. I guess that's what drew me into the book and kept me reading. There were times when I laughed out loud as I read but other times when I was a bit disappointed with the story in general.

Sadly, this book didn't play out the way I imagined it would, and while it was still a pretty decent story, it was often too wordy to really draw me in as much as I wanted it to. Plus, that Dash sure had a potty mouth sometimes. If I were his mother, I'd never have soap in my house, because he'd always be washing his mouth out with it. Just sayin'....  :)

Happy Reading!