Perfect Lies (Mind Games #2) by Kiersten White - Ashley's Review

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Title: Perfect Lies (Mind Games #2)
Author: Kiersten White
Publication Date: February 18, 2014

My Prefect Lies Pre-Reading
My Mind Games Review
My Mind Games Pre-Reading

Synopsis: Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.

The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside.

But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them.

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Review: I really love books about sisters, and I feel like there aren't enough great ones out there. Mind Games was incredible and I loved being introduced to these two strong, amazing, sisters. Perfect Lies continues their crazy story, and had me hooked from the first page. There's a lot that happens in this book, but at the heart of it is still the relationship between Annie and Fia and how it drives them and helps them survive. 

Both girls are fantastic, well-rounded characters who are willing to do whatever it takes to save the other one, even if it means sacrificing themselves. In this book, though, I think Annie is my favorite character. She spends so much of the first book being told what to do and how to live her life, and she does a complete 180 in Perfect Lies. She grows into this feisty, strong-willed, independent woman who no longer sits around helpless waiting for someone to tell her what to do. She uses her disabilities and weaknesses to her advantage, and turns into this fantastic heroine. 

Fia matures and changes a lot over the course over this book too, but things just don't ever seem to go her way. For a girl with perfect instincts, she really seems to end up in bad situations more often than not. There were a lot of times where I felt like Fia had no regard for her own safety, since she didn't have to worry about keeping Annie safe anymore. She's reckless, and crazy, but she's still as strong-willed and powerful as she was in Mind Games. Fia also has a lot of trust issues - not that I blame her, nobody around her is trustworthy - and that definitely doesn't help. 

Just like the first book, Perfect Lies is a fast-paced thriller full of action, adventure, romance, and a sisterly bond that cannot be broken no matter how far its stretched. The stream-of-consciousness is a little off-putting at first but is easy to jump right back into. I was a little sad when I got to the end because now Annie and FIa's story is over, but I thought it ended well and didn't leave many loose ends. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers, especially if you're looking for one that features incredible heroines who make the most of their disabilities and aren't hindered by them. I can't wait to read more from Kiersten White! 4/5.


--Ashley

Perfect Lies (Mind Games #2) by Kiersten White - Ashley's Pre-Reading

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Title: Perfect Lies (Mind Games #2)
Author: Kiersten White
Year Published: 2014

My Mind Games Review
My Mind Games Pre-Reading

Synopsis: Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.

The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside.

But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them.

Why?: I thoroughly enjoyed Mind Games, and have been waiting to get my hands on a copy of this book to finish Annie & Fia's story. Especially after the ending of Mind Games! I have to know how things turn out, and if the sisters are enough to save each other or not!

Expectations: Since I enjoyed Mind Games so much, I have pretty high expectations for this book. I expect it to be very stream-of-consciousness and fast-paced. I also think this book will be more intense than Mind Games since it's the conclusion of Annie & Fia's story. I expect most questions to be answered although more will probably arise, and I expect relationship drama than before.

Judging a book by its cover: I really like that this cover so closely matches the one from Mind Games. The girl's face is prominent, but it's made up of other scenes that are probably important to the story. I like how her eyes and lips stand out over everything and how the title is front and center, but simple. I would be really likely to pick this book up off of the shelf in a library or bookstore. 


--Ashley

Mind Games (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White - Ashley's Review

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Title: Mind Games (Mind Games #1)
Author: Kiersten White
Year Published: 2013

My Mind Games Pre-Reading

Synopsis: Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heart-stoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

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Review: WOW. That basically sums up my reaction to this book. I was pleasantly surprised by most of this book, and I am so glad that I gave it a chance. It's been a while since I've read a good psychological thriller, and I loved that this one had a super-power thing going on. I also really enjoyed that it was written from both Fia's and Annie's perspectives - I think it really helped to figure out what was going on.

At first, I had a little bit of trouble getting into this book because of the writing style. It's written as if you were in the minds of Fia and Annie, and is literally their stream-of-conscience thoughts. It's a little jarring at first, and it took me a few chapters to get into. Once I was finally able to get past that though, I fell into the rhythm of this book and was able to really appreciate it. I liked all of the subtle things that you don't realize until later - like why Fia always does things and says things in patterns of three. I think it also really helped convey the panic the girls felt when they thought their sister was being threatened or could possibly be harmed.

Besides jumping from Fia to Annie, this book also jumps from the past to the present. It really helped me to discover who the girls really were and to figure out why they act the way they do. And seeing the sisters through each others' eyes helped me to learn more about them than I would have otherwise. Fia isn't allowed to visit Annie whenever she wants, and so she doesn't know what happens most of the time. Annie can only see glimpses of Fia, but never knows what will happen because Fia never plans ahead. It's very interesting, and I would imagine incredibly frustrating for the girls. I know I would be frustrated if I were in either of their positions. 

Although there are romantic relationships in this book. the main focus is on the relationship between the sisters. They are each others' weakness, and neither wants to see her sister hurt in any way. Annie comes across as the weaker, helpless sister (since she can't see and her visions are only of Fia and even those are unreliable) and Fia is always taking care of her. But honestly, I felt like both girls had their weaknesses and really needed to learn to stand on their own. They both rely heavily on each other and while I appreciated that their sisterly bond is crazy strong, I thought that it was almost to strong. 

The plot moves quickly despite the time jumps, and I found myself not wanting to put this book down. I wanted to keep reading to the very end just to find out what happens to Fia and Annie and how they protect each other. The ending was kind of what I expected, but some of the details surprised me. I can't wait to get my hands on Perfect Lies to find out how the story continues/ends. I want to know more about The Keane Foundation and about James. I want to know what Annie is doing. I have so many questions! 

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced psychological thriller with hints of the X-Men. I wouldn't really recommend it to a younger audience though, because there are some scenes that I don't really think a younger audience would handle well. I want to read the next book ASAP! 4/5 for this one.

--Ashley

Mind Games (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White - Ashley's Pre-Reading

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Title: Mind Games (Mind Games #1)
Author: Kiersten White
Year Published: 2013

Synopsis: Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. 

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heart-stoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

Why?: Well, honestly, this was available to read for free for a weekend on EpicReads' website, so I figured I would give it a chance. It sounds really interesting - two sisters with vastly different powers who are forced to used them or else risk each other's lives? It sounds really intense and like it will be a roller coaster of emotions, and like something right up my alley. 

Expectations: I haven't read anything by Kiersten White, so I'm not sure what to expect. This sounds vastly different from her other books though, so I don't think that would have helped very much anyway! Based on the synopsis, I except a fast-faced thriller with a fantasy edge to it and a school kind of like the one in X-Men only all-female and with more limited powers. 

Judging a book by its cover: I really like this cover. It kind of has a digital feel to it, and I love how the girl's face is over all of it. I like the colors and the way her blue eyes and her pink lips pop, and I think it would definitely stand out on a shelf. The title is really simple too, which is nice with such a busy cover. I would probably pick it up if I saw it in a store. 


--Ashley