kdickerson38's reviews
525 reviews

Collateral by Ellen Hopkins

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Focuses on a military relationship; alternates between past and present; written in verse; great character development; raw, emotional, and very informative; it was interesting to see the evolution of the MCs’ relationship; mixed feelings about the abrupt ending 

Roses Are Red by James Patterson

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

Short chapters; part of a series but can be read as a stand-alone; a very gripping and captivating plot with multiple components; it totally sucked me in; I was itching for more shock value with both twists though- I wonder if it would have been better if I had read the previous books in the series; ends on a cliffhanger.

Made me want to read the whole series.

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.0

A raw portrayal of what some kids may go through in high school and the moral dilemmas they may face; a very resilient teenager despite his environment, circumstances, and depression; the pacing and length was odd- I wish it had been longer; the writing was also lacking a good flow- not sure if that was intentional or not; a great story that could have been executed a little better

Love Unwritten by Lauren Asher

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

Grumpy/sunshine; boss/employee; forced proximity; single dad; mutual pining; slow burn; the son was adorable and seeing the relationships grow was heartwarming; some of it was too cheesy but overall loved the MCs vibes and flirting; not a whole lot of spice- more of a cute love/family story, but I liked the spice that was present

Phantom Limb by Lucinda Berry

dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

Mixed feelings about this one; dark and psychological topics; unreliable narrator; it held my interest very well and had a good amount of suspense but the writing was a little disjointed and distracting, and the plot and twists were very far-fetched; the first twist felt predictable but the second one was unexpected- I just wish it wasn't so rushed at the end. ***multiple trigger warnings

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

Multiple POVs; VERY different from the previous book; loved how this book had way more of the magic aspect; obsessed with the MCs, including the new ones introduced but BOY was it confusing with the number of extra characters introduced; SJM never fails with the amazing world building and character development; very immersive and captivating; the ending, as usual, was totally mind-blowing and jaw-dropping 🤯😱

Yolo by Lauren Myracle

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

Multiple POVs; story told completely in texting format; not a life-changing book, and honestly not too much substance in general, but as a fan of this ttyl/Internet Girls series from back when I read it as a kid, this made my heart happy; somewhat of a coming-of-age book, with deep topics/themes/underlying messages, and written in a comforting, relatable way.

The Plea by Steve Cavanagh

dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

I think I may need to try this one again sometime; a lot of exposition; heavy on the legal/courtroom action; complicated, with a lot of characters - it had me confused pretty often but I also felt like it was pretty genius if I had understood and followed it better; of what I did grasp, it was intriguing and held my interest very well; loads of tension and tons of twists.

Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

2.5

The cover fooled me entirely... I thought this was a thriller when I snagged it at a Goodwill and boy was I wrong LOL; way too religious for me and sadly I found a lot of the story itself boring; it felt all over the place with no real direction and I was eager to be done; didn't like the MC at all but I did enjoy some of the secondary characters.

Definitely not my cup of tea and this taught me a hard lesson to look up the genre before thrifting any seemingly interesting, unfamiliar books 😅

What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

Starts off feeling like a standard thriller, with a hit and run murder and the family entering witness protection… then it turns into a Jason Bourne/Liam Neeson style plot with drug gangs, rogue FBI agents, and a political scandal- the switch up felt abrupt and random; a little too convoluted but I still enjoyed it; very farfetched but entertaining