REVIEWS OF 'MIND GAMES':
Really liked it
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2149567224?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Title: Mind Games
Author: Stevie Turner
Publisher: KDP
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review"
"Mind Games" by Stevie Turner
My Thoughts.....
After a 35 year marriage it looks like this wife has had enough of her husbands addiction to porn and want a divorce. Now, to fully understand what has gone on with this husband you will just have to pick up "Mind Games" to see how this author presents it to the reader. As I was reading this story I am not sure who I felt more sorrier for Frances or Martin. Definitely there was help that was needed by both but it didn't seem like anyone really wanted it. Martin claims to have quite this addiction but soon we will find out from the read really was that true?
I could feel Frances' need to not want to grow old along but to want to get back with Martin really had me shaking my head and saying REALLY! As for Martin well I can will say is He Really Needed Some Help! This story really left me thinking wow! I will stop now and just stay you will have to pick this one up. Will these two ever get back to that HEA that they seemed to have had at the beginning of their marriage? Well, all I will say is wow...Martin certainly thinks he has it all figured out. But anyone who has an addiction to pornography will definitely need help. Now, since Martin tells Frances that he is though with porn and she seems to believe it! What will happen if Frances finds out really what Martin is hiding and still is up to. As the story stops here, hopefully Frances will still have her apartment still there for her to return to. She just may need it!
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5out of 5 stars Frances and Martin have had a happy marriage, except that his pornography addiction and her ...
ByAurorawatcher on October 20, 2017
I received this book free in an exchange for an honest review.
What do you do when trust has been destroyed in a marriage? Frances and Martin have had a happy marriage, except that his pornography addiction and her obsession with catching him out have rendered them unable to trust one another. He still loves her, but she's completely disgusted by him. Is there anyway to find common ground?
I won't give away the ending, but I thought it was interesting how Stevie Turner resolved the main conflict of the novel.
Well-written, insightful. Turner doesn't give in to the usual conventions of romance make-up literature. She writes real people undergoing a believable crisis. Although I haven't known any couples struggling with porn addictions, I have heard similar stories in other 12-Step groups. After a partner has deeply damaged the relationship, that partner stepping onto a better path doesn't erase the hurt their spouse feels. You can only try to find a compromise where love remains.
Lest you think this story is a real downer, it's not. There are some truly hilarious lines in this book. You definitely get the sense that Martin loves Frances and, if she weren't so mad at him for repeating the same unfaithfulness over and over, she'd love him too.
I would definitely read more of Turner's books.
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Dale Lehman's review
Mar 02, 2018
4*
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.
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Cherie's review, 15/5/18
4*
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RENL34DCMR9KN/
4 out of 5 starsThe story of lives and a marriage destroyed by addiction.
ByCherie R. McKay Horston May 15, 2018
I received my free copy of Mind Games by Stevie Turner from The Book Gobbler in return for a fair and honest book review. The book was published on October 27, 2017.
Mind Games is the story of the life of Frances and Martin Andrews. Their story is one of a marriage that has been destroyed by Martin’s addiction to porn and the loss of trust that comes from addiction.
The story is told from both Frances and Martin’s perspectives. Throughout the story you begin to see life through the eyes of Frances, with occasional views through Martin’s eyes. The character of Frances really grows throughout the tale, and I found myself really rooting for her.
It is a fast moving story, and I found myself making my way through the book in a short time. Although the story is about porn addiction, it is not an erotic or sensual book in anyway. At times the book is hard to read simply because porn addiction is a tough subject to read about. But the story line is interesting, and I wanted to know the outcome of their marriage and where life takes them.
I think the author did a very good job telling an interesting, fast moving story about a very complex, yet believable situation.
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Review from Jamie Michele at Readers' Favorite on 19th August 2018:
https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/mind-games
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Mind Games by Stevie Turner is a contemporary fiction story about a troubled marriage between Frances Andrews and her husband, Martin. Martin struggles with an uncontrollable and invasive pornography addiction, one which Frances can no longer work to overcome. With a foot out the door and their marriage over, Martin makes a last ditch effort to keep his wife from leaving him and is able to coerce a reluctant Frances into marriage guidance therapy. At the behest of the counselor, the pair takes a vacation together on a cruise ship in an effort to salvage what's left of their marriage and their lives.
Mind Games by Stevie Turner is an insightful read into an addiction that many don't even know exists. Martin's reliance on pornography has destroyed his relationship with Frances, and Turner holds nothing back as the unraveling is told through the points of view of both husband and wife. I found this formula to be fantastic in offering a peek into the psychology of a man who simply cannot control his fixation and a woman who simply cannot take it anymore. For me, it was Martin who was the most intriguing, even when I desperately wanted to shake him until some sense was knocked into him. But that wouldn't have worked because, like all addictions, his is – first and foremost – an illness. I'd recommend Mind Games to anyone interested in a book that could be easily devoured in a single setting, but with enough complexity to make its condensed form interesting.
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