Something about a Nora Roberts novel just always gives me the cozies. The women in my family have been reading Nora forever. I grew up reading her and now I’m getting ARCs and I’m beyond grateful. I really liked this novel. It was different, it was cozy. It went through all the seasons but for some reason it just feels like a summer read. Was it maybe a little longer than needed? Probably. But that’s okay, I still really enjoyed this one!

In Mind Games, Nora Roberts does all the things that I love ~ she creates a cozy and wonderful world that I'd love to visit, with well-developed characters I'd like to know, and adds something terrible that weaves through the lives of these people we're coming to care about. There's some of the supernatural, some romance, and a whole lot of family time, with and without drama. I loved this book and I can't wait for her next one! Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance digital copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mind Games
By: Nora Roberts
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub Date: 5/21/24

I look forward to Nora’s stand alone each spring!
Every summer begins with a trek to Grammie Lucy’s in Appalachia. Once their parents return to Virginia Thea, 12 and Remington,10 have the time of their lives. Learning all the things she has to teach but when tragedy strikes and their parents are murdered their whole worlds change. Thea comes from a long line of women who have the sight. She watched her parents be murdered and by the grace of god she saw the killer in her parents bedroom mirror. While helping the police she was able to tell them where he was and they were able to arrest them. In her grief she allowed him a connection that he will use to try to torture her for years to come. As she grows up and her life becomes more her own she becomes more comfortable with her gift but that connection to the murder is still there. When a new man shows up with a four year old in tow she knows she’s all in. What she isn’t sure about is how to tell him about her gift. Can she have a family and still protect them from the murder? What if she has a daughter will he be able to reach a descendent just cause she’s Thea’s?
This was a great read. I couldn’t put it down! Now to be patient or as patiently as I can wait for her next book out in November it’s book 2 in The Lost Bride Trilogy. #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #netgalley #booksofinstagram #netgalleyreader #netgalleyarc #netgalleyreviewer #bookworm #bookish #bookaddict #bookreviewer #bibliophile #ireadromance #instabooks #booknerd #arcopies #romancereads #advancereaderscopy #booklover #readersofinsta #igbooks #bookclub #fiction #womensfiction #historicalfiction #contemporaryromance #read #readers #bookaholic

Every summer Thea and her brother travel from Virginia to Kentucky to spend two weeks with their Grammie. During her twelfth summer when Thea and Grammie wake with a start after envisioning something terrible happening to her parents, Thea realizes that her Grammie shares her special kind of sight. After the terrible event, Thea and her brother live permanently in Kentucky where she learns to harness her sight, makes friends, grows up, and builds a career, but is still troubled by the ability to see into others minds and souls including the inmate that forever shattered her world.

A mash up of romance and suspense, the creative process with a dash of paranormal ability creates a wild ride of a story that kept me on the edge of my seat. The story spans over many years with large jumps in time that at first was slight jarring because I was unsure where the book was going, but was required to get to the destination and did not detract from the storyline. The characters were well developed and the pacing was good throughout. I loved the narrator of the audiobook and felt that she did a great job capturing the sentiments of the main characters. For me, this was a truly unique book and that I have never quite read anything similar, which is always a joy.

Mind Games by Nora Roberts was an interesting tale from the get-go. Thea is in KY with her Grandma when her parents back home are murdered. Thea is able to see these events take place thanks to her "gift", passed down among the women of the family. The killer realizes she is in his head, and is able to infiltrate hers, as she grows up, becomes a successful game designer, and forms a relationship with her hunky neighbor. The underlying tension of Thea and Riggs' connection overlays the small town atmosphere, idyllic setting and family life. Nora Roberts is a great storyteller and weaves a tragic and intriguing tale.

This thriller adds a paranormal element to the mix (as Roberts often does).

Twelve-year-old Thea and her younger brother Rem always look forward to their summer two-week stay with their Grammie in the Appalachians of Kentucky while their parents take a couple vacation. However, a horrific event sees them permanently uprooted to live with Grammie.

Thea, who has a “gift” that is not spoke of, discovers that this ability runs through her mother’s female line including her beloved Grammie. With this gift, Thea is able to identify a villain that she later discovers possesses the same skill. As he maneuvers to be released from prison, will Thea be able to thwart him and release herself from his mind games once and for all?

I did enjoy this, especially the family aspect of Grammie, Thea and Rem and the love interest’s (Ty) and his young son. However, the paranormal aspect got a bit confusing for me sometimes. Not to give anything away, but I found it complicating to figure out what could or could not be done with that skill. The storyline also did drag in certain spots.

Roberts is a master with suspense as well as drawing definitive characters, so in that sense, this one was a success at that.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing the free early arc of Mind Games for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Thea and Rem have the perfect life with amazing parents and a doting grandmother - until everything changes. Following Thea and her “gift of sight” throughout her life, this books allows you to explore the idea of other world gifts and how they can be used for good or evil. As someone who isn’t a huge fan of romance novels, I loved this one. Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC - all opinions are my own.

In true style and grace, Nora does it again, this one was a little different to me, Thea and her brother losing their parents, Thea with these amazing abilities, all of them trying to cope with everything, it was at times so sad. I love the mix between the supernatural, romance, family, and some mystery suspense. It was a win for me.

Thea Fox loves spending the first two weeks of summer with her baby brother at their grandma’s house in Redbud Hollow, Kentucky, a small town tucked into the Appalachian Mountains. One summer, Thea’s parents drop her and Rem, promising to return in two weeks. That is the last time Thea ever sees them. Thea and her grandmother wake up from a nightmare that is their reality. A selfish, narcissistic man has murdered Thea’s parents, and her life will never be the same, especially since the man shares the same gift as Thea – the ability to see into people’s minds and souls.

I have read all of Nora Robert’s (and JD Robb’s) books, and Mind Games did not disappoint. Thea is a strong-minded, smart, and gifted heroine. Ty and his son Bray are a perfect fit for her, and the scenes with all three together are heartwarming and sweet. One of the things I love about Nora Robert’s books is that she always has an interesting supporting cast of characters. They aren’t one-dimensional; they have stories of their own that would be fun to read. I kept hoping that Grammie would find love too! She has a lot of love to give, as evidenced by how nurturing and accepting she was of Thea and Rem. The villain was one of the most disturbing ones that I can remember in a Nora Roberts book. His dependence on and fascination with Thea was creepy to the max. Overall, another great novel, from the romance genre’s most prolific and beloved author. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this advanced review copy with me in exchange for my honest feedback!

OMG! Anyone love Nora Roberts? If you do, then you need to read no further, as you know that this will be a great read. If you are just learning about her, then you should also read this book because she is a wonderful storyteller and this is yet another example of that. This was a wonderful book and a I can’t wait to read her next one!

Another outstanding novel by Nora Roberts. The story will grab your attention and you cannot put this novel down. It is an intriguing cross of a romance novel and a suspense novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to more by the author.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A new mind-bending twist from Nora Roberts. An interesting read. As always, the characters are believable and (mostly) sympathetic and likeable. You're not quite sure how the ultimate confrontation and happy ending will be achieved in this one ... but Nora always finds a way.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for allowing me to read Mind Games by Nora Roberts. This was my first book by Nora Roberts and I was not impressed. I am wondering if all her books like this they go on an on and it didn't keep my interest. Other people may feel differently but, I just wanted to give an honest review.

I really loved this one from Nora Roberts! It seemed like it got back to the things I enjoy most about her writing and kept it simple. The strong and moving family relationships, a dangerous foe to defeat, a swoony romance, and a touch of magic. I don't always like her male romantic leads, but I LOVED Tyler! The romance between him and Thea felt young and fresh. This book is why I keep coming back to Nora Roberts again and again!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this arc!

I have to say, I liked this one. It was a nice rebound from Identity by Nora Roberts which I had major issues with.

This one reminds me a little bit of Black Hills and some more of NR's recent rom suspense (Legacy, Nightwork) where we spend a fair amount of time with the main protagonist as a child, I'd say about the first third of the book is spent in childhood, where a seminal event happens and shapes them for the rest of the book.

In this one, we meet Thea Fox who is the oldest daughter of a tight-knit and loving family that includes her parents and younger brother. Every summer they travel to the hills of Kentucky to spend time with her maternal grandmother. This time her parents are dropping off her and her brother so they can have some alone time back in their home in Virginia.

But this summer is different because Thea's parents are the victims of an act of shocking violence that is the result of chance and a petulant killer's jealousy. And Thea "sees" the whole thing. She and her grandmother share the sight and are aware of what happened even before the police knock on their door.

Now Thea and her brother will live with their grandmother and forge a new like amongst the Appalachian mountains. But even though the killer is behind bars, he isn't quite done with Thea's family.

There are several of reasons I liked this one:

First, I liked that the bad guy was caught early and put behind bars. So many rom-suspense rely on the trope of the killer being free doing killery things all the while we are waiting for the inevitable face to face showdown where he puts the heroine in inevitable jeopardy. This one doesn't do that, although there is still the possibility it could. The killer is such a master manipulator you expect anything is possible with this guy. And even though he is behind bars, he does manage to continue a reign of terror of sorts over our heroine and you expect him to escape at any time. So it was nice that NR played a bit with normal rom-suspense structure and had the heroine-villain dance follow some different steps. This was one of my peeves with Identity that it felt too predictable in places. This one decidedly was not.

Second, I liked the sense of place. The setting in the hills of Kentucky, the community around Thea and her grandmother and brother, their friends -- all of it was a nice sense of normality. It was also a good release of tension from the first parts of the story where we are with Thea when she 'witnesses' her parents' murder. THAT was very tensely (and intensely) written and so sad! The relative calmness of the section of Thea growing and settling in was necessary, imo to give us a breather before we get back to the rising tension of the back half of the book before the climax and denouement of the narrative

Third, I loved how the story handled Thea's psychic ability. Another pet peeve of mine is to give a character an ability like second sight or whatever and make it go away when it is inconvenient for plot. Not so here. Her ability is a major propeller of the story. NR is consistent in the rules she has for the character's psychic ability and doesn't play around on the reader. It was both a curse and a gift and we saw both aspects of it throughout the book.

And finally fourth, the romance. I will say the romance took back seat to the suspense. And I am ok with that. It was just enough to satisfy my romance need and was worked in well in the plot. There is one aspect of it that was a little too coincidental, but that is just a quibble. I loved Ty, the single dad, his son and their awesome dog.

Good book.

**This is an honest review of an ARC received from the publisher via Netgalley**

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the book #MindGames by #NoraRoberts. This book is about pure, eternal love. Thea and Rem went to live with grammie after their parents were killed. Thea has a gift, like all the women in her family, to look into one’s mind. She witnessed her parents murder through the killers eyes. Since then, Thea and the killer visit each other’s minds. Everything is taking a toll and she needs to decide to move on or stay like this. This book hits you where it counts and I could not put it down. Loved it!

The beginning of this book was very emotional. When you start reading it, put a box of tissues next to you.
 
When Thea was twelve, her parents were murdered, and Thea witnessed everything in her dream. She had a special psychic ability to see things in her head.
 
Thea gave detectives details about burglary and murder. Ray Riggs was caught and sent to prison for the rest of his life. However, Thea made a big mistake. To make sure her parents' killer would never get out of prison, Thea visited him. Not in person, but in her head. He saw her and threatened to find her and kill her like her parents. Ray Riggs had the same gift as Thea, but he used it in a corrupted way. And now he wanted to use it to destroy Thea's life.
 
Thea's grandmother was a lovely person who brightened my heart every time she was mentioned in the book. The family bond, mutual support and special atmosphere were a pleasure to experience. I loved the landscape of Kentucky fields and hills.
I don't usually read books about special psychic abilities or paranormal phenomena, but this one was very realistic and believable. Thea's special gift made the story more suspenseful and intriguing.
 
The beginning was very sad and disturbing. Later it became more paranormal, romantic and with a touch of mystery.
 
Great book full of suspense, great characters, and interesting plot.

Thanks for the advanced review copy. I haven’t read a Nora Robert’s book in awhile."I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It captivated me from the start with its endearing characters, unexpected plot twists, and a touch of romance. The addition of supernatural elements added an extra layer of intrigue, making it a delightful journey into the depths of human emotion and suspense. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a thrilling read!

I’ve been reading Nora Roberts for as long as I can remember. My grandmother got me started and it took me a while to read her back log when I was in my early 20s. Now that I’m 41, I’ve read every single Nora Roberts book and JD Robb book. Her books are read as soon as possible. I’ve been lucky the last few years to get early copies to review on my blog or book columns. It’s been many, many years since one of the NR stories hit me in the heart. This one had me crying pretty hard at only 25%. I can’t even explain how hard the first half of this story hit me. I felt it.

However, the last half of the book fell flat for me. I’m more shocked than anyone that I didn’t fall for every aspect of this book. Nora Roberts is a favorite author of mine for over 20 years. I know that mentally I was preparing for the two main characters to meet in life but they didn’t, Well not exactly how I thought they would. I find myself feeling disappointed with the story and amazed that she keeps me on my toes, every time. It’s quite the conundrum. I don’t feel like I wasted my time and I don’t think I shouldn’t have read it… I just wanted more from the story. Last thing I wanted to add is that it isn’t every author that can give you the assailant in the beginning of the story and still keep it interesting. Nora Roberts has skills like no other author.

I was so excited to read this book! Nora Roberts has been one of my favorite authors since I was in high school. She is one of my favorite romance authors and I love her suspenseful novels too.

Thea typically visits her grandmother with her brother every summer, but a tragedy is going to keep them there permanently. Thea has visions that helped catch her parents killer. However, she is also connected to him through these same visions and he wants vengeance.

I'd classify this novel as a romantic suspense. The romance took a bit of a backseat to the suspense, but the plot was so good that I didn't mind. I loved how the telekinetic powers took the story into the supernatural a bit. It was very unexpected. The story was very gripping. I also really like how this author makes you feel while reading. I love her writing style. The beginning was so emotional and gut-wrenching.

I really enjoyed this!

4.5/5