Frances and Martin Andrews have a serious problem: he’s addicted to pornography, and she’s addicted to spying on him to secure evidence of his transgressions. The lack of trust between them has shattered their marriage, and even counseling doesn’t offer much hope. Martin’s repeated lies render impotent his protestations that he’s changed. He desperately wants her back, but she desperately wants to be free of him.
That’s the set-up. What follows in this fast-paced and relatively short novel spans a few emotionally-charged years in which husband and wife must face their own flaws as well as each other’s. It’s a compelling read about a life-destroying indulgence that has ensnared all too many people, particularly in the Internet age. Turner does a creditable job of portraying the addiction and its effects, although I suspect she’s captured the wife’s trauma better than the husband’s. Frances grows considerably through the story, while Martin’s journey through hell ultimately seems fruitless. I’ll grant that’s one plausible outcome, but I found it disheartening. Maybe that’s the point? I at least would have liked a bit deeper glimpse into Martin’s psyche at the end to understand better how he ends up where he does.
The writing is good enough, although I thought phrases containing the word “porn” occurred a bit too often, and some of the dialogue, particularly with the counselor, seemed a bit stilted. (However, I’ve never been in a counseling session, so maybe that’s how it really is.) I also think the author missed some opportunities to delve deeper into the characters through the action. This is a complex situation that could easily support another 50 pages of development without feeling stretched.
A word of caution: Although this work is neither romance nor erotica, there are a few explicit passages, not excessively graphic but very direct.
The strengths and weaknesses of “Mind Games” had me hemming and hawing over a rating. I’ve settled on 4.5 stars for story and a bit better than 3.5 for the writing, yielding 4 stars overall.
thatblogwherecheriemovestogermany said:
I got my copy…took a while, but Jon at Book Gobbler was super helpful as I am a technological doofus. I am on chapter 11 as I write this 🙂
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for connecting and for downloading a copy of Mind Games.
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dgkaye said:
Stevie, just wanted to let you know that if people aren’t jumping on this, it’s because the site is soooooooooo user unfriendly. I spent around 15 minutes trying to sign up, then trying to send. The form is wonky – unclear on several lines too. I’m sure this would deter many people, and it would have me too only that I love your books and didn’t have this one, and you are a friend, so I was determined, lol.
You know you can count on a review, but just want to let you know I probably can’t get to it til early summer as I have books to cover before I can enjoy yours. ❤
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Debby – didn’t know how unfriendly it was.
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dgkaye said:
Just thought I”d let you know. But I got mine. 🙂
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Stevie Turner said:
Thank you. x
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OIKOS™-Redaktion said:
Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for the re-blog!
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OIKOS™-Redaktion said:
Thank you for another nice read Stevie! Have a good day. Michael
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Stevie Turner said:
You too.
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