BOOK REVIEW: Mind Games
Title: Mind Games
Author: Carolyn Crane
Audiobook Narrator: Rebecca Wisocky
Series: The Disillusionists
Justine is a hypochondriac who constantly lives in fear that a vein is going to pop in her brain and kill her. It is a fear that has destroyed relationships and has led to many, many trips to the ER. Then she meets Packard, who sees her fear not as a burden but as a potential weapon that can be used to disillusion extreme criminals. Releasing her fears leaves Justine in a state of blissful calm unlike she has ever felt in her life. She agrees to join Packard, despite any moral misgivings she may have about the situation, but doesn’t plan on sticking around for too long. Unfortunately Justine’s about to learn that getting out of the game is a lot more difficult that getting in.
I finished Mind Games about a week ago, and found myself feeling very conflicted over the results. On one hand, the book has a really unique premise. It completely rejects the typical vampire and werewolf fare you usually finds in an urban fantasy novel for something fresh and new. Justine, a hypochondriac, is a really interesting heroine and the author does a great job of just pulling the reader into her neuroses. At the same time, Mind Games has a lot of problems, and the further I get away from the novel, the more apparent these problems become.
Part of my issues with Mind Games is that it’s a very romance focused book. I realize that this is more of a matter of personal taste, but I’ve always felt when there’s too much of an emphasis on romance that it almost makes everything else that’s going on in the book not really matter. For example, we have this really cool worldbuilding built around the concept of disillusionists, but when it comes to Justine’s adventures they just seem like an excuse to get her into these weird sexual situations. Justine has to face down three marks in this novel, and she ends up in these wonky sexual entanglements of some sort with all three. Mind Games also falls victim to what I see as a common flaw in paranormal novels, where the protagonists is just tripping over romantic interests. Justine begins the story in a relationship with a man, and manages to pick up two other love interests by the end of the book. I think that love triangles, although overused in this genre, can work if we’re put in a situation where the person in the middle may have confused romantic feelings, but he or she doesn’t fully commit to either until the triangle has been solved. Either that, or he or she is just an unattached, unabashed flirt. Unfortunately, when you’re dealing with a character who’s already romantically committed to one man and is making out with another man in the next scene, it doesn’t exactly endear her to the reader all that much. Along with that there’s an over the top ridiculousness to the sex scenes that had me rolling my eyes whenever I came across one.
While reading the book, I found myself going back and forth. Yes, the romance bothered me, but didn’t the worldbuilding and characterization make up for it? Well, not really. One thing I did like about the novel is the fact that none of the characters are one hundred percent good or evil. There are plenty of shades of gray, which I think works really well. At the same time, all of that cool worldbuilding doesn’t hold up under that much scrutiny. The amount of truly messed up criminals that are somehow able to sidestep the law and get picked up by these disillusionists (because Parker and his helpers only target truly messed up criminals) stretches credulity some. At the same time, we’re lead to believe that by disillusioning these criminals (or attacking them with so many phobias week after week so that they eventually crash and burn) is ultimately good for them, and magically transforms all of them into good people. This, in my humble opinion, doesn’t make any sense. Yes, some people, after hitting rock bottom, are able to pull themselves up with the help of others. But plenty of people just stay down there, and plenty of people have relapses. It’s true that the reader is led to believe that there might be more to disillusioning then Parker makes it seem, but why these otherwise intelligent characters aren’t constantly questioning this just baffles me.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: Mind Games may not be the best book but Rebecca Wisocky really throws herself into the narration, which is admirable. If you are a hypochondriac in anyway, I would actually recommend against listening to the audiobook, as the narrator does such a good job pulling the reader into Justine’s neuroses that even I began having weird tingly feelings in my skull after listening to it.
Final Thoughts: Mind Games may be fast paced and easy to get into but there’s a lot that pulls it down. The over emphasis on romance, and over the top sex scenes just didn’t work for me. The book should be lauded for it’s dash of originality, especially given that it’s in a genre that isn’t always known for it, but the closer you look at the worldbuilding, the more flawed it seems. I know a lot of people like this series, but I personally cannot recommend it. Two and a Half Stars
Next I will be reviewing Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Author: Carolyn Crane
Audiobook Narrator: Rebecca Wisocky
Series: The Disillusionists
Justine is a hypochondriac who constantly lives in fear that a vein is going to pop in her brain and kill her. It is a fear that has destroyed relationships and has led to many, many trips to the ER. Then she meets Packard, who sees her fear not as a burden but as a potential weapon that can be used to disillusion extreme criminals. Releasing her fears leaves Justine in a state of blissful calm unlike she has ever felt in her life. She agrees to join Packard, despite any moral misgivings she may have about the situation, but doesn’t plan on sticking around for too long. Unfortunately Justine’s about to learn that getting out of the game is a lot more difficult that getting in.
I finished Mind Games about a week ago, and found myself feeling very conflicted over the results. On one hand, the book has a really unique premise. It completely rejects the typical vampire and werewolf fare you usually finds in an urban fantasy novel for something fresh and new. Justine, a hypochondriac, is a really interesting heroine and the author does a great job of just pulling the reader into her neuroses. At the same time, Mind Games has a lot of problems, and the further I get away from the novel, the more apparent these problems become.
Part of my issues with Mind Games is that it’s a very romance focused book. I realize that this is more of a matter of personal taste, but I’ve always felt when there’s too much of an emphasis on romance that it almost makes everything else that’s going on in the book not really matter. For example, we have this really cool worldbuilding built around the concept of disillusionists, but when it comes to Justine’s adventures they just seem like an excuse to get her into these weird sexual situations. Justine has to face down three marks in this novel, and she ends up in these wonky sexual entanglements of some sort with all three. Mind Games also falls victim to what I see as a common flaw in paranormal novels, where the protagonists is just tripping over romantic interests. Justine begins the story in a relationship with a man, and manages to pick up two other love interests by the end of the book. I think that love triangles, although overused in this genre, can work if we’re put in a situation where the person in the middle may have confused romantic feelings, but he or she doesn’t fully commit to either until the triangle has been solved. Either that, or he or she is just an unattached, unabashed flirt. Unfortunately, when you’re dealing with a character who’s already romantically committed to one man and is making out with another man in the next scene, it doesn’t exactly endear her to the reader all that much. Along with that there’s an over the top ridiculousness to the sex scenes that had me rolling my eyes whenever I came across one.
While reading the book, I found myself going back and forth. Yes, the romance bothered me, but didn’t the worldbuilding and characterization make up for it? Well, not really. One thing I did like about the novel is the fact that none of the characters are one hundred percent good or evil. There are plenty of shades of gray, which I think works really well. At the same time, all of that cool worldbuilding doesn’t hold up under that much scrutiny. The amount of truly messed up criminals that are somehow able to sidestep the law and get picked up by these disillusionists (because Parker and his helpers only target truly messed up criminals) stretches credulity some. At the same time, we’re lead to believe that by disillusioning these criminals (or attacking them with so many phobias week after week so that they eventually crash and burn) is ultimately good for them, and magically transforms all of them into good people. This, in my humble opinion, doesn’t make any sense. Yes, some people, after hitting rock bottom, are able to pull themselves up with the help of others. But plenty of people just stay down there, and plenty of people have relapses. It’s true that the reader is led to believe that there might be more to disillusioning then Parker makes it seem, but why these otherwise intelligent characters aren’t constantly questioning this just baffles me.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: Mind Games may not be the best book but Rebecca Wisocky really throws herself into the narration, which is admirable. If you are a hypochondriac in anyway, I would actually recommend against listening to the audiobook, as the narrator does such a good job pulling the reader into Justine’s neuroses that even I began having weird tingly feelings in my skull after listening to it.
Final Thoughts: Mind Games may be fast paced and easy to get into but there’s a lot that pulls it down. The over emphasis on romance, and over the top sex scenes just didn’t work for me. The book should be lauded for it’s dash of originality, especially given that it’s in a genre that isn’t always known for it, but the closer you look at the worldbuilding, the more flawed it seems. I know a lot of people like this series, but I personally cannot recommend it. Two and a Half Stars
Next I will be reviewing Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George