laurenjodi's review against another edition
3.0
Double Cross
3 Stars
A fully fledged disillusionist who uses her health neurosis to force criminals to see the error of their ways, Justine Jones faces an ethical dilemma when she begins to question both the efficacy and the effects of her actions. Equally problematic is the fact that she is torn between two men - Sterling Packard, the enigmatic leader of the disillusionists whose past misdeeds haunt him still, and Otto Sanchez, the powerful mayor of Midcity, whose philosophy of the “ends justify the means” may have disastrous consequences for Justine and those she cares for…
A good sequel despite some problematic elements.
The basic plot revolves around the investigation into a team of serial killers known as the Dorks, who are targeting High-caps. Nevertheless, this storyline takes a back seat to the developments in Justine’s relationships with Otto and Packard.
Otto and Justine's romance is definitely the worst aspect of the book. Not only is he a whiny douchebag, but his smarminess makes me decidedly itchy and uncomfortable. Moreover, the images of he and Justine together are shudder inducing even before the
In contrast, Justine and Packard are amazing together and the shared dreams trope, which is a favorite of mine, only increases the intimacy of the incredible sexual tension and chemistry between them. Unfortunately, Justine is annoyingly obtuse when it comes to realizing Packard’s feelings for her. Yes, he is manipulative, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he is smitten and she is in denial both about her own emotions and his.
Now for the biggest issue with the book - the ending. Not only are there several shocking revelations and disturbing events, but the story ends with a cliffhanger that leaves the reader hanging. It is a good thing that the final installment is already available so that no waiting is necessary to find out what happens next.
3 Stars
A fully fledged disillusionist who uses her health neurosis to force criminals to see the error of their ways, Justine Jones faces an ethical dilemma when she begins to question both the efficacy and the effects of her actions. Equally problematic is the fact that she is torn between two men - Sterling Packard, the enigmatic leader of the disillusionists whose past misdeeds haunt him still, and Otto Sanchez, the powerful mayor of Midcity, whose philosophy of the “ends justify the means” may have disastrous consequences for Justine and those she cares for…
A good sequel despite some problematic elements.
The basic plot revolves around the investigation into a team of serial killers known as the Dorks, who are targeting High-caps. Nevertheless, this storyline takes a back seat to the developments in Justine’s relationships with Otto and Packard.
Otto and Justine's romance is definitely the worst aspect of the book. Not only is he a whiny douchebag, but his smarminess makes me decidedly itchy and uncomfortable. Moreover, the images of he and Justine together are shudder inducing even before the
Spoiler
revelation that he is a murdering scumbag! The idea of Justine marrying him and having sex with him again is giving me the heebie jeebies!In contrast, Justine and Packard are amazing together and the shared dreams trope, which is a favorite of mine, only increases the intimacy of the incredible sexual tension and chemistry between them. Unfortunately, Justine is annoyingly obtuse when it comes to realizing Packard’s feelings for her. Yes, he is manipulative, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he is smitten and she is in denial both about her own emotions and his.
Now for the biggest issue with the book - the ending. Not only are there several shocking revelations and disturbing events, but the story ends with a cliffhanger that leaves the reader hanging. It is a good thing that the final installment is already available so that no waiting is necessary to find out what happens next.
nakedsushi's review
3.0
Wow, what a cliffhanger ending! I didn't see that coming till the very end, and by that time, I couldn't stop reading.
Double Cross takes place a little after the first book of the series, Mind Game. This time, our heroine Justine and her disillusionist friends have to figure out the mystery behind who's killing off all the High Hats. The actual mystery part was pretty boring, but as usual, it's the various interactions characters have with each other that made the story enjoyable.
Unfortunately, I thought some characters made some pretty poor decisions for the sole purpose of furthering the plot along. I wanted to smack my head sometimes. And some things worked out a little too conveniently in a "of course she'd write it THIS way" kind of way.
But, if you leave your thinking cap at the door, Double Cross is still an enjoyable, quick, suspenseful read.
Double Cross takes place a little after the first book of the series, Mind Game. This time, our heroine Justine and her disillusionist friends have to figure out the mystery behind who's killing off all the High Hats. The actual mystery part was pretty boring, but as usual, it's the various interactions characters have with each other that made the story enjoyable.
Unfortunately, I thought some characters made some pretty poor decisions for the sole purpose of furthering the plot along. I wanted to smack my head sometimes. And some things worked out a little too conveniently in a "of course she'd write it THIS way" kind of way.
But, if you leave your thinking cap at the door, Double Cross is still an enjoyable, quick, suspenseful read.
thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
5.0
**This will be a non-spoiler review so it is going to be general**
What I Loved: This story picked up pretty much right where Mind Games left off and just plowed straight forward with so much gusto that you had to hang on for one wild ride. Justine grew more into herself and began to understand who she was, what her limitations were, and more importantly what she was capable of (aka thinking on her own and trusting her instincts). Her emotional growth in this book was amazing. Packard/Otto/The Disillusionists are all major parts of the story that weave together in a very complicated fabric that you must pay attention to see what is coming. Everything was well plotted, well told, and at the end I almost threw my book (then I remembered it was my kindle and well I love my Kindle)! It was that kind of knock your socks off wild ride that makes this a brilliant follow up to the first book.
What I Liked: I kind of felt like I knew Mid-City by the end of this book. You got small glimpses into the city and something about small details delight me. I also liked the strong character profiles you got in this book. You really learned more about all our players so you could imagine what they were up to when not on the page (aka Simon). Great job of just sticking the little stuff in there that makes you learn more about everything in Justine's world.
Complaints: Alright I needed the 3rd book like now not later after the last 3 chapters!
Why I gave it a 5: Mind Games was a fantastic book and Double Cross was better. I was hooked from beginning to end and even had to go back to re-read sections after the end. It will go down as one of my favorite reads of 2010.
Who I would recommend this too: Urban Fantasy readers and those who loved Mind Games.
Author Website: http://authorcarolyncrane.com/
Books in this Series:
Mind Games
Double Cross
What I Loved: This story picked up pretty much right where Mind Games left off and just plowed straight forward with so much gusto that you had to hang on for one wild ride. Justine grew more into herself and began to understand who she was, what her limitations were, and more importantly what she was capable of (aka thinking on her own and trusting her instincts). Her emotional growth in this book was amazing. Packard/Otto/The Disillusionists are all major parts of the story that weave together in a very complicated fabric that you must pay attention to see what is coming. Everything was well plotted, well told, and at the end I almost threw my book (then I remembered it was my kindle and well I love my Kindle)! It was that kind of knock your socks off wild ride that makes this a brilliant follow up to the first book.
What I Liked: I kind of felt like I knew Mid-City by the end of this book. You got small glimpses into the city and something about small details delight me. I also liked the strong character profiles you got in this book. You really learned more about all our players so you could imagine what they were up to when not on the page (aka Simon). Great job of just sticking the little stuff in there that makes you learn more about everything in Justine's world.
Complaints: Alright I needed the 3rd book like now not later after the last 3 chapters!
Why I gave it a 5: Mind Games was a fantastic book and Double Cross was better. I was hooked from beginning to end and even had to go back to re-read sections after the end. It will go down as one of my favorite reads of 2010.
Who I would recommend this too: Urban Fantasy readers and those who loved Mind Games.
Author Website: http://authorcarolyncrane.com/
Books in this Series:
Mind Games
Double Cross
snarkymotherreader's review against another edition
5.0
Double Cross by Carolyn Crane was a difficult book to review. Not because it was bad – it was amazing, and not because there were plot holes/unbelievable characters/random alien attacks – there weren’t (though there was a mention of aliens I adored). No, it’s because the book evoked such strong emotion from me that I couldn’t sleep and walked around the next day in a bit of a daze. That’s right, folks. Double Cross turned me into an overly-caffeinated zombie. I laughed, I cried, I vowed vengeance for a fictional character.
Full review available at http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=30978.
Full review available at http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=30978.
gothicglasses's review against another edition
5.0
Since it is now 1:46 in the morning right now and mom will kill me if i stay up much longer than this. but i just had to write one part of my review. It might be spoilers just warning. Adding on to this today now that I'm not about to fall over from exhaustion. :P
Justine I love her except her decision making. I can live with that though. I don't have much to say about her other than what I put in the first book review.
Packard Now I like his character a whole hell of a lot more than I did during the first book. I understand him better, I hope. He does seem to lie a lot but I'm going with it. I enjoyed his character.
Simon Oh Simon. how I love your crazy character. I want to get to know you much better than we do know you. I love what he did in this book and I noticed something when ever Justine calls he answers. Why can't Justine go for you! :P Your perfect in your imperfectness. You are my favorite character of them all... I will quit before this gets weird. :D
Otto YOU BASTARD! how dare you do what you did! I hate him even more than I did in the first book. He does something in this book that.... *screams* not cool man. not cool at freaking all. I hope you die! die. die. die. die. die! He is a crazy face.
The Ending I won't say too much in fear of telling what happens but nnnnnoooooooooo! During the end I about threw it against a wall but since it is my friend's book I didn't. It was a close thing. too close. :)
Oh but I loved the book :P it was emotional, fun ride. It grip me and I just had to finish it. :)
Justine I love her except her decision making. I can live with that though. I don't have much to say about her other than what I put in the first book review.
Packard Now I like his character a whole hell of a lot more than I did during the first book. I understand him better, I hope. He does seem to lie a lot but I'm going with it. I enjoyed his character.
Simon Oh Simon. how I love your crazy character. I want to get to know you much better than we do know you. I love what he did in this book and I noticed something when ever Justine calls he answers. Why can't Justine go for you! :P Your perfect in your imperfectness. You are my favorite character of them all... I will quit before this gets weird. :D
Otto YOU BASTARD! how dare you do what you did! I hate him even more than I did in the first book. He does something in this book that.... *screams* not cool man. not cool at freaking all. I hope you die! die. die. die. die. die! He is a crazy face.
The Ending I won't say too much in fear of telling what happens but nnnnnoooooooooo! During the end I about threw it against a wall but since it is my friend's book I didn't. It was a close thing. too close. :)
Oh but I loved the book :P it was emotional, fun ride. It grip me and I just had to finish it. :)
anzuk's review against another edition
3.0
I zing for public safety, to save Otto's head, to save myself.
Get it? Bazinga! Heh.
First impressions
After reading the book description, I was expecting a fast-paced book full of action, murder and romance.
Justine faces a crisis of conscience as she tests the limits of her new powers and faces an impossible choice between two flawed but brilliant men - one on a journey of redemption, the other descending into a pit of moral depravity.
This gave me high hopes that the love triangle will finally die. I did not consider Justine’s crisis of conscience part. Big mistake.
The cover seems nice enough. I like the colors and the cover model does match my version of Justine. However, something bugs me.
This guy here!
Why is the mysterious knife still there? There was no mention of that knife in any of the first two books. Remember, Mind Games had it as well. It would make you think that Justine wields a knife like a pro, doesn’t it? A tad misleading.
The plot
Double Cross starts rather abruptly with Justine trying to zing a weird woman called Ez. It seems that Ez can control people in their sleep. Yes, I’m talking about mind-control. Pretty cool, huh? Through a minor incident, Justine drags Packard into the mess as well. Now, not only can the two of them be mind-controlled, but they can share dreams. However, the dreams they share are far from sweet. It seems like Packard has a dark past, darker than anyone would have thought. Will these dreams bring Justine and Packard together or tear them apart?
Even so, the problems don’t stop here. A group of evildoers called the Dorks [really??] is going around murdering highcaps. To make matters worse, it seems that they have a talent of telling if a person is a highcap or not. Dangerous waters for our favorite dissilusionists.
My thoughts
You would think that Double Cross will be full of action, right? Well, that’s where you’re mistaken. Justine is stuck struggling through an inner battle between what’s right and wrong. And I mean 70% of the book stuck. Yes, I had to go through her whining for most of the book.
If only one could slap a fictional character. Life would never be the same again.
This is the main reason why I’m taking two stars away from my rating.
I was also hoping that Otto was dead or on a long vacation away from the book. Wrong. He was still alive and present throughout the book. I was trying my best to act mature and not make fart noises each time Otto appeared in a scene. Anyway, Justine is still madly in love with him aka isn’t done with her hero worship yet. I’m counting down the pages until she dumps his sorry ass.
Another discovery I made is that Justine isn’t the brightest bulb out there. She’s supposed to be a strong lead having awesome superpowers [quote the book description], and yet she’s not even using them throughout the book. As for the strong part. No. Just no.
Why is Carolyn Crane giving so many details during Justine and Otto’s sex scenes and close to none during
Spoiler
Justine and Packard’s
And the ending.
Really Mrs. Crane? REALLY??
What’s all that even supposed to mean? I mean. Why?? It’s like destroying everything you worked so hard to build. Is this your way of making up for the dull story? Because it bloody worked. It made me super angry and super sad. The scene with Packard in front of the restaurant when he found out that
Spoiler
Justine is engaged to OttoHumph. Mind Games. I guess the title is fitting because Carolyn Crane likes to play mind games with us.
A short conclusion
Mind Games was most of the time uneventful except for the dream from Packard’s childhood and the cannibal sleepwalkers’ attacks. Justine was a bit too whiny for my taste. I hated Otto with all my heart and fell for Packard even more than before. However, the ending makes up for all the negative points. It simply threw me off my tracks and made me start Head Rush, The Disillusionists #3, right away.
Favorite quote
"There was a time when all I could ever see was the way people were doomed to behave--their tendencies, their reactions to their own idiotic histories. Misery, delusions, compulsions, all of it. I would use that to control them. But you're not like that. The way you look at people, the questions that you ask--you make me remember that people can be more than all that. You make me remember that nothing's decided. Nothing's known. That is what you gave me."
ac223's review against another edition
4.0
I read the first book in the Disillusionists Trilogy about 4 months ago and was not impressed. Lately I have seen really good reviews for Double Cross and decided to give it a try. I am so glad that I did. Double Cross was full twists and turns, and I don't want to spoil anything but the ending guarantees I will read the last book in this series.
****************************** SPOILERS ******************************
Justine is continuing her unhealthy relationship with Otto. She continually says things suggesting that she isn't good enough for him. I hate that attitude from her. Three men are targeting, and killing highcaps at random. Of course Packard and his team are out to find the culprits. Avery, a paranoid shop owner, is responsible for making glasses that not only allow you to see the highcaps, but to protect you from any of their tricks. Justine finds out who these men are by revisiting a dream of Packards thanks to Evi. She is a dream invader who has been wrongly imprisoned by Otto. Simon and Justine find this out and after rescuing her, release her from her prison. With the help of Packard, Justine is also able to locate and release Otto from his kidnappers. Lots of things go on during all of this, but just at the end Justine realizes how much she cares for Packard and decides to run away with him. While telling Otto bye, he shoots Avery but then has her mind revised to believe that Packard did it. Crazy!! She feels like something is wrong, and everytime she thinks of that day, she gets a pain in her head. Hopefully Packard can save the day in the next book.
****************************** SPOILERS ******************************
Justine is continuing her unhealthy relationship with Otto. She continually says things suggesting that she isn't good enough for him. I hate that attitude from her. Three men are targeting, and killing highcaps at random. Of course Packard and his team are out to find the culprits. Avery, a paranoid shop owner, is responsible for making glasses that not only allow you to see the highcaps, but to protect you from any of their tricks. Justine finds out who these men are by revisiting a dream of Packards thanks to Evi. She is a dream invader who has been wrongly imprisoned by Otto. Simon and Justine find this out and after rescuing her, release her from her prison. With the help of Packard, Justine is also able to locate and release Otto from his kidnappers. Lots of things go on during all of this, but just at the end Justine realizes how much she cares for Packard and decides to run away with him. While telling Otto bye, he shoots Avery but then has her mind revised to believe that Packard did it. Crazy!! She feels like something is wrong, and everytime she thinks of that day, she gets a pain in her head. Hopefully Packard can save the day in the next book.