Oh my freaking hell! This is one of the most adventurous, action packed, tension filled, nail bitingly good books I've read within these past years! I don't even know where to start from! Should I talk about Fia first? OR my dearest Annie? Or James? Adam? The person from Annie's vision with the "hands"? Gaaahhh it's becoming a torture -_- I guess I'll just rant like a loonie and y'all have to understand and bear with me:p

The cover. OMG. It is TERRIFIC. I mean both of the versions. (which is why I couldn't help putting up both here :p) It is possible that looking too close at the UK version may even give you a sudden creepy feeling o_O

 

According to many of my friends and bloggers who have read opine that this book is more about romance and less action. Well, it is true, to an extent. But I hate romance only when it messes with the plot. I, however, didn't feel the plot was compromised or butchered because of the romance element. So I'm all merry ^.^

Now straight to my ranting. First...Sofia, girl I already love you, since Mind Games..but if it makes any difference, YOU ARE AWWWWWWSOME XD I was practically visualizing whenever I read a scene with you fighting off people, throwing stuff and killing them so smoothly; what a finesse you have! (Does it make me sound crude? Never mind lol) I loved how Kiersten has kept up the consistency of her character. She is quite a new Sofia and yet, the author made her so without butchering her antics and characteristic traits. LOVED HER. Period.

 

James. Hmmm. I can't say anything in case of giving away any spoiler..but he is all in all a hard puzzle to crack. Throughout Book 1 and 2 I was swinging between decisions regarding James's character. You can never know what this boy is actually up to...and until the end you cannot decide. It's a pain sometimes but I guess that is what makes it so worth reading.

 

Adam...erm he is the usual fellow. The sweet cute caring guy. I just wish I could have more of him contributing in the end. (I'm a sucker for good boy happy endings I guess). Among other noticeable boys, we get to meet a new one here, named Cole. Not wanting to give away any spoilers *wink wink*, he is way more important than he may seem at first, so be careful before you start hating him or anything like that!

 

Talking of important, I've kept probably the most important character of this book to mention at last. My sweet, sweetest Annie. Be as much gaping-mouthed you can seeing me taking this 360 degree turn for Annie, I couldn't care leas. If I love Fia, I adore, admire, almost venerated Annie. If Fia gets a flying kiss from me, I'll give Annie a awkward sudden teddy hug (and let me tell you not many people get that kinda hug from me, you've got to be verrry special to get one). She steals the show, almost literally. In Book 1, she is more of a baggage, to everybody, mostly to Fia. But in Book 2, she does what nobody could, she does the unthinkable (now, don't go too overboard with your thoughts on this here). Her decision and action had left me practically gasping (luckily no one was around). The ending, for me, is the best part of the book. Though I didn't see Fia the way I wanted her to see (I'm a sucker for 'all's well' kinda ending), and was obviously was craving for more on that part particularly, I cannot complain. Kiersten seals my mouth with an awestruck ending.

 

Perfect problems, perfect planning, perfect action, perfect execution of plot and a to top it off, a P-E-R-F-E-C-T ending, Perfect Lies has it ALL.

First things first. As you peeps already know, I have a very bad cover glutton, and this book has one of the most mind gobbling covers I've ever seen! Seriously, I could EAT it @_@ I mean, just look at the cover...are you sure you're not in love with it already? Whoever has made that freaking breathtakingly beautiful cover...Bravo *claps*

 

Jumping in to the characters, their names...Perfect! I know this may sound lame but I really believe that name is an important part in reflecting a character. Author Kiersten White has made sure of that I must say. The female lead (for the time being;)) is Sofia and I feel like somehow the name fits her character perfectly. Her monologues, jumbled thoughts and often meaningless rants made her quite similar to the Sophie of Sophie's World, though the comparison does seem a little far fetched (having graduated in Literature, I cannot help it:p) Though it was a little disturbing at the beginning, but once I got a hold, it was like a roller coaster ride...you can never read enough!

 

Then there is Adam...and there is James. Honestly speaking, this is one of the very few books where I couldn't decide until the end (end of book 1 that is) which hero I ACTUALLY like. I seem to have come up with the same dilemma as Sofia, only more prominent (because I couldn't tap tap tap my fingers to take my mind off this:/) Adam is the nice guy, the boy next door, and James is, in short, the perfect liar. But who should Sofia look up to?

 

Before you think I'm insane to not have mentioned Annie earlier, centering whom Sofia's whole life revolves, let me tell you that no, I was just waiting. She is...how do I say?...a complicatedly interesting and likeable character. I must warn you though...there are times..a LOT..when you may feel like throwing something at her face, or punching her for her guts. But at the end of the day, she IS Sofia's sister, and that makes her do things, that leaves you with no other choice than liking her as well!

 

The question of choice Sofia is to face every time, more for her sis than herself is what I enjoyed the most. Sofia seem to have one reason only to do what she does: keep her sister safe. While Annie is at the receiving end of help and favors most of the times, you may pass your verdict saying she's nothing but a self-pitying selfish sister who actually doesn't deserve half the things Sofia does for her. But with each passing moment and incident, you may start realizing that Annie is no less important a character. Both are different, of course...but somehow, they are linked with each other despite their physical and mental differences, and this is something I really really liked. It is not only the tale of Sofia and her fight, it is a beautiful narration of both Annie and Sofia's povs, the torments they face, torn between choosing for the self and the other one.

 

Mind Games is a beautiful, beautiful book that fills you gradually with anticipation along with each reading and specially after such an unnerving and cliffhanger ending, leaves you with no choice other than waiting to read the next book in the series. In short, just GRAB the book to read the minute you get the opportunity, you won't regret it :D

Let me tell you, I’m a big fan of all things mythology. Literally. I don’t care who or when or where, if it’s got something to do with mythology, even in the slightest, I would go for it, always. So it’s no wonder that I seem to love this one too. The author has mingled myth with the plot so well you can only like it. The best part I think is that it is spontaneous and never feels imposed.

 

I loved the adventure element of the book. I am biased with books that has an adventurous plot, specifically when it is executed this well. The stuff Lily, the lead of the story, does sounds so cool in itself! And the theme of adventure (in freaking Venice!), along with all the other things make this book a steampunk story in the truest sense!

 

Above everything else, I LOVED Lily. Pure kick-ass. Though she’s not the kind of character I would usually go for, but the author has made her character in such a way that you cannot help liking despite her antics. She’s weird, absurd, flawed, in short a kind of an anti-heroine and yet I find it impossible not to like her throughout the book! Though I’m not into reading the kind of romance that is shown here I still couldn’t dislike it. I only find the parts, specially the beginning ones that dealt with Lily’s addiction to drugs and sex to be a bit dragging. You may even feel like it’s a biography of someone with a wasted life. But if you are able to keep up with it, the fun and joy ride that comes later would surely make it up to you :)

 

 

Overall, it’s a fantastic read. This book is the first in its series and I’ll surely be looking forward to reading the later ones. If you're mature (18+ due to steamy content) and love kickass heroines, steampunk, adventure, mythology or any one of these, just GO FOR IT!

 

 

The book is good but certainly has some issues. One was the title. While the title of the book seem really interesting and somewhat intriguing, I couldn't find any connection to the story whatsoever. I really liked the title, and it was mainly the title that made me choose the book in the first place. I continuously tried to link it to the storyline but no luck. What does the death o fin actually mean? Death of Paige' dream? Death of Devon's plan? death of writing overall? I could not connect.Then there is the blurb part. It says-

 

So after she finds a binder containing information on a past murder and the illegal activities of the students, she believes the stories are fictional and the perfect way to win the contest.

 

As far as I remember, there wasn't a single moment when Paige had considered this possibility. (Or have I somehow missed it? o_O) As the book ends, I still see her struggling with the contest and her writing issues. This is a series book, so I guess that will be shown in the next one. But isn't it a spoiler then? Why would I want to know how Paige overcomes her writing issues beforehand? 

 

Paige is an interesting character. She is the lead, and most possibly, the most well sketched character of the book.Her feelings and emotions and confusion at times over Devon are very very well portrayed by the author. She is to do everything staying within the line because of the what her elder sister had done in her past. Living with her grandmother who doesn't want Paige to follow the same footsteps make things tougher for Paige. She cannot write, cannot pursue her future as an author because her aunt is not convinced of this being an actual profession.

 

Life had inured Paige. At her age, she'd accepted that there were certain things she could not do.

 

Things take a different turn when she meets the boy from her new school,  Devon. Devon doesn't seem to like Paige that much, and he already has a hot girlfriend. And yet, he agrees to help Paige make her dream come true...certainly he has his own reasons, but what? Paige doesn't know.

 

I loved the mystery element of Devon's character. Compared to Paige, his family background seemed more well-drawn to me. I could easily visualize him as a boy, going through life's happiness and woes, his parents' misery and his sister's tragedy. But sometimes Devon's pov appeared a little choppy to me, and I often felt like scanning through some parts. 

 

Among the other characters, I like Christina. She seems nice, unlike many over-possessive girlfriends. She doesn't seem to notice or get hyper over the fact that Devon and Paige are spending time. And she appears to be a nice human being overall, at least for this book.

Then there is Matthew, I really really like the guy, even more than Devon to some extents. And though Paige looks quite confused about the whole thing with Matthew, I really wish they somehow happily end up together. But Devon being the main male character(so far), I guess that's not going to happen. Even if Devon and Paige don't end up together, I don't see how Paige is going to make it work with all the obsession with every other thing except Matthew.

 

Now the biggest letdown for me is the ending. Frankly, I was a little frustrated. I was hoping something way better than this. I know this is a part of a series, and it's not the end. Endings are often cliffhangers, but this...I don't know if I can call it that even. It felt like there were some more pages in the end but someone had ripped them off so the book ended all of a sudden. I'm no big author or critique or anything, but I feel books shouldn't end with someone eating spaghetti or someone lecturing about what you should or should not do. On that note, I also think the ending wouldn't have sucked so much if it was shown in a a different way, like Paige having this thought and realizing how helpless she is and all.

 

The book has a great plot. It's not the usual school-romance or about the back-biting-bitches. Of course, it has those elements, but not making it affect the story. Even though the narration can seem quite boring at times, if you can keep up the reading it's possible you can end up enjoying it like any other good book. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the ending and you have to try it out yourself to see whether or not you'd want to stick to the series. Still, I would personally suggest that if you are not dying from the pressure of your TBR pile, then this book is worth a try:)