I love a book with a supernatural or magical element thrown in and this was it! I admit this was my first book I have read by Nora Roberts, but I loved her writing style and will definitely be back for more! Although this book is a slow burn it does suck you in and you get completely invested in this family's stories. I would highly recommend!

Loved, loved, loved this book. I was a little nervous to begin with when there was all of this talk about seeing things/premontions as that is not usually my jam. But this book turned out wonderful and I truly enjoyed it and I could not put it down!

Nora Roberts does it again with “Mind Games,” hitting all the right notes for lovers of romantic suspense. Added, is Roberts’ special touch of supernatural, which longtime fans will sip like fresh Kentucky lemonade. Splashes of seasons and summer romance, modern storyline and snappy dialogue make this an instant favorite. Best to read while you await the release of book 2 in the Inheritance series, “The Mirror,” coming soon.

This stand alone Roberts novel has everything readers have come to expect from the New York Times Bestseller. Readers may find it unusual in that the main character and villain are connected via a psychic link. However, the novel maintains it's depth of characters, beautiful settings, and strong willed female characters.

Wow!! It's been a long time since I've read any recent Nora Roberts titles. This one did not disappoint!!

This was such a emotional rollercoaster and pins-and needles suspense with a hint of the paranormal. The chemistry between Thea and Ty was electric!! And Ty's son Bray was so adorable!!

This book is a perfect fit for those looking for a suspenseful and emotional story with a strong focus of family, love and the power of resilience.

The suspense made me devour this book!!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this one. Bittersweet threaded with love both familial and romantic. The light and dark side of their gift made for a fun unveiling.

Nora Roberts’ books are wonderfully crafted stories. In this novel, we are in the hills of Kentucky enjoying the small town and love of a close family. Thea and Rem spend time with their Grandmother every year in June. It is a wonderful time of year, when they help with the animals and chores. This year is different though, a tragedy, their parents are murdered.

The truly tragic part is that Thea saw it all in her mind’s eye. Her Grammie (Lucy) also has the eye as well, but not as clear. Thea was able to help the detectives. Rem and Thea stayed with Grammie up until college and even then returned to the mountains and began their lives nearby.
The murderer continues to play a role in Thea’s life. He shows up in her head randomly and is cruel.

Nora Roberts’ books almost always make me realize how wonderful life is when you follow your heart. I loved the characters in this novel and really want them to have the best life. I love how the author portrayed the community as caring, positive, thoughtful people as opposed to illiterate Appalachian people.

Mind Games by Nora Roberts tugged on my heart strings and I loved each and every chapter.

This book required a little suspension of disbelief as it dipped into the paranormal realm. That being said, it was an amazing story. Thea was such a dynamic character, and her grandmother, Lucy, had my heart. This is a signature Nora Roberts romantic suspense, and I was here for every minute. The ending was a bit far-fetched, but I appreciated how it resolved. Add this one to your list!

3.5 stars - I appreciate the experimentation with a non-traditional type of suspense. Not sure I totally bought it, but it was an interesting experiment! Classic Nora found family vibes, and just all around comfy which was what I wanted

Nora Roberts! What a story you have shared with us!
Mind blowing!
Dark!
Twisted!
Along with the above you will get:
Family
Loss
Psychic/Supernatural
Romance
Mystery
Suspense
But, most of all you will get:
MIND GAMES!
I couldn’t stop reading Mind Games once I started it.
Nora Robert’s writing is always solid and somewhat magical.
Definitely add this to your tbr list! You will not regret it!
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

While Thea Fox and her brother Rem were spending a week in small town Kentucky with their grandmother, they could never have guessed that back home in Virginia, a depraved murderer would take their parents’ lives. Amazingly, Thea witnessed the crime in a vision and described the killer to the police. Even more amazingly, she and the murderer each share this strange ability. They see each other telepathically and taunt each other, even years after the murders. As Thea’s life unfolds, the constant threat is there, that somehow, the killer will escape and make good on his plans for revenge. The tale combines the peaceful setting of homespun family life in a small town, and the stark, gritty intrusion of a mass murderer reaching out from prison. Mind games indeed.

Nora Roberts is a favorite author, so it was a no-brainer to pick this one up. I always enjoy her books, whether writing as Nora Roberts or J.D. Robb.

Description:
As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.

Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.

The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse―because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them―and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…

My Thoughts:
The "gift" that both Thea and the killer have gets scarier and escalates tension through the book. The family life with Grammie is sweet and I loved the way Thea and her brother got along. I certainly would like to live in a community like Redbud Hollow. The romance was epic - I really like the teenage crush angle. These are great characters and I liked them all - except for the killer and that is intentional, we have to hate him. I even ended up liking the skeptical detective in the end. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good story with a paranormal aspect.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Wow, Nora Roberts is a fantastic author! The more books I read of hers, the more she is inching her way up to be on my favorite authors list. And her new book, Mind Games, has everything going for it. Its location in Eastern Kentucky with the scenic descriptions of the gardens and landscapes sounded so beautiful, and all the characters which are mainly family and if they aren’t, they are treated like they are, are people that you would love to know and be a part of. I loved all of these characters, with the exception of one Ray Riggs. This story centers around a family and how they come together and do what has to be done after a horrible tragedy strikes. What I loved about this book and felt made it even more interesting was that all the females in this family have psychic abilities. Thea was able to see the tragedy as it took place even though she was nowhere near the scene and that’s what helped the police put the killer away. Amongst the story, the author has included a love story and depicted what a couple goes through when secrets are kept and how trust is very important. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everyone who loves to read. I’d like to thank Macmillan Publishers and NetGalley for the arc. This was a great read, I’m giving it a 5 star rating and am anxiously waiting to read more books by Nora Roberts in the near future.

A powerful and moving story of love and vengeance, I loved this newest story from Ms. Roberts. When it comes to character development and weaving a tale of tragic loss balanced by intense love, Ms. Roberts is a go to author for me. This newest story captured my attention and I devoured the book in one sitting. The plot is compelling. The characters come to life and leap off the pages. This is a great standalone must read book.

This story does have a romance between the main character, Thea and Ty. For me the story is more about the fierce love of parent for a child. And the loss of innocence when malicious envy destroys a family's idyllic life. I thoroughly enjoyed the compare and contrasts in this story. Comparing Thea's material to her paternal grandmother emphasizes how the opposite of love is apathy. This is heartbreaking to see Thea experience.

I loved the different plot devices including Thea and her maternal line of a psychic gift. I love that Thea is also a game designer. There are so many things about the characters I love. Thea's brother's defense of her as well as his occupation to protect her livelihood is incredible. The conflicts between Ty and Thea during their romance worked so well. Why? Because it shows a more realistic back and forth in a relationship. It takes time and a lot of work to keep a relationship going. Throw in a kid and an overly protective father, it is a recipe for drama.

DRAMA, so much drama in this story and I loved it. I liked it because it wasn't emotional hormonal drama. It's drama that is caused from unresolved trauma. Working through both Thea's and Ty's past hurts and burdens is cathartic. At the end, this love triumphs all through great adversity creates a more satisfying conclusion. The build up to the end is fantastic. I experience horror, sorrow, joy, fury, and unadulterated pleasure from vengeance. This book has it all for me. Highly recommend Mind Games to contemporary romance readers who want a well written plot driven story with complex characters.

Mind Games was both riveting and compelling. I paired the e-arc with the audiobook, narrated by January LaVoy, which is one of my favourites. January LaVoy was excellent at differentiating between the many characters in Mind Games. Lavoy emotes the characters' grief, heartbreak, and joy through her narration. She did an outstanding job. She brought me along for the ride. With bringing them alive, I could picture them in my mind's eye. It was well-paced and cleverly written. I was captivated from beginning to end and had difficulty saying goodbye to the characters.

John and Cora Fox lived the ideal life with their two children, Thea, their twelve-year-old daughter and Rem, Thea's 10-year-old younger brother, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The family lived in Virginia in a beautiful neighbourhood and lived comfortably. Thea's parents worked together. John specialized in Real Estate, and Cora was an Interior Designer. They had a healthy and happy marriage that had not lost any of its spark or magic even after all these years. Every year at the end of June, Thea and Rem receive a special treat they look forward to all year. John and Cora packed up their car and headed to Kentucky, where Thea and Rem spent two weeks with their Grammie, Lucy. Their parents enjoyed some alone time at home in Fredericksburg while the children were with Grammie. Redbud Hollow was Thea's and Rem's favourite place to visit. Thea and Rem spent two weeks with their Grammie and loved every minute. Lucy lived on a farm where she grew many fruits and vegetables and raised several animals, including chickens and goats. She also made homemade soaps, lotions, candles and special homemade medicinal remedies called Mountain Magic that she sold and bartered to the people in their community in Redbud Hollow

Shortly after Thea and Rem arrived at Grammie Lucy's house, Thea was awoken from sleep one night by a horrific and vivid vision. Like all the women on her mother's side of the family, Thea had a unique and special gift. She was born able to see things sometimes before they occurred and sometimes while they were happening. That night, Thea was able to see a man break into her parent's house while her parents were sleeping in their bedroom. Not only could Thea see what this terrible man was doing, but she could read his mind. They knew he was planning to murder her parents. As the intruder passed Thea's portrait in the hallway, he felt like someone was watching him; Thea realized that this man possessed the same ability as she did. Thea witnessed the horrific murder of both of her parents. She watched and was defenceless, though, to save them. Thea and Rem lost both of their parents that night. The only good thing was that Thea knew precisely where and who the man who murdered her parents looked like, and because she was able to read his mind, she knew exactly where he was planning to go after he left her childhood home. Thea, with Grammies's encouragement, helped the police catch the man who had murdered her parents by supplying them with all the details Thea had recovered by getting inside the man's head. She helped put him in prison for the rest of his life with the details she was able to tell the police officers.
Cora's mother and Thea's and Rem's grandmother, Lucy Lannigan, had been named as the legal guardian for Thea and Rem by Cora and John Fox in their will if anything ever happened to them. Grammie Lucy embraced both Thea and Rem and lovingly made a safe and nurturing home for both Thea and Rem. Both Thea and Rem healed over time, but Thea never forgot. Even though the murderer was in prison, he was often able to torment Thea and get inside her head as the years progressed. They made good friends in Redbud Hollow, attended college, built lucrative and successful careers, and Thea eventually found love. Through all those years, though, the inmate's voice and actions never left Thea's mind. And it was starting to take its toll on her mind and body. How could Thea sever the connection and rid herself of him once and for all?

I enjoyed listening to Mind Games by Nora Roberts. It portrays the true meaning of family, finding friendship, romance, and purpose in life. It exemplified the way the same gift could produce different outcomes. Both Thea and the man who murdered her parents had the unique ability to see things, but Thea used her gift to help others and for good causes, and the man used him to perform evil acts, which often involved using violence. Over time, Thea learned to trust others again. I enjoyed the cast of characters in Mind Games. The ending was satisfying, and all the loose pieces tied together nicely. I didn't want this book to end. I am hoping there will be a sequel. I am keeping my fingers crossed. 🤞The touch of magic infused within the story was perfection. (IMO)— I highly recommend you read this book; the audio is essential. You won't be disappointed!!

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for allowing me to listen to and read an e-arc and alc of Mind Games by Nora Roberts in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Nora Roberts is a master storyteller and one of my all-time favorite authors. This book was filled with suspense and very well-developed, likable characters except for one...who is spooky and evil. As expected, the dialog and interactions between characters are so well written! You will not want to put this one down.

4 1/2

If you’ve been a reader long enough, you have an expectation about where an author is going to take a story based on everything you’ve read in the past. Kudos to Ms. Nora Roberts for resetting this reader’s expectations regarding her plot. She made unexpected choices and gave me a pleasurable read with surprising twists.

All of the women in Thea’s family have the gift of sight, seeing and knowing things about people that they couldn’t possibly know. Some, like Thea’s mother, decide not to keep the gift, but Thea does. It’s part of who she is. It also puts her in the position of seeing the night her parents are murdered by a serial killer, Ray Riggs She feels his emotions that are driven by greed and anger, sees his actions. Her clarity of sight sends the police to the hotel room where Ray Riggs is staying. While he confesses to the murders of her parents and others and is imprisoned, he vows vengeance on Thea. It seems that the horror of that night and Ray Riggs will never leave Thea alone.

So guess what. What? you ask (or not, if you’re not playing along 😉 ). I am not going to tell you about the surprising twists or anything else about this novel that surprised me because if you read it, I want you to be surprised as well. Because of Nora Roberts’ longevity as a writer of romance, mystery, supernatural, etc. I have no doubt that her choices on plotting were purposeful and intended to take the reader on a different trip from everything else in the genre.

WHAT I LIKED

I enjoyed the Appalachian setting with its music, food, sense of family, relationship to nature. Thea, Grammie Lucy, and Thea’s brother, Rem, are extensions of that life, capable and self-sufficient. I want to make an apple stack cake.
I loved the close-knit community, fictionalized as it is, and their acceptance of Thea and Lucy’s capabilities.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Portions of the middle/last third sagged and dragged making me think the book was longer than its 432 pages.
Some characterization felt flat. I would have liked some of the characters to surprise me as much as the plot/action did.
While the depiction of Thea’s parents’ murder was not overly graphic, the nastiness of the situation gave me pause and almost turned me off from reading the rest of the book because of its juxtaposition with the lovely scene of the entire family together. I suppose this was intended, but my reaction probably was not.
The customary romance breakup between Thea and her love interest (not telling who it is) felt a little unbelievable.
Well, ha. The unlikes would almost outnumber the likes if it weren’t for the fact that I’d spent a paragraph raving about the unexpected plot.

I did enjoy Mind Games and think that perhaps I should check out more of Nora Roberts’ standalones of recent vintage. I recommend Mind Games for anyone who enjoys novels of clairvoyance merged with a folksy setting and a thriller feel . . . oh, yes, and some romance.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for sending me a copy.

Thea and Rem are to spend the next two weeks at their grandmothers house like they do every summer. Little did they know something horrible is about to happen. Thea and Grammie share the same ability to look into others minds. They will see the horrifying acts as if they were there themselves.

First of all, I am very thankful that I do not have this ability. I can't even imagine seeing such a thing at the tender age of 12.

Full of suspense and creepiness. But also love, hope and so much more. I loved/hated the characters as I was supposed to throughout the book. They felt like real people to me.

I loved the ending and how everything was wrapped up neatly.

Roberts does it again!

Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

I don't think I'll ever get enough of Nora Roberts. I won't be able to stop thinking about this book for along time. I had the BEST time reading this. She had me so engaged into this story. The first part of this book will definitely pull at your heartstrings. It's got the good, bad, beautiful, horrific, you name it. Nora wrote it so wonderfully and you felt all the emotion and rawness. The second and third part of this book is beautiful . You really get to see there lives coming together. Thea will still be dealing with her past but she will fight to over come it. The characters in this book are absolutely amazing and well written. I loved this family. You felt like they were apart of you family. This book will give you a little bit of a thriller, mystery, romance and even some magic like moments. I had such a great time with this book and I could go back and read it again because it was that good! I would HIGHLY recommend this book!!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

Twelve-year-old Thea Fox is excited to be spending two weeks with her grandmother in Kentucky. Every summer Thea and her younger brother, Rem, spend some quality time with their Grammie. Meanwhile, their parents go back to their Virigina home. No one knew this would be the worst summer of their lives.

Thea has psychic abilities and can actually see her parents being killed. She can even see their killer in her mind. The family is devastated by this great loss. Thea and Rem now live with their grandmother. Although the killer is spending the rest of his life in jail, he shares Thea’s psychic ability and frequently taunts and invades her mind.

This is a frightening and emotional book. Nora Roberts has an excellent talent for creating characters you can either care about or truly hate. This book has it all. My heart broke for Thea and her family. I wanted to read how they would all survive from this tragedy.

It’s totally engrossing and captivating. A both sad and uplifting story. It’s one of those books I couldn’t put down and had me reading late into the night. Nora Roberts never fails to disappoint me, and this was no exception.






FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.