kdickerson38's reviews
583 reviews

Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

adventurous tense fast-paced

3.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • War
  • Novella
• It would have been so much better to have Adam’s perspective when he was going through his testing.
• Made me dislike Adam more- he’s a little bitch boy- and love Kenji more.
• I usually don’t mind, and even enjoy, novellas that aren’t necessary to the main books but this added SO little that I almost feel like I wasted my time reading it. Very mid.
• Content warnings:
  • War
  • Violence
  • Gun violence

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

adventurous inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Love triangle
  • Power
  • War
  • Identity
• Short chapters.
• Great storytelling.
• Love the writing style.
• Juliette was a bit whiny and annoying in this book but there was a lot of character development too.
• A lot of shocking twists.
• I can’t decide how I feel about Juliette and Warner or even Juliette and Adam- each relationship is both toxic and beautiful.
• Kenji is my fav character, hands down.
• Content warnings:
  • Violence
  • Gun violence
  • War
  • Child abuse
  • Kidnapping
  • Death
  • Sexual content
  • Suicidal thoughts 

Scythe & Sparrow by Brynne Weaver

dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

4.0

• Third book in a series but can be read as a stand-alone
• Tropes/themes:
  • Friends with benefits
  • Small town romance
  • Fish out of water
  • Forced proximity
  • Hurt/care
  • Touch her and die
  • Happily ever after
  • Cameos
  • Found family
  • Tarot cards
  • Circus performing
• Dark rom-com vibes
• Funny, intimate, and even suspenseful at times.
• Love how this story interweaved with the stories in the first two books.
• Highly recommend the audiobook version.
• Not as much spice as the second book but I liked the spice that was present.
• The story never became dull to me, but it didn’t get me as engaged and excited as Leather and Lark did.
• I’m not a huge fan of when he had to leave and then started writing the letters but I enjoyed everything else.
• A great ending to the trilogy.
• The final scene eludes to a spin-off series.
• Content warnings: 
  • Gore
  • Murder/death
  • Serial killers/contract killers
  • Injury details
  • Graphic sex
  • Injured dog
  • Domestic abuse

Colorado Mystery Merge by Fleur Bradley, Brooke Craig, Rhonda Blackhurst, Mary Birk, Kerry Hammond, Amy Rivers, Meagan Dallner, Leanne Kale Sparks, Jenna Lincoln, G. P. Gottlieb, Ann Dominguez, Marie Sutro, Becky Clark, Linda Solaya, Melissa Robbins, Holly Harris, Donnell Ann Bell, Peg Brantley, Francelia Belton

funny mysterious fast-paced

4.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Murder mysteries/whodunnits
  • Short stories
• A really fun concept- one main murder mystery to solve and a ton of unrelated murder mystery short stories that each gave a small clue towards solving the main mystery.
• A good variety of murder mystery short stories
• Suspenseful
• Entertaining
• My favorite short stories:
  • When Trouble Calls by Amy Rivers
  • Call Julie Before You Dig by Ann Dominguez
  • The Purgatory of Emily Gray by Fleur Bradley Visscher 
  • Sins of the Past by Leanne Kale Sparks
  • The Wrong Linda by Linda Solaya
  • For the First Time by Marie Sutro 

Special thank you to the author for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

emotional informative inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

4.5

• Tropes/themes:
  • Great Depression
  • Dust bowl
  • Classism
  • Poverty
  • Family
  • Mother/daughter relationship
  • Female friendship
  • Single mother
  • Tenacity, resilience, and determination
  • Survival
  • Communism
• Heartwarming
• Inspiring
• Emotional
• Amazing character development and storytelling
• I was hooked in so much to this story and these characters
• Very inspiring
• Content warnings:
  • Death
  • Death of parent
  • Child death
  • Animal death
  • Violence
  • Gun violence
  • Police brutality
  • Grief
  • Miscarriage
  • Sexism
  • Racism
  • Emotional abuse
  • Xenophobia

Final Victim: A completely gripping crime thriller packed with suspense by Gregg Olsen

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

• 6th book in the Detective Megan Carpenter series (Could be read as a stand-alone but I don’t think I’d recommend doing so)
• Tropes/themes:
  • Police procedural/detective thriller
  • Secrets
  • Trauma
  • Redemption
  • Haunting past
  • Intermittent villain POV
  • Bad-ass FMC
• Suspenseful
• I found it predictable in some ways but it kept me guessing in other ways.
• I didn’t mind the interruptions involving the MC’s personal life this time because it more directly related to the plot this time.
• One complaint is that the first five chapters or so was almost only a recap of the entire series; that was pretty annoying. Otherwise I liked this one more than the last 2-3 in the series, I’d say.
• Didn’t love the ending but I enjoyed this as a wrap-up to the series.
• Content warnings:
  • Murder (police murder)
  • Serial killer
  • Stalking
  • Violence

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver

dark funny tense medium-paced

5.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Dual POVs
  • Forced proximity
  • Fake marriage/marriage of convenience 
  • Enemies to lovers
  • Touch her and die
  • Grumpy/sunshine
  • He falls first
  • Groveling
  • Slow burn romance
• I thought Butcher and Blackbird (1st book in the series) was decent… this one was SO MUCH BETTER.
• The characters, the romance, the banter, the spicy scenes… everything was really great. I even enjoyed the plot.
• I think it has the best smut I’ve ever read so far, or maybe it’s just how the audio version was executed 
• HIGHLY recommend the audiobook version, just be mindful of who may also hear it (no seriously)
• Definitely descriptive and gory in places but I actually was expecting worse; I didn’t think it was too bad
• Content warnings:
  • Gore
  • Murder/death
  • Serial killers/contract killers
  • Injury details
  • Terminal illness of a loved one 
  • References to parental neglect/child abuse
  • Reference to child SA
  • Injured dog
  • Graphic sex

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate

mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Multiple POVs
  • Dual timelines 
  • Slow burn
• This one did not hold my attention well at all.
• Such a huge (slow) build-up that led to pretty much nothing happening; the ending was incredibly anti-climactic and the big twist honestly kinda just annoyed me.
• Not a big fan of the writing style.
• A lot of characters, none of which were relatable or likable.
• Content warnings:
  • Teenage/child death
  • Car accident
  • Stalking
  • Injury/injury detail
  • Gore/blood
  • Grief
  • Alcoholism
  • Drug use/addiction
  • Cancer
  • Death of a parent
  • Cheating

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Villain’s POV
  • Love triangle
• Not necessary to the series but I really enjoyed having this insight
• Helps me understand a little now why the MC has hidden interest in Warner b/c I could not understand it in the first book
• I like seeing more of Juliette’s journal too
• Gives some redemption to Warner’s character yet also dives further into his obsession 
• Made me more excited for book 2

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

• Tropes/themes:
  • Identity
  • Self worth
  • Power
  • War
  • Love triangle 
• Reminiscent of The Uglies mixed with X-Men
• Tense and suspenseful
• Loved the writing style
• Super unique approach to the writing - it was crafted in a way that reflected the MC’s anxiety and frantic thoughts. The audiobook also adapted the crossed out lines extremely well
• The plot is very interesting and kept me engaged the entire time
• Very excited to see where this series goes