Review: Perfect Lies (Mind Games, #2)

Author: Kiersten White
Series: Mind Games, #2
Published: February 18th 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover, 232 pgs
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.

The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside.

But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them.

Why did everyone fail to inform me that Mind Games happens to be a duology? How cruel are you people? I was absolutely convinced more was yet to come, at least until I reached the last page and put my googling skills to good use. The sisters have found a place in my heart and I was devastated to learn that the time has come to part ways with Annie, and especially Fia.

From what I’ve noticed, Kiersten White seems to be a pretty polarizing author. People generally either love or hate her books and it mostly comes down to her writing style. Some find it bold and some find it too peculiar. If we somehow forget Supernaturally and Endlessly (and please, let’s), I think her books always push boundaries and that her writing is just interesting enough to be worthy of admiration.

Like Mind Games, Perfect Lies is divided between two narrators, Fia and her sister Annie. The sisters are mostly separated in this book, which makes their two points of view even more important. Even though they’re not together, their bond is extremely strong and they work hard to protect each other, no matter the cost. Fia is determined to keep pretending that she killed Annie, and Annie refuses to hide if that means staying away from Fia.

As impossible as this may sound, Fia is crazier and more vulnerable than ever. Separated from her sister, she only has James to rely on and she clings to him with all her might. James, being his usual morally dubious self, plays seven different games at once and no one quite knows where his loyalties lie. Fia got under my skin in Mind Games, but she flat-out broke my heart in Perfect Lies. She was lost, confused, scared, possibly more aggressive than ever – a wounded animal with nowhere left to run. From the start, I had the distinct feeling that she’d given up on herself, having achieved her only goal, which was to keep Annie safe.  Watching her come unhinged made me hurt so much I almost couldn’t stand it.

”Do I look like I need protection?” I hold out my hands, one with streaks of blood on it, and give him my best crazy crazy crazy crazy grin. “You know, I like Dmitri. I crippled him, but I like him.”

Compared to Fia, Annie has always seemed almost bland. She does spread her wings a little bit in Perfect Lies when she’s forced to stop cowering behind Fia and to finally take some responsibility for her own fate. There is finally a romantic interest for her too, but like everything else with Annie, it’s pretty complicated and a tiny bit frustrating.

If there’s one thing that bothered me in Perfect Lies, it was the messed up timeline, the constant jumps back and forth in time, chapter after chapter, until I lost track of what had happened and what was yet to come. I suppose this was done to build up tension, but, while good, the idea wasn’t thought through. Instead of achieving the desired effect, it made me feel more than a little lost at times.

The ending, I must confess, was left a bit too open for my taste. If there was ever a book in desperate need of an epilogue, it’s this one. As it was, I can’t say I was satisfied with how things were left, and I even felt a bit cheated.

Be that as it may, I nevertheless strongly recommend this duology (!) to fans of peculiar stories and even more peculiar writing.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.