I was given an arc of Nora Roberts Mind Games a few weeks ago. One of the reasons she has such a large and loyal following is that she is so consistent in her writing. The stories are not exactly the same and she moves around in the subgenres of romance, but every one of her books has a familiarity. I generally know exactly what I’m going to get when I open a Nora Roberts book. I read a lot of her books at a time when I was working 60 hours a week at a low-paying, high-pressure job. I don’t read her as much anymore, but it’s nice to visit La Nora on occasion.

Unfortunately, I did not like Mind Games. It felt like she phoned in the phoning in. Thea Fox and her brother are on their annual stay with their grandmother at her house in Appalachia. Thea witnesses the murder of her parents in her dream and is able to give the police enough information to capture and convict the murderer. The murderer is also able to get into people’s minds, and he and Thea torment each other for a couple of decades. Thea and her brother stay in the Appalachian mountains with their grandmother and build their adult lives there as well. Thea has grown up to become a video game designer and occasionally helps the police. When Thea’s neighbor dies, the grandson moves in with his son and becomes Thea’s love interest. He is a retired-ish rock star who didn’t like fame. Stuff happens, there is a final mental showdown with the murderer, everyone lives happily ever after.

Currently, Mind Games has a 4.46 stars average with 235 ratings on Goodreads. In a lot of ways it feels a bit silly to review a Nora Roberts book. If what you want is to read a Nora Roberts book, this one delivers one of the classic Roberts’ trademarks – the family and friends that will throw down for you. There are some emotional highs when Thea helps the police save a girl, and emotional lows when the love interest wrongly accuses Thea of using him. To me, it all felt hollow. The characters felt more rote than usual. If you love Nora Roberts, you are going to read this anyway. If you are looking for a place to start with Nora Roberts, this one isn’t it.

I received this as an advance reader copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

WOW! Nora is such a beautiful storyteller. I loved this book. The first half is heartbreakingly emotional and the second just as wonderful! I highly recommend reading this one!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!!

Wow! Nora Roberts has done it again! She had me crying in the first 5 chapters, then plotting with her for the resolution of the story all the way to the last page! Great suspense, some good romantic heat, and kept me totally involved throughout! Never underestimate a down home country girl with a gift.

This is my second Nora Roberts book, and I loved it as much as the first one I read. She has a way of pulling the reader into a place with vivid descriptions and lovable characters. Her books feel like home.

Mind Games is about a woman named Thea who has psychic abilities and is connected to her parents’ killer through his shared ability.

The story itself is interesting, and I enjoyed watching Thea grow up. She’s strong like her mom and grandma.

This newer trend of single dads being so sexy isn’t for me, though. And the relationship moved way too fast for a child to be involved. Why was there such a hurry?

I’ll be reading more novels from Ms. Roberts. I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

I’ve been a lifelong reader of Nora Roberts since Irish Thoroughbred was published by Loveswept and will always read every book she writes. HOWEVER, her recent books have not captivated me like they used to. The female main characters are all too similar, I don’t feel as connected to them and the plots of her books have strayed too far away from romance for me. I’ve always loved that I felt like I was learning when I read Nora’s books, whether it be wedding planning, dog training or glass blowing but the recent books don’t have that component for me. The relationship between the male and female characters aren’t as developed and I’m not as invested.

I’ve read interviews with Nora and also in her newsletter where she states that she isn’t interested in writing romance anymore and she is absolutely entitled to write whatever she wants to write. I love The Witness, The Obsession and all of her JD Robb novels, I love many of her books that are not straight romance. I rarely read romance anymore anyway but I miss the relationships between the characters and the tone in those books.

As I said, I will continue to read what she writes, I just won’t be rushing to buy and read the minute the book comes out anymore and that hurts my heart a little bit.

This first half of this book tore at my heartstrings, in all the ways something can. Good, bad, beautiful, horrific, you name it. It was so wonderfully done, so emotional and raw. The second and third half were just as beautifully done and I absolutely loved every minute of this suspenseful story interwoven with the supernatural like only Roberts seems to be able to do. This has to be one of my new favs from her and I'm so glad I was able to read and savor it.

Thea Fos has a special gift to see things that are about to happen. When her parents are murdered her grandmother and her have the same vision of the crime. Thanks to her vision the killer is put away for life. As Thea moves on with her life her visions of the killers thoughts and acts torment her.



Thanks to Nora Roberts and St Martin’s Press

This stand alone romantic suspense novel starts out with an introduction to our protagonists childhood, her lovely family, and their tradition of 12 year old Thea and 10 year old Rem being allowed to spend the first two weeks of every summer vacation with their beloved Grammie, on her Appalachian farm with her goats and chickens, surrounded by love. We quickly learn of Thea's paranormal "gift" which allows her to see a terrible tragedy that changes their life forever.

Although this novel is billed as romantic suspense, there is no romance until at least the 50% mark. while we focus on developing the other characters and the evil man that is now linked with Thea. I loved the strong family element of this story, and the romance with a supportive young musician father is sweet, although the usual conflict and resolution that happens in any romance comes quite late in the book and erupts and then resolves very quickly. I found the ending satisfying, and a bit different and I think this will be another winner for anyone who has enjoyed the authors many previous romantic suspense, as I have.

Thank you to Net galley and the publisher for the e galley of this book in exchange for a non biased review.

MIND GAMES by Nora Roberts is an amazingly rich and layered multi-genre story. It follows the young protagonist, Thea Fox, between the ages of twelve to twenty-seven from a traumatic family event to her ultimate battle and HEA. This book is a mix of family drama, romance, romantic suspense, murder mystery, generational paranormal psychic abilities all rolled together into an engaging story set in a small town in the Kentucky Appalachian Mountains.

School is out in Virginia and twelve-year-old Thea and ten-year-old Rem are on their way to spend two weeks with their Grandma Lucy in the Kentucky foothills. They always look forward to helping with the animals and gardens, helping with their grandma’s home-based company, and running free in the mountains. But this year, something terrible happened to their parents and they will be staying with their grandma in Redbud Hollow.

Thea has the gift of sight that has passed down through generations of women in her family and she is able to use it to help police capture her parent’s killer. But the killer has the same gift, and he uses it to stay tied to Thea. A mental battle wages between them over the next fifteen years until they are face to face and Thea is ready for a final game.

If you loved the sweeping story in Identity, you will love this story just as much. The parents’ murder is heartbreaking, but the family love between Lucy, Thea, and Rem warms and heals the break, at least partially. Then you get to read how Thea strengthens not only physically, but mentally and learns to deal with her gift as well as how to handle the intrusions and attacks from the killer. I fell in love with all the well-developed characters in this story, especially the son of Thea’s love interest. I loved the ending, not only because it ends on a HEA, but because of Thea’s solution and use of her gift to obtain it even if it could end her own.

I highly recommend this new multi-genre story from the author that never disappoints!

Nora Roberts always does a wonderful job of weaving a perfect story that crosses many genres. Mind Games tells the story of Thea starting when she was 13 years old. Thea has an exceptional gift that can sometimes feels like a curse. This is a great story of how Thea grows up using and often trying to block her gift.

This story was simply mind blowing. I was hooked from page one to the end and I did not want it to end. The backgrounds of the main characters we well developed.. Thea and Rem endure the worst difficult of loss and are raised by the grandmother on her farm that brings them some healing.

Thea has a gift that is both a help and a hinderance. Because of this gift her parents murderer is found and spends his life in prison

Both Thea and Rem become adults, they go on to college, build lives and form long lasting friendships. Thea develops her career and becomes one bad ass woman ( sword skills are just one of her talents) . She meets her long time crush and their relationship develops at a beautiful pace.

She also develops a link with man that took her parents and reading those passage were freaky. Their ,meeting is destined and more than satisfying

I could not put this book down. I hope we get to have Rem's story!

Mind Games is aptly titled. The book follows the story of a young girl whose parents are brutally murdered. We see her grow up throughout the story. I enjoyed the twist of how the connection with the killer played out. The book will rip your heart out at times. We are seeing and feeling the emotions of the main characters, and while gripping reading, it's also incredibly painful at times. But it's appropriatefor the story and shows the characters' strengths.

Mind Games Is definitely a book of suspense and fantasy. Thea and Grammie share the same sights in the future. As events evolve they discover that the prisoner put there by Thea also shares the same talent. This novel of frightful unimaginable consequences is a winner and one you don't want to miss.

I was a little hesitant about reading this book. I used to be a huge Nora Roberts fan. But in the past couple of years, I have been feeling something missing from them. However, something about this book just appealed to me, so I decided to give it a shot. I am really happy that I did. This really feels like a newer style for her and I am here for it.

A warm family with Appalachian roots are visiting the grandmother. The parents are dropping them off for a couple of week, which they do each summer. (this immediately resonated because my parents did this also) . While the parents are back in Virginia, they are murdered. But Thea, the granddaughter, is psychic and sees it in her sleep. She helps to solve the murder. But it doesn’t stop there – apparently the murderer is also psychic and while in prison develops a mental connection with Thea.

This book has everything. Some family, some romance, some supernatural, and thrills. This was like a baby rollercoaster with great scenery. It had suspense, but not too much. And a secondary story was going on in the meanwhile, which was just really sweet.

I will be telling my friends to read this.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my opinion.

In her latest Roberts introduces a wonderful, warm family with Appalachia roots that have a routine of letting the kids stay with their grandmother for a couple of weeks each summer. But this trip changed everything because their parents are murdered back in Virginia. Psychically gifted twelve-year-old Thea and her grandmother both wake in Kentucky knowing the couple is gone, and Thea can offer a solid description and clues, having been pulled in farther by an equally gifted murderer. Even when remanded to a supermax prison, their connection remains in a quiet but potentially deadly battle of wills. You still have all the great characters, banter and romance that Roberts is known for, but in some ways this is a more subtle challenge to the characters because the majority of the conflict is happening in Thea’s head.

I'm back to Nora Roberts! I was an avid fan, years ago...then I got bored and switched genres. In the past month, I've read 2 or Nora's newer books, I have to say, I love that she's switching her writing style up. This book really had everything, the strong family bond, the romance (not too much, just enough), and a type of thriller thrown in. Fun read, easy read, I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Nora, for the chance to read this awesome advanced copy. Looking forward to more!

It's been awhile since I read a Nora Roberts book and, as a fan of many of her novels, I was very excited to get my hands on an advanced copy. I immediately downloaded Mind Games and dived right in.

I found the storyline and concept of Mind Games to be very interesting. I always love Nora's books with a little paranormal weaved into them and I really enjoyed reading about the gift that Thea, her grandmother, and the villain all share. I enjoyed all the characters and found them likable, except for our antagonist, Ray, who I hated (in a good way). Ray was an excellent villain that had me cringing at the awful things he does and thinks. I actually found many of Ray's parts and the interactions he has with Thea to be the most interesting parts of the book. Nora also provides great details on the small town, Rosebud Hollow, that help paint a beautiful and comforting setting.

With all that said, I almost gave this book a 3 rating because it seemed to drag for me. I was hooked right at the beginning with the devastation that happens to Thea and her family and how Thea handles it, but after this, it felt slow for the first half. It's great that we see Thea's journey from childhood to adulthood, but it felt like nothing was happening to capture my attention well. About half way through the book, it started to pick up again and I found myself enjoying the read. I will say, the ending was a little disappointing. With all the anticipation leading up to that moment, it felt very quick and a little anticlimactic.

Overall, I'd rate Mind Games 3.5.

Nora Roberts’ latest, “Mind Games”, focuses on Thea, a person who has a psychic ability passed on to her through generations of females in her family. The novel follows Thea through a traumatic event that alters the course of her life, taking the reader through this event and follows the Thea through adulthood while she deals with the pros and cons of her ability. The antagonist of the book, Riggs, is the person responsible for her trauma who also just so happens to have the same ability.

The book deals with the adage of good versus evil between Thea and Riggs, albeit battling with their minds (hence the title). It also shows how the support of a strong, close family can overcome any obstacle.

I’ve read a few Nora Roberts books, but this seemed to be a departure from the ones I’ve read, which all started out with adult characters, usually love interests that first hate each other, overcome obstacles and fall in love, and then something breaks them apart only for them to come together at the end. This is the first one of her books that I’ve read where the romance storyline is not center stage, and the main character is introduced as a 12-year-old with a supernatural ability, which is the main storyline. The love interest is introduced as Thea’s rock star teen-age crush, Ty, about a third of the way into the novel. He then ends up as her neighbor about halfway through when they finally meet and he’s no longer a rock-star. Thea has to juggle her feelings for him as well as how to tell him about her ability. She also has to deal with the person who was responsible for her childhood trauma, who uses his ability to disrupt the happiness she is trying to seek.

My only issue with this book was that it was a bit repetitive when it came to the trauma. In the beginning, Thea as a 12-year-old had to recount everything she knew to police. Toward the end, the reader was subjected again to a retelling of the trauma by adult Thea to Ty. I felt it was a bit much for the reader to read through everything again when we knew what happened already. A simple sentence, such as “Thea then recounted everything to Ty without sparing any details”, was all that was needed. It would also have shaved a few pages from the book. It just seemed like it was filler, like her publisher needed to have more pages added to the novel, so she added another description. I found it unnecessary.

So if you are a fan of Nora Roberts and also like a little supernatural element added to a story, then this is the book for you.

Whoa, this one is a bit creepy! I love how the family pulled together in the wake of tragedy and how the community just accepts them for who they are. But the mind games were very disconcerting.

Of course there is also a romance! Add in a music star with an adorable son and it just becomes even better.

The dialogue style is similar to what she uses for Eve Dallas in her In Death series. I don’t know anyone that actually talks in this shorter banter of incomplete sentences. It fits the character of Dallas or close friends, but not so much a couple just getting to know each other.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

I loved this book. Sweet, sad, hopeful and joyous at times, this family story that started with a tragedy ends in a love story and I enjoyed every minute of this book.