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

If you read the synopsis you may think this is dark mystery but we all know Nora Roberts better than that🙂. Mind Games is such a rich and multi-genre story with a mix of mystery, family drama, and romance that I could not get enough of.

I was immediately invested in the beautiful writing and rolling hills of the Appalachian mountains where we follow Thea from that fateful summer when she lost her patents into adulthood. This book was subtle in the way that it starts off with a horrible crime yet morphs into this beautiful story of family, love and resilience while still keeping an eerie since of foreboding as the story progresses. I loved how Thea learned to embrace her ‘gift’ and used it to help others. Her family support was so endearing and Grammie Lucy was by far my favorite🙂. The ending was unexpected and maybe I was looking for a little more after all of the build-up but it didn’t take away from another great story by Roberts.

I listened to parts of this and would highly recommend the audiobook narrated by the talented January LaVoy.

Is being able to see the sort of evil Thea (and her grandmother Lucy) can see a gift? They see the murder of Thea's parents and thanks to that, if nothing else, the villain is sent to prison. Unfortunately, it evolves that the villain can also see Thea and this turns into a battle of the minds. I didn't entirely understand the psychic ability but I liked this for Thea's story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Far fetched but will be welcomed by fans of Roberts.

I love Nora Roberts. I have read her for decades and will continue to read everything she writes. She is very formulaic but that doesn’t bother me. If it works it works.

Mind Games by Nora Roberts is a romantic suspense novel that has a paranormal edge to it with the main character being psychic. The story follows the characters over decades of their lives after one fateful event.

At twelve years old Thea and her younger brother look forward to their time in Eastern Kentucky in the Appalachia area with their grandmother. Each summer their parents make the trip from their home in Virginia to Kentucky to drop the kids off and it’s almost as much fun as Christmas for the kids.

This summer however the magical time to be a child is cut short when one night
Thea and her grandmother awaken from a shared nightmare. Both know that the unthinkable has happened all the way in Virginia, Thea’s parents have been murdered by an intruder as they watched it happen. For Thea though that nightmare had an even more ominous feel when the man responsible seemed to connect to her as she watches it all play out.

Mind Games by Nora Roberts is really a slow burn novel coming in at over four hundred pages and following this family over such a long time period. For me being someone that can get very antsy with slow burns I was surprised to find myself really enjoying this story as it went along and not getting too impatient for the conclusion the way I often do. I loved the setting and characters and their growth throughout and the paranormal side certainly gave a eerie and suspenseful edge that kept the pages turning. When finished I would most definitely recommend checking this one out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book was amazing! The story begins when Thea, a 12 year old girl with a gift that helps her see into the minds of others, is spending the summer with her brother, Rem, and her Grammie, Lucy (who also has the gift). Thea sees something terrible happen to her parents and she wants to do everything she can to catch the man that is responsible.
The whole story is a work of art. There's a little mystery, a little thriller, some romance, and even some magic that will keep you hooked from the first chapter. I loved seeing the characters grow throughout the story and I loved seeing Thea do so much with her gift.