REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: The Game by Shane Scollins

April 17, 2013 Julie Uncategorized 2

Welcome to my stop for The Game blog tour hosted by YA Bound. Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

The Game
by Shane Scollins

Release Date: 03/13/13

No matter where you are, they’ll find you, and put you in “The GAME”.

Candice Laguna’s life is being systematically dismantled, by an unknown force, for a reason she can’t imagine. But she is about to become the unwilling star of a reality game competition the likes of which has never been broadcast to the world.

Just when things get darkest, a mysterious man snatches her from the grips of doom. He is a man who is not what he appears, and not who he says. He has no name and his motivation to help Candice is not what it seems to be.

THE GAME is a mystery/thriller with an unpredictable paranormal twist. It has action and adventure and plays up the everyday exploitation of reality television obsession gone wrong.

REVIEW

This book is like three books in one! It’s got a totally twisty plot that really keeps you guessing all the way through. I quite liked the way it was structured. You get used to reading the same predictable patterns in books – for instance, you typically expect certain things by the one quarter mark, other things by the half mark, and so on. But this book flips all that conventional thinking on its end, because while it probably does follow those traditional markers, it does it in a totally unique and different way.

There are several plots in this books. The first is the most obvious – someone is screwing with Candice Laguna. Someone it taking her out digitally – tapping her phone, tracking her, all kinds of freaky stuff that really makes you realize people with certain abilities in this day and age, can know you thoroughly and completely without ever having met you.

Candice is “invited” to play a game by a really disturbed individual. This is the first plot. But that resolves itself fairly fast and then we move on to the next plot. I can’t tell you about that one, or the one that comes after, because both of those are spoilers. But it was cool.

Candice is a very likable protagonist. For one, we can all sympathize with her as her life is destroyed. But beyond feeling bad about what’s happening, Candice is tough and brave. I enjoyed her and I liked the fact that she took control at every stage. Even in the beginning when she was totally confused, she was still taking control and trying to figure things out on her own. She’s a great heroine.

The Game is a thriller with a dash of romance and it will appeal to readers who enjoy a fast-paced narrative, are very creepy bad guy, and paranormal romance. Yes, that’s right! Paranormal romance.

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About the author…

Shane Scollins is a freelance writer and author. Originally from New Jersey, he now resides in Upstate New York with his wife, Heather. He has worked as an automotive service manager, a website developer and a computer network engineer. Primarily a science fiction and paranormal novelist, Shane enjoys taking readers on surprising and unexpected journeys that twist reality. He is currently working on his next book.