For What It's Worth


Sunday, January 13, 2013

ARC Review: Mind Games (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White


12578294Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways… or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost. ~ Goodreads

Review:
Mind Games is told in the alternating POV's of two orphaned sisters, Fia and Annie, in this tense psychological/super heroes thriller.

This was a hard book for me to get into at first. I love alternating POV's so that wasn't the problem but add in flashbacks and a heroine (Fia) that is almost completely unhinged and I had problems warming up to the story.

Fia is forced to follow her sister Annie to a school that is supposed to help girls with special powers. Annie has the gift of sight, (which is ironic because she's blind). It turns out that it Fia might be the girl the school is really after as the sisters are used as collateral against each other to force Fia to do their bidding based on her unique gift.

The one big drawback is the lack of knowledge for what is facilitating all these actions. Mind Games is less of a mind f*ck and more of a mind puzzle. Each chapter giving one more piece….one more clue. Unfortunately the puzzle pieces are handed to you out of order and sometimes very late in the game so you're often left feeling confused.

Kiersten White takes chances with her writing here. Not everything is successful. She waits to explain character traits and background that would have been better introduced earlier but I felt that the intensity and rawness she was aiming for really came together in the second half of the book. Unfortunately, I think readers might give up early because of the chaotic and scattered plot which would be too bad.

For example, the same nervous ticks that annoyed me about Fia (tap tap tap - and repeated phrases) in the first half of the book had me glued to the pages in the second half once I was given an explanation.

There is a touch of romance but it's played out so well and in a fascinating way that it just adds another layer to the story rather than overpowering the plot line or getting mushy. I ended up loving Fia, although Annie's character felt a little flat this time around. I have a feeling she'll be better developed in the next book from the series so I'm not too worried about it.

At it's core this is a story about the sisters. The things they've sacrificed for each others happiness that didn't have the outcome they had hoped for and trying to decide where do they go from there.
Loyalties are tested, morality is not black and white but a murky shade of grey making for deliciously complex characters.

Rating: 3 out of 4 While it took me a little longer to get hooked, once I was I couldn't let go. I was riveted. 

Author: website | twitter
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Amazon Vine program for my honest review
Buy the Book! Mind Games Release date – February 19th, 2013

16 comments:

  1. I have been scared to read this. What I loved about Paranormal was the humor and clearly this is a very different kind of book.
    While I don't love confusing beginnings, I'm willing to press through if I know the payoff is there at the end.
    Thanks for the review -- I'm excited about this one now.

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    1. And of course I meant Paranormalcy. Have not yet had caffeine.

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  2. Alternate POVs are hard to grasp in the beginning (which is why they aren't my favorite) but that being said it sounds like it got pretty darn gripping towards the middle. I have a friend who has been devouring reviews on this one because she wants to read it but she is a little afraid.

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    1. I like alternating POV's but this gets a little crazy adding in flashbacks. It took some getting used to. The writing feels very scattered but it came together for me int he second half.

      I do think some people just aren't going to like it though. It 's that kind of book lol

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  3. I'm so, so excited about this one. I love Kiersten White, her twitter account is awesome. I love alternate POVs and I can't wait to get my hands on this :)

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  4. Honestly, I've never given this book a second glance. I thought it seemed like a bunch of books already out there. But I love a good puzzle. I would probably be someone who's turned off by the slow start, but if I have the promise of a great second half, I could push through.

    Great review!

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  5. Oh no, not the confusing books :( - I'm not patient, but I'm going to try my hardest with this one! And I'll remember that it's worthwhile pushing through :)

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  6. I do want to get hooked from the start, but when I know it will get better it works

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  7. This sounds a little confusing but it's great that it was able to bring it together by the end, that makes up for the rest!

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  8. Intrigued by the word Paranormalcy.

    This one sounds like a slow starter but one worth persevering with, as always thanks for an informative review.

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  9. I've heard a lot of mixed opinion about this book. Nice review. :)

    Monika@Sweet Candy Reviews

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