I have been waiting for this book ever since I heard about it. Thanks to NetGalley, I got to preview both the ebook and the audiobook at the same time. You can’t go wrong with either. In fact, I was switching back and forth, listening in the car and while doing household tasks and then picking right up on my Kindle when I had down time. Mind Games starts out with a punch to the gut with the brutal murder of Thea Fox’s parents. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Thea has the gift of sight and even though she was at her Grandmother’s house, she saw it all, including the face of the man who committed the murder.

The story follows Thea as she grows up and defines her gift, but always, lurking in the background, is the murderer, who like Thea, has the gift of sight, just not as developed as Thea’s. He haunts her dreams, threatens her happiness, and attempts to destroy her future even though he is incarcerated for life. As with all Nora Roberts’ heroines, Thea is strong, beautiful, and surrounded by loving family. And of course, there is romance in the form of her teenage musician crush. The characters are well drawn out and easy to love.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read. Definitely not Nora Roberts’ best, but definitely engaging and satisfying. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

Every time a new Nora Roberts book releases I am reminded why she is the best. Her stories are always so developed and well rounded. I never want to put them down.

Twelve year old Thea has a pretty perfect life- until tragedy strikes. She is staying with her grandmother in Kentucky when she awakes in the night- she just saw her parents' murder. She runs to her grandmother and finds her awake and sobbing as well. The women in Thea's family all have the gift of sight. Due to this gift, Thea is able to help the police capture the murderer immediately. Except he also has a gift of sight- one he uses for evil. He and Thea begin a mental game- pushing each other. He wants revenge. She wants him to stop.

In general, I am not a fan of any type of fantasy genre. Nora Roberts's books are usually the exception. When she pushes into the fantasy/paranormal, it is with normal people with a gift. This story is no different- I was completely fine with Thea's gift. That isn't the reason for the four stars (as opposed to five- and really, I give this a 4.5) <spoiler> The aspect that pushed me over the edge was the whole game concept. That she could build a game in her mind and pull him in. That just went a tad too far for my low fantasy genre tolerance. </spoiler>

With the exception of the small complaint marked as a spoiler above, I loved every second of this book. I was sent this book on a Monday and was counting down the days until the weekend. I knew I wouldn't want to put it down once I started, and I was right. I will also say that I didn't even read the blurb before starting- I went into this totally blind. I am such a Nora Roberts fan (I've read every book except for some of the In Death series- I fell behind and it is just too daunting to catch up at this point). I knew I'd be hooked- it didn't matter what the book was about. And I was right. Saturday finally came and I read this straight through.

I listened to the audiobook. January LaVoy narrates and her performance is perfection, as always. I listened at 1.5 speed- which is my default starting speed for all books.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review. (Which honestly made my year- I was sent this on April 8th. So while everyone was all excited about an eclipse, I was giddy that I was sent Nora Roberts's new book to review.)

Thea and her brother are spending their treasured two weeks with their maternal grandmother at her small farm in Kentucky. At home, their parents are murdered and Thea, in a dream, sees their murder and the face of their killer. Grammy has the same gift of vision and she helps Thea to use her skills.

The killer is caught, with Thea's help. He's in a maximum security prison, but he also has the gift and he invades Thea's mind from time to time.

Thea goes to college and becomes a game developer. She's gifted at that, too, so she is able to live in her self-designed home, very close to her grandmother. A former rock star, the crush of Thea's teen years, moves into his great grandmother's home with his young son. A romance starts to bud.

But the challenges of having her parents' murderer trying to pry into her brain forces Thea to fight him with all the talents she has.

I have the book and listened to the audio version. The narrator is great. Well written and interesting. I recommend this book for for teens and above.

Nora Roberts can do it all: sci-fi, romance, romantic suspense, mystery, fantasy and now magical realism. The characters pulled me right in to this story. Lucy is a woman anyone would love to call grandmother, and Thea a wonderfully strong woman. Their “kitchen-wisdom” or sight adds a touch of magic and amps the tension in this story. I enjoy learning about different careers and video game designer was certainly fun, as was the world building Thea did. The narration of this audiobook is masterful. Characters are clearly defined, pacing aligns with the plot and accents enhance the setting. As with any Nora Roberts book expect high demand. Highly Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.

This story really drew me in! I love the way Nora's writing always makes you feel like you're right there living beside the characters, a part of their story, too.
This story is dark...it involves murder and a family grieving together. It is raw and real.
It also deals with some magical aspects, as the daughter of one the murder victims saw the entire event happen...from her grandmother's house hours away.
The story takes us through the mystery for many years with Thea, and her amazing cast of supporting characters, until the phenomenal ending!
There is an adorable romance aspect, too.
I really enjoyed this book!

This was a phenomenal audiobook the narrator was amazing. I loved the characters. They were well developed and very likable.
This book had just the right touch of mystery and supernatural to go along with a general well written story with a little romance thrown in.
I have a preference for thrillers and mysteries and this kept my interest the entire time.
Really well written and hard to stop listening.

Nora never disappoints!!

🎮 romantic suspense
🎮 single dad
🎮 a little magical realism
🎮 setting: small town in the Kentucky countryside
🎮 singer/songwriter MMC
🎮 video game developer FMC who also has some unique abilities
🎮 found family + an adorable kiddo and dog ❤️
🎮 angsty

I DEVOURED THIS BOOK!! It swept me away from the first page and I felt like I was right there alongside the characters, that's how engrossed I was! Nora's writing always draws me right in and honestly, I loved the story telling, the plot, the characters, the suspense, the magical realism elements, and the love story. The ending was so unique and I loved it.

Rating: 4.5 stars!

Nora Robert's has yet to write a book I didn't like, and Mind Games is no different. It combines magical gifts, murders, thrills, and dealing with family secrets and past events while trying to survive. The narrator added drama and kept me on the edge of my seat while listening to the audio book! I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down.

Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors. I absolutely love her books. This one is no different. One I sat down to this book, I didn't want to stop. It had me crying at times and angry at times, but it was always interesting. Thia watched her parents get brutally murdered. However, she wasn't physically there when it happened. She was able to see it through a dream. They were able to catch the person who did it, with her help. However, he now wants her dead. He has the same ability as she does. He's able to use his mind to find her and draw her in. The only way she'll able to move on with her life is to beat him at his own game. January LaVoy is superb at what she does. She's able to voice all the different characters and makes it seem easy. Sometimes when a female voices male characters or a male voices female characters it sounds forced and fake. This is not the case with this narrator. She is able to do the male voices and not make it sound like a female deepening her voice, but an actual male voice.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nora Roberts and MacMillan audio for the opportunity to listen to this book.

AHHHH THIS WAS AMAZING! I enjoyed this SO SO MUCH! I’ve never read Nora Robert’s but after this, whew RIP my bank account. The story flow was perfect, the characters were just AMAZING! The narrator, that lady neeeds to be on permanent payroll because she is one of the best narrators I’ve ever listened to. I loved this so much

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the early listen! Loved, loved, loved this book! Nora Roberts does it again! I loved the entire concept of this story. Both the author and narrator drew me into this story! I just did not want to leave. Loved all the characters and found myself tearing up in some parts of the story. (very unusual for this reader).
The narrator January LaVoy once again did an amazing job. She has such talent and definitely helps drawing the reader into the story. The way she can give each and every character their own voice and one would think it was more than one narrator.
Will highly recommend this to others.