Closed Hearts- Review, Giveaway and Author Interview!

(Book Two of the Mindjack Trilogy)

When you control minds, only your heart can be used against you.

Eight months ago, Kira Moore revealed to the mindreading world that mindjackers like herself were hidden in their midst. Now she wonders if telling the truth was the right choice after all. As wild rumors spread, a powerful anti-jacker politician capitalizes on mindreaders’ fears and strips jackers of their rights. While some jackers flee to Jackertown—a slum rife with jackworkers who trade mind control favors for cash—Kira and her family hide from the readers who fear her and jackers who hate her. But when a jacker Clan member makes Kira’s boyfriend Raf collapse in her arms, Kira is forced to save the people she loves by facing the thing she fears most: FBI agent Kestrel and his experimental torture chamber for jackers.

I can't tell you how happy I am to be a part of the blog tour for Closed Hearts. I just loved Open Minds (you can find my review of Open Minds here) and I was so excited to get my hands on the next book, Closed Hearts.  I'm loving this series!

This book is filled with heart pumping action and emotion. I was all in from beginning to end.

I'm happy to see Kira in a newer, confident state. Of course she has moments of self doubt and uncertainty, but she is more comfortable with herself. She is finding her place and knowing her own mind.



The introduction to some new characters was interesting.  I'm very interested in Julian and his group of allies.  I still love to hate Kestrel.  He is bad, bad guy.  In this book we learn about jackers with special abilities.  That's some pretty cool stuff.


And the ending?  Oh, I can't even tell you.  My heart has been wretched out and thrown on the floor and stomped upon.  That's where it ends.  Such a mean way to end a book.  Now I have to wait in sad desperation for the next book.  


As for content, there was one use of hell and one exclamation involving deity.  There is a fair amount of violence and some torture.  


Check out my interview with Susan!

Susan, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for me. It's great to learn a little more about you and the books you are writing.

Thanks for having me!

First, you have to know that I'm loving this Mindjack series. I'm completely pulled in and invested the whole time I'm reading. What sparked your imagination for this book series? Was there one moment or thing that was the springboard for you?

I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! Seriously, connecting with readers is what it’s all about for a writer. The idea of a mindreading world came to me in a flash one night as I was settling down to sleep. You know that hazy time, when you’re half-awake, half-asleep and your brain refuses to let go of the puzzles of your day? I was working on an idea for a 1st paragraph contest: I wanted to write something new, not from one of my current novels, and I was wrestling with the idea of a boy who was a touch empath and very isolated because of his ability. Then an image popped into my head of a girl sitting in a classroom filled with mindreaders, only she couldn’t read minds. She was achingly, painfully isolated, like the empathy boy, only in this case because of her apparent disability. I had to get out of bed to write that 1st paragraph, and several weeks later I stopped trying to fight it, and sat down to write the novel. It wasn’t until 15,000 words in that I realized she was a mindjacker.  The story evolved from there.

What sort of a writer are you? Early morning or late at night? Music playing or nice and quiet? Snacks?

Tea, no cream, no sugar. Quiet, unless I’m drowning out the sounds of my boys fighting with a little Green Day on my iPod. I write during the day, while my kids are at school, so the main source of noise is usually my two cats, making their demands.

You are like a brainiac with all your Engineering degrees. My husband is an Engineer so I know first hand what kind of a brain it takes to get through that. What made you choose Engineering? Over say, English and writing? (which you are obviously so good at)

Aw, thanks! I was always good at science and engineering, and I grew up wanting to be an astronaut (actually applied, too. They said no.). My father worked on the original Apollo Space program as an engineer, and I totally wanted to go into space. At the time, you either had to be a scientist/engineer or a pilot (through the military). I seriously considered signing up for the Navy’s pilot program straight out of high school, but back then (I’m an oldster) they didn’t allow women to fly combat, which was the only way to work your way up to piloting a Space Shuttle. So I decided to be an engineer instead. But I always loved to write – my SAT’s for college were exactly equal on the math and English sides, but my writerly inclinations took a back seat as I pursued my engineering degrees. One of the reasons I think writing is like crack for me now is that I’m finally unleashing my creative side. Hard to put that genie back in the bottle. 

Where is your favorite travel destination?

Someday I’m going to Italy. I’ve never been, but I’m going to take my notebook, drink excessive amounts of red wine and eat lots of pasta. Normally, my life consists of driving to school and the Target.

Can you tell me the character in your books that you love writing the most and why?

I usually have one favorite character per book. It’s almost always a secondary character. I’m not sure why – my main character and I tend to have a love/hate relationship. Probably because of all the mean things I do to them. You can tell which character I love most because they always get the best lines. Other than that, I won’t bias you by naming names.

You sure left me hanging in Closed Hearts. My heart has been wrenched out. When can I expect the next book?

I’m working on Free Souls now, but still early in the first draft. I hope to have it out by the end of the year or early 2013. Summer is tricky with my kids out of school and I’m never quite sure how much writing I’ll be able to do then. But in-between drafts of Free Souls, I plan to write a series of short stories from the point-of-view of different characters from Closed Hearts. The first is from Raf’s point-of-view and is a prequel to Open Minds – it’s already out, called Mind Games (Mindjack Origins). The second one will be from Julian’s point-of-view, from a time before he makes his debut in Closed Hearts. I’ll be releasing them as I write them, and hopefully Julian’s will come out over the summer.

Closed Hearts is now available (released 5/23)!
$2.99 Ebook at Amazon (and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble
Paper copies available at Amazon or get signed copies from the author (see sidebar)

And now for the giveaway!  Yipee!  Susan is offering an ebook copy of her new book, Closed Hearts to one lucky reader!  If you win and you haven't read Mind Games yet, you can opt to have that book instead.  Sweet! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Looking for more Raf? Try this short prequel to Open Minds from Raf's point of view:

Raf, a regular mindreader, is in love with Kira, the only girl in school who can't read minds. Raf struggles to keep his thoughts about her private, but secrets are something that only zeros like Kira can keep. As he works up the nerve to ask Kira to the mindware Games, his friends have other games in mind for him.

PRAISE FOR MIND GAMES "I loved Kira in Open Minds ... but getting Raf's POV in Mind Games was a real treat." -TwiMom101 Book Blogger

Available for $0.99 at Amazon and Barnes and Noble or FREE at Smashwords (which has formats for all e-readers).

Susan Kaye Quinn, Author
Susan is the author of the bestselling YA novel Open Minds, Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy, which is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. The sequel Closed Hearts was just released 5/23. Susan's business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist," but she mostly plays on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.