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Mindgames
In this erotic romance set in a dystopian future, healer Gabriel's attempt to convince slavegirl Mariah to trust him goes too far, endangering his life, his freedom, and his sanity. Mariah can save him from the despair that envelopes him only if she can find the strength to trust herself.
Gabriel, on a mission of mercy, is horrified by what he finds when he arrives in Riviera, a land far from his home. So-called “humans,” bored and decadent, amuse themselves with the senseless torture of their slaves. Yet Gabriel finds unexpected friends. An artist named Animal, who notices everything except Rose, his slavegirl. And Mariah, a slave foisted on Gabriel when he unwittingly prevents her from escaping.
Mariah knows that Master Gabriel’s talk of a different way of life, in which slavery does not exist, is merely the latest and cruelest of the mindgames that humans have inflicted on her for her entire life. She must play along, but actually believing in it would bring disaster to her and to everyone she cares about.
Mindgames is about love, and friendship, and the potential for redemption. It is about how one person can change the world, or be destroyed by it.
Reviewers online call Mindgames “absolutely amazing. The perfect balance of substance and sex and never a dull moment.” “Simply magnificent.” “The writing is spare, clean and sprightly.” The writer “proves that writing is an art form that possesses the ability to transfix and transform the reader to faraway lands.” “I LOVE this story, and I think about it all the time.”
Gabriel, on a mission of mercy, is horrified by what he finds when he arrives in Riviera, a land far from his home. So-called “humans,” bored and decadent, amuse themselves with the senseless torture of their slaves. Yet Gabriel finds unexpected friends. An artist named Animal, who notices everything except Rose, his slavegirl. And Mariah, a slave foisted on Gabriel when he unwittingly prevents her from escaping.
Mariah knows that Master Gabriel’s talk of a different way of life, in which slavery does not exist, is merely the latest and cruelest of the mindgames that humans have inflicted on her for her entire life. She must play along, but actually believing in it would bring disaster to her and to everyone she cares about.
Mindgames is about love, and friendship, and the potential for redemption. It is about how one person can change the world, or be destroyed by it.
Reviewers online call Mindgames “absolutely amazing. The perfect balance of substance and sex and never a dull moment.” “Simply magnificent.” “The writing is spare, clean and sprightly.” The writer “proves that writing is an art form that possesses the ability to transfix and transform the reader to faraway lands.” “I LOVE this story, and I think about it all the time.”
- GenresRomance
534 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 18, 2019
9 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Jasmine Gold
10 books33 followersWriter of smut, reader of romances and everything else.
The first three books listed here, Mindgames, My First Submissive Adventure, and The Mature Woman's Guide to Desire, are my books. All the rest are spam that I have nothing to do with. I have reached out to the librarian at Goodreads to remove them from my profile. Please don't click on them.
The first three books listed here, Mindgames, My First Submissive Adventure, and The Mature Woman's Guide to Desire, are my books. All the rest are spam that I have nothing to do with. I have reached out to the librarian at Goodreads to remove them from my profile. Please don't click on them.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 19, 2019
You know what? In the end, I'm still not sure.
Gabriel was a healer, an outsider, called to heal the daughter of the leader of another community. Gabriel was from Harmony, a town founded by the rebellious people of Riviera. See, Gabriel's ancestors didn't like slavery and therefore could no longer live in 'harmony' with those who condoned it. So off they went, forging a new way, complete with hope, love, understanding, and freedom. While Gabriel was aware that Riviera thrived on their slaves, he wasn't prepared to see it. There were humans and there were rags. Rags were no longer viewed as human. They were slaves, treated worse than dogs, and allowed absolutely no liberties. They were tortured for the slightest indiscretion or tortured to amuse. Gabriel's compassionate healer's heart was breaking. A slave girl he thought he helped free from the beginning is being tortured and he steps in to rescue her... but Mariah doesn't trust him because she is inured to the punishments of man. She believes he's playing games and while he feeds her hope and kindness, she feeds him to the wolves.
I'm in love with the way this author captured my mind throughout this story. Although I didn't warm up to Mariah, I was glad to see Gabriel, Animal and Rose thriving. Between the details of the setting, the characteristics of the people, the intricacies of each person's wants and needs, the passions and desires, the inner workings of the community, I was captivated. Even when I cringed, I couldn't turn away. I was hypnotized and enthralled. This story hurt and destroyed me in so many ways, but in the end, I realized I never lost hope and I love the kinda sorta ending Gabriel and Mariah received. It wasn't definite and gives the reader expectations of more to come. I definitely won't complain about that!
--------------------------------------
I hate Mariah SO MUCH!!
Oh my goodness, my blood literally boils over everything she thinks, says or does.
She's one of the most unrelatable characters I've ever come across.
She doesn't deserve any kind of happy ending.
She doesn't deserve any of the kindness that Gabriel and friends have given her.
She is completely undeserving of all that's good in her world.
I don't admire her resilience.
I don't admire her fortitude.
I don't admire her determination.
I don't admire her.
She is an ugly character and although I'm not done with this book yet, I don't think there's anything she can do to redeem herself.
I'm loving Gabriel, Animal and Rose though ;)
Gabriel was a healer, an outsider, called to heal the daughter of the leader of another community. Gabriel was from Harmony, a town founded by the rebellious people of Riviera. See, Gabriel's ancestors didn't like slavery and therefore could no longer live in 'harmony' with those who condoned it. So off they went, forging a new way, complete with hope, love, understanding, and freedom. While Gabriel was aware that Riviera thrived on their slaves, he wasn't prepared to see it. There were humans and there were rags. Rags were no longer viewed as human. They were slaves, treated worse than dogs, and allowed absolutely no liberties. They were tortured for the slightest indiscretion or tortured to amuse. Gabriel's compassionate healer's heart was breaking. A slave girl he thought he helped free from the beginning is being tortured and he steps in to rescue her... but Mariah doesn't trust him because she is inured to the punishments of man. She believes he's playing games and while he feeds her hope and kindness, she feeds him to the wolves.
I'm in love with the way this author captured my mind throughout this story. Although I didn't warm up to Mariah, I was glad to see Gabriel, Animal and Rose thriving. Between the details of the setting, the characteristics of the people, the intricacies of each person's wants and needs, the passions and desires, the inner workings of the community, I was captivated. Even when I cringed, I couldn't turn away. I was hypnotized and enthralled. This story hurt and destroyed me in so many ways, but in the end, I realized I never lost hope and I love the kinda sorta ending Gabriel and Mariah received. It wasn't definite and gives the reader expectations of more to come. I definitely won't complain about that!
--------------------------------------
I hate Mariah SO MUCH!!
Oh my goodness, my blood literally boils over everything she thinks, says or does.
She's one of the most unrelatable characters I've ever come across.
She doesn't deserve any kind of happy ending.
She doesn't deserve any of the kindness that Gabriel and friends have given her.
She is completely undeserving of all that's good in her world.
I don't admire her resilience.
I don't admire her fortitude.
I don't admire her determination.
I don't admire her.
She is an ugly character and although I'm not done with this book yet, I don't think there's anything she can do to redeem herself.
I'm loving Gabriel, Animal and Rose though ;)
April 14, 2020
Reviewed by PussnBooks.net
Review by Puss’n’Books. Reviewing the darkest, most erotic and taboo books we can find. Click HERE for your next disturbingly sexy read.
This book...OMG..this book!
I felt pretty much every emotion that my little black heart is capable of feeling while reading this amazing novel.
It was just...wow.
It’s a dystopian fantasy novel with some of the most in-depth and perfectly detailed world-building I have ever read.
I almost feel as if I didn’t read this book but watched it, lived it! The characters feel like my friends...I just can’t express how deeply this book touched me.
There are four main characters in this story and I feel like I know each one of them personally. I laughed with them. I cried with them. I hoped and dreamed with them.
GABRIEL - A healer from a faraway land with a pure and honest heart. Horrified by the atrocities he witnesses the ‘humans’ commit against their slaves.
MARIAH - A slave with fire in her spirit and soul and a stubborn streak a mile long. She is given to Gabriel to ‘use’ as he wants during his visit.
ROSE - Another slave with the purest heart and kindest intentions. She dares to hope for the future no matter how many times life has beaten her down.
ANIMAL - A bit of an outcast artist, he’s Rose’s master and the one tasked with housing Gabriel for the duration of his visit. They become more than friends. More like brothers.
Gabriel has never heard of such a thing as owning slaves but the people in this land he has come to visit have slaves that they honest to god believe are not human and need to be beaten and raped pretty much daily in order to manage their day to day duties.
These people make a sport out of the worst actions they can think of to hurt and humiliate their slaves.
When Gabriel tries to help the poor souls he comes across they are terrified of him and beg him not to be kind to them - not to treat them with kindness as it’s the worst of the mind games and destroys the soul, not just the body.
He decides that he needs to help them however he can but when it comes to the very woman he tried to help escape, he has his toughest challenge yet.
The things that these slaves - both men and women - have gone through...omg.
The torture, the degradation...the rape!
They even drug the food in order to keep them in a constant state of arousal and therefore easier to control.
There are pretty much no rules to protect the slaves so the sky’s the limit for these disgusting creatures (the Masters, not the slaves btw).
SEX SCENES
Okay, the scenes in this book were intense and dark AF.
I know it’s a long one but I want you to see what’s inside, lol, so...
She flicked the whip, trying for an impact that was not so soft as to arouse Mistress Desiree’s ire, and not so hard as to make Tabitha move her legs. As the blow landed Gino put his fingers in her crack, one of them resting on her asshole. He tongued her in wide circles below her clit. But Mariah was nowhere near ready. She flicked the whip. Tabitha cried out. Gino moved his thumb down and gently penetrated her vagina with it, circling her clit with his tongue, not touching it. The whip, and Tabitha’s groan, and Gino’s thumb moving up her slit. The whip, and Tabitha’s pain, and Gino’s thumb just below her clit. The whip, and Tabitha in a blur, and Gino using his tongue to push her clit onto the hardness of his thumb. It was not enough. Mariah was panting, from Gino, from her exertion, from the confusion, but she was not ready yet. “Aim for her crack,” Mistress Desiree commanded her. Mariah did. As the lash landed, Gino pushed his finger into Mariah’s ass. Then his thumb was in her pussy, and he was pushing his finger in and out of her ass and his thumb in and out of her sex as he licked her clit. Mariah whipped Tabitha. Tabitha cried out. Her body wriggled as she struggled to keep her knees wide. Gino swept his tongue from the entrance to Mariah’s pussy to just below her clit, and stopped. Mariah whipped Tabitha. The cry, the wriggle, the struggle, and Gino’s tongue on her. Again, and again. And then, every time the whip connected to Tabitha, Gino licked Mariah’s clit. On the backswing he pulled back. She whipped Tabitha. He licked her clit. Lightning behind her eyes, but only when the whip connects. The whip, the tongue, the whip, the tongue. She is close now. She accidently flicks the whip harder, and Tabitha cries out louder. Gino draws her clit into his mouth. His tongue continues to circle. Mariah hits Tabitha hard, and Tabitha cries out. The whip, the cry, the tongue circling. The crash is about to overtake Mariah. The whip goes wild; it wraps around Tabitha to the side of her breast squished into the footstool, and Tabitha shrieks, and Mariah shrieks, and Gino fingers her ass and her pussy harder, deeper, and sucks her clit, and Mariah brings the whip down one more time and Tabitha cries out one more time, and Mariah is pushed over the edge, into Gino’s mouth, spasming, and as she does she whips Tabitha again, again, and her cries are louder than Tabitha’s. And then she can barely hold up the whip, or herself. Gino has pulled back, and Tabitha is quiet and still, bleeding where the whipmarks have crossed. And Mistress Desiree says to them, “You are dismissed.”
As I said, I felt every emotion while reading this book. It reminds me a little of R Lee Smith who, you hopefully know, writes some of the most epic massive fantasy/sci-fi novels ever!
WARNING:
This is not for the faint of heart. Meaning...it’s perfect for me.
There is abuse, rape, torture, slavery, public humiliation and a look into the darkest and cruellest corners of the human mind.
And I wish I could read it again for the first time!
Final Thoughts on MINDGAMES by Jasmine Gold
PLEASE, PLEASE read this book! I need you to read it and discuss it with me!
It’s a little slow in the beginning but stick with it! It utterly blew me away.
5 Stars.
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October 25, 2020
The author describes this book as an erotic romance, but that is hardly adequate. It doesn’t do justice to the writer’s ambition.
Set in a dystopian future which may not be what you expect, Gabriel, a young healer from Harmony, arrives in Riviera after a plea from its leader, who’s daughter has not recovered from an accident.
Riviera is unlike anything Gabriel could imagine in his wildest nightmares. The population is split into Humans and Slaves, and the interaction between these groups horrifies him. The slaves are bred and conditioned to be completely servile and their treatment is barbaric.
He does find unexpected friends among the humans, although most are suspicious of him and he has to keep his disgust hidden. Almost by accident, he saves the life of a runaway slave, Mariah, and the story revolves around their relationship.
Gabriel tries to convince Mariah that a different world exists outside Riviera; a world without slavery. But she is used to the mindgames of humans, and is just waiting for him to lay the next trap in the game. She’s trying to survive.
He is gradually tolerated, if only for his skills, but his involvement with a runaway, and his views on slavery lead him, Mariah and their friends into dangerous territory.
The compelling element of the book is the depiction of the world the author creates. From an early stage, the details of life in Riviera are rich, believable and convincing. The history which produced the world we see is gradually revealed and the cracks in society along with it.
The humans are complacent, decadent and morally bankrupt; indeed, morality is notable for its absence in virtually every character in the book. But their control over their slaves is total; it has been a constant in their lives for so long that change is unimaginable.
However, all this comes with a warning. The casual violence and sexual abuse inflicted on the slaves by their human masters is graphically described, and a constant feature of the story. I never found it gratuitous, but it will upset some readers, and possibly act as a trigger for others. It is not a light, gentle story.
But if you like a large helping of darkness, I think you will find much to enjoy in this story. I had several questions about the world of the book which went unanswered, but the story itself is well told and compelling. I am wondering if there is the opportunity for a sequel, but only the author can answer that!
Set in a dystopian future which may not be what you expect, Gabriel, a young healer from Harmony, arrives in Riviera after a plea from its leader, who’s daughter has not recovered from an accident.
Riviera is unlike anything Gabriel could imagine in his wildest nightmares. The population is split into Humans and Slaves, and the interaction between these groups horrifies him. The slaves are bred and conditioned to be completely servile and their treatment is barbaric.
He does find unexpected friends among the humans, although most are suspicious of him and he has to keep his disgust hidden. Almost by accident, he saves the life of a runaway slave, Mariah, and the story revolves around their relationship.
Gabriel tries to convince Mariah that a different world exists outside Riviera; a world without slavery. But she is used to the mindgames of humans, and is just waiting for him to lay the next trap in the game. She’s trying to survive.
He is gradually tolerated, if only for his skills, but his involvement with a runaway, and his views on slavery lead him, Mariah and their friends into dangerous territory.
The compelling element of the book is the depiction of the world the author creates. From an early stage, the details of life in Riviera are rich, believable and convincing. The history which produced the world we see is gradually revealed and the cracks in society along with it.
The humans are complacent, decadent and morally bankrupt; indeed, morality is notable for its absence in virtually every character in the book. But their control over their slaves is total; it has been a constant in their lives for so long that change is unimaginable.
However, all this comes with a warning. The casual violence and sexual abuse inflicted on the slaves by their human masters is graphically described, and a constant feature of the story. I never found it gratuitous, but it will upset some readers, and possibly act as a trigger for others. It is not a light, gentle story.
But if you like a large helping of darkness, I think you will find much to enjoy in this story. I had several questions about the world of the book which went unanswered, but the story itself is well told and compelling. I am wondering if there is the opportunity for a sequel, but only the author can answer that!
Want to read
August 5, 2019
just released
Merged review:
just released
April 12, 2020
Wow. This is one of those books that pulls you in and won’t let go until the final page has been turned – and that will stay on your mind long after you have finished reading it. Although, it’s not a book for the faint of heart. There are dark themes that may be triggering to some, including non-consensual themes, so you should proceed with caution with this one.
Mindgames is set in a dystopian future where the people in Riviera are divided into two groups of people – humans and slaves. Except the slaves are not considered to be anything close to human. The slaves are not allowed to be clothed or to eat human food – they are only allowed to eat gruel. The slaves must pleasure the humans whenever and however the humans desire, and the humans take great pleasure in beating and torturing the slaves purely for their own entertainment. The author’s ability to create this world was almost breath-taking in its detail. It has been a long time since I have read a book that had such detailed world-building. Although the detailed descriptions of the use and torture of the slaves isn’t always pleasant, it does give the reader such an incredible insight into the way that things work in this world.
Then along comes Gabriel. He is a healer that has been called to Riviera from his own homeland to heal the Bearer’s daughter. Where he lives, there are no slaves and everybody lives as equals, and he is shocked by what he sees within the walls of Riviera. He is disgusted by the constant extreme humiliation, degradation and torture of the slaves, who he considers to be wholly and completely human – a point of view that is not shared by a single other person in Riviera, including the slaves. The slaves are taught their place from birth and they know no different.
On his way to Riviera at the start of the book, Gabriel meets Mariah; a slave who has managed to escape the locked walls of Riviera. He points out a direction to her that he believes will lead to safety and watches her continue to run. Moments later, the hunters who are chasing her stumble upon Gabriel and ask if he has seen the runaway slave; and he points them in the opposite direction that Mariah went running to. However, the hunters still manage to catch her, and Mariah vehemently believes that Gabriel betrayed her and sent the hunters after her. Later on, Gabriel rescues her from the torturous death that was to be her punishment for running away, and he finds himself responsible for an unruly slave who believes he betrayed her.
The rest of the book alternates between past and present, flicking back and forth between Mariah’s past and her time living with Gabriel in the present. I have to admit that I really enjoyed the parts written about Mariah’s past, showing her life up until the moment she was able to escape. It shows her training and her punishments, it shows the way that she was passed from one owner to another and how each of her owners treated her. These sections gave such an in-depth view of what it is like to be a slave in Riviera, with such a wide array of emotions ranging from fear, humiliation, arousal and even acceptance. But Mariah is no usual slave. Despite all the horrors she faces on a daily basis, she never loses her strength and determination, or her hope that there is a better life waiting for her outside the locked walls of Riviera. To say that I admired her courage and strength would be a huge understatement.
The parts of the book written in the present were equally gripping for me, though. I loved seeing the interactions between Gabriel and Mariah as they oh-so slowly learn to live with one another and, eventually, learn to trust one another. They come from completely different worlds and it is not always easy for them to understand one another. Gabriel does not agree with the way that slaves are treated and he refuses to treat Mariah as anything less than human. Even when he treats the slaves of others in his practice, he refuses to heal them unless their owner promises not to beat them again while they are healing. Gabriel is not perfect, he has his own lessons to learn during his time in Riviera and he really does learn them in the hardest way possible, but he is a good person and is always trying to do what he believes is right. And through the integrity of his actions day in and day out, he slowly starts to have a positive affect on a few of the humans around him, forcing them to examine the beliefs that they have held for all their lives.
Besides the relationship between Gabriel and Mariah, there is also a secondary romance between Gabriel’s friend, Animal, and his slavegirl, Rose. Animal is considered to be a pansy by the other humans in Riviera – meaning that he very rarely punishes a slave and never tortures a slave purely for entertainment. This makes him a bit of a laughing-stock amongst the other humans, but he doesn’t really care. But the romance between Animal and Rose was really very sweet and it definitely added some moments of respite from the darker and heavier themes of this book.
Overall, I loved this book. I loved the detailed world-building and the displays of complex emotions within each character in a world that is so very different from our own. My one and only complaint was that there were quite frequent grammatical errors, which at times became a bit distracting, but it seems like such a small complaint when the breath-taking story-telling is taken into account overall. I really couldn’t recommend this enough but, as I said before, do proceed with caution.
Mindgames is set in a dystopian future where the people in Riviera are divided into two groups of people – humans and slaves. Except the slaves are not considered to be anything close to human. The slaves are not allowed to be clothed or to eat human food – they are only allowed to eat gruel. The slaves must pleasure the humans whenever and however the humans desire, and the humans take great pleasure in beating and torturing the slaves purely for their own entertainment. The author’s ability to create this world was almost breath-taking in its detail. It has been a long time since I have read a book that had such detailed world-building. Although the detailed descriptions of the use and torture of the slaves isn’t always pleasant, it does give the reader such an incredible insight into the way that things work in this world.
Then along comes Gabriel. He is a healer that has been called to Riviera from his own homeland to heal the Bearer’s daughter. Where he lives, there are no slaves and everybody lives as equals, and he is shocked by what he sees within the walls of Riviera. He is disgusted by the constant extreme humiliation, degradation and torture of the slaves, who he considers to be wholly and completely human – a point of view that is not shared by a single other person in Riviera, including the slaves. The slaves are taught their place from birth and they know no different.
On his way to Riviera at the start of the book, Gabriel meets Mariah; a slave who has managed to escape the locked walls of Riviera. He points out a direction to her that he believes will lead to safety and watches her continue to run. Moments later, the hunters who are chasing her stumble upon Gabriel and ask if he has seen the runaway slave; and he points them in the opposite direction that Mariah went running to. However, the hunters still manage to catch her, and Mariah vehemently believes that Gabriel betrayed her and sent the hunters after her. Later on, Gabriel rescues her from the torturous death that was to be her punishment for running away, and he finds himself responsible for an unruly slave who believes he betrayed her.
The rest of the book alternates between past and present, flicking back and forth between Mariah’s past and her time living with Gabriel in the present. I have to admit that I really enjoyed the parts written about Mariah’s past, showing her life up until the moment she was able to escape. It shows her training and her punishments, it shows the way that she was passed from one owner to another and how each of her owners treated her. These sections gave such an in-depth view of what it is like to be a slave in Riviera, with such a wide array of emotions ranging from fear, humiliation, arousal and even acceptance. But Mariah is no usual slave. Despite all the horrors she faces on a daily basis, she never loses her strength and determination, or her hope that there is a better life waiting for her outside the locked walls of Riviera. To say that I admired her courage and strength would be a huge understatement.
The parts of the book written in the present were equally gripping for me, though. I loved seeing the interactions between Gabriel and Mariah as they oh-so slowly learn to live with one another and, eventually, learn to trust one another. They come from completely different worlds and it is not always easy for them to understand one another. Gabriel does not agree with the way that slaves are treated and he refuses to treat Mariah as anything less than human. Even when he treats the slaves of others in his practice, he refuses to heal them unless their owner promises not to beat them again while they are healing. Gabriel is not perfect, he has his own lessons to learn during his time in Riviera and he really does learn them in the hardest way possible, but he is a good person and is always trying to do what he believes is right. And through the integrity of his actions day in and day out, he slowly starts to have a positive affect on a few of the humans around him, forcing them to examine the beliefs that they have held for all their lives.
Besides the relationship between Gabriel and Mariah, there is also a secondary romance between Gabriel’s friend, Animal, and his slavegirl, Rose. Animal is considered to be a pansy by the other humans in Riviera – meaning that he very rarely punishes a slave and never tortures a slave purely for entertainment. This makes him a bit of a laughing-stock amongst the other humans, but he doesn’t really care. But the romance between Animal and Rose was really very sweet and it definitely added some moments of respite from the darker and heavier themes of this book.
Overall, I loved this book. I loved the detailed world-building and the displays of complex emotions within each character in a world that is so very different from our own. My one and only complaint was that there were quite frequent grammatical errors, which at times became a bit distracting, but it seems like such a small complaint when the breath-taking story-telling is taken into account overall. I really couldn’t recommend this enough but, as I said before, do proceed with caution.
January 31, 2025
Post-apocalyptic future-dystopian speculative-fiction romance-pornography. Yeah, that’s my best description.
I admit that the whole romance genre isn’t my thing, so it’s hard for me to know if Mindgames slots in there neatly or not. I’m going to guess not. You have a weird back and forth between most of the actions in the novel being horrifying and with most of the others being sexy. And, in fact, there’s not a single sexy bit for the first 25% or so. Then there is this vast liminal space where the actions are objectively evil (and explicitly stated as such) yet your brain knows it’s not real and it becomes fodder for later sexy imaginings. And people have gender preferences but most people are at least somewhat bisexual and sexism and racism are absent.
Whatever it was, I had a hard time putting it down. The characters are fully drawn and interesting and quite different from each other. There’s tension between characters (including the apparently mandatory romance trope where two characters don’t get along, realize they are in love, but have a big fight which torpedoes the relationship before either can tell the other). But the tensions seem appropriate to the setting and aren’t manufactured for the sake of having conflict (one of my pet peeves).
Let’s talk about that setting. Gold's worldbuilding is remarkably complex and, while there are definitely holes, to be honest, I’ve read acclaimed fantasy and science fiction novels with bigger holes. The most interesting element to my mind, and one that Gold doesn’t call out explicitly, is that this is a post-scarcity society without money. The minority population of masters work because adults ought to do something with their lives but no one is forced to. Each master (or family) has a home and access to goods and food as needed. Gatekeepers exist to make sure no one hordes or spoils resources, but no one has to earn them.
The result of this is that no one owns anything. There is no personal property. Things are allotted to you. Your home is yours and no one can just move in and kick you out, but you don’t pay the crown or a landlord or a bank. Ditto your belongings. And your slaves are yours too, except they’re not. Hall monitors (more gatekeepers) are there to make sure you are taking care of your things and can just walk in to your private space whenever they wish. They usually ask permission, but there are cases where they have invaded and sent people to jail for doing things wrong.
You may choose the slave or slaves you want but it’s all temporary (there’s no concept of a “forever home” like with modern Americans and pets) and they live with you and do what you want, but they’re not really yours. Any other master can borrow them for a few moments, hours, or in one case, a full week without letting you know. Masters can dissuade but not stop any random stranger from abusing their slave; not even the royal family’s slaves are immune from mistreatment.
For slaves, life is brutal and traumatic. They function (more or less) only because their childhoods are not normal or loving but not overtly abusive and ultra-regimented and their post-peak hotness lives are usually lived out on the farms where the children are. Every interaction screamed PTSD to me, but of course it’s not, because there’s no “post” to it, it’s just survival.
Yet we have real people underneath all the scars and somehow they are still capable of love. Because otherwise, this would be romance with slavery as a backdrop (something I’d never wish to read, though American literature is filled with books like that) or it wouldn’t be romance at all. Yet, at its heart, it is.
I admit that the whole romance genre isn’t my thing, so it’s hard for me to know if Mindgames slots in there neatly or not. I’m going to guess not. You have a weird back and forth between most of the actions in the novel being horrifying and with most of the others being sexy. And, in fact, there’s not a single sexy bit for the first 25% or so. Then there is this vast liminal space where the actions are objectively evil (and explicitly stated as such) yet your brain knows it’s not real and it becomes fodder for later sexy imaginings. And people have gender preferences but most people are at least somewhat bisexual and sexism and racism are absent.
Whatever it was, I had a hard time putting it down. The characters are fully drawn and interesting and quite different from each other. There’s tension between characters (including the apparently mandatory romance trope where two characters don’t get along, realize they are in love, but have a big fight which torpedoes the relationship before either can tell the other). But the tensions seem appropriate to the setting and aren’t manufactured for the sake of having conflict (one of my pet peeves).
Let’s talk about that setting. Gold's worldbuilding is remarkably complex and, while there are definitely holes, to be honest, I’ve read acclaimed fantasy and science fiction novels with bigger holes. The most interesting element to my mind, and one that Gold doesn’t call out explicitly, is that this is a post-scarcity society without money. The minority population of masters work because adults ought to do something with their lives but no one is forced to. Each master (or family) has a home and access to goods and food as needed. Gatekeepers exist to make sure no one hordes or spoils resources, but no one has to earn them.
The result of this is that no one owns anything. There is no personal property. Things are allotted to you. Your home is yours and no one can just move in and kick you out, but you don’t pay the crown or a landlord or a bank. Ditto your belongings. And your slaves are yours too, except they’re not. Hall monitors (more gatekeepers) are there to make sure you are taking care of your things and can just walk in to your private space whenever they wish. They usually ask permission, but there are cases where they have invaded and sent people to jail for doing things wrong.
You may choose the slave or slaves you want but it’s all temporary (there’s no concept of a “forever home” like with modern Americans and pets) and they live with you and do what you want, but they’re not really yours. Any other master can borrow them for a few moments, hours, or in one case, a full week without letting you know. Masters can dissuade but not stop any random stranger from abusing their slave; not even the royal family’s slaves are immune from mistreatment.
For slaves, life is brutal and traumatic. They function (more or less) only because their childhoods are not normal or loving but not overtly abusive and ultra-regimented and their post-peak hotness lives are usually lived out on the farms where the children are. Every interaction screamed PTSD to me, but of course it’s not, because there’s no “post” to it, it’s just survival.
Yet we have real people underneath all the scars and somehow they are still capable of love. Because otherwise, this would be romance with slavery as a backdrop (something I’d never wish to read, though American literature is filled with books like that) or it wouldn’t be romance at all. Yet, at its heart, it is.
January 7, 2020
Mindgames is a phenomenal novel and certainly not for the faint of heart. Gold sets a vivid scene in a dystopian future where mankind is split into human masters and slaves. Listed as an erotic dark romance, I was pleasantly surprised to find a depth to the characters which was both moving and insightful, allowing the reader to become imersed in thier world.
The content is explicit and deliberately degrading, both extreme suffering and humiliation are key themes throughout the book, but that's what makes it memorable. It's the shocking content as seen through the eyes of an outsider (to the society featured), that adds a highly moral perspective of the disturbing degradation of the slaves, thus allowing the reader a palatable viewpoint to continue reading.
Gold artfully weaves the perspectives of the slaves and masters, the sovereign and the morality of the outsider to portray a broken society that is believable and therefore real due to its flawless character consistency.
Unexpected friendships and the selfless bravery of the heroine push the boundaries of human traits such as compassion, cowardice and self preservation from a unique perspective that is compelling.
Whilst the genuine love and affection of the two principle couples is key to the sociological exploration of the characters in a changing environment, the genre of the novel is undoubtedly dark erotica. The heat level is not for those below eighteen years of age and it is worth mentioning that the length of the story would be considered epic, but at no point does the story seem slow moving.
The conclusion to the novel was satisfying, however I wonder if the author might have added an insight in the epilogue of how the outsider and his companion (no spoiler!) settled back into his homeland and also a more conclusive ending for the other key couple featured or a more fundamental change in the corrupted society.
The content is explicit and deliberately degrading, both extreme suffering and humiliation are key themes throughout the book, but that's what makes it memorable. It's the shocking content as seen through the eyes of an outsider (to the society featured), that adds a highly moral perspective of the disturbing degradation of the slaves, thus allowing the reader a palatable viewpoint to continue reading.
Gold artfully weaves the perspectives of the slaves and masters, the sovereign and the morality of the outsider to portray a broken society that is believable and therefore real due to its flawless character consistency.
Unexpected friendships and the selfless bravery of the heroine push the boundaries of human traits such as compassion, cowardice and self preservation from a unique perspective that is compelling.
Whilst the genuine love and affection of the two principle couples is key to the sociological exploration of the characters in a changing environment, the genre of the novel is undoubtedly dark erotica. The heat level is not for those below eighteen years of age and it is worth mentioning that the length of the story would be considered epic, but at no point does the story seem slow moving.
The conclusion to the novel was satisfying, however I wonder if the author might have added an insight in the epilogue of how the outsider and his companion (no spoiler!) settled back into his homeland and also a more conclusive ending for the other key couple featured or a more fundamental change in the corrupted society.
May 29, 2020
At first, I wasn't sure this story was for me. I do enjoy reading in this genre, and I was aware of the book's explicit content, but the very high level of sexual violence was off-putting. I almost put it aside. But then, something happened. I began to care about all the characters, and I wanted to follow them to their happy endings. I also began to see the social commentary embedded in the story.
I would love to give this book 4 stars, but there are so many typos in the text, I just can't. I highly recommend that the author pay for a professional line edit of the manuscript, then re-release the book.
If you are especially sensitive to explicit sexual violence, then this story may not be for you. If a lot of typos drive you crazy, then this book is not for you, or at least until/unless it is line-edited and re-released. But, if you can get past all that, or it doesn't bother you, then Mindgames offers a cast of very sympathetic characters who all fight against a horrible system in their own way, and ultimately triumph. It offers hope that a terrible system can be undone by a few brave people.
I would love to give this book 4 stars, but there are so many typos in the text, I just can't. I highly recommend that the author pay for a professional line edit of the manuscript, then re-release the book.
If you are especially sensitive to explicit sexual violence, then this story may not be for you. If a lot of typos drive you crazy, then this book is not for you, or at least until/unless it is line-edited and re-released. But, if you can get past all that, or it doesn't bother you, then Mindgames offers a cast of very sympathetic characters who all fight against a horrible system in their own way, and ultimately triumph. It offers hope that a terrible system can be undone by a few brave people.
June 21, 2020
Mindgames is an erotic slavefic novel, about a cruel post apocalyptic society where slaves are considered subhuman, and treated with both vicious and casual cruelty. The main character, Gabriel, travels to the land of Riviera to work as a doctor, and finds himself sickened and horrified by what he finds there of the way the people live, and works to change the mindsets of the people around him all the while helping those in need as he can. It’s a little bit of a melodrama, lots of angst and emotional turmoil, and enough BDSM content to make for a very gripping read.
Read the full review on my blog: https://rosesbooks.home.blog/2020/04/...
Read the full review on my blog: https://rosesbooks.home.blog/2020/04/...
July 3, 2020
This thrilling story follows charming characters in an in depth and breathtaking world unlike any other. It is a gorgeous mix of tragedy, romance, physical touch, scenes that could bring you to tears and some that make you blush and look away from the page. It’s a fantastic experience and pure joy reading Jasmine Gold’s, Mindgames. I recommend this book to anyone who would enjoy a fantasy story with a touch of eroticism and no shortage of lovable characters and compelling story. I look forward to the future works of Jasmine Gold and highly encourage everyone to give this book a try! I will hold it in my heart forever.
September 28, 2021
I'm unsure what to make of this book, but waht I will say is that it is UNIQUE and that is so rare to find now days. I picked it up expecting an erotic romance, and while there was a lot of sex in it, it was the normal descriptive type sex found in erotic book. Thankfully the story stood up on it's own and carried me through despite the sexy part not being what I had expected.
I hope this author can improve their description of sex, because I really look forward to their next book.
I hope this author can improve their description of sex, because I really look forward to their next book.
June 27, 2020
I loved this book so much! It is so much more than just dark erotica -- although the erotica is very dark, so beware. It's a love story and an adventure story and a story about how people can change themselves and change other people. I felt like the characters became my friends, and when the book ended I still want to talk to them all the time.
May 8, 2021
"The only way to get through a mind game is to play it through to the end." In Jasmine Gold's book Mindgame, an intense story unfolds in the city of Riviera. The people of Riviera are divided into two groups: Humans and Slaves. The story opens with a naked Mariah being hunted for escaping. She encounters a stranger on the road and is assured he will try to keep the hunters from finding her. Gabriel is a healer from Harmony and is on a mission to aid Riveria's Bearer's daughter. He finds slavery horrid and is upset that all the slaves treatment is lower than animals. Upon a tour of Riveria, the Bearer promises Gabriel he could have any slave he wanted. As the tour progresses, he sees Mariah being tortured with death by suffocation. Immediately, he declares she is the slave he wants. When Mariah is conscious, she immediately is defensive. Despite Gabriel being kind, she openly believes he is playing mind games with her.
I found Mindgames an excellent character-driven novel with several stories intertwined. The amount of detail Jasmine Gold gave the characters' experiences, and inner thoughts made the story come alive. I fully understood why Mariah's distrust was so deeply ingrained. Gold's ability to jump from the past to present was flawlessly executed. There was never a moment where I had to question the motives or intentions of the characters. I recommend mature adults capable of seeing the growth to every character's personal growth to pick this dystopian book up. Can trust be built on a foundation that repeatedly has proven to punish such thoughts? Can a human and slave love one another beyond carnal desires? Read Mindgames, and the you will find the revelations to these questions and more.
Review written for Readers Favorites
I found Mindgames an excellent character-driven novel with several stories intertwined. The amount of detail Jasmine Gold gave the characters' experiences, and inner thoughts made the story come alive. I fully understood why Mariah's distrust was so deeply ingrained. Gold's ability to jump from the past to present was flawlessly executed. There was never a moment where I had to question the motives or intentions of the characters. I recommend mature adults capable of seeing the growth to every character's personal growth to pick this dystopian book up. Can trust be built on a foundation that repeatedly has proven to punish such thoughts? Can a human and slave love one another beyond carnal desires? Read Mindgames, and the you will find the revelations to these questions and more.
Review written for Readers Favorites
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March 25, 2022More detailed review available at The Smut Report.
Heat Factor: Torture porn
Character Chemistry: Troubled
Plot: A textured look at a dystopia built on an extreme form of slavery
Overall: There is definitely an audience for this book, but it is not me. If you’re a superfan of Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty trilogy, you might like it?
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.
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Heat Factor: Torture porn
Character Chemistry: Troubled
Plot: A textured look at a dystopia built on an extreme form of slavery
Overall: There is definitely an audience for this book, but it is not me. If you’re a superfan of Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty trilogy, you might like it?
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
July 2, 2019
Having read SF&F for a half century, I've developed a taste for well-written tales set in well-drawn dystopias. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (2009) is a pretty decent example. Mindgames qualifies on both counts: the tale is briskly paced and was often hard to set down, the dystopic Riviera - I wonder if the author intended a comment on the hedonistic Riviera we know today? - is grim and plausible. The level of human and sexual exploitation is pretty gritty, but does drive the narrative.
On whole, it's an exceptional first novel, a powerful story well-told. I've nominated both of these books to Goodread's "Smut for the Smart" roster though it's possible that Mindgames will appeal a bit more to folks drawn to Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty trilogy.
On whole, it's an exceptional first novel, a powerful story well-told. I've nominated both of these books to Goodread's "Smut for the Smart" roster though it's possible that Mindgames will appeal a bit more to folks drawn to Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty trilogy.
May 8, 2022
I read a lot of books every year, but this book is one of the few stories that stayed with me over the years. I remember checking the website a lot in 2013 to see if the author finished a new part in the story. I really cared for all the characters. I can assure you that this book is a lot more special than the ugly cover and back-cover blurb will make you believe.
October 20, 2019
Thoughtful, Game of Thrones-esque tale that is exquisitely told. I enjoyed the complex world this author painted. I look forward to reading more!
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