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Mind Games
Arden sells memories. Whether it’s the becoming homecoming queen or studying for that all important test, Arden can hack into a classmate’s memories and upload the experience for you just as if you’d lived it yourself. Business is great, right up until the day Arden whites out, losing 15 minutes of her life and all her memories of the hot boy across the school yard. The hot boy her friends assure her she’s had a crush on for years.
Arden realizes that her own memories have been hacked, but they haven’t just been stolen and shared… they’ve been deleted. And she’s not the only one, the hot stranger, Sebastian, has lost ALL of his memories. But how can they find someone with the power to make them forget everything they’ve learned?
Arden realizes that her own memories have been hacked, but they haven’t just been stolen and shared… they’ve been deleted. And she’s not the only one, the hot stranger, Sebastian, has lost ALL of his memories. But how can they find someone with the power to make them forget everything they’ve learned?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published August 27, 2019
31 people are currently reading
3737 people want to read
About the author
Shana Silver
2 books72 followersShana Silver studied creative writing at Syracuse University. She's been a computer animator, an e-book creator for a major publisher, and now works as a Project Manager in digital and TV advertising where she enjoys telling people what to do. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, young daughter, and the characters she dreams up. MIND GAMES is her debut novel. THE CON CODE comes out in Summer 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
dnf
March 15, 2021I can't even fault my book club for picking this. There is generally just not enough objectively good SF in YA fiction. I'd suggested Neal Shusterman's Game Changer back last year when we were voting on our 2021 picks, and that one was problematic, but at least offered some food for discussion. Mind Games left no impression on me whatsoever. There is nothing to ponder on or dissect.
August 29, 2019
2.75 out of 5
I predicted what was going to happen before the plot even had the chance to heat up.
Would I say that I enjoyed the book? To be honest, not really. I liked the idea of the plot but most of the time I was confused on the story's surroundings plus I wasn't a fan of the writing style. It didn't gravitate me and my feeligs towards the characters were neutral.
I predicted what was going to happen before the plot even had the chance to heat up.
Would I say that I enjoyed the book? To be honest, not really. I liked the idea of the plot but most of the time I was confused on the story's surroundings plus I wasn't a fan of the writing style. It didn't gravitate me and my feeligs towards the characters were neutral.
February 5, 2019
This is a really awesome thriller/mystery! I love the way everything unfolded. I thought I had the whole thing figured out, but Silver is GOOD. She pulled one over on me.
Read
May 24, 2020
August 30, 2019
i received a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. all opinions below are my own.
mind games was amazing. scratch that, it was perfect.
to be honest, i was skeptical about this book at first because sci-fi from swoon reads? what the actual heck. but the idea of memory hacking intrigued me, and i immediately sent in my application for the blog tour.
this book was everything i hoped for and more – lots of amazing and mindblowing science and coding facts, lovable protagonists, and packed action.
the world-building was interesting, and easy to understand. hivemind is arden’s father’s invention, and it is a system which stores people’s memories in binary code, and they can be accessed anytime using a computer, similar to what hideo tanaka created in warcross. it is being beta-tested by students at the elite science high school arden goes to before it gets released to the world, and some of them have figured out ways to hack into the system.
the mystery was also one of my favorite things about this book. i tried so hard to pick up clues myself along the story and piece them together to find out the culprit behind sebastian and arden’s vanishing memories, but oh my goodness, i failed so hard. and i totally did not expect that huge plot twist at the end. this book is full of sharp turns and surprises.
on top of that, the romance was beautiful. i loved seeing sebastian and arden slowly fall for and support each other amidst the chaos and memory deletions. it’s heartwarming reading the parts where they try their best to overcome the difficulties together. and the press conference scene gave me literal goosebumps.
the only thing that bothered me was how annoying arden's best friend zoey was.
all in all, mind games is an absolutely fantastic debut novel and i can’t wait to read more of the author’s work! i highly recommend the novel to fans of the warcross books. if coding, hacking and romance is your thing, this one’s for you!
mind games was amazing. scratch that, it was perfect.
actual footage of me reading this book
to be honest, i was skeptical about this book at first because sci-fi from swoon reads? what the actual heck. but the idea of memory hacking intrigued me, and i immediately sent in my application for the blog tour.
this book was everything i hoped for and more – lots of amazing and mindblowing science and coding facts, lovable protagonists, and packed action.
the world-building was interesting, and easy to understand. hivemind is arden’s father’s invention, and it is a system which stores people’s memories in binary code, and they can be accessed anytime using a computer, similar to what hideo tanaka created in warcross. it is being beta-tested by students at the elite science high school arden goes to before it gets released to the world, and some of them have figured out ways to hack into the system.
the mystery was also one of my favorite things about this book. i tried so hard to pick up clues myself along the story and piece them together to find out the culprit behind sebastian and arden’s vanishing memories, but oh my goodness, i failed so hard. and i totally did not expect that huge plot twist at the end. this book is full of sharp turns and surprises.
on top of that, the romance was beautiful. i loved seeing sebastian and arden slowly fall for and support each other amidst the chaos and memory deletions. it’s heartwarming reading the parts where they try their best to overcome the difficulties together. and the press conference scene gave me literal goosebumps.
the only thing that bothered me was how annoying arden's best friend zoey was.
all in all, mind games is an absolutely fantastic debut novel and i can’t wait to read more of the author’s work! i highly recommend the novel to fans of the warcross books. if coding, hacking and romance is your thing, this one’s for you!
August 30, 2019
Actual Rating: 3.5/5 Blank-Minded Stars***
Mind Games started out all promising and full of potential. The blurb sounded exceptionally good, and so did the overall concept of the entire story. What I really appreciated about Arden and Sebastian’s story was how determined they both were when it came to figuring out what happened in their minds, with their brains because one second, they bore the most powerful memory vault everyone was drooling over, and the next second, their once-coveted minds were completely blank. No memories were saved, no class materials were memorized, and no friendship/interpersonal relationship were remembered. They were beyond devastated and totally panicked since well, it wasn’t hard to imagine what you used to rely heavily on became nothing all of a sudden.
Throughout their persistent search for the cause–or the person who was behind all this–Arden and Sebastian got to know each other better, in a purer, more natural way. I liked that they were honest with each other, and those around them, instead of being manipulated by sheer control of power when Arden could simply dig into someone’s mind without them noticing it and sold the precious pieces of memory.
However, as the story unfolded, I found myself getting lost more easily than I did in the beginning of the book. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the story was great, the plot was intricately-thought-out, and the characters were lovable. It was just a wee bit difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the book since I couldn’t quite relate to the protagonists the way most people did. There was a gap between what Arden and her friends were experiencing and me and the distance widened as the story continued.
Thankfully, there was a lovely happy ending by the end of the book and I was quite relieved that I still enjoyed most of the story. Hence, I’d still recommend Mind Games to everyone, especially if sci-fi and romance were your cup of tea!
***Thanks to Xpresso Tours and the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.***
Mind Games started out all promising and full of potential. The blurb sounded exceptionally good, and so did the overall concept of the entire story. What I really appreciated about Arden and Sebastian’s story was how determined they both were when it came to figuring out what happened in their minds, with their brains because one second, they bore the most powerful memory vault everyone was drooling over, and the next second, their once-coveted minds were completely blank. No memories were saved, no class materials were memorized, and no friendship/interpersonal relationship were remembered. They were beyond devastated and totally panicked since well, it wasn’t hard to imagine what you used to rely heavily on became nothing all of a sudden.
Throughout their persistent search for the cause–or the person who was behind all this–Arden and Sebastian got to know each other better, in a purer, more natural way. I liked that they were honest with each other, and those around them, instead of being manipulated by sheer control of power when Arden could simply dig into someone’s mind without them noticing it and sold the precious pieces of memory.
However, as the story unfolded, I found myself getting lost more easily than I did in the beginning of the book. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the story was great, the plot was intricately-thought-out, and the characters were lovable. It was just a wee bit difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the book since I couldn’t quite relate to the protagonists the way most people did. There was a gap between what Arden and her friends were experiencing and me and the distance widened as the story continued.
Thankfully, there was a lovely happy ending by the end of the book and I was quite relieved that I still enjoyed most of the story. Hence, I’d still recommend Mind Games to everyone, especially if sci-fi and romance were your cup of tea!
***Thanks to Xpresso Tours and the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.***
August 25, 2019
3.5 stars - I had a really good time reading this one. I appreciated that a) it's target audience is clearly actual teens and not adults who read YA (of which I am one, granted, but I get sad realizing that a lot of YA is being aged up for my benefit), b) that it was action packed with very little build up or wrap up-- it keeps moving throughout & that worked well for the genre, and c) the ending "went there" in a way that kind of surprised me for YA. Overall, would not have picked this up without the Book of the Month YA recommendation, & I'm glad I picked this one up!
**Disclosure: I received this book as my affiliate pick for BOTMYA. I was under no obligation to read or review.
**Disclosure: I received this book as my affiliate pick for BOTMYA. I was under no obligation to read or review.
March 15, 2021
I'm struggling with how to rate this one. It's somewhere in the 3-4 range for me. Maybe I'll get more clarity as I write.
So let's start with what I liked: I found this premise super intriguing. I liked the idea that memories could be erased and that a boy and a girl were trying to retrieve their memories and solve this mystery of who hijacked them at the same time. It was very Doctor Who-esque. Sebastian and Arden start writing notes on their bodies to remind themselves of what's happened before more memories are erased. It becomes a race against time and I liked that I felt that urgency. I also loved the Big Hero 6 vibes I was getting from this whole setting - super smart people all in one school trying to come up with projects to better humanity.
I had a theory throughout the whole book and I was wrong. I was honestly kind of delighted that I was wrong because I really didn't want to be right. I'm glad the unraveling of the mystery surprised me and that it really dug into the sci-fi genre.
Ok so I'm making this book sound great and I want to be clear that I really did enjoy it. However, there were a bunch of things that kind of grated on me: 1) Poor character development. I get that our two leads have their memories wiped so it's hard to give them a rich backstory that they can't remember, but there were so many side characters that were also not developed: Zoey, Teddy, Leo, Brandon, Victoria, Arden's mom, etc. They were all kind of flat. No layers. 2) Things were brought up enough to pique interest, but then were never explained or explored further: Victoria/Simon's relationship, Leo/Brandon's break up, Zoey's obsession with Teddy. There was enough detail there to think that these would mean something to the plot, but then they weren't hashed out so I'm not sure why they were included at all. 3) Constant mention of Arden's stilettos. Why. Did we just need to hammer in the fact that a computer nerd could look good too? The stilettos were just mentioned so often that it became jarring. 4) Lots of cringey pop culture references. Personal preference on this one - I just don't like when there's so many. (Yes, yes, I know I like the Crave series and that one's a big offender too.)
Do you see why I'm on the fence with this one? Enjoyment value = flew through it, very readable, really into the plot. Overall book = may have been enjoyable, but there were some glaring problems.
Hmmm.
Ok. It's clearly a 3.5 for me. Do I round up for enjoyment value or round down for poor character work? (Because that's honestly the main problem I have. I'm an actor. I need character development.)
If I'm really so back and forth with this one, I guess I should round down. I can always come back and round up later if I feel the need to.
Ok. Final answer. 3.5 rounded down. Thank you for reading my stream of consciousness. Hope it was entertaining for you.
So let's start with what I liked: I found this premise super intriguing. I liked the idea that memories could be erased and that a boy and a girl were trying to retrieve their memories and solve this mystery of who hijacked them at the same time. It was very Doctor Who-esque. Sebastian and Arden start writing notes on their bodies to remind themselves of what's happened before more memories are erased. It becomes a race against time and I liked that I felt that urgency. I also loved the Big Hero 6 vibes I was getting from this whole setting - super smart people all in one school trying to come up with projects to better humanity.
I had a theory throughout the whole book and I was wrong. I was honestly kind of delighted that I was wrong because I really didn't want to be right. I'm glad the unraveling of the mystery surprised me and that it really dug into the sci-fi genre.
Ok so I'm making this book sound great and I want to be clear that I really did enjoy it. However, there were a bunch of things that kind of grated on me: 1) Poor character development. I get that our two leads have their memories wiped so it's hard to give them a rich backstory that they can't remember, but there were so many side characters that were also not developed: Zoey, Teddy, Leo, Brandon, Victoria, Arden's mom, etc. They were all kind of flat. No layers. 2) Things were brought up enough to pique interest, but then were never explained or explored further: Victoria/Simon's relationship, Leo/Brandon's break up, Zoey's obsession with Teddy. There was enough detail there to think that these would mean something to the plot, but then they weren't hashed out so I'm not sure why they were included at all. 3) Constant mention of Arden's stilettos. Why. Did we just need to hammer in the fact that a computer nerd could look good too? The stilettos were just mentioned so often that it became jarring. 4) Lots of cringey pop culture references. Personal preference on this one - I just don't like when there's so many. (Yes, yes, I know I like the Crave series and that one's a big offender too.)
Do you see why I'm on the fence with this one? Enjoyment value = flew through it, very readable, really into the plot. Overall book = may have been enjoyable, but there were some glaring problems.
Hmmm.
Ok. It's clearly a 3.5 for me. Do I round up for enjoyment value or round down for poor character work? (Because that's honestly the main problem I have. I'm an actor. I need character development.)
If I'm really so back and forth with this one, I guess I should round down. I can always come back and round up later if I feel the need to.
Ok. Final answer. 3.5 rounded down. Thank you for reading my stream of consciousness. Hope it was entertaining for you.
June 28, 2019
MIND GAMES is a smart, sexy sci fi thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. Arden is a hacker with a lucrative side job of selling other people’s thoughts and experiences. If you ever wondered what it would be like to be homecoming queen you could download the memory and experience it like it was your own. Or if you forgot to study for a quiz, you can use someone else’s memories. Everything is going fine until Arden realizes that her own memories have been hacked. She’s missing thousands of memories and a cute boy named Sebastian is missing even more. Who is stealing their memories and more importantly, why?
What I loved: 🖤🖤🖤
1. The Hivemind world where memories can be downloaded, saved, shared, and occasionally stolen. 2. STEM. Arden and her friends attend a science school where they each create their own tech. Science is presented as cool.
3. The mystery unfolds with bits and pieces of memories being played backwards. But ultimately Arden has to put all of the pieces together to figure out who is behind it.
4. The romance is both sweet and steamy, both forgotten and remembered.
5. No spoilers, but the end has a HUGE twist which completely surprised me.
What I loved: 🖤🖤🖤
1. The Hivemind world where memories can be downloaded, saved, shared, and occasionally stolen. 2. STEM. Arden and her friends attend a science school where they each create their own tech. Science is presented as cool.
3. The mystery unfolds with bits and pieces of memories being played backwards. But ultimately Arden has to put all of the pieces together to figure out who is behind it.
4. The romance is both sweet and steamy, both forgotten and remembered.
5. No spoilers, but the end has a HUGE twist which completely surprised me.
January 20, 2020
This was way more romance focused than sci-fi, which wouldn’t necessarily have bothered me except that there was instalove. Sebastian seemed flat and I didn’t like him all that much. I liked Arden okay, and I really enjoyed reading about her different hacks. I didn’t really care for the ending, though, and I totally called who the villain was, so that detracted for me a bit. I definitely enjoyed the missing/stolen memory aspect though.
April 17, 2020
This book was AMAZING! If you like futuristic thrillers with powerful romantic subplots, you will LOVE Shana Silver’s Mind Games. It has such a great storyline and brought up ethical questions that will come up in the not-so-distant future.
December 30, 2020
Mind Games: ★★★
*Read for Part 1 of Taylor Swift Readathon: Debut*
I had many a thought whilst reading this book. Thoughts like, "Huh, here's a fine reminder why I love Science fiction," "Wow, I saw that coming from a hundred pages away," "I like this character, I bet they will die very soon," and "I cannot believe I let the font on the cover trick me into thinking this was going to be like Renegades by Marissa Meyer."
However my most common thought was:
"[sillygoose.exe has failed to load] [sillygoose.exe unable to compute]"
AKA this book was wildly confusing, but with good reason, I mean the chapter names were written in Binary and I was too dense to realize that until chapter--yeah, I still don't know what it's called.
But the main source of confusion from this book (see title lol) was that a lot of the decisions made, were very... unbelievable. It happens sometimes in books. I mean it's basically inevitable, as people make weird choices but I mean, THIS MANY?
You know, cause this isn't how most people's thought process would carry out:
Hi yes, we are constantly losing our memories, we need to write them down somewhere, here I have a perfectly working notebook that I can KEEP IN MY POCKET so no one can steal it without my knowing and I will REMEMBER where it is.
But wait?? WHY would I do that when I have a perfectly functional collection of LIMBS to write it out on instead. But hey, would you look at that, I filled up so much space writing unneeded information, I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO WRITE THE REST IN A VERY ACCESSIBLE PLACE SUCH AS, HM, THE BACK OF MY LEFT EARLOBE PERHAPS.
Like yes, it made things very... original but... sillygoose.exe is overheating with this confusion.
However, I must say, the whole stealing-eyes thing? I chuckled, I really did.
Anyhoo, it's a strange book. And it gives me really, really weird vibes, but it's fast, it piqued my curiosity, and all-in-all, I will never forget some of the things that took place throughout this book.
Never.
Books that this book reminded me of:
- Nerve by Jeanne Ryan
- The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
- Starters by Lissa Price
*Read for Part 1 of Taylor Swift Readathon: Debut*
I had many a thought whilst reading this book. Thoughts like, "Huh, here's a fine reminder why I love Science fiction," "Wow, I saw that coming from a hundred pages away," "I like this character, I bet they will die very soon," and "I cannot believe I let the font on the cover trick me into thinking this was going to be like Renegades by Marissa Meyer."
However my most common thought was:
"[sillygoose.exe has failed to load] [sillygoose.exe unable to compute]"
AKA this book was wildly confusing, but with good reason, I mean the chapter names were written in Binary and I was too dense to realize that until chapter--yeah, I still don't know what it's called.
But the main source of confusion from this book (see title lol) was that a lot of the decisions made, were very... unbelievable. It happens sometimes in books. I mean it's basically inevitable, as people make weird choices but I mean, THIS MANY?
You know, cause this isn't how most people's thought process would carry out:
Hi yes, we are constantly losing our memories, we need to write them down somewhere, here I have a perfectly working notebook that I can KEEP IN MY POCKET so no one can steal it without my knowing and I will REMEMBER where it is.
But wait?? WHY would I do that when I have a perfectly functional collection of LIMBS to write it out on instead. But hey, would you look at that, I filled up so much space writing unneeded information, I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO WRITE THE REST IN A VERY ACCESSIBLE PLACE SUCH AS, HM, THE BACK OF MY LEFT EARLOBE PERHAPS.
Like yes, it made things very... original but... sillygoose.exe is overheating with this confusion.
However, I must say, the whole stealing-eyes thing? I chuckled, I really did.
Anyhoo, it's a strange book. And it gives me really, really weird vibes, but it's fast, it piqued my curiosity, and all-in-all, I will never forget some of the things that took place throughout this book.
Never.
Books that this book reminded me of:
- Nerve by Jeanne Ryan
- The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
- Starters by Lissa Price
June 19, 2019
I thought it started out as a fairly interesting thriller -- erased memories! conspiracy! future tech! -- but towards the halfway point I started getting irritated by pretty much everything. I wanted something that was more Black Mirror and less generic-tech-thriller. I hated the romance, I hated the big reveal, and I hated the ending.
Anyway. All the interesting stuff happened at the end when it couldn't be explored in a way that was satisfying.
Anyway. All the interesting stuff happened at the end when it couldn't be explored in a way that was satisfying.
May 27, 2019
I had been eagerly eyeing this book for months so when I got an ARC I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to dig in. All those hopeful and excited thoughts shattered within the first two chapters and then all remaining respect disintegrated.
The only thing I remember about the main character Arden is her stilettos. I have no clue why a 17 year old would wear stilettos everyday to school, but Arden does. She also prances around in them in her house, runs in them multiple times, and scales through windows without breaking her ankle. I lost track of how many times each chapter mentioned the sound of Arden's stilettos clacking against the floor. I'm not exaggerating; numerous times each chapter this ridiculous fact was nestled into the story.
Arden also possesses an ego problem. She views herself as superior to everyone because of her hacking and coding intellect. She has to win an award. Why? Because she deserves it. She has to be the best student at her prestigious science/computer centered school. Why? Because she says so. She has to be the smartest person at her school and put on a pedestal to her peers or else it's war.
Arden's best friend Zoey was the cliche and overused stereotypical best friend who is beautiful and obsessed with boys and falling in love. She has her's and Arden's boyfriends picked out and that's all she talks about.
The instant love (and I mean instant because they declare their love for each other within 24 hours) between Arden and Sebastian was cringe worthy and eye rolling.
All the science, hacking, and technical talk took away the element of the story. At times it sounded more like a science article or research paper instead of a novel. The lingo was way over my head and after a few chapters of big words and descriptions that didn't make sense I stopped trying to understand the meaning behind the technical/science aspect.
Arden makes consistently stupid decisions despite labeling herself the smartest person on the planet. All of her decisions followed this method: Question mother. Mother doesn't do what Arden wants. Arden breaks laws, goes behind mother's back, and does what she wants anyway. Arden gets caught. She runs away. Discovers something else shocking. Process repeats times infinity.
The lack of respect Arden and Sebastian had for their mothers was disgusting. The girl hate perpetrated by Arden was unnecessary. Literally every girl hates her despite her best friend. The bad guys were easy to pinpoint, though one twist at the end I didn't expect.
I realized by the 35% mark I should have skipped this one, but thanks NetGalley for giving me an ARC.
The only thing I remember about the main character Arden is her stilettos. I have no clue why a 17 year old would wear stilettos everyday to school, but Arden does. She also prances around in them in her house, runs in them multiple times, and scales through windows without breaking her ankle. I lost track of how many times each chapter mentioned the sound of Arden's stilettos clacking against the floor. I'm not exaggerating; numerous times each chapter this ridiculous fact was nestled into the story.
Arden also possesses an ego problem. She views herself as superior to everyone because of her hacking and coding intellect. She has to win an award. Why? Because she deserves it. She has to be the best student at her prestigious science/computer centered school. Why? Because she says so. She has to be the smartest person at her school and put on a pedestal to her peers or else it's war.
Arden's best friend Zoey was the cliche and overused stereotypical best friend who is beautiful and obsessed with boys and falling in love. She has her's and Arden's boyfriends picked out and that's all she talks about.
The instant love (and I mean instant because they declare their love for each other within 24 hours) between Arden and Sebastian was cringe worthy and eye rolling.
All the science, hacking, and technical talk took away the element of the story. At times it sounded more like a science article or research paper instead of a novel. The lingo was way over my head and after a few chapters of big words and descriptions that didn't make sense I stopped trying to understand the meaning behind the technical/science aspect.
Arden makes consistently stupid decisions despite labeling herself the smartest person on the planet. All of her decisions followed this method: Question mother. Mother doesn't do what Arden wants. Arden breaks laws, goes behind mother's back, and does what she wants anyway. Arden gets caught. She runs away. Discovers something else shocking. Process repeats times infinity.
The lack of respect Arden and Sebastian had for their mothers was disgusting. The girl hate perpetrated by Arden was unnecessary. Literally every girl hates her despite her best friend. The bad guys were easy to pinpoint, though one twist at the end I didn't expect.
I realized by the 35% mark I should have skipped this one, but thanks NetGalley for giving me an ARC.
August 16, 2019
*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Young Adult, SyFy
*Rating* 3-3.5
*Thoughts*
Mind Games is author Shana Silver's debut novel. Mind Games is a science fiction and mystery novel, narrating the life of Arden Varga who is a computer genius and a skilled hacker. Arden's father developed a cloud-based memory uploading app. Every memory gets backed up and synced to the brain instantly. Arden attends an invitation only High School which is sponsored by her mothers company; Vargas Industries. Arden sells memories and experiences to her classmates for their benefit by using Hivemind.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
*Genre* Young Adult, SyFy
*Rating* 3-3.5
*Thoughts*
Mind Games is author Shana Silver's debut novel. Mind Games is a science fiction and mystery novel, narrating the life of Arden Varga who is a computer genius and a skilled hacker. Arden's father developed a cloud-based memory uploading app. Every memory gets backed up and synced to the brain instantly. Arden attends an invitation only High School which is sponsored by her mothers company; Vargas Industries. Arden sells memories and experiences to her classmates for their benefit by using Hivemind.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
July 10, 2019
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
Thank you so much to Swoon Reads and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review MIND GAMES!
Rating: 2.5 Stars
I was really excited for Mind Games. This book has my name written all over it and the entire concept was interesting. But sadly I am really disappointed in how this book turned out. The beginning was interesting as Silver built up her world and all the tech, but after that? It was meh.
It takes a lot for me to really dislike a character. I try to see the best in characters, even the villain in a story. But I found nothing redeeming about Arden at all. First off, the whole being able to steal memories thing is cool. But stealing peoples memories unwillingly and then selling them isn't cool. Arden's family owns the school and the labs and her brother is on the verge of launching live changing tech. Arden literally does not need the money in the slightest, so why is she violating peoples memories like that? It ranges from test answers to someone's girlfriend cheating on them. The best part? Arden sees nothing wrong with this and neither do the people who are buying the memories from her. What. The. Hell. I really tried the find redeeming qualities for her, I truly did. By the end of the book I was so over her character but I continued reading because I did want to know about this twist at the end people were talking about.
I feel like Silver could have went in many different directions with this book and didn't. I understand the mystery/thriller aspect. As much as I disliked Arden I did want to see who was stealing memories and why Bash's were completely wiped. There is so much different tech that is talked about and referred to and I made my head hurt. As cool as it was and the potential it has I feel like some things were over described and others completely under described.
Listen, I know every sci-fi book out there isn't going to be my cup of tea and that is okay. Despite my issues I do like Silver's writing style and I will probably check out future books by her. A majority of my problem was her main character, some people are going to love Arden and others are going to hate her. I do encourage other readers to check out this book and make come to their own conclusions and opinions because I know people are going to like this book. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.
Thank you so much to Swoon Reads and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review MIND GAMES!
Rating: 2.5 Stars
I was really excited for Mind Games. This book has my name written all over it and the entire concept was interesting. But sadly I am really disappointed in how this book turned out. The beginning was interesting as Silver built up her world and all the tech, but after that? It was meh.
It takes a lot for me to really dislike a character. I try to see the best in characters, even the villain in a story. But I found nothing redeeming about Arden at all. First off, the whole being able to steal memories thing is cool. But stealing peoples memories unwillingly and then selling them isn't cool. Arden's family owns the school and the labs and her brother is on the verge of launching live changing tech. Arden literally does not need the money in the slightest, so why is she violating peoples memories like that? It ranges from test answers to someone's girlfriend cheating on them. The best part? Arden sees nothing wrong with this and neither do the people who are buying the memories from her. What. The. Hell. I really tried the find redeeming qualities for her, I truly did. By the end of the book I was so over her character but I continued reading because I did want to know about this twist at the end people were talking about.
I feel like Silver could have went in many different directions with this book and didn't. I understand the mystery/thriller aspect. As much as I disliked Arden I did want to see who was stealing memories and why Bash's were completely wiped. There is so much different tech that is talked about and referred to and I made my head hurt. As cool as it was and the potential it has I feel like some things were over described and others completely under described.
Listen, I know every sci-fi book out there isn't going to be my cup of tea and that is okay. Despite my issues I do like Silver's writing style and I will probably check out future books by her. A majority of my problem was her main character, some people are going to love Arden and others are going to hate her. I do encourage other readers to check out this book and make come to their own conclusions and opinions because I know people are going to like this book. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.
August 31, 2019
Arden is a hacker her side job is to download other people’s memories and sell them if she is caught then she will be expelled. Everyone is hooked to a Mindhive where all your memories are stored on hard drives, computers, ect… Arden with the help of her best friend Zoey hacks into the system and downloads memories. If you want to experience say riding a horse for instance and never have then you can buy someone else’s’ memory and have it downloaded and you can experience it as your own or if you forgot to study for a test then you can buy someone’s memory who did study so on and so on.
Arden is losing her memories someone has hacked into her memory files and is erasing hers. Arden sees a guy waiting in line to buy a memory and thinks he is cute she ask her best friend Zoey who this guy is. Zoey explains to her who this guy is and that they have been working on a project together for four years.
Yeah well Arden is not the only one losing their memories as this guy Sabastian is losing his as well. Sabastian her lab partner has no clue who she is either. The clock is ticking as Arden and Sabastian race to find out why their memories are being erased and who is doing it.
Mind Games is unlike any book I have ever read. It is filled with excitement and action from the beginning that keeps the pages turning and I never wanted them to stop turning as I couldn’t put it down until I had reached the end. Oh and what an end it was. I never once saw that one coming it totally blew my mind I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I mean it was so overwhelming but amazing in so many ways it is unbelievable. Mind Games is so intense and intriguing and surprisingly wonderful. The world building is so awesome and I would so very much love to read more in the Mind Games world.
I highly recommend Mind Games to all fans of science fiction and young adult.
Arden is losing her memories someone has hacked into her memory files and is erasing hers. Arden sees a guy waiting in line to buy a memory and thinks he is cute she ask her best friend Zoey who this guy is. Zoey explains to her who this guy is and that they have been working on a project together for four years.
Yeah well Arden is not the only one losing their memories as this guy Sabastian is losing his as well. Sabastian her lab partner has no clue who she is either. The clock is ticking as Arden and Sabastian race to find out why their memories are being erased and who is doing it.
Mind Games is unlike any book I have ever read. It is filled with excitement and action from the beginning that keeps the pages turning and I never wanted them to stop turning as I couldn’t put it down until I had reached the end. Oh and what an end it was. I never once saw that one coming it totally blew my mind I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I mean it was so overwhelming but amazing in so many ways it is unbelievable. Mind Games is so intense and intriguing and surprisingly wonderful. The world building is so awesome and I would so very much love to read more in the Mind Games world.
I highly recommend Mind Games to all fans of science fiction and young adult.
February 10, 2021
3.5 This book had a lot of the maze Runner vibes meets the divergent series. It was an interesting plot line and I really liked the whole idea behind the losing memories and trying to figure out who stole them storyline. The characters were interesting but I do think the side characters were kind of flat. I definitely saw the twist coming and who was behind it but it was still a great reveal. I feel like it could’ve been a little bit more climatic though. I don’t like that there was so much romance being involved With the main storyline but I do understand that the romantic love was driving factor to complete the end goal. It was a decent book, but it could’ve been a little bit better. I wasn’t as attached to these characters as I get with my favorite books.
September 22, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. It has a very Momento-esque feel to it. I couldn't imagine waking up every day to find that my memories are gone and I don't understand how Arden and Sebastian did it. If it wasn’t for the notes they kept writing on each other they would have lost everything completely. This was just a great story and definitely worth reading if you haven’t. The guessing factor of the story was the best, you never knew what was going to happen next.
July 31, 2022
Well, I definitely flew through this book.
The premise of this book is really what sold me, and had me reading for answers. It was intriguing and the mystery underlying it all was very interesting. I enjoyed watching pieces come together, right up until the end.
This was full of twists and turns, and I honestly think another 50 pages or so would've really solidified it at a higher rating. I loved Arden and Sebastian, and I loved Leo, but the rest of the characters were only so-so for me, there wasn't much fleshing out to them.
The premise of this book is really what sold me, and had me reading for answers. It was intriguing and the mystery underlying it all was very interesting. I enjoyed watching pieces come together, right up until the end.
This was full of twists and turns, and I honestly think another 50 pages or so would've really solidified it at a higher rating. I loved Arden and Sebastian, and I loved Leo, but the rest of the characters were only so-so for me, there wasn't much fleshing out to them.
August 8, 2019
I highly recommend this book!
January 20, 2020
Interesting concept. Memories can be stored/transferred into a server, and someone is using that to delete the memories of Arden and Sebastian. The book was less about the sci-fi and more about A&S’s relationship as they are struggling to hold onto the memories they have while get back their old memories.
Everything seemed to wrap up quite nicely and quickly. I expected it to be more drawn out. The villain wound up being my second guess, and there was heavy clue droppage throughout the book. The motivation for the villain seemed weak, and the actions taken were over the top.
I still think that my first theory would have been more interesting that Arden was the memory wiper herself, and she had generated an automated program to delete her memories to prevent her from remembering something. But, the book didn’t go down that path.
I was debating a 4, but the ending felt very lackluster, so I had to give it a 3.
Everything seemed to wrap up quite nicely and quickly. I expected it to be more drawn out. The villain wound up being my second guess, and there was heavy clue droppage throughout the book. The motivation for the villain seemed weak, and the actions taken were over the top.
I still think that my first theory would have been more interesting that Arden was the memory wiper herself, and she had generated an automated program to delete her memories to prevent her from remembering something. But, the book didn’t go down that path.
I was debating a 4, but the ending felt very lackluster, so I had to give it a 3.
November 25, 2019
I received an advance review copy for the blog tour through Xpresso Book Tours; all opinions are my own and honest.
4.5 stars
This book is impressive not just because it’s such a fantastically written debut, but it’s refreshingly different from pretty much anything I can remember reading. While I wouldn’t consider myself well-read enough in the sci-fi or romance genres to confidently call it unique, it’s certainly memorable.
It’s intense, high-stakes action from beginning to end — and it’s incredibly intelligent, with actual scientific principles and processes being described rather than glossed over. (Though I did fact-check some of it with a chemistry-major friend who said it wouldn’t work as intended … so it’s probably not a good idea to try any of this at home.) Some fascinating ethical dilemmas and social standards are brought into question, too.
It feels almost like you, the reader, get to team up with Arden and Sebastian, which is awesome because Arden and Sebastian are awesome.
Of course, we spend the most time with Arden since she’s our protagonist and narrator. I loved that she casually exemplifies both brains and beauty: it’s 2019 and unfortunately this isn’t the norm yet, but it’s so empowering to read about the clicking of Arden’s black stilettos as she heads to the computer lab. She draws so much strength from her relationships, particularly with her family and her best friend, and at the same time it’s nice to be reminded that “strong” and “soft” are not mutually exclusive traits. Possibly the only thing I didn’t like are her disdainful generalizations about other girls and women; it didn’t really add anything to the story, and the world could use less internalized misogyny.
And it’s fascinating to see how Sebastian deals with not having any memories, how that affects his behavior and his personal identity. Being a kind of blank slate doesn’t make him a bland or boring character, either; he’s funny and smart and an all-around fantastic partner in crime. (I’ll let you find out for yourself how literal that’s meant to be.)
A significant part of this book is the romance, as you’ve probably guessed. I’m still figuring out what exactly I do and don’t like in (fictional) couples, but in this case I can say that I definitely ship it. They work really well together, literally as they try to figure out what’s going on and recover their memories, and figuratively as (metaphorical) sparks fly between them.
Part of what I love about ARCs is getting to experience a book without any influence from others’ reviews and thoughts; this book reminded me a little of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle in that neither the narrator nor the reader has much idea what’s going on, and putting the pieces together is a large part of the fun. The basic synopsis gives you enough; I would just go for it, rather than reading reviews that might give away too much.
content warnings:
rep:
4.5 stars
This book is impressive not just because it’s such a fantastically written debut, but it’s refreshingly different from pretty much anything I can remember reading. While I wouldn’t consider myself well-read enough in the sci-fi or romance genres to confidently call it unique, it’s certainly memorable.
It’s intense, high-stakes action from beginning to end — and it’s incredibly intelligent, with actual scientific principles and processes being described rather than glossed over. (Though I did fact-check some of it with a chemistry-major friend who said it wouldn’t work as intended … so it’s probably not a good idea to try any of this at home.) Some fascinating ethical dilemmas and social standards are brought into question, too.
It feels almost like you, the reader, get to team up with Arden and Sebastian, which is awesome because Arden and Sebastian are awesome.
Of course, we spend the most time with Arden since she’s our protagonist and narrator. I loved that she casually exemplifies both brains and beauty: it’s 2019 and unfortunately this isn’t the norm yet, but it’s so empowering to read about the clicking of Arden’s black stilettos as she heads to the computer lab. She draws so much strength from her relationships, particularly with her family and her best friend, and at the same time it’s nice to be reminded that “strong” and “soft” are not mutually exclusive traits. Possibly the only thing I didn’t like are her disdainful generalizations about other girls and women; it didn’t really add anything to the story, and the world could use less internalized misogyny.
And it’s fascinating to see how Sebastian deals with not having any memories, how that affects his behavior and his personal identity. Being a kind of blank slate doesn’t make him a bland or boring character, either; he’s funny and smart and an all-around fantastic partner in crime. (I’ll let you find out for yourself how literal that’s meant to be.)
A significant part of this book is the romance, as you’ve probably guessed. I’m still figuring out what exactly I do and don’t like in (fictional) couples, but in this case I can say that I definitely ship it. They work really well together, literally as they try to figure out what’s going on and recover their memories, and figuratively as (metaphorical) sparks fly between them.
Part of what I love about ARCs is getting to experience a book without any influence from others’ reviews and thoughts; this book reminded me a little of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle in that neither the narrator nor the reader has much idea what’s going on, and putting the pieces together is a large part of the fun. The basic synopsis gives you enough; I would just go for it, rather than reading reviews that might give away too much.
content warnings:
rep:
May 18, 2019
I enjoyed this book's background, the idea of storing memories and being able to relive other people's memories (think Vicarious by Paula Stokes except not as life threatening thrilling experiences but any kind of experience). But the main character is kind of a douche, so it was hard to be in her head for a whole book, and she kept doing "the wrong thing," but it ended up being "the right thing," which was annoying. Overall, it was a quick fun read but not one that will stay with you for a long time.
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October 12, 2023A twisty YA mystery that explores the ways technology can impact our lives if taken to extremes. The plot starts with missing memories, but takes turns into more Frankenstein-like territory as it asks questions about how far we should go if we can truly control our minds and our bodies through advancements in science. A fascinating premise with lots of action and an integrated romance that will keep readers thinking about the questions within long after they finish the book.
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July 17, 2019
ARC received in exchange for an honest review - thank you!
Brilliant premise, not-so-brilliant execution.
This book is the most obviously 3-star read ever, because there are exactly two reasons why I’ve knocked off the two stars: the horrible romance, and the ridiculously easy mystery.
18-year-old Arden Varga is a computer genius. She goes to Monica Varga High School, named after her mother who’s the headmistress, and which only accepts scientific geniuses as pupils. Varga Industries, the huge tech-and-science company founded by her parents, is what finances the cutting-edge inventions conceptualised by the students. They’re about to accept presentations for the next lot of student inventions, and they’ll choose the best one to invest in. Arden is determined that her project will be the one that wins.
HiveMind is one of the biggest innovations which Varga Industries is about to roll out. Invented by Arden’s late father, it’s essentially a program synced to your brainwaves which ensures that you’ll never forget anything – because all your memories are being uploaded to the cloud in real-time and are accessible from a computer. You shouldn’t be able to access anyone else’s memories, but Arden has hacked into the program to let her do just that. She and her best friend Zoey now sell other people’s positive memories to students from her school.
However, she wakes up one morning to find that someone’s hacked her instead. Every single memory she had pertaining to her school project has vanished. All she knows is that if she can’t remember what it is, lives will be lost. She’s been comparatively lucky though; not everything has been deleted from her HiveMind, so she still knows who she is. Sebastian Cuomo hasn’t been so lucky. He’s supposed to be her project partner, but Arden has zero memory of him – and worse, he has no memory of himself either.
The two of them have to race to figure out what their project was before the deadline for student presentations. Meanwhile, the mysterious hacker is trying to stop them – by constantly deleting memories from their heads.
The Good:
✔️ I really loved Arden’s character. She is the definition of alpha female. Arrogant, slightly amoral, smart, self-confident… her personality barrelled off the pages.
✔️ There was a fair amount of technical jargon in here (Arden is a hacker, after all) and it was fascinating to read about.
✔️ This is a slightly futuristic world, and some of the technology the author came up with is really awesome! Like holographic makeup, or 3D bioprinters for organs. I can actually see some of this happening in a few decades’ time.
The Bad:
❌ The romance. Oh, my God, THE ROMANCE. Sebastian is very ‘beta male’, and compared to Arden’s fiery personality he faded into the background a lot. I could see no reason why she was attracted to him, and it felt a bit like insta-love.
❌ The identity of the hacker was insanely easy to guess. Like, insanely easy. There wasn’t even a token attempt at a red herring. I don’t recommend that Silver try her hand at writing detective novels.
❌ I don’t want to give any spoilers away, so I’m just going to say that the ending was a little weird, very rushed, with no suspense (I knew what Arden would do all along) and relied heavily on her ‘love’ for Sebastian, which I did not feel at all.
Overall
Fast-paced and enjoyable, but the romance detracted from my enjoyment and I can’t believe the mystery was really that easy to guess.
[Blog] - [Bookstagram]
Brilliant premise, not-so-brilliant execution.
This book is the most obviously 3-star read ever, because there are exactly two reasons why I’ve knocked off the two stars: the horrible romance, and the ridiculously easy mystery.
18-year-old Arden Varga is a computer genius. She goes to Monica Varga High School, named after her mother who’s the headmistress, and which only accepts scientific geniuses as pupils. Varga Industries, the huge tech-and-science company founded by her parents, is what finances the cutting-edge inventions conceptualised by the students. They’re about to accept presentations for the next lot of student inventions, and they’ll choose the best one to invest in. Arden is determined that her project will be the one that wins.
HiveMind is one of the biggest innovations which Varga Industries is about to roll out. Invented by Arden’s late father, it’s essentially a program synced to your brainwaves which ensures that you’ll never forget anything – because all your memories are being uploaded to the cloud in real-time and are accessible from a computer. You shouldn’t be able to access anyone else’s memories, but Arden has hacked into the program to let her do just that. She and her best friend Zoey now sell other people’s positive memories to students from her school.
However, she wakes up one morning to find that someone’s hacked her instead. Every single memory she had pertaining to her school project has vanished. All she knows is that if she can’t remember what it is, lives will be lost. She’s been comparatively lucky though; not everything has been deleted from her HiveMind, so she still knows who she is. Sebastian Cuomo hasn’t been so lucky. He’s supposed to be her project partner, but Arden has zero memory of him – and worse, he has no memory of himself either.
The two of them have to race to figure out what their project was before the deadline for student presentations. Meanwhile, the mysterious hacker is trying to stop them – by constantly deleting memories from their heads.
The Good:
✔️ I really loved Arden’s character. She is the definition of alpha female. Arrogant, slightly amoral, smart, self-confident… her personality barrelled off the pages.
✔️ There was a fair amount of technical jargon in here (Arden is a hacker, after all) and it was fascinating to read about.
✔️ This is a slightly futuristic world, and some of the technology the author came up with is really awesome! Like holographic makeup, or 3D bioprinters for organs. I can actually see some of this happening in a few decades’ time.
The Bad:
❌ The romance. Oh, my God, THE ROMANCE. Sebastian is very ‘beta male’, and compared to Arden’s fiery personality he faded into the background a lot. I could see no reason why she was attracted to him, and it felt a bit like insta-love.
❌ The identity of the hacker was insanely easy to guess. Like, insanely easy. There wasn’t even a token attempt at a red herring. I don’t recommend that Silver try her hand at writing detective novels.
❌ I don’t want to give any spoilers away, so I’m just going to say that the ending was a little weird, very rushed, with no suspense (I knew what Arden would do all along) and relied heavily on her ‘love’ for Sebastian, which I did not feel at all.
Overall
Fast-paced and enjoyable, but the romance detracted from my enjoyment and I can’t believe the mystery was really that easy to guess.
[Blog] - [Bookstagram]
September 1, 2019
This review and more can be found at The Heart of a Book Blogger.
I knew I wanted to read Mind Games as soon as I heard about it. I mean stealing memories? What a cool concept!
Arden Varga attends a school for geniuses founded by her parents. When she’s not in class working on her senior thesis project, she can be found selling memories to her classmates ranging from studying for exams to winning homecoming queen at a normal high school. She’s able to hack into HiveMind, her father’s invention, and access the wide variety of memories of everyone hooked up to it. It’s all fun and games until she sees a student that she doesn’t recognize…that apparently is in one of her classes. It gets more confusing when the boy she talks to doesn’t have any memories at all before waking up that morning.
As Arden tries to figure out what’s wrong with her memory and with Sebastian’s, she discovers that not only does she not remember who Sebastian is, apparently everyone around her is missing any memory of the two of them together. As she’s in class, her teacher briefly explains that Sebastian and her have partnered together for their senior project…that Arden has no recollection of and all of her notes on have been destroyed. Shana Silver drives the suspense as Arden and Sebastian race against time to figure out what their project was and find a way to regain their memories. The pacing is kept fast, even when Adren needs to rehash what has happened since the hacker erased her memories in real time.
I loved the stealing memories aspect as it is such an interesting concept to think about. It was tough watching Arden loose certain memories for good and thinking about what that means. One of my favorite parts was when Arden was able to hack into the system and retrieve a few of her encrypted memories. These memories are specially formatted in the book and are told as though they are being played in reverse. I loved finding these parts and the major reveals they contained. Another cool part was the focus on STEM! This is a school for science geniuses and you can definitely tell it. The technology and classes featured are remarkable and Arden is such a talented hacker.
Overall, Mind Games is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller that will keep you guessing until the final chapters. I’m excited to see what Shana Silver has in store for the future and have already added her next novel to my TBR.
*This ARC was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.*
I knew I wanted to read Mind Games as soon as I heard about it. I mean stealing memories? What a cool concept!
Arden Varga attends a school for geniuses founded by her parents. When she’s not in class working on her senior thesis project, she can be found selling memories to her classmates ranging from studying for exams to winning homecoming queen at a normal high school. She’s able to hack into HiveMind, her father’s invention, and access the wide variety of memories of everyone hooked up to it. It’s all fun and games until she sees a student that she doesn’t recognize…that apparently is in one of her classes. It gets more confusing when the boy she talks to doesn’t have any memories at all before waking up that morning.
As Arden tries to figure out what’s wrong with her memory and with Sebastian’s, she discovers that not only does she not remember who Sebastian is, apparently everyone around her is missing any memory of the two of them together. As she’s in class, her teacher briefly explains that Sebastian and her have partnered together for their senior project…that Arden has no recollection of and all of her notes on have been destroyed. Shana Silver drives the suspense as Arden and Sebastian race against time to figure out what their project was and find a way to regain their memories. The pacing is kept fast, even when Adren needs to rehash what has happened since the hacker erased her memories in real time.
I loved the stealing memories aspect as it is such an interesting concept to think about. It was tough watching Arden loose certain memories for good and thinking about what that means. One of my favorite parts was when Arden was able to hack into the system and retrieve a few of her encrypted memories. These memories are specially formatted in the book and are told as though they are being played in reverse. I loved finding these parts and the major reveals they contained. Another cool part was the focus on STEM! This is a school for science geniuses and you can definitely tell it. The technology and classes featured are remarkable and Arden is such a talented hacker.
Overall, Mind Games is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller that will keep you guessing until the final chapters. I’m excited to see what Shana Silver has in store for the future and have already added her next novel to my TBR.
*This ARC was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.*
August 30, 2019
Review can also be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/
**4.5 Stars**
Because I ever so much love to ramble in my reviews, I am trying not to spoil anything in this mystery therefore my review will be brief and pretty vague so I don't ruin the fantastic twists. I was a little hesitant that I would be in over my head with the tech jargon (since coding is not my first language) but the author made the technology pretty user friendly and I could follow along well enough without being a hacker. I will say that I was 85% certain I knew who the perpetrator was and I was right, but the whys and hows kept me guessing and still when everything came together I was shocked. I loved being surprised by a mystery and the thriller aspect of the story was fast paced and incredibly engaging. This is easily a story that can be binged because you will be sucked right in and not want to put the book down.
I loved that while this was very much a tech-filled mystery, underlying that was kind of an epic romance. How many people can say that they had a second opportunity to fall in love for the first time? We have Arden who can't remember Sebastian, and Sebastian that can't remember anything and we get to see them slowly become desperate allies, then close friends and then a romance blooms unexpectedly- a romance that may have already existed, but neither has any memory of that event. It was sweet and oh so romantic to watch them tap dance around the other, with this huge history that basically means nothing. Expect some epic swoon here.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was so unexpected and a really cool idea and well executed mystery. I was kept on my toes for the entire book and I will gladly pick up another title by this author to read in the future. This is a great choice for anyone who loves mystery thrillers and developed complicated characters- with a generous portion of love added for flavor.
**4.5 Stars**
Because I ever so much love to ramble in my reviews, I am trying not to spoil anything in this mystery therefore my review will be brief and pretty vague so I don't ruin the fantastic twists. I was a little hesitant that I would be in over my head with the tech jargon (since coding is not my first language) but the author made the technology pretty user friendly and I could follow along well enough without being a hacker. I will say that I was 85% certain I knew who the perpetrator was and I was right, but the whys and hows kept me guessing and still when everything came together I was shocked. I loved being surprised by a mystery and the thriller aspect of the story was fast paced and incredibly engaging. This is easily a story that can be binged because you will be sucked right in and not want to put the book down.
I loved that while this was very much a tech-filled mystery, underlying that was kind of an epic romance. How many people can say that they had a second opportunity to fall in love for the first time? We have Arden who can't remember Sebastian, and Sebastian that can't remember anything and we get to see them slowly become desperate allies, then close friends and then a romance blooms unexpectedly- a romance that may have already existed, but neither has any memory of that event. It was sweet and oh so romantic to watch them tap dance around the other, with this huge history that basically means nothing. Expect some epic swoon here.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was so unexpected and a really cool idea and well executed mystery. I was kept on my toes for the entire book and I will gladly pick up another title by this author to read in the future. This is a great choice for anyone who loves mystery thrillers and developed complicated characters- with a generous portion of love added for flavor.
March 6, 2025
3.5/5⭐️
So glad I decided to pick up an easy YA sci-fi because i’ve been reading wayyyy to much heavy fantasy recently. My mind was starting to melt, but this book was such a good reset! I love the premise of the book, I just wish it was executed better. The idea of students choosing a project and working on it for four years straight and then presenting it for an award is super intriguing! Also the idea that you can upload your memories into hard drives and share memories with other people was super fascinating! I really appreciated that I felt super smart while I was reading the computer jargon, but it was simple enough to not be confusing. The only thing I dislike is that most of the ending was VERY predictable. Best friend and Mother betrayals are super easy to predict in YA books i feel (does that say something about me?). But I like that the other students projects filtered into the plot as well, not just the main characters. I knew Teddy was going to have a deeper purpose! I just loved his character (poor guy just wanted to save his best friend). Overall this was a super quick and interesting read as long as you don’t mind a LOT of foreshadowing.
So glad I decided to pick up an easy YA sci-fi because i’ve been reading wayyyy to much heavy fantasy recently. My mind was starting to melt, but this book was such a good reset! I love the premise of the book, I just wish it was executed better. The idea of students choosing a project and working on it for four years straight and then presenting it for an award is super intriguing! Also the idea that you can upload your memories into hard drives and share memories with other people was super fascinating! I really appreciated that I felt super smart while I was reading the computer jargon, but it was simple enough to not be confusing. The only thing I dislike is that most of the ending was VERY predictable. Best friend and Mother betrayals are super easy to predict in YA books i feel (does that say something about me?). But I like that the other students projects filtered into the plot as well, not just the main characters. I knew Teddy was going to have a deeper purpose! I just loved his character (poor guy just wanted to save his best friend). Overall this was a super quick and interesting read as long as you don’t mind a LOT of foreshadowing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2020
YA techno thriller comes off like the movie Momento, but through a Lauren Oliver filter. But lacking the heart of Oliver. Disappointingly predictable villain—and I’m not one who enjoys trying to figure out “whodunnit.” I’m more interested in “why” done it. This book features three poorly developed transhuman technologies, and the treatment of them was so freaking blasé. 1 Hive mind: a bidirectional realtime cloud for storing memories. Gets hacked. Daily. By the MC, and this crime/invasion of privacy gets no jail time—just a mild eye roll from her peers. 2 Body printing. Aka cloning. 3 Personality transference. No where does the book treat the philosophical aspect of these technologies—which I thought was sort of the point of sf novels? (Well, besides introducing mind-blowing ideas!)
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