ditten's reviews
423 reviews

Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh
Did not finish book. Stopped at 39%.

Couldn't stay interested in this so I abandoned it and googled the ending.

I'm glad I did because it sounds like I would've been disappointed.

Apparently Ruth is Naomi, she never killed Wallace Crone, and it's dual timelines so Ruth's attack was a decade earlier than we meet Amanda. Ruth keeps seeing her attacker everywhere, has a psychotic break, and gets random people to kill for her for years. Amanda tries to track her down and happens to team up with Ruth's real attacker who's afraid Ruth might eventually find him. Ruth gets committed, and the real attacker kills Wallace Crone for Amanda. So I guess that's good even if he's a horrible human and a crazy serial killer, he's now a good guy too? Idek, glad I dnfed.

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm utterly broken. Sobbed for the last hour of the audiobook, my face currently feels swollen.

Absolutely beautiful, intense, and tragic book that crushed me but ended on a slightly healing note. Incredible writing, gorgeous read, I'm devastated and in awe.

Full RTC when I've stopped crying, so in a few months or so

Look Closer by David Ellis

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Really great thriller with so many exciting twists. It was a really fun read, and every time I felt like I'd figured something out, I was thrown by the reveal. Great book

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.

I thought I'd figured out the ending and the book was really slow so I just abandoned the book and googled the ending instead 

The Hitman's Guide to Codenames and Ill-Gotten Gains by Alice Winters

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am madly in love with this unhinged, utterly dysfunctional, yet entirely loveable found family that never fails to make me laugh so hard my face hurts!

Leland and Jackson continue to be madly in love while Leland drags Jackson and their friends along on his ridiculously funny schemes that they all pretend to hate but secretly somehow love. Mostly. It's fantastic to see Leland leaning on Jackson when he starts to get in his own head, and I love them both so much.

I also love how mad Leland gets over how cute Cassel is while obviously loving him in his own way that includes kidnapping Cassel and Jeremy for a fun double date. With Henry of course, who seems to be more and more into Leland's crazy ideas though he'll never stop grumbling and pretending he's above it all. I also freaking love that Henry is included in all of Leland's text chains.

And the new guys! I really enjoy both Tavish and Micah and omfg, Leland and Jackson's

accidental baby teen acquisition is fantastic!!

Cassel continues to be my baby darling fave (don't tell Leland though), I just adore him and his positivity and badassery.

The boat scene had me laughing so hard I nearly choked, it might be the funniest thing I've ever read and the narrator made it even better than I imagine it was in the physical book. Peak comedy!

Man, I'm so upset I have no more books in this series to read, I have a feeling these are books I'll come back to often as comfort reads. The audiobooks are so brilliant, I love when a narrator is so perfect for a book they make it even better than on paper.

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Luca and Matti were wonderful ❤️
I'm a bit mad about the kink-teasing that never fully came to be, but I still really enjoyed this book.

RTC

The Hitman's Guide to Righting Wrongs While Causing Mayhem by Alice Winters

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Oh how I love these books! They never fail to make me burst out laughing, the narrator of the audiobooks is so freaking amazing!

And omg LELAND! It's only been maybe a week since I read The Former Assassin's Guide where he showed up but I've missed him. And Jackson, too. These two idiots are so much fun, and I don't know if Leland has become slightly less unhinged or if I've gotten more used to him but I felt this book really really worked for me. Him, Jackson, and the Fence are still my OT3 though 😂 

And Cassel! My baby boy! With Jeremy who's a total simp for him (understandable) and poor Henry who secretly loves all the shenanigans Leland drags him along for.

The found family in this series is just excellent and I read this in just over a day because I didn't want to stop. Love these guys!

Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Thriller about a woman who seems to have abandoned her family when her car is found at the side of the road after a big storm on the anniversary of her youngest daughter's death. 
Nicely paced though I guessed a few twists but really interesting nevertheless

The Former Assassin's Guide to Snagging a Reluctant Boyfriend by Alice Winters

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really liked Cassel in the first 3 books in The Hitman's Guide and I was excited to see he got his own book, hoping it would be good. 

Now that I've finished it, I can safely say I'm fully in love with Cassel and this is possibly my fave book in the series!

Jeremy and Cassel are grumpy/sunshine perfection, the book was fantastic and hilarious, and I adored watching them get together and take down a whole crime syndicate with the help of Leland, Jackson, and Henry.

Leland's cameos were so good, he never fails to make me laugh with his insanity, but Cassel wormed his way into my heart and is my new fave baby boy ❤️ 

Make sure you read this after the first 3 Hitman's Guide books, so you, too, can fall in love with Cassel and, perhaps more surprisingly, actually really like Jeremy! 😂

Oh and you NEED to do all these books on audio, the narrator is incredible!!

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Dark and twisted, and really good