Mind Games GIVEAWAY Winner and Review

April 19, 2010 at 1:14 pm 5 comments

The winner of the Shelby Revealed (A Mind Games Interview & Giveaway)

is . . .

GIADA M!

Congratulations, Giada! Please email me at:

reneesbookaddiction AT gmail DOT com

with your book edition preference, ebook (please include format: Secure eReader or Adobe EPUB) or print (please include mailing address).

Thank you, everyone for entering. And, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out the hilarious comments, where Shelby makes a return appearance.

Just finished reading . . .

Mind Games (Disillusionists trilogy, book 1) by Carolyn Crane

I won this book in a giveaway at the DIK blog.

In the interests of full disclosure: I’ve worked with author Carolyn Crane on more than one project with her (not-so) super-secret alter-ego, Carolyn Jean from The Thrillionth Page. However, while I may not consider myself an impartial reader/reviewer (who is?) I am definitely an opinionated reader/reviewer.

I did begin the book with a few worries about reading/reviewing a friend’s book—will I like it? what if I don’t? —but, those were quickly swept aside as I fell into Mind Games‘ story with its likable heroine, Justine, and the fun, quirky writing style.

Aweseome quote #1: Justine describing why she is with her obvious mis-match of a boyfriend, Cubby—

…One of them (Justine’s pastimes) is what I call an aspirational shopping trip, where I’ll go to this exclusive coat store and find the most beautiful coat to try on and walk around in, relishing its snuggly, elegant construction. Thanks to my low retail wages and my sky-high medical debt, of course, I can never actually have such a coat.

I can never actually have Cubby, either—he’s an aspirational boyfriend.

This description was so apt, and eloquently sums up so much about Justine and her relationship.

Part of what makes me like her is that she is so earnest and has such a lack of ego in how she sees herself and those around her. It would be so easy for Justine’s hypochondria to come off as self-absorbed and whiny, but instead her sincere desire to “get better” make her endearing and a heroine I want to root for. She is not your average urban fantasy kick-ass heroine.

I really enjoyed seeing her grow over the course of the book, gaining self-esteem and confidence, and seeing her neurosis as a well from which she can draw to help others—though always with some self-deprecating humor thrown in.

Awesome quote #2:

I have this brief sense of us as supervillains from a B-rate thriller. Except we’re more like crime fighters—if there were crime fighters who got their superpowers from being really neurotic, and used them as part of a bizarre and marginally ethical program of criminal rehabilitation.

The world, too was so much fun to read about, with its tendency toward the absurd. For example, there is a bad guy loose in Midcity, throwing bricks at people with his highcap (psychic) powers. This results in the populace forced to wear a variety of protective headgear (including pith helmets) to go about their daily lives. Yet, the absurdity never overtakes the story. Rather, it makes for a crackling, enjoyable read.

Like I said in my Shelby interview, I love a good supporting cast, and Mind Games has one. From the group of neurotic Disillusionists, to their twisted criminal targets, to the men who vie for Justine’s affections, I enjoyed how each one fit into the Disillusionist world and Justine’s life. Shelby, in particular, was fun to read about and every time she showed up in a scene, I knew there’d be something to chuckle about.

Of course, Packard was another character stand-out. I love ambiguous heroes, and he is definitely not a black-and-white kind of guy. And where things are going with him and Justine is murky enough that I’m really looking forward to reading more about them in book 2, Double Cross.

In the end, what made Mind Games so enjoyable for me was it’s sheer originality. And, it wasn’t a “different just to be different”, but more of an exciting ride with a unique heroine that I could genuinely like and root for, and an interesting world that I can’t wait to read more about.

• Carolyn Crane’s site.
• Mind Games excerpt on author’s site.

Entry filed under: Contest/Giveaway, Just Finished Reading (Review), Urban Fantasy. Tags: Carolyn Crane, Mind Games, The Disillusionists trilogy.