Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
A red notebook of dares is left on a bookshop shelf, and two teenagers pass it back and forth across New York over the holidays.
Short answer: for the Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares audiobook vs book choice, we say either works (50% confidence, close call). Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands read the scored recording, which runs 6 hours 40 minutes (6h 40m). It was first released in 2010, and Audible UK lists it with 2020 and 2024 release dates. No criterion could be confirmed on either side, so neither format is favoured.
Either works
No criterion could be confirmed on either side, so neither format is favoured.
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Confidence 50%, which puts it in the close call band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | Our verdict: Gesell and Sands (2010) | Library record (2010) |
|---|---|---|
| Narrators | Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands | Not confirmed |
| Length | 6 hours 40 minutes (6h 40m) | 4 hours 58 minutes (4h 58m) |
| At 1.5x | about 4h 27m | about 3h 19m |
| At 2x | about 3h 20m | about 2h 29m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Not stated | Not stated |
| Audio publisher and year | Books on Tape, 2010 (Penguin Random House lists 401 minutes); Audible UK listings dated 2020 and 2024 | Penguin Random House Audio, 2010 |
| Print length | 288 pages (US paperback) | Same book |
Audible UK sells the Gesell and Sands recording, 6h 40m, listed with 2020 and 2024 release dates. One library record lists a 4h 58m recording from 2010 with no narrators named; we could not find it on sale.
Lengths checked 23 October 2026 (Audible US and Canada, Hoopla). Speed times are calculated.
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
- Genre
- Young adult romance; a Christmas story
- Published
- 2010
- Length
- 288 pages (US paperback)
- On audio
- 6 hrs 40 mins, Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands
- Series
- Book 1, followed by The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily and Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily
- Screen
- Adapted as the Netflix series Dash & Lily
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
No listening or reading criterion could be confirmed from a named source, so neither format is favoured. Confidence is 50%.
The recording in detail
- Scored
- Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands, Books on Tape, 2010, 6h 40m
- Other listing
- A 4h 58m 2010 recording in one library record, narrators not named, not found on sale
- Casting
- Who reads which lead is not stated
- Critic review
- None found
- What you miss
- Possibly how the notebook entries look, not confirmed
What this book actually is
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is a young adult romance by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, published in 2010. Lily leaves a red notebook full of challenges on a shelf in a New York bookshop; Dash finds it over the holidays, and the two start trading dares through it.
The chapters alternate between Dash, written by Levithan, and Lily, written by Cohn. It is the first of three Dash & Lily books, followed by The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily and Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily, and Netflix adapted it as a series.
The case for reading it
The case for reading is the notebook. The whole story runs through the dares the two leads write to each other, and in print you may see those entries set apart from the narration. We could not confirm how print lays them out.
It is also short: the US paperback is 288 pages.
The case for listening to it
It is one romance told in alternating chapters by a boy and a girl, and the recording uses two narrators, Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands. Listings do not say who reads which lead; if they split the chapters by character, each new chapter starts with a change of narrator.
At 6 hours 40 minutes, it is about 4 hours 27 minutes at 1.5x.
The audiobook in detail
Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands read the recording, first released by Books on Tape in 2010 and running 6 hours 40 minutes (Penguin Random House lists 401 minutes). Audible UK sells it under two listings, dated 2020 and 2024, with the same narrators and length. One library record lists a 4 hour 58 minute recording from 2010 with no narrators named; we could not find it on sale.
Speed times: about 4h 27m at 1.5x and 3h 20m at 2x (calculated).
Who should ignore this verdict
Either format works for this book, so choose based on what you want from it. Anyone who wants to see the dares as the characters wrote them is better off with the book, although we could not confirm how print lays the notebook entries out.
Anyone who likes the idea of the alternating chapters in two voices, or wants a short listen of about 4 hours 27 minutes at 1.5x, can lean towards the audiobook. Audible UK sells the Gesell and Sands recording, so there is only one to choose from there.
Audiobook
- Tie-in edition read by Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands
- 6h 40m, or about 4h 27m at 1.5x
- Check the narrators: a shorter 2010 recording also exists
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
Related verdicts
Let It Snow
Three linked Christmas romances with a narrator for each, where our verdict is to listen.
One Day in December
A December love story told over ten years, where our verdict is a close call in favour of listening.
People We Meet on Vacation
A romance with printed time markers.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
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Questions people ask
Who narrates the Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares audiobook?
Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands. Their recording, the one scored here, was first released in 2010, and it is the one Audible UK sells, listed with 2020 and 2024 release dates.
How long is the Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares audiobook?
6 hours 40 minutes. One library record also lists a 4 hour 58 minute recording from 2010 with no narrators named; we could not find it on sale.
Which Dash & Lily audiobook should I buy?
The recording read by Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands, the one scored here. It is the one Audible UK sells.
Should I read or listen to Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares?
Either works, on our checks (50% confidence, close call). No criterion could be confirmed on either side, so neither format is favoured.
What order are the Dash & Lily books in?
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, then The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily, then Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily.
Do you agree with this verdict?
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: Audible’s US, Canada and author pages, Penguin Random House’s listing, OverDrive and Hoopla records, a US library record, and Open Library for the cover.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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