The Mind Readers - Book Review

Title:  The Mind Readers

Author:  Lori Brighton

My Rating: 7/10

Series: Mind Readers # 1

Genre:  Fantasy/ Romance/ Young Adult

Courtesy: www.goodreads.com

Summary: Cameron Winters is a freak. Fortunately, no one but her family knows the truth …that Cameron can read minds. For years Cameron has hidden behind a facade of normalcy, warned that there are those who would do her harm. When gorgeous and mysterious Lewis Douglas arrives he destroys everything Cameron has ever believed and tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a secret haven with Lewis; a place where she meets others like her, Mind Readers.

But as Cameron soon finds out some things are too good to be true. When the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs. Cameron suddenly finds herself involved in a war in which her idea of what is right and wrong is greatly tested. In the end she’ll be forced to make a choice that will not only threaten her relationship with Lewis, but her very life.

My thoughts about this book: The title piqued my interest so I gave this book a shot. Twilight-esque, eh? A nice, simple high-school girl meets a handsome hunk(who every girl ogles at) and they embark on a journey that will be challenging for their own love and life. 

Cameron Winters is a teenage girl with mind reading ability, but she feels more like a freak than special. Her grandmother doesn’t let her help people because she thinks they are both in danger and revealing their secret would only get them in a worse situation than they already are. Just a few months remain for Cam’s graduation and lethal activities happen around her, tightening the grip of fear and resentment for her present life. 

Lewis Douglas is a gorgeous, charming guy who joins her school then and they, as expected, fall for each other. Lewis is a mind reader too and better than Cam, since he has been trained by Aaron on improving his skills. This is when Cam decides that she’ll leave her grandmother and do something useful with her ability.

Lewis takes her to Aaron, who is rich and handsome and treats Cam like a daughter. She feels connected to him. Aaron teaches her many useful tactics using meditation as the tool. Aaron has been fighting against S.P.I and needs a strong force with himself to keep the mind readers safe. S.P.I is the organization that tortures the mind readers to get their works done. Maddox works for S.P.I and spies on Aaron’s territory and gets captured. Cam proves to be an asset when Aaron uses her power to break into Maddox’s memory and chunk out the part where he spied on the mind readers. She isn’t convinced.

She believes it’s wrong to break into Maddox’s memory and hurt him even when he would not leave a chance to hurt her had he got the power. This was the ‘Oh, come on!’ moment.  

You would look forward to suspense, which is there in quantum; but the story gets stuck when the revelations are about to happen. 

Cam’s decisions ring true only at the beginning of the book, but they are pretty questionable when she comes to know that she has more powers than the others at the residence. She might be right but you’ll be frustrated at her for being judgmental and overly sensitive. Things are hidden from her… there is suspense… there is an eerie feeling throughout the book, but you somehow can’t decide which side is the one you’d choose.[at least, not in the beginning, when it’s unclear about the happenings in the house, and she chooses to strike then.] There are instances which seem fictitious. Her doubts are proven correct in the end, but what was the real motif that carried her to draw those conclusions all this while is beyond me.

The beginning and ending are what I’d say, perfect; there are enough ingredients to keep one on the edge of the seat. I cared for Cam and Lewis and even Aaron for the first half of the book; then came a time I was no longer interested as to what happened with Cam, and wanted to finish the book only because I had started it. The ending made it worth a read. It was totally unexpected; at least I didn’t see that coming; it was something that would convince me to read the next book in the series.

Would I recommend it? If you loved Twilight, then you will like this book. This is a well-written book, but didn’t do the magic for me. Again, the ending was intelligent for a sequel. I’d recommend it to those who like reading books in this genre.