Started December, 08th 2013.
OK, I had to fresh my memory of the pervious book by reading a the last few pages again. It has been too long a break between [b:Open Minds|12727768|Open Minds (Mindjack Trilogy, #1)|Susan Kaye Quinn|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348139344s/12727768.jpg|17864554] - Mindjack #01 and this one.

Another great read!

A great continuation of Kira's story. There are many twist and turns and nothing was what I expected. I can't wait to see read the next one! ( )

Title : Closed Hearts

Series : Mindjack Trilogy #2
Author : Susan Kaye Quinn
Pages : 230 (my edition)
Release Date : May 23rd 2012
Publisher : Self-Pub
Format : eBook/eARC
Source :
**Thanks you so much to Susan for this eARC in exchange of an honest review!**




My Opinion :


Open Minds, the first book in the Mindjack trilogy, was a great and enjoyable read.

Closed Hearts met up to my expectations; it even exceeded them.


I received an eARC form the author, and let me tell you, I was SO thrilled.And, I am een more thrilled to tell you that I've got an International eBook giveaway thanks to Susan the Awesome (XD)!

In Open Minds, Kira is a zero at first, but that'S until she discovers she's a mindjacker, even if she's not that good.

In Closed Hearts, she has finally mastered mindjacking and is great at it, actually. But now, Raf has been captured, and so has she. And, he thing is, it's not even an evil guy that has captured her, but a mindjacker called Julian who want sher to help him get other mindjackers out of a prison. But, what happens if Raf dies?

I LOVED Closed Hearts so much. Even if I don't normally like to read eBooks, Susan makes them so real, I feel like I am in the story, and so, I don't really need a physical copy.

The pacing in the book is fast at times, but mainly, it's slow; which was the PERFECT pace for it! It just willed me to read faster.


Closed Hearts sucks you in and doesn't let you go until the very last word.


Susan, I love you, but please make Julian and Kira come together. Please? Pretty please? I jsut think they would make suck a COOL couple!

Read the book. Now. Just, please :D



RATING

4 roses! ( )

Closed Hearts is book 2 of Susan Kaye Quinn’s exciting Mindjack Trilogy, continuing the story of Kira Moore whose ability to hijack a person’s mind has now gone public – endangering her life and those she loves.

Picking up shortly after Open Minds left off, Kira and her family have had to leave their home and take on new identities in an effort to evade the public distrust and paranoia that erupted when the mindjackers were revealed. Changing her hair color, name and imprinting a tattoo on her face and neck to help disguise her appearance, Kira is working with her father as a mindguard for a billionaire businessman while moonlighting as a waitress in her off-hours. She and Raf are still very much in love, but can’t take their relationship public due to her notoriety and his parents’ hatred of jackers. Unable to give Raf up, Kira’s deepest fears become reality when they are kidnapped from the diner where she works by her nemesis Molloy and taken to Jackertown, where a resistance is building against new government crackdowns on jackers. In an effort to protect Raf from the jackers, Kira finds herself working with resistance leader Julian and his crew to break into a high-security jacker detention center to rescue Julian’s sister. But when the rescue goes terribly wrong Kira finds herself confronting the jackers’ greatest enemy FBI agent Kestrel…and this time she’s not just fighting for herself – but for Raf as well!

Kira continues to impress as a resourceful, determined heroine. Yes, she has her moments of weakness where she contemplates giving up and giving in, but with everything she is put through in this novel I wouldn’t expect anything else. She has a spark inside her that just won’t go out, though and she is going to need it! I love Kira – her strength, her caring and protective nature, and the love she has for Raf. I am really hoping she and Raf get everything they deserve in the final book, but considering how grim things are by the time this one ends it’s not looking good.

Speaking of Raf, his love for Kira is again on full display here but he is at a serious disadvantage as a mind reader instead of jacker. Used on all sides as a bargaining tool to gain Kira’s assistance, Raf is in serious jeopardy throughout the story. Always, however, Kira comes first with him and his safety is an afterthought. I really hated to see the way Raf’s mind could be turned against him in so many ways, and it was a sobering experience to realize how vulnerable he was to the jackers.

Kestrel and Molloy are still very solid villains, but Kestrel continues to be the scarier of the two. Molloy is out for everything he can get and will use anyone to get it, but Kestrel is completely amoral. In my review of Open Minds I described him as the “true believer”-type, but as his character became more prominent in this story I realized he was worse – he is a ruthless scientist who sees every jacker as simply a rat in his maze. None of them are human beings to him; they are simply test subjects that he will take to their limits – no matter how painful – to increase his knowledge.

But Kestrel and Molloy aren’t the only villains this time around. Senator Vellus is on a crusade for the Presidency and his platform is all about ridding society of jackers, spreading as much fear and hatred against them as he can. Trampling on civil liberties and enacting laws that make jackers second-class citizens, Vellus is the worst nightmare any minority group could have. And he is hand-in-glove with Kestrel.

To offset our new villain is the compelling new character of Julian, leader of some extremely strong and unusually talented jackers called “mages.” He is very courteous and gentlemanly around Kira, but amazed by her relationship with Raf. Kira, in turn, is surprised to find she cannot sense his mindjacking talent at all – his ability effects the brain at its most instinctual level, able to drum up fear, love, or any other emotion as needed. I wasn’t sure at first if I would like Julian. He felt a bit removed from humanity when he was first introduced, especially with his disbelief at Kira and Raf’s relationship – even calling Raf her “pet” numerous times. But as things went from bad to worse, I warmed up to him and realized that he is a highly intelligent young man of honor and integrity who just might have some feelings of his own for Kira.

A couple of quick mentions here. First, I loved, loved, LOVED, the ending. It was heartbreaking, but it fit beautifully with the story and I can’t help remembering the old adage “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” Book 3 is coming soon and with the title Free Souls I’m really hoping everything ends happily for Kira, Raf and Julian. Secondly, the editing on both Closed Hearts and its predecessor Open Minds is fantastic! Quinn acknowledges Anne of Victory Editing for her skills and I have to give her a shout-out, too. Spelling and grammar are correct and I noticed only one word missing from a sentence in Closed Hearts. After so many interesting but poorly edited books recently (and it is coming from big publishers as well as small) Anne’s editing skills are truly refreshing.

Closed Hearts is a fantastic follow-up to Open Minds, with a darker story, increased action, and danger everywhere. Susan Kaye Quinn has placed her characters in a nearly impossible situation and it’s going to take a miracle to pull them out. Well-rounded characters, frighteningly realistic villains, and a gripping story make the Mindjack Trilogy a must-read for anyone who enjoys the YA paranormal and dystopian genres. ( )

Holy Cow! I just started this book today. I couldn't have put it down if I wanted to! I thought it was going to be a slow read because the first twenty pages are kind of slow, but hold onto your Kindle or your paperback because this one will blow your hair back! You might remember my review of Open Minds the first novel in the Mind Jacker Trilogy and what a unique idea I thought it was for YA. Well, the unique keeps coming. Kira, who spilled the beans about Mind Jackers last book,finds out that she isn't the only one with special abilities. In fact, there are some mindjackers with really scary abilities. And then there are some mindjackers that are really scary. Unfortunately, she gets tracked down by someone she betrayed in the last book. Now, this was not a good guy and someone who deserved to be left behind, but Kira couldn't save everyone last time, and some people died. And she's had to live with that. Unfortunately, some people can't live with that. And a man named Molloy comes to exact his revenge. He kidnaps Kira and Raf during a stolen romantic moment and serve them up to a group known as the "mages" in Jackertown, a place Kira is not welcome due to her outing jackers to the world. She's kind of stuck there.

Kestrel, the evil scientist/FBI agent/mindjacker that hates mindjackers is back and even more heinous than ever. Kira's dad gets involved with a rescue attempt and somehow Raf goes missing. Anything and everything goes wrong. The least expected betrayals happen from those who have the least to gain from their betrayals. Corrupted politicians are involved (no way!) and Kira has to decide if she is a cold blooded killer or not.

The last quarter of the book is a total sobfest. There is kind of a love triangle, but not really. Kira would never love anyone but Raf, but she does have to pretend with someone and it tickles back there in her mind. And the boy, Julian, though handsome and totally swoon worthy and heroic, does not take advantage of her in her moments of distress or despair. But God, oh God, Sue Quinn knows how to drag your heart out of your chest and squeeze every last drop of water out of your body. I didn't see it coming at all. And the slap in the face afterward. Rubbing salt in old wounds. I know you don't understand, but you've just got to read it to understand what I'm talking about. Kira's heart is literally wrung out in this one. And my eyes with it.

Book two has ratcheted everything up a notch. It feels like the author is more comfortable in her skin and she really let her characters go in this one. The adventure and tension is high and the evilness just seeps through the words like venom. If I had a gun, I'd shoot Kestrel's name off the page, or at least I'd cross it out, but I'm reading on a Kindle, so you know. He has to be the most evil man I've ever read about with his horrible experiments, injecting things into the mindjackers and withdrawing things, leaving holes in their memories. Total Evil. I can't wait to see how he dies, and he will die if this trilogy ends with justice.

But there is something else in this story besides the excitement and adventure and heartbreak. It's the reality of what's taking place. The mindjackers are different from the mindreaders and difference, even in this world of the future, this world that only until a few generations ago didn't have mindreaders, equals bad, inferior, something to fear. There's a message in this story, subtle as it is because the issue is so far out there. But you could substitute any two groups in there and it could be relevant for today. So kudos again to the author for making a lesson in such an oh so subtle way!

This is an absolutely clean read, but there is definitely romance in it, several. I had originally thought this was a MG series, but it doesn't read that way to me, though MG readers on the higher end would have no trouble with it. I recommend it for any fans of supernatural YA. There is definite violence to the point of almost torture in some cases, but it's not like SAW the movie or anything like that. It's more in the mind. Read it! I promise you won't be sorry! Just don't forget your tissues.

To Susan Quinn- This is an excellent novel that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading. It's one of those stories I couldn't put down. There was always something happening. I couldn't stand not to know what would happen next! Thank you for such a great escape! When can I have the next one? ( )