Used

De: Kate Dunbar

Narrado por: Stella Hunter

Heartbreakingly beautiful and completely engrossing, Used is packed full of twists, turns, and a gripping romance sure to leave listeners emotionally spent and asking for more.

At the age of 17, after a decade of lies, hurt, and severe abuse by her brother, Lucas, Sabra Valentine is able to breathe.

Lucas is behind bars, thanks in large part to Sabra's quick thinking and self-preservation - even if that's one more secret she has to keep.

Now, seven years later, life is moving forward, and Sabra is starting to heal, live, and love again with her friends and Trevor Collins by her side. He's tall, dark, and sexy, and he doesn't fall for Sabra's games. The future is finally looking bright - until one phone call shatters everything.

Used is a romantic suspense with domestic-thriller elements. Please be aware that there are topics that may be triggers for some listeners, and this work is meant for mature listeners.

©2020 Kelly P. Simmon (P)2021 Kelly P. Simmon

Just Phenomenal!!

Used by Kate Dunbar is an absolutely page turning read. Couldn't put it down for a second. Loved the Audiobook and ebook as well.

Highly Recommend it to all readers.

Good book

*Warning this book has triggers
with that being said it was a good book.

At first I had a hard time with it and the content but once I got past that it is a very well written book.

I enjoyed it for the most part. There were a few scenes that did seem right or believable but not having ever experienced the h situation i cannot honestly say.

Suspenseful!

This book was interesting because it was very dark at times and very light at others. It was an interesting juxtaposition and it really added to the suspenseful nature of this book.

Sabra was a bit of a confusing character to me because sometimes I liked her and other times I didn't. I didn't like that in the opening chapter it seemed like she was playing games with Trevor. It really bothered me that he was such a good guy and supposedly one of her best friends, but then she admits to stringing him along for the last 4 YEARS. I ended up having to push myself through to get past that. Another thing that bothered me was her surprising lack of self-preservation. The situations she put herself in that are dangerous for a woman WITHOUT a stalker, let alone one WITH a stalker were pretty mind boggling. Ex: walking in parking lots at night with her face in her phone, going to semi-isolated places alone with strangers, etc. It just seemed like she didn't have a care in the world at times, while other times she was scared out of her mind (understandably so, of course). It was odd to me and it kind of took away from the overall dangerous vibe of the story. One of the things I did like about her though, was her friendship with Micah and her overall strength. The end of the book was really impactful and truly showcased how far she has come and how much stronger she was now than she was in the beginning.

On to Trevor, I liked him a lot. He had the patience of a saint. I honestly don't know how he put up with Sabra in the beginning because she was a mess and wouldn't tell him why. She just kept ghosting him for weeks on end and it drove me crazy as the reader. He was genuinely a great guy and probably my favorite character of the book. His protectiveness and his friendship were beautiful to witness.

The suspense aspect of this story as well as the flashbacks were really interesting and gripping. I do wish the flashbacks had a little bit more to them because we don't even know with 100% certainty what was going on with Lucas and Sabra. It's barely even eluded to, so we never get to understand how it started and evolved. I don't need any of the situations in explicit detail, but I think a little more information and a little less guessing would have taken this book to a whole new level. That being said, Kate Dunbar did a really great job of showing us how dangerous Lucas was without the extra detail and that is the sign of a pretty amazing writer, in my opinion.

One thing I didn't like, which is ultimately why I knocked a star off, was how once we get to the middle of the book it's just all about Trevor and Sabra's relationship. It felt like a romantic college-aged romance at that part and I felt like the Lucas aspect was lost a bit. However, when it came back, it came back with a vengeance. And even though I wanted to throw my AirPods across the room when Sabra made the incredibly idiotic decision (re: lack of self-preservation) I still couldn't find it in me to stop listening.

I've never listened to anything by Stella Hunter, but I can say that I will definitely look up other books she's narrated. She had a great voice and a pretty good male voice. She did a really good job acting out the parts, particularly the parts with Lucas. I do think there were moments where she made the characters sound seductive when they weren't trying to be and that kind of took me out of the moment.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. It was very gripping and very much kept me sitting at the edge of my seat. Whether you listen to or eyeball read this book, you will most likely enjoy it.

Beautiful story

I was pulled in from the beginning with Sabra’s story. At times I wanted to hug her and keep her safe -and then yell at her for pushing Trevor away and keeping this secret from everyone...but as the story progresses, I understood her shame and fear.
This story hits on such an emotional level while still bringing the love and humor to the characters.
I can’t wait to read more from this amazing new author!

Just Missing Something

I really wanted to enjoy. I have a love for dark stories and taboo subjects. But I just couldn't get into this story. Narrator was fantastic though.