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Mind Games #1
Through Shadow and Mind
Eleven year old Samantha Galle disappears after a horrific late night accident. The mystery surrounding her disappearance leaves her three younger siblings -- Casey, Tess and Bobby -- devastated. Five years later, after surviving a near-fatal accident of their own, Samantha's three siblings come to the realization that what happened to her was no accident. They are left with only one explanation: The world is not what it seems. And neither are they.
357 pages, Paperback
Published November 16, 2022
About the author
Weslyn Amory
2 books3 followersWeslyn Amory is a college sophomore pursuing a career in psychology and self publishing books. In July 2020, they published a piece of prose called Nothing is There in the Scarlett Leaf Review, and in November 2020, self-published their debut novel and first book in the Mind Games series, Into the Darkness. Into the Darkness was republished as Through Shadow and Mind in November 2022. In the future, they hope to publish more short pieces, along with the rest of the Mind Games series. Weslyn is also working on multiple other books, including dark fantasy, dark academia, dystopia and horror.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 11, 2021
Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy of the book!
Into the Darkness is a middle-grade/YA urban fantasy read that follows the lives of 4 siblings. Samantha is the oldest, who disappears mysteriously after a car accident 5 years ago. The other siblings, Casey, Tess and Bobby live in an RV with their mom, always on the move ever since their sisters disappearance. They soon come to find out that the world is not what it seems and their lives are turned upside down. The story is told in the different POV's of the siblings, in a succession of quick and short chapters.
The highlight of the story is the action-packed adventure of the siblings, which is a great fit for a younger audience who enjoys an exciting and gripping story. The worldbuilding is simple and easy to grasp, focused on the fight between the Irregulars (teenagers with powers who live in hiding) and the Sites (irregulars who feared their ability). There is a lot of potential for diving further into the history of their conflict in the subsequent books in the series, as well as giving the reader more information about the adult community which is loosely mentioned in the story (for example are there adult irregulars and where are they?).
Dialogues is one of the most used writing elements throughout the story which combined with the multiple battle scenes makes the book very fast-paced. I was somewhat surprised by the fighting skills of this young society (specially for Tess who is only 10 years old) and also by how often and how seemingly normal fierce and harsh battles occur, I would consider it therefore intended more for an upper grade YA audience. One of my favourite elements of the story was the internal conflict with Bobby, who became friends with a few of the Sites and saw that there was good between them as well. I am eager to see how the Irregular/Site conflict will develop in the subsequent books and to see what Bobby's role will be in this.
Into the Darkness is a middle-grade/YA urban fantasy read that follows the lives of 4 siblings. Samantha is the oldest, who disappears mysteriously after a car accident 5 years ago. The other siblings, Casey, Tess and Bobby live in an RV with their mom, always on the move ever since their sisters disappearance. They soon come to find out that the world is not what it seems and their lives are turned upside down. The story is told in the different POV's of the siblings, in a succession of quick and short chapters.
The highlight of the story is the action-packed adventure of the siblings, which is a great fit for a younger audience who enjoys an exciting and gripping story. The worldbuilding is simple and easy to grasp, focused on the fight between the Irregulars (teenagers with powers who live in hiding) and the Sites (irregulars who feared their ability). There is a lot of potential for diving further into the history of their conflict in the subsequent books in the series, as well as giving the reader more information about the adult community which is loosely mentioned in the story (for example are there adult irregulars and where are they?).
Dialogues is one of the most used writing elements throughout the story which combined with the multiple battle scenes makes the book very fast-paced. I was somewhat surprised by the fighting skills of this young society (specially for Tess who is only 10 years old) and also by how often and how seemingly normal fierce and harsh battles occur, I would consider it therefore intended more for an upper grade YA audience. One of my favourite elements of the story was the internal conflict with Bobby, who became friends with a few of the Sites and saw that there was good between them as well. I am eager to see how the Irregular/Site conflict will develop in the subsequent books and to see what Bobby's role will be in this.
August 10, 2021
Book: Into the Darkness
Author: Weslyn Amory
Rating: 5/5
Samantha, an eleven year old girl disappeared after a car accident on a stormy night. She was travelling with her sibling and after a sudden lightning she vanished. Her younger siblings Casey, Tess and Bobby started living in a RV after the accident. After 5 years, they came to know that it wasn't an accident and Samantha is a very different person now. Other than Casey, others were shocked with the news. Casey knows something which others doesn't. While discussing about Samantha, something slammed into their RV. While moving to a safe place, they saw some unusual fight between a group. One of the figure's hand light up and it doesn't seems like a fair fight. So Casey interfered the fight and the events followed where really shocking for her.
What is that shocking reality about Casey? Where is Samantha? Will the siblings meet up again?
Into the Darkness is a wonderful fantasy book. I love books about a different world and people with super powers. I really enjoyed the whole book. The language is very simple and lucid. Narration is so vivid and characterization is well-written. It is a fast-paced one which is a most important element of a fantasy book. Recommended to all fantasy lovers.
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Author: Weslyn Amory
Rating: 5/5
Samantha, an eleven year old girl disappeared after a car accident on a stormy night. She was travelling with her sibling and after a sudden lightning she vanished. Her younger siblings Casey, Tess and Bobby started living in a RV after the accident. After 5 years, they came to know that it wasn't an accident and Samantha is a very different person now. Other than Casey, others were shocked with the news. Casey knows something which others doesn't. While discussing about Samantha, something slammed into their RV. While moving to a safe place, they saw some unusual fight between a group. One of the figure's hand light up and it doesn't seems like a fair fight. So Casey interfered the fight and the events followed where really shocking for her.
What is that shocking reality about Casey? Where is Samantha? Will the siblings meet up again?
Into the Darkness is a wonderful fantasy book. I love books about a different world and people with super powers. I really enjoyed the whole book. The language is very simple and lucid. Narration is so vivid and characterization is well-written. It is a fast-paced one which is a most important element of a fantasy book. Recommended to all fantasy lovers.
#BookReview
#BookReviewer
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews