BREAK US By Jennifer Brown

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

BREAK US By Jennifer BrownBreak Us by Jennifer Brown
Series: Nikki Kill #3
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 2/13/18
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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ReviewedbyDani

Nikki Kill doesn’t see the world in black and white. Her synesthesia shades everything in view, transforming numbers, words, and emotions into colorful clues. Which means she’s a dangerous commodity to anyone with something to hide.

Nikki has already taken on the Hollises—one of L.A.’s most powerful families—for murdering her half sister, Peyton. However, Nikki’s next steps are clouded by the gray of uncertainty. Before she knows it, Nikki is on the trail of a cold case that couldn’t be any more personal—the death of her mother.

But when the web of lies and secrets she uncovers leads back to the people who have tried to silence her, Nikki must pursue the sunbeam gold of justice, or everything—including her life—will be lost.

Short and Sweet

After dealing with the Hollis family you would think Nikki’s life would be somewhat safer but she still has the feeling that she can solve her mothers murder, and she needs to find Luna before Luna finds her.

Characters

Nikki: Our main character. Over the course of this series we see Nikki’s character develop so much! She now uses her synesthesia to help lead her in the direction that could help her solve her mothers murder. Nikki is still a strong character despite what she’s had to go through in the past two books. I love her dialogue she’s sarcastic and snarky, she’s also learned to admit when she’s wrong.

Chris: Detective Martinez. I love him! But in this book he’s struggling after his accident to remember things from his past. So we see Martinez get frustrated with himself when he remembers something but doesn’t know why what he remembered was important or how it would help him solve his case.

Romance

Nikki and Chris: I’ve always loved the chemistry that these two have. Nikki has a certain personality and a lot of people don’t mesh with her she tries to keep to herself and be independent but Chris changes that and forces Nikki to let him in and it works most of the time. Things were a little different in this book because of the fact that Chris couldn’t remember a lot of things and that includes most of his partnership with Nikki and I could tell it was hard for her to deal with that.

My Thoughts

~ I was so excited when I started reading this book, it takes place right after the events of Dare Me and it’s so easy to just jump right back into this world.

~ This book is so suspenseful, Nikki always puts herself in situations without a plan and she just wings it and it worries me so much, I read about her doing these things and I worry about her wellbeing. She’ll be within inches of someone who is trying to harm her and make it out alive.

~ I liked that this book focused more on finding out about Nikki’s mothers murder, it was a cold case and though other people gave up Nikki never did.

~ We also have Luna who’s still around somewhere but we have no idea exactly and it was unsettling to know that she was still out there, because she’s smart and she keeps tabs on Nikki or she has other people do it.

~ We also learn about the case that Chris was working on before the accident and that was interesting to follow because not even Chris was entirely sure what the case was about, so we see him remember piece by piece.

~ I loved the mysteries that we follow through the course of this series and this conclusion did not disappoint.

~ Following Nikki and Chris around California to try to solve their respective cases was fun. They depend on each other a lot in this book and I like that they’re a team their dynamic is so great!

Overall

This was an amazing conclusion to this trilogy! This trilogy will always be one of my favorites and Nikki is a character that I’ll remember. I’m sad to say goodbye but I know I’ll always be able to go back and reread everything that made me fall in love with the Nikki Kill series. I definitely recommend this trilogy for lovers of mystery and thrillers and an amazing female lead!

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DARE YOU By Jennifer Brown

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

DARE YOU By Jennifer BrownDare You by Jennifer Brown
Series: Nikki Kill #2
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 2/14/17
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Young Adult
Pages: 480
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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ReviewedbyDani

Nikki Kill becomes embroiled in another mystery with the gorgeous Detective Martinez when she discovers that the Hollises are trying frame her for the murder of Peyton Hollis—and only her synesthesia can help her unravel the dark truth.

Nikki Kill didn't realize that trying to find out who killed Peyton Hollis would tangle her in a web of dangerous family secrets that would rock her identity to the core. But now that Nikki knows the truth, the all-powerful Hollises want to frame her for Peyton's murder.

And now Nikki's only chance at escaping the cold black bars of prison or the crimson grip of death is teaming up with the enigmatic Detective Martinez and relying on an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of clues...

Short and Sweet

After what happened in Shade Me, Nikki learns that the Hollis family is trying to frame her for Peyton’s murder. Now Nikki has to team up with detective Martinez to try to clear her name.

Characters

Nikki: Our main character who uses her synesthesia to try to find clues to help clear her name. Nikki has changed a little since we’ve seen her in Shade Me, she’s a little more paranoid as she should be since what she went through.

Detective Martinez: The detective from Shade Me who is now trying to help Nikki find clues about who is framing her for Peyton’s Murder.

Romance

I felt a connection between Nikki and Martinez but Martinez was dating someone and I just want that relationship to happen but time will tell.

My Thoughts

~Dare You picks up right where Shade Me left off. Nikki is graduating and trying to move on from what happened with the Hollis family but it’s hard when strange things start happening and Nikki learns that the Hollis family is trying to blame her for Peyton’s murder.

~ I love seeing Nikki and Detective Martinez team up again their dynamic is so amazing especially because there’s a connection there.

~ I don’t think there’s any books like this one. How many YA characters do you know with synesthesia? It’s such an interesting condition to learn more about and I like seeing how Nikki sees the world differently because of it.

~ There’s so much that goes on in this book, trying get the evidence to actually prove that Nikki is innocent, we learn more about Nikki’s mom, and we meet some new characters good and bad.

~ At some points I was worried about Nikki I mean people were coming for her and Luna Fairchild is crazy. I mean I was worried about Luna Fairchild coming for me.

Overall

This is one of my FAVORITE series hands down! I love mysteries and if you do too pick up this book! This series needs to be read in order for the plot and everything to make sense. The ending isn’t much of a cliffhanger but there are still answers we need questions to. I need book three!

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SHADE ME By Jennifer Brown

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SHADE ME By Jennifer BrownShade Me by Jennifer Brown
Series: Nikki Kill #1
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 1/19/16
Genres: Mystery & Detective, Romance, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 448
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

ReviewedbyDani

Nikki Kill has always been an outsider. Born with rare synesthesia, she sees the world differently. In Nikki’s eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray.

To Nikki, Peyton Hollis, the ultrarich it-girl at school, was seemingly untouchable. That is, until Peyton is violently attacked and the only phone number the hospital finds in Peyton’s cell is Nikki’s. Suddenly Nikki is pulled into Peyton’s glittering, fast-paced world as she tries to unravel an unfolding conspiracy.

As Nikki gets closer to the dark truth—and to Peyton’s gorgeous older brother—the only thing she can be sure of is death is a deep, pulsing crimson.

Shade Me is a captivating mystery. The suspense starts from the very first page and only increases until you reach the dramatic ending. There are fights, clues, scary scenes, a whole host of suspicious characters and a fierce, independent main character who can hold her own.

I really enjoyed this mystery novel. It read like a crime show, but it had more depth and twists. Nikki Kill is dragged into a criminal investigation when she receives a mysterious phone call, which is followed by a call from the hospital asking her to come and identify a girl who has been severely beaten. It seems that Nikki is the only one who can start untangling the complicated web of deceit surrounding Peyton Hollis. But why and how is Nikki involved in all of this?

Nikki is one strong character. Brash, harsh, independent, and more. She keeps to herself, is almost failing her final year of high school, and has no idea why Peyton, daughter of a famous movie executive and queen of the school, would call her just before being left for dead. Nikki has synesthesia. She sees colors for numbers, words or letters. It makes school nearly impossible and it never helped her solve her own mother’s murder. But her ability to see more than is there, make connections others might miss is surprisingly helpful when she tries to piece together what happened to Peyton.

Nikki is a mixed-marshal arts fighter and knows how to take care of herself, so she has no trouble getting mixed up in dangerous situations. The tension runs high through most of the book, particularly picking up towards the end. And while Nikki is no dumb girl, she manages to find herself in some alarming situations. I couldn’t help but think that she should ask detective Martinez for help, tell someone what she knows or not go to meet the person who could be the culprit all by herself. But Nikki’s independence and lack of trust only works to build the suspense, and surprisingly I didn’t get annoyed with Nikki. Despite her rough edges she is a likeable character. As for romance, I would say there is less of that and more of lust. Again, this too works to develop the storyline rather than becoming one of its own and holds true to Nikki’s character.

I love that this is going to be a series. While the storyline, the mystery is solved by the end of this book. There’s not a cliffhanger but there is plenty of room for more adventures, more to follow up with this story and more uses for Nikki’s intriguing skills at piecing clues together.

I would highly recommend this book! This is now one of my favorite books. Shade Me was captivating, original, and exciting!

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