Carolyn Crane

With the help of Packard, the leader of a private crime-fighting team, Justine Jones, a hardcore hypochondriac, learns how to weaponize her neurosis to take down Midcity's most dangerous criminals, including a nymphomaniac husband-killer. Original.

Mind Games

Jasmine

4 Stars
It's surprising despite this being an older series it still manages to keep its own unique plot and world-building. It's been a while since I tried to get into a new Urban Fantasy series and I was in the mood for one lately, thankfully I just so happened to already own this one. I really like the fact it's only a trilogy and not those intimidating 15 book series and hopefully that also means a more cohesive story overall. I think I bought it initially after seeing people who liked the Downside Ghost series (one of my all-time favourite UF series) liked this one too, and believe me I've been searching for a while for a book the even gives me remotely similar vibes. I have to say on that front it's not really the same, but I do think they though both have very interesting MC who narrators for their stories and it's also a very character-driven book.

 Here Justine is a hypochondriac who becomes disillusionist, and in Downside Ghost Chess is a drug-addicted ghost debunker. Both of their lives have been shaped by the trauma of their past. Justine tends to let her paranoia about a rare neuro disease her mom died from control her life. Until one day, she meets a man who has a solution that will give her a reprieve from her suffering by transferring her paranoia into other people who've done bad things. Justine is very conflicted on the morality of doing this. 

I had a hard time at first getting into it and lowkey can't stand most of the character's names, but all in all an enjoyable read and one of the more unique UF plots I've come across. I loved how psychology was involved in the way the disillusionists operated (which are a kind group of vigilante superheroes) and took down their victims through the power of suggestion and not force. The whole concept once I got a full understanding was fantastic! I also loved how there were high stakes involved in the choice to use or not using their abilities once they started. Justine being reluctant to zap people could get annoying but made sense for her character. There were some great high-intensity moments and trying to figure out their targets to get into their heads was an interesting aspect. I liked how this book combined so many different elements and they all fit well together and made for a more well rounded story. I can't wait to make my way through the rest of this series!

Sarah Escorsa

This book.

➽ When I started reading it, I was like:



At this stage, I was actually silly enough to wonder why the shrimp this book had such a low average rating. Then I remembered that everyone but me had DBT™ (view spoiler)[Despicable Book Taste, remember? (hide spoiler)], and figured it all made perfect sense.

➽ Then I started feeling like this:



Which loosely translates to mean: uh-oh, my Crappy UF Radar (CUR™) is picking up some disturbingly alarming signals.

➽ Eventually, the inevitable happened, and I ended up feeling like this:



And also a little bit like this (watch out, getting my mostest favouritest gif out of storage):



Which loosely translates to mean: this freaking book has a freaking 3.51 average rating?! Were you people drunk/high/both/whatever when you read this?! Where the shrimp did this overwhelming surge of generosity come from?! Bemusement is me. Especially since a vast majority of my dearest, mostest awesomest friends the creeps I vaguely know rated this thing 4 stars. There is only one plausible explanation here: we didn't read the same book. Yep, that must be it. And I'm pretty sure this is the book they actually read. I mean, look at that cover, of course that's the type of book they would read. Ha! I'm so clever sometimes, I amaze my little self. I'm telling you, my Little Barnacles, Sherlock Holmes has nothing on me.

To be honest, I almost gave this book a 2.789-star rating (which would have been outrageously charitable on my part, I must admit), but I HATE it when Fantastically Brilliant Potential (FBP™) goes to waste, so QED and stuff. Because yes, my lovely arthropods, this could and should have been fabulous 5-star material. It could and should have been super cool and uber awesome and stuff. But it wasn't, so it wasn't. But hey, it could and should have been. Had it not been for the…

✘ Aggressive chick lit vibes generated by the absolutely fascinating descriptions of ALL of the delightful MC's sensational outfits. Yay.

✘ Predictable everything. The good thing about this is that it made me feel super clever and stuff. I mean, I could see it all coming from thousands of miles away. So either I'm superiorly intelligent (which I obviously am) or my crystal ball was in particularly sharp mood while I was reading this PoC™ (yes, I have a sentient crystal ball. Her name is Daisy, by the way. She says hello.)



✘ Increasingly Stupid, Stupid TSTL Moments (ISSTM™) on the above mentioned delightful MC's part. They kind of grow like mold as the story progresses. So cool. 

✘ Instalove crap, lovey dovey rubbish, manufactured relationship drama BS and Love Triangle of Doom and Destruction (LToDD™). Aka Pure bliss. 

✘ Enchanting MC that went from original and cool and deliciously hypochondriacal to foolish, fickle, exasperating, naïve, selfish, capricious, cheating, harebrained nitwit in less time than it takes to blink. I love her. She really is amazing.



» And the moral of this I Must Have Been Really Bad in a Past Life to Deserve This Crappy Non Review  (IMHBRBiaPLtDTCNR™) is: 



But hey, it's free, so if you're feeling slightly masochistic, go right ahead and download it. I'm pretty sure you won't be glad you did. You're very welcome.

Bethany Lacey

I loved the beginning of this book. My e-book copy of the beginning is literally all highlighted! It was fresh, and different - something that I've never read before.

Justine, after growing up in a house full of hypochondriacs has developed hypochondria too, and seems to believe she has star-vein syndrome - that a blood vessel is going to burst in her brain and she's going to die, just like how her mother died. I loved Justine's neurosis, her hypochondriac theatricals made my laugh and smile - Cubby's disinterest specifically made me giggle.

'There are four stages my boyfriends - really, all my friends - go through: concern, ridicule, disdain, and finally flight. Cubby, I realize with a sick heart, has just graduated to disdain. I touch my head. Actually, the pinpoint sensation has lessened. The tingles linger, but yes, it could be anxiety.'

I loved how Justine interacted with her clients, how she zinged her hypochondriac fear into crazier, and I mean crazy in the sense of psychotic, people. However, Justine's insecurities and need for perfection with her boyfriend began grating on my nerves. Packard made a point of Cubby not accepting her for what she is, and I could see that. Justine strived so much for perfection that regardless of Cubby being unfaithful, she seemed to be able to forgive him - she only ended it because her neurosis made Cubby bitter. This made no sense to me.

Packard. Maybe it was just me but I didn't connect to him, not in the sense of a love interest. That could be because regardless of being in a relationship, Justine was fixated on any hot guy in her vicinity: she had a connection with this guy, and that guy, and this guy. I was just like really? I did love Packard. But he just didn't stand out for me. However, on the other hand Simon. Sigh. This guy made me swoon. This is why I think it might just be that wasn't all that keen on Packard - I wanted more Simon (think I have a slight bad-boy complex, yikes!)

I adored Carter, Hemlum and Shelby. This secondary characters were kick-ass!!! They were just simply amazing; they provided Justine with a sense of companionship and friendship she had never experience and it was just beautiful.

Now, Chief Otto Sanchez. I didn't understand Justine's obsession with this guy - she didn't know him personally at first (I should have really read the blurb better). He just seemed like another guy for her to have a connection with. I knew there would be something significant about him, but did not expect that twist. And after the hot-tub scene, I felt so sorry for Otto, so sad. His speech nearly brought tears to my ears. It was so poignant and beautiful.

If you're looking for a different type of Urban Fantasy book that usual, this is the book for you.


  


Review posted at my blog: http://laceysloveofliterature.blogspo...

Mind Games

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