Reviews with content warning for Gore - Killer Instinct

“It's not the bad memories that tear a person apart. It's the good ones.”

➽ I finally managed to read Killer Instinct, the second book in the Naturals series!! I honestly love these books as they are so entertaining and engaging! Once again we follow Cassie, a profiler and the other members of the program. This time, there is a string of murders at a local university that seems to be the work of a copycat. They're copying the style of Dean's father, an incarcerated serial killer who still has a strong hold over him. There was definitely a lot of angst, as Dean has to deal with his father again and can't help but question how much he's like him. I liked learning more about Dean, his past and how it affected his tendency to self-isolate and keep away from others.

➽ I was engaged in the mystery from start to finish, but also loved seeing the dynamics between the Naturals! The mystery was solid and had enough twists to keep me guessing. I also liked the impact it had on Dean and his friends. Lia, Sloane, Michael and Cassie want to help him, as this case is personal, but it's difficult when the killer is always one step ahead. Lia's still a difficult character to understand, but I loved getting a glimpse into her personality and seeing her deep love for Dean. It's so refreshing that there's nothing romantic between them. As the first members of the program, Lia and Dean have simply known each other the longest and looked out for each other! Sloane is still a gem, I love her so much!! She's not good with social situations, but still wants to help in her own way! I'm not too into the Love Triangle between Michael, Cassie and Dean, but I liked learning more about why Michael struggles with Dean. They have always been at each other's throats, so it was interesting to learn that - apart from Cassie - there's another reason Michael struggles so much with the other boy!

➽ I can't wait to read more of the series!! This book also dealt with the dilemma of using the Naturals in active cases and presented different opinions. I still love Briggs, but the new agent in the house - Agent Sterling - sees the program as a huge risk ... especially once things get personal. Sterling is also a profiler and I liked seeing her dynamic with Cassie develop. Cassie's not the best at staying out of things and frustrated with Sterling's decisions, but discovers that there's more to the woman than she expected!

“I take it you’re Michael,” she said. “The emotion reader with the attitude problem who’s continually doing stupid things for girls.” “That’s hardly a fair assessment,” Michael replied. “I do plenty of stupid things that aren’t for girls, too.”

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

I liked this one better than the first book, and the ending makes me more excited for the other books in the series! I felt like this one was a little more predictable and at least had suspects, so it was more fun to read and try to guess the outcome. These kids are a bit frustrating because they will not do what they are told, so it felt like they were being told off over and over again- this should be better in the next book though. I’m glad the love triangle has ended, though I didn’t understand it to begin with. I like that you see more personality from Cassie in this book, though not a ton more. These kids all need therapy though.

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lydia203's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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asipofcozy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

That was definitely a wild ride. Within one day I finished around 95% of the book, but unfortunately my body needed the necessity of sleep!

There were a few things that I was able to guess early on and yet still a lot of mystery towards the end that kept me enraptured.

My biggest complaint, and one I have with any book with this trop is the love triangle. Honestly not for it and this series would be okay without any romance. However, it's YA so can't expect it to be romance free. However, my most hated trope is the love triangle and I just was "nope" the entire time. So, please be no more in the next two books.

This isn't by any means the top of the line thriller out there. There definitely could be more action in some places, more character development, more mystery. However, it was just as addictive as the first book and that's what was important to me.

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samflowerv6's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

I really love this series. The chapters go by so fast. JLB is a boss at mysterious fast paced stories. I was wrong with who I thought was the unsub and that’s rare for me. I love all the naturals Lia, Sloane, Michael! I LOVE YOU MICHAEL! But Cassie and Dean are just so good together. The slow burn was slow burning and I loved every minute of it. Cassie is such a good main character

“None of us had normal childhoods," Sloane said quietly. "If we had, we wouldn't be Naturals.”

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ashleynp24's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I liked the building of relationships of the main characters. The plot took a lot of fun twists and turns and didn’t end the way I expected. I enjoyed that I couldn’t figure out the ending upon first glance.

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vj_thompson's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Just as good as the first one. There was something missing for me which was the further development of the romance. Sorry, I’m a romance girly at heart 💜 I still loved the twists and figuring out who the serial killer was.

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gigihopkins's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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