I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read Mind Games by Nora Roberts. I have been reading her work for decades (oops, showing my age a bit).

The cover of Mind Games looks so adventurous and peaceful, but the story is anything but…and I was pleasantly surprised. I love when an author mixes mystery and suspense with the paranormal and Nora Roberts wove them together seamlessly.

I never used to be so interested in the romance of a story, but that has changed since I have gotten older. I love romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Nora hid the nail on the head…we have all the romance we could want in Mind Games.

The villain is a great villain, sufficiently evil and, even though he is locked up in supermax, he manages to haunt Thea. Thea made the mistake of creating an opening, but she was only twelve years old, so we can understand how her need to make the villain pay would override her need to keep a distance from him. He is more dangerous than she knew.

There’s plenty of fun dialogue, along with the grown up talk. At times, I found myself laughing out loud. Kids are little sponges and pick up those grown up words we wish they would never hear…know what I mean?

I know the book is a stand alone, not a series, but I grew to care so much about the characters, I would love to visit them again. Nora Roberts brought them to life and I don’t want to see their story end.

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Mind Games by Nora Roberts
This story starts out when the parents ae delivering their children to their grandmother on the farm in KY for a few weeks. Love all the chores they get to do and it's not hard work at all. Thea and Rem love being outside. Parents go back to the city in VA and because of a man who's not right in his head and kills them. The girl and her grandmothers had seen the scene as if they were in the killer's mind.
So tragic and frightening for me because I can see this happening in todays world. Haunting and chilled reading it.
As life goes on for the kids living with grandma Lucy they learn many things. Love how Thea is able to help the cops commit the man and his other killings, brining closure to those who lose their loved ones.
Kids get educated and they become adults before you know it. Rem still beta tests Thea's games. She is able to perfect them for the public and she also uses them fto get back at the killer, who is still in her head at times. She's got a plan how to deal with him once and for all. Like that she has others that come into her life with fun times. Ty misunderstands her and he can't trust her any longer and jumps to the wrong conclusions. It over for them and you wonder if they can ever get back together. They were good for ne another. NEVER seen the ending happening as it did. WOW.
Excellent read.
Received this review copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
#MindGames #NetGalley ( )

When Thea was twelve years old she witnessed her parents murdered in their beds in a senseless crime of hate and jealousy. Because of what Thea saw, however, her parents' murderer was caught and sentenced to life in prison.

The only thing: Thea was staying with her grandmother hours and states away from her family home. You see, the women in Thea's family have a gift. They know things, they can "see" things. Her grandmother has the gift, her mother had the gift - although was more uneasy with it and chose to lock it away - and now, Thea has the gift.

Over the years, Thea will learn that there are those who don't or won't understand so she learns to be careful. But one person she can't seem to escape is her parents' killer. That terrible night bonded them in more than just blood, but in mind. Thea will have to figure out the game if she wants a chance at living her own life.

Mind Games is another Nora Roberts book. I feel like I can say that with both a reverence and a plainness. Her contributions to romance and the romantic suspense genres - including dipping into elements of the supernatural - are undeniable. But that also makes it difficult to tread into anything new or unexpected.

Mind Games follows suit with her other recent releases in that a heroine has something bad happen to her and spends the rest of the book reconciling with that. Typically this also involves not being fully free and clear from the "bad guy". In this case, it is a bit of a twist because the continuing conflict between Thea and her parent's killer - Ray - remains in the shared space of their minds or dreams, however you may choose to interpret the gift. I honestly, never felt like there was a real threat. I guess a more apt thing to say was that there was very little external conflict it was all very internal - literally and figuratively. And despite this looming threat it never felt high stakes.

There's a lot of expository build up with a lot of time spent in Thea's childhood - almost to the point where her adult life - including the romantic interest - feels rushed toward the end.

Regardless of all of this, I still was invested in the story. I was still pulled in and found myself immersed. It was definitely and escapist read for me and there is nothing wrong with that.

One thing I have noticed in the more recent Nora Roberts releases is the very chopped / clipped dialogue. Almost, at times, like characters are reading from a list of bullet points. It's a rather strange affectation.

I've learned, however, that it leans better into audiobook format than standard reading. I don't know if this is what Nora Roberts is going for or not, but the whole performance aspect lends itself well to the paired down dialogue and descriptors.

No one is better to bring this story to life than January LaVoy. If you are an audiobook fan, I'd say her name should have popped up somewhere along your listening journey. She has such a great range and in this case in particular I was super impressed with her ability to go from character to character, young to older, myriad of genders so easily. There were so many times that I forgot it was one person narrating the entire book. At times I had to remind myself that's how she easily she pulls you into the story and these characters. Each has their own voice in the sense that I never questioned who was speaking. The emotion comes through so well encapsulating a twelve year old girl's trauma of not only losing her parents, but witnessing it happening. Overall a great performance. ( )

Thea and her brother are visiting their grandmother in Kentucky. One evening, Thea and her grandmother both wake from a terrible nightmare. Thea actually saw her parents get murdered in her dream. Her grandmother just felt it. Because of Thea, the cops were able to arrest the guy who murdered her parents. But Thea is never free of the horrible man! He haunts her dreams!

Thea is a character which I connected with right away. She is young and traumatized but it does not stop her from achieving her goals. I also enjoy how she uses her gift for the good!

But the way these two characters connect in their dreams is creepy! Thea is definitely the stronger one and she comes up with a unique plan to stop this from ever happening again!

Psychic books always fascinate me. Nora Roberts does and excellent job with this trope. I know she has expanded her genre a bit but I have never read one quite like this. I really enjoyed it!

The narrator, January LaVoy, did a great job! I enjoyed how calm she was during some stressful situations for Thea!

Need a different thriller….THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. ( )

Title: Mind Games
Author: Nora Roberts
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Mind Games" by Nora Roberts

My Perception:
'Mind Games' is a thrilling story that will keep readers turning the pages in this Appalachian Kentucky setting. Some very thought-provoking characters will have you shaking your head at times with the drama and suspenseful thriller. What will happen as Thea and Lucy [grandmother], both having that special gift[the sight], awaken from a nightmare, knowing what happened to their parents? Will the authorities believe Thea? Yes, be ready for mystery, suspense, thriller, romance, paranormal, and a coming-of-age story.

The story was slow-moving, but then the action came. Get ready for plenty of it, especially with that terrifying villain. You must pick up this good read to see how this author tells this story and gives the reader quite a captivating ending.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for providing me with a digital copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )