Friday, August 16, 2013

Review: Mind Games by Kiersten White

Title: Mind Games
Author: Kiersten White
Series: Mind Games #1
Publication: February 19th 2013 by HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult ~ Paranormal
Cover Rating: 5/5
Overall Rating: 4/5

    
Fia 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.


~My Thoughts:

So far I've read only one book by Kiersten White which was The Chaos of Stars, a book with Egyptian mythology in it. I loved it so I wanted to try another book by this author to see if I was going to like it as much also. I really wanted to try Mind Games because it seemed really great and how could I resist that gorgeous cover? Anyways... I've seen a lot of mixed reviews of it — the usual extremes of only one, two stars or four, five stars. Because of that it's always hard to tell what you will think of it, personally. And I must admit, starting it the first fifty pages or so were kind of slow and I didn't know what to think of it. It doesn't mean it was bad or anything... I just needed something to pigue my interest. (That's why it didn't get a full five stars.)

Mind Games introduces us to two girls, sisters. Fia is the younger one who has flawless instinct. She acts first, never thinking always knowing what is right and what is wrong. Her older sister, Annie, is blind except when she has her future visions, where she can see clearly as you and me can. Together they are trapped in a school that's run by the Keane foundation where they use both Fia and Annie plus other girls who also have special abilities for their own gain. Fia and Annie have to keep using their gifts or risk each others lives and that's just not something they are willing to risk.

This book was fast-paced and shocking but very enjoyable for me. Its characters were brilliant and yet messed up in their own ways. Kiersten White has created a very intense world with the school Fia and Annie are trapped. I could practually smell, taste and feel Fia and Annie's desperation to protect each other. Especially Fia was very harsh and fierce to read about because she's so broken by everything she had to do to protect her sister. 

Mind Games felt right from the beginning very different from other books. I've never read anything like it. The overall story makes it very interesting as did the characters. It has both the sister's point of view, but also flashbacks about what happened before, taking place so far back as ten years ago to six months back, also in both Fia and Annie's perspective.

Aside from the two main characters we had a bunch of others. Some you will like, some you will hate. But really, all these people from the Keane foundation are awful. I can't understand why someone would be willing to work there. Anywho... we also have James Keane. Yes, Keane as in the Keane foundation. He's the son of the Mr. Keane who calls the shot. He's one of the love interests for Fia. Though it's not like there's a lot of romance in it, just the potential for romance, especially with Adam. Fia has a lot of history with James but things actually feel right with Adam. But before I give too much away I must say personally I like James more. People will probably call me crazy but what can I say, I like the bad ones.

The ending of this book was freaking shocking. I was freaked out by everything that was happening suddenly. Shit really did hit the fan. It only made me crave the sequel even more. I'm really glad I was able to score it already! I can tell you I will be reading it soon because I can't wait to read about what's going to happen next. I'm sure it's going to be really exciting as well.

Mind Games by Kiersten White was really as author Holly Black says on the cover of my copy, "A brutal, exciting gem of a book." It's the perfect description of it. It was all that and more. I was surprised by how captivated I was by it. A definite must-read for fans of psychological thrillers with paranormal twists.






About the author:
Kiersten White is the NYT bestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy and Mind Games, the start of a new dark thriller series. She has one tall husband and three small children and lives near the ocean, where her life is perfectly normal. Visit her at www.kierstenwhite.com.
Find her also on:

Purchase Mind Games on:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond | Kobo



Thursday, August 15, 2013

Throwback Thursday #3

Throwback Thursday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by me and Christina @ Booksane where we feature books that we've read in the past but are still crazy about. It could be a book you read as a child and still remember and love or maybe just a book that you haven't read in a long time and want to show your love for.
Each week we'll be featuring a new random question to answer!



My Throwback pick of the week:


Darkfever (Fever #1) by Karen Marie Moning
Mass Market Paperback, 342 pages
Published August 26th 2008 by Dell (first published October 1st 2006)


"My name is MacKayla, Mac for short. I'm a sidhe-seer, one who sees the Fae, a fact I accepted only recently and very reluctantly.

My philosophy is pretty simple - any day nobody's trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven't had many good days lately. Not since the walls between Man and Fae came down. But then, there's not a sidhe-seer alive who's had a good day since then."


When MacKayla's sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death - a cryptic message on Mac's cel phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed - a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae...

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister's death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysteriou Jericho...while at the same time, the ruthless V'lane - an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women - closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book - because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control both worlds in their hands...




To say that Darkfever (and this series) is one of my favorites, is an understatement. I can say that this book is my favorite current fantasy series. It's brilliant! I can't even express enough how much I love it. Even now there are still so many questions that I need answered. But I probably will never get all the answered even though the series is still going... And yet I crave more and more of this genius series.
All the characters are so addicting! Mac, Barrons (q,gkqjhkqhjzkh), V'lane, Christian, Dani, etc... :D <3




Quote from Darkfever:
"Last night you said you wanted to know what to expect so you could better select your attire. I told you we were going to visit a vampire in a Goth-den tonight. Why, then, Ms. Lane, do you look like a perky rainbow?"

(I'm so proud of myself for only featuring 1 quote because with this book I could go on forever! xD)




Question of this week:

Do you listen to music while reading?


Never actually. I need the quiet while I am reading or I have a hard time concentrating. I can read while people are around me and maybe when the tv is on but I prefer it to be silent, so definitely no listening to music while I'm reading for me. 




How about you?
Answer in the comment section!

--


If you'd like to participate in Throwback Thursday you can add your post to the linky below. Feel free to add a favorite quote of the book you're spotlighting as well in your post. :)





Wednesday, August 14, 2013

August New Release Giveaway Hop! (INT)


This giveaway hop is hosted by Book Twirps and Refracted Light Reviews.

~August 15 - 31, 2013~




Hi everyone!
We're already in the middle of August. When did this happen? Time flies so fast!

Time for the giveaway!

What can you win?

One of the six e-books featured below!

It will be send via Amazon!



Keep Me Still by Caisey Quinn
Daysider (Nightsiders #1) by Susan Krinard



Keeping Her (Losing It #1.5) by Cora Carmack
The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles #5) by Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson



Girl on Tour (Kylie Ryans #2) by Caisey Quinn (if you want the first one that'd be fine by me!)



~Terms and conditions:
  • Open internationally. 
  • Winner will have 72 hours to respond to my email before a new winner will be chosen. 
  • I will be checking the entries, so no cheating!
  • Book will be send as an e-book via Amazon.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Hop by the other blogs!