Review: Mind Games By Christine Amsden @ChristineAmsden #Giveaway

Mind Games: a Cassie Scot novel
By Christine Amsden
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Release date: April 15, 2014 ebook; June 15, 2014 trade paperback

Blurb

Beware your heart and soul…

Evan broke Cassie's heart two months ago, and she still doesn't know why. She throws herself into family, friends and her new job at the sheriff's department, but nothing helps. The only thing that finally allows her heal and move on is the love of a new man, mind mage Matthew Blair. Cassie finds him…irresistible.

Matthew may also be the only one who can help keep the non-magical residents of Eagle Rock from going crazy over the murder of a beloved pastor's wife. It looks like a sorcerer is to blame, but while Cassie tries to figure out who, others take matters into their own hands. With tensions running so hot, a single spark might set Eagle Rock ablaze.

Read the First Chapter here. (Warning: Contains series spoilers. New readers to the series would be better off checking out the preview of book one below.)

My Review: Mind Games

I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.

Mind Games starts out with action right from the very beginning with Evan who is Cassie Scot's friend. Evan is trying to save a young woman from a group of magical beings and to keep them from using her as a human sacrifice. Evan has his hands full trying to get through all of the magical beings when he runs into a vampire and is wondering why a vampire is there with them but he has no time to dwell on that fact while trying to stay alive. While Evan is fighting with these people Cassie's cousin Jason a vampire himself shows up to help Evan with his battle. Somehow while fighting with these people Evan has time to think about his friend Cassie and the wrong he has done to her. He feels bad and wants to tell her but has not had the nerve as of yet to tell her. And the guilt is eating him alive.

Cassie has had a lot of heart break in her short life span. Cassie's family all have magical powers of some sort except Cassie herself. Cassie's Dad broke her heart by disowning her and throwing her out of the house. Cassie and two of her best friends Kaitlin and Madison have moved in together. Kaitlin is pregnant with Cassie's cousin Jason's baby and Kaitlin is always upset because he left her and she believes that her baby will grow up without a father like she did. Her other friend Madison is dating Cassie's brother and they have a lot of fun together even though Nicolas is a few years younger than Madison. But Nicolas is very good for Madison. She needs someone in her life like Nicolas who can show her how to laugh and have a good time. She needs someone to show her how to be happy since her father threw her out as well. Cassie tries very hard to help Madison and Kaitlin with their problems. She also tries to help take care of all of her brothers and sisters as well. She tries so hard to take care of everyone else that she hardly has anytime left for Cassie. So they all three make for good friends. They are all always trying to help the other to be happy and help each other get over losing the love of the life.

A new guy Matthew who can read people's mind has taken an interest in Cassie and wants to spend time with her. Cassie is not sure she can trust anyone who can read her mind or if she wants to trust him. But she kind of likes him and is attracted to him so she decides why not go out with him and give it a chance. Evan has left town and took her heart with him not to mention the fact that he broke it before he left. So now she figures she may as well get on with her life and try to not feel the hurt that is in her heart. Dwelling on it is not going to get her anywhere. If she keeps dwelling on it, it is just going to cause her more and more hurt.

Cassie finds out that her best friend since childhood and now her ex-boyfriend has something that belongs to her and refuses to give it back to her. He broke her heart when he broke off their relationship and left town for a few weeks. Evan is so very much in love with her and Cassie loved him just as much or more but now that she has found out that he has something that belongs to her and will not give it back. Cassie's heart is crushed all over again but Evan is not the only one that has taken her heart out and stomped on it. There are other people in her life that she loves very much that had a hand in Evan having what belongs to her.

Mind Games is filled with so much suspense and mystery from the very first page until the very last page. Half the time I didn't know what was going on but that is not a bad thing that is a good thing. When you don't know what is going on in a book just means that the author is a very good writer that knows how to keep her readers wanting more and wanting to keep on reading because you just got to know what is going happen next. The Cassie Scot series is one of the best series around. I have truly enjoyed reading each and every one of them and can't or hope I get to read more of Cassie's adventures.

Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective (Cassie Scot #1)
By Christine Amsden
Published: May 15th 2013
Publisher: Twilight Times Books

Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. At 21, all she wants is to find a place for herself, but earning a living as a private investigator in the shadow of her family's reputation isn't easy. When she is pulled into a paranormal investigation, and tempted by a powerful and handsome sorcerer, she will have to decide where she truly belongs.

Read the First Chapter here.

Read mmy review of Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective (Cassie Scot #1) here.

Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot #2)
By Christine Amsden
Published: November 15th 2013
Publisher:Twilight Times Books

Blurb

Cassie Scot, still stinging from her parents' betrayal, wants out of the magical world. But it isn't letting her go. Her family is falling apart and despite everything, it looks like she may be the only one who can save them.

To complicate matters, Cassie owes Evan her life, making it difficult for her to deny him anything he really wants. And he wants her. Sparks fly when they team up to find two girls missing from summer camp, but long-buried secrets may ruin their hopes for happiness.

Read mmy review of Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot #2) here.

About The Author:

Christine Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease, a condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.

In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children.

Praise for the Cassie Scot Series

From Publisher's Weekly:

"Amsden continues the story of the only mundane member of a supernaturally-gifted family in this middling sequel to Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective. Cassie, stubborn and proud, is bravely trying to live on her own after her family disowns her. Struggling to make ends meet, she accepts a case involving a pair of magical girls who disappeared from summer camp. With the aid of the handsome Evan Blackwood, to whom Cassie is attracted despite her family's disapproval and her own better judgment, she follows the trail of the missing girls. What she finds is a dark side of the magical world, and the hidden depths of her family's past force her to reconsider long-held assumptions. The growing complexity of Cassie's world makes this an entertaining installment, focusing as much on the will-they, won't-they romantic chemistry between Cassie and Evan as on the primary mystery. An inconclusive ending is clearly intended to feed into the next volume."

Kim Falconer, bestselling author of The Spell of Rosette, Quantum Enchantment Series, had this to say:

"When sorcerers call the shots, what's a girl without powers to do? Get ready for a ripper of a murder mystery full of romance and intrigue, where magic potions bubble, passions spark and vampires are definitely not your friend. Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective grabs you by the heart and won't let go until the very last page. Well written, immersive and unputdownable. This is urban fantasy at its best. More please!"

Giveaway:

*The giveaway begins on April 15, 2014 at midnight and ends on July 16, 2014 at midnight.

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