Review: The Disillusionists Series (Mind Games, Double Cross, Head Rush) by Carolyn Crane

I read the Disillusionists trilogy last month but I'm just now writing a review because it took me this long to process the whole thing. I just wanted time to be in love…It sounds dorky I know but I had such a rare blissful reading experience with this series that I wanted to savor it for a while.

As usual, when I really LOVE something my thoughts are a scrambled mess of OMG's and GO READ THIS NOW so here we go with my most likely non sensical review of the Disillusionists trilogy by Carolyn Crane that will in no way do it justice but will hopefully make you want to go read it anyway.

Review:

This is urban fantasy at it's best. Carolyn Crane has created a world that is dark and sinister yet with the potential for hope around every corner.The characters are complex (holy cow are they complex!) and are always walking that razor thin line between right and wrong. The moral contradictions alone had me squeeing with delight.

Hypochondriac Justine Jones is tapped by the enigmatic mastermind Sterling Packard to join his personal hit squad of disillusionists. This is the wackiest team of superheroes you will ever meet. They all have some sort of fear/phobia or in the case of highcaps, heightened brain power, giving them powers like telekinesis, telepathy or memory revision. 

Packard's team is hired by victims or their families to "disillusion" the Midcity bad guys. Each member of the team takes a turn at zinging - that's the technical term - their fears & phobias into the target to break them down "on emotional, mental, and other levels." Once the criminal reaches their mental breaking point Packard rebuilds them into a productive member of society.

"Disillusionment crashes and reboots people"

For the disillusionists, Packard offers them salvation and an odd sense of family after living with their debilitating phobias for so long. After they *zing* into the victim they are temporally cured. Seems like a win-win situation for everyone but nothing is ever as simple as it seems in this series.

The title for each book in the series say it all. Mind Games. Double Cross. Head Rush. That is exactly what you get.

So that's the set up. I will commence fangirl babbling now.

The heroine: Justine Jones is one of the most fascinating UF heroines I have ever read. She's no bad ass. She isn't snarky. She is completely crippled by hypochondria and the fear that she will die from a case of rare Vein Star Syndrome. Despite that she is amazing! This girl has an incredible sense of right and wrong and a desire to be accepted as she is. She's probably one of the most sympathetic and real characters I've read about in a loooong time. Another odd insight to Justine…. in UF the heroines instincts are almost always spot on. In the case of Justine, her judgement can't always be trusted. She goes with her heart and that's not always the right call. She wants to believe in people so badly that she sometimes doesn't see things as they are but as she wishes them to be. As a reader seeing through the protagonists eyes you usually know the truth - here you don't and it keeps you guessing right along with Justine the whole time.

The bad guys: This has me giggling. With names like The Silver Widow and The Alchemists this series walks just this side of camp but never crosses the line. These villains are SCARY bad asses. They are also complicated. I definitely wanted them to lose but once you see what's inside their head as the team breaks them down you do start to feel a bit of sympathy for them. They aren't the stereotypical, larger than life villains. A few even think they're helping Midcity. Maybe they are. Interesting stuff.

The relationships: Whether it's the romance (a love triangle which I normally HATE but I loved this one) or a friendship, all of the relationships in this series intersect at some point to strengthen the overall plot. Another high point for me is the close friendship Justine shares with Shelby and the non sexual friendships she shares with her male counterparts.

Side characters that ADD not detract: I loved every single character in this series. Even the one(s) I loved to hate. I'm talking about you Otto. Outrageous over the top Simon, Russian accented, chipped tooth Shelby and the rest of the motley crew are not around for mere decoration. They are pivotal to the plot and each one could carry a spin off series on their own.

The twists: Oh. My. God. How did people wait a year between these books?? There are some MAJOR twists, turns and cliffhangers! What's awesome about this series is that this is a mind game but NOT a mind f*ck. The twists and turns move everyone forward and aren't plot devices or tricks just to confuse and toy with the reader.

Sterling Packard: Is he an evil mastermind? A vigilante? Sex on a stick? The one person who can save Justine? The one person who can destroy Justine? All of those things? Neither?
Plus he's trapped for eternity inside a mongolian restaurant forced to eat only kabobs! Hilarious and only this series could make that a plausible plot line and pull it off so beautifully.

The conclusion to the series: SO good! I have been so disappointed in series enders lately but Head Rush totally delivers IMHO.

I realize I didn't get into too much detail about the plot. There are plenty of reviews on Goodreads if you really want to know. My pal Tiger reviewed the entire series on her blog also. In my opinion this series is such a rare example of a trilogy done right that I think it's better to just dive in and experience it cold turkey. 

Confession…..I'm a huge spoiler whore. I read the last page first most of the time. I didn't even want any spoilers for this one. I was completely gripped the entire time, flipping through the pages….stomach churning. It was exhilarating! I seriously haven't felt this way in so long about a series. I was getting excited looking through the book again while writing this review. I just wanted to stop and read the whole thing again.

So um yeah…..I like this series. A lot.

Go read it.

Like now.

Rating: Mind Games, Double Cross, Head Rush. 4 out 4 for them all! A+++

*The Disillusionists Trilogy qualifies for the Author's After Dark 2012 Reading Challenge hosted by Midnyte Reader

Author Website | Twitter

Buy the book!
Mind Games: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Powells |IndieBound | Signed copies from Uncle Hugo's
Double Cross: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Powells |IndieBound | Signed copies from Uncle Hugo’s|
Head Rush: Currently only available as e-book - Samhain (all formats) | Amazon Kindle |Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Barnes & Noble |Google ebooks | Diesel

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