A Killer's Mind by Mike Omer

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Inside A Serial Killer's Mind

Crime Mystery

Profiler

Suspense Thriller

Kidnapping

KU Read & Listen

With Audio Performed by Brittany Pressley

๏ ๏ ๏  My Thoughts ๏ ๏ ๏ 

A Killer's Mind is morbidly fascinating and generally creepy.  Compulsively readable, or listenable, I couldn't put it down.  I had some issues with the way some elements played out and some minor believability issues, but nothing too major.  I got this book as a Kindle First and bought the narration and it was totally worth it.  I really like stories about Profilers, I find the whole process quite intriguing.  Narration by Brittany Pressley was very well done…I liked the way she did Zoe's accent, making it more pronounced when she was agitated.

๏ ๏ ๏  MY RATING ๏ ๏ ๏ 

☆4.3☆STARS - GRADE=A-

๏ Breakdown of Ratings ๏ 

Plot⇝ 4.3/5
Narration Performance⇝ 4.5/5

Main Characters⇝ 4.3/5

Secondary Characters⇝ 4/5

The Feels⇝ 5/5

Pacing⇝ 5/5

Addictiveness⇝ 5/5

Theme or Tone⇝ 4.5/5

Flow (Writing Style)⇝ 4.5/5

Backdrop (World Building)⇝ 4/5

Originality⇝ 4/5

Ending⇝ 4.3/5 Cliffhanger⇝ Sort of...

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Book Cover⇝ It's eye-catching…

Setting⇝ Chicago, IL, Dale City, VA, & Maynard MA

Source⇝ Audible Audiobook
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Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher

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Psychological

Romantic Suspense-ish

Locked In Survival

Mystery

Fav Author

With Audio Performed by Simone Lewis

๏ ๏ ๏  My Thoughts ๏ ๏ ๏ 

I have loved some of Tarryn Fisher's Stories because they are not like anything else you've ever read.  I'm not sure I was able to grasp all the subtle nuances of this complex story, not enough for me to love it, at least, but that's not to say that I wasn't moved by it.  I have read somewhere that this story means a lot to Fisher and I am curious as to the why especially now that I've read/listened to it. 

I will say that this was nothing like I thought it was going to be…I thought I had it pegged from the cover and from reading other posted reviews.  But, no.  I was wrong.  Senna is not so much unlikable, as she is distant.  She is an anomaly and she has been taken by someone…this is her story about love and survival. 

๏ ๏ ๏  MY RATING ๏ ๏ ๏ 

☆4☆STARS - GRADE=B+

๏ Breakdown of Ratings ๏ 

Plot⇝ 4/5
Narration Performance⇝ 5/5

Main Characters⇝ 4/5

Secondary Characters⇝ 4.3/5

The Feels⇝ 4/5

Pacing⇝ 3.5/5

Addictiveness⇝ 3.7/5

Theme or Tone⇝ 3.8/5

Flow (Writing Style)⇝ 4.5/5

Backdrop (World Building)⇝ 5/5

Originality⇝ 5/5

Ending⇝ 4/5 Cliffhanger⇝ No…definitely not

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Book Cover⇝ a little risqué…but it goes well with the story.

Setting⇝ Seattle and Alaska

Source⇝ I own Audible Audiobook
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In A Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis

Not A Drop to Drink #2

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Dystopian

Survival

Fav Series

Duology

Series Rating:  ☆4.3☆

With Audio Performed by Allyson Ryan

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An interesting follow-up to Not A Drop to Drink, while I didn't like it as much as the first installment, I did like it…I'm just not completely on-board with that ending.  Overall, a sadness hangs over the whole book…that never really dissipates with the ending, like the Author set out to make a series that puts the dis in dystopian.  She did have some interesting developments in this journey from Ohio to California…some I've never seen the likes of before.  One, in particular, was jaw-dropping.

This second book is from Lucy's pov instead of Lynn's, as it is in the first book.  I was sad that Cassandra Campbell wasn't the narrator, I really liked her, but a different narrator was the best way to keep a distinction between their voices.

๏ ๏ ๏  MY RATING ๏ ๏ ๏ 

☆4☆STARS - GRADE=B+

๏ Breakdown of Ratings ๏ 

Plot⇝ 4/5
Narration Performance⇝ 3.7/5

Characters⇝ 4/5

The Feels⇝ 3.8/5

Pacing⇝ 4.3/5

Addictiveness⇝ 4/5

Theme or Tone⇝ 4/5

Flow (Writing Style)⇝ 5/5

Backdrop (World Building)⇝ 4.5/5

Originality⇝ 4/5

Ending⇝ 4/5 Cliffhanger⇝ Not really...

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Book Cover⇝ I like it...

Setting⇝ From Ohio to California

Source⇝ Audiobook (Library)
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The Lost Codex by Heather Lyons

The Collector's Society #4

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Fairytale Retellings

Fascinating Premise

Parallels

Sex-Plicit

Dark Fantasy

Fav Series

Series Rating: ☆4.3☆

๏ ๏ ๏  My Thoughts ๏ ๏ ๏ 

I wanted to love this…I have loved the first three books in The Collector's Society.  This has always been a uniquely told book series, but this one was just too out there in left field and left me feeling confused and sadly disappointed.  It felt like it dragged a lot of the time and was the longest 411 pages ever.  I've adored these characters and I have been fascinated with the premise, so I tried to let that reflect in my rating.  I guess, overall I just wanted this play out differently…and that ending…well, I guess ultimately that ending left an opening for this story to play out differently...

I actually finished the last half or so of this book with the Audio version, because I was being plagued by migraines and couldn't continue reading.  I did not care for the narration of this at all, though.  Heather Lyons, in my opinion, this series could have benefitted from a different narrator, in fact adding a male voice would have been worked much better for Finn's parts and for the print version, you really need to have someone proofread it.

๏ ๏ ๏  MY RATING ๏ ๏ ๏ 

☆3.5☆STARS - GRADE=B-

๏ Breakdown of Ratings ๏ 

Plot⇝ 3.2/5
Narration Performance⇝ 3.5/5

Main Characters⇝ 5/5

Secondary Characters⇝ 3.8/5

The Feels⇝ 3.7/5

Pacing⇝ 3/5

Addictiveness⇝ 3/5

Theme or Tone⇝ 4/5

Flow (Writing Style)⇝ 3.7/5

Backdrop (World Building)⇝ 4.3/5

Originality⇝ 4/5

Ending⇝ 4/5 Cliffhanger⇝ This is supposed to be the last one…but it could be continued…with the way it ended.

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Book Cover⇝ It's somewhat cool...

Setting⇝ The Institute, Antarctica, Wonderland

Source⇝ I own Kindle eBook 
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AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ● CONTAGION ●

BY ERIN BOWMAN

NARRATED BY AMY MCFADDEN

●SYNOPSIS & BUY LINKS ON AUTHORS WEBSITE●

THE DETAILS●●●

● CONTAGION #1 OF 2

● DEEP IN SPACE

● ZOMBIE-ISH VIRUS

● YA 

● HINT OF ROMANCE

● LENGTH OF AUDIO - 9 HOURS, 37 MINUTES
● I LISTENED ON LIBBYTHROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS●●●

I wasn't sure what to expect with this…the only other books by Erin Bowman that I've read have been YA Westerns.  This is way different than those books.  I'll admit, early on, I thought she was jumping on the bandwagon, so to speak, with this deep space horror/thriller based on a crazy virus.  It felt an awful lot like Illuminae.  Within no time though, that thought was out of my head, because I was hooked on this compelling story.  With zombie-like symptoms, this mysterious virus is seriously frightening.  It does end on a total cliffhanger, but I'm not even upset about that because I cannot wait to listen to the second book which is set to come out in July of 2019.

 

MY RATING●●● 5 STARS

BREAKDOWN●●●

● Narration Rating ⇢ 4.25 STARS

● Plot ⇢ 5/5

● Characters ⇢ 5/5

● The Feels ⇢ 4.8/5

● Pacing ⇢ 5/5

● Addictiveness ⇢ 4.8/5

● Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 5/5

● Originality/Believability ⇢ 4.8/5

● Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 5/5

● World-Building ⇢ 4.5/5

● Ending ⇢ 5/5

● Summation ⇢ 5 STARS