kdickerson38's reviews
581 reviews

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous tense medium-paced

4.0

Book 2 of the Empyrean series

• Tropes/themes:
  • Chosen one
  • Quest
  • Miscommunication (BOO)
  • Found family 
• Long book but it had a steady pace. 
• More politics in this one which I don’t particularly enjoy, but also more action which was great. 
• Several moments that had my jaw on the ground. 
• The production of the dramatized adaption audiobook annoyed me on this one… sometimes I could barely hear what was being said because the sound effects were drowning out the dialogue, and some of the sound effects were much more unnatural this time around (for example, the running). 
• I wasn’t as invested in the characters and stakes for this one and it’s hard to pin point why. Despite all the action and plot twists, I think I found it more boring overall. 
• Ends on a huge cliffhanger. 
• Content warnings:
  • Violence
  • Murder/death
  • Torture 
  • War
  • Death of a parent
  • Sexual content
  • Fire/fire injury
  • Animal death
  • Blood/gore

We Won't All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

• Tropes/themes
  • Survivalist reality competition TV show
  • Deserted town
  • Trauma
  • Trust
• Non-stop action and suspense with tons of twists. 
• Never knew who to trust and it kept me on the edge of my seat. 
• Intriguing concept. 
• Very diverse characters. 
• Really hard to put down- I kept saying I’d read one more chapter and before I even realized, I’d read three more. 
• Slightly predictable yet incredibly entertaining. 
• Content warnings:
  • Murder/death
  • Violence
  • Mass shooting
  • Injury/injury detail
  • Isolation
  • Bigotry 

Releases 7/29/25!

Special thank you to Penguin Group/Viking Books, Kate Alice Marshall, and Netgalley for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

The Widow by Fiona Barton

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Multiple POV
  • Dual timeline
  • Psychological thriller
• Dark topic. 
• Didn’t hold my interest - it seemed like not a lot happened for 75% of the book and the ending wasn’t shocking. 
• A bit dull and predictable. 
• Not a whole lot else to say about this one- I didn’t really enjoy it that much but it wasn’t completely awful either. 
• Content warnings:
  • Pedophilia
  • Child abuse
  • Kidnapping
  • Child death
  • Infertility
  • Toxic relationship
  • Addiction
  • Stalking
  • Gaslighting
  • Grief
  • Mental illness

The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Dual POVs
  • Hidden family secrets
  • Short chapters
  • Motherhood
  • Loss
  • Survival
  • Mental health
• Suspenseful and unsettling. 
• I feel like it would have been better if it was longer but the plot was still interesting regardless. 
• Intriguing twists… slightly too farfetched but entertaining. 
• A great, quick read. 
• Content warnings:
  • Kidnapping
  • Child abuse
  • Infertility
  • Death of a parent
  • Mental illness
  • Abandonment

Guess Again by Charlie Donlea

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Multiple POV
  • Short chapters
  • Flashbacks
  • Cold case mysteries
  • Serial killers
  • Small town vibes
  • Cat and mouse chase
• An addicting and action-packed thriller.
• SO MANY twists and turns- I was constantly shocked.
• The amount of suspense and tension was insane.
• Had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
• Complex, well-developed, and likeable characters.
• A great and subtle Bell’s Palsy representation.
• There were so many moving parts that never became hard to follow, only adding to the mystery, and they all came together flawlessly.
• The ending was perfection.
• I truly hope we get another book from this one, if not a full series.
• Content warnings:
  • Murder
  • Death
  • Violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Torture
  • Injury/injury details
  • Adult/minor relationship 
  • Abortion
  • Teen pregnancy
  • Toxic friendship
  • Death of a parent

Releases 7/29/25!

Special thank you to Kensington Publishing, Charlie Donlea, and Netgalley for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

First book in the Alex Cross series

• Tropes/themes:
  • Police procedural
  • Multiple POVs
  • Psychological thriller
  • Cat and mouse chase
• Suspenseful and creepy, with a lot of twists and turns.
• The pacing was a little off - some parts were dragging and it felt like it jumped around pretty sporadically at times.
• The overall plot, especially the psychological aspect, was super interesting and had me always wondering.
• I wasn’t a fan of this narrator - it fell flat and worsened the experience slightly.
• Ends on a big cliffhanger.
• Content warnings:
  • Murder
  • Death
  • Child death
  • Child abuse
  • Violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Racial slurs
  • Sexism
  • Racism
  • Sexual content
  • Sexual assault
  • Mental illness
  • Injury/injury detail
  • Stalking
  • Confinement

The Retreat by Sarah Pearse

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

• Second book in the Detective Elin Warner series but can be read as a stand-alone.
• Tropes/themes:
  • Whodunnit
  • Multiple POVs
  • Short chapters
  • Isolated setting
  • Past traumas resurfacing
  • Revenge
• Atmospheric and eerie. 
• Very twisty.
• I definitely liked this one more than the first book in the series. 
• A lot of characters to keep straight. 
• Felt dragged out at some points but the amount of overall suspense mostly made up for that. 
• Not a huge fan of the writing style but it’s hard to pinpoint why. 
• Ends on a cliffhanger. 
• Content warnings:
  • Death
  • Murder
  • Violence
  • Child abuse
  • Child death
  • Grief
  • Mental illness
  • Stalking
  • Infidelity
  • Toxic relationship 
  • Toxic friendship

Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Rebellion
  • Propaganda
  • Sacrifice
  • Implicit submission
• The second prequel novel to the Hunger Games trilogy- this is Haymitch’s story during the 50th annual Hunger Games (second quarter quell).
• Great writing and story telling.
• Great narration.
• Incredibly heartbreaking- President Snow is RUTHLESS! 
• I love the way the reaping was handled- brilliantly unexpected.
• Provides much more insight into why Haymitch is the way he is in The Hunger Games book, and what ACTUALLY happened in his games and a lot of backstory about other pre-known characters as well.
• A lot of lore (and a lot of which I’m sure I didn’t catch on to) and references from the Hunger Games trilogy and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes which was really cool.
• Overall, extremely satisfied and sad it’s already over :( can’t wait for the movie adaptation!
• Content warnings:
  • Death
  • Murder
  • Violence
  • Blood
  • Injury/injury detail
  • War
  • Child death
  • Death of a parent
  • Police brutality
  • Torture
  • Alcoholism 
  • Grief

The Locked Door by Freida McFadden

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Dual timeline
  • Daughter of a serial killer
  • Dark past coming back to haunt
  • Secrets
  • Popcorn thriller
• Dark and twisty.
• Quick read.
• This fell flat for me - wasn’t awful but totally mediocre.
• Very predictable - the red herrings and detractors from the twist were too obvious. 
• Very farfetched as usual with these books, but made to be entertaining.
• Wasn’t a huge fan of the narrator or the writing.
• Intriguing plot but with poor execution sadly.
• Content warnings:
  • Murder/death
  • Serial killer
  • Suicide
  • Blood
  • Stalking
  • Domestic abuse
  • Bullying
  • Car accident
  • Medical content 
  • Death of a parent

Fourth Wing (Parts 1 & 2) [Dramatized Adaptation] by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

• Tropes/themes:
  • Dual POV
  • Love at first sight
  • Enemies to lovers
  • Slow burn romance 
  • Strong FMC
  • Brooding MMC
  • Love triangle
  • Chosen one
  • Underdog
  • Resilience 
  • Trust/deception
• Captivating and engaging (ESPECIALLY the dramatized adaptation audio version!)
• Great storytelling and world-building. 
• Easy to read and consume. 
• Similar to Divergent in a way, but with dragons.
• Pretty epic twists, including a couple tragic deaths :(
• The romance was cringey and cliche a lot of the time.
• Ended on one hell of a plot twist and cliffhanger. 
• Content warnings:
  • Violence
  • Death
  • Murder
  • War/genocide
  • Death of parent
  • Death of sibling
  • Grief
  • Injury/injury detail/blood
  • Sexual content
  • Bullying
  • Emotional abuse