REVIEW: Soulmate (Ganzfield #6) by Kate Kaynak

Title/Series: Soulmate | Ganzfield #6
Author: Kate Kaynak
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Published: March 25th 2014
Format: Paperback | Pages: 163
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Source: Amazon
★★★ (3/5) Stars!

Kate Kaynak | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

The new dangers uncovered in Europe haven't gone away--in fact, some of them seem to have taken up residence at Ganzfield. As the threats intensify, Maddie and the team go into the field again, but when supposed allies start seeing them as the problems, they may find themselves trapped by the very people they are trying to help.

Since I started reading this series, this will be the first time I have ever given a Ganzfield book anything below a 5 star rating. I'm feeling a bit numb right now. I'm also worried that I've felt the need to immediately put my thoughts down, instead of taking a couple days to process this. Which is why I find myself sitting here at 2am typing this out just moments after reading the line "END OF BOOK SIX". But really I don't see how I can feel any better about what I've read even if I'd had a month to let it simmer.

A note from the beginning of the book, I added that to understand some things coming up. See, I'm confused... About many things, so it's hard to know which thought to pull up first and expand on.

This book felt very rushed. As you can see it was only, according to my book, 163 pages. We've been waiting for a very long time for this book to come out. At one point Kate Kaynak had stated it was expected to be released back in Oct of 2012. Trust me, I understand better than anybody the fact that no matter how hard you plan, life doesn't always allow things to happen when you want them too. So that is NOT me complaining about the wait. I get it. I understand. But I would hope with all the waiting we've been doing that we'd get a finish that was worthy of the Ganzfield series and I just feel like...this wasn't it.

Reading this series up until now has been like watching a really, really, really good action/romance/paranormal/comedy movie all rolled into one. Seriouisly! There's explosions and helicopter crashes and people who can kill with a simple thought of their minds and the love...oh the love stories. And all this stuff has just been building and building for five books only to have it just sort of taper off like it was being swept under the rug. Honestly I would have waited another year, hell I'd have waited a couple more years, with no complaints what so ever, if it meant giving this series the send off it deserved.

Do not get me wrong. I was enjoying it up to a certain point. I laughed a lot, Kate Kaynak has this really great sense of humor laced through her writing. So this isn't a matter of me raging through the whole thing. I mean, I did keep thinking to myself 'this is all going too easy and too fast' like I said I felt the rush of it all from the very start of the book. But then the last 50 or so pages hit and deep in my gut I just knew...I was not going to be happy. It's not even that people got killed off. It's the freaking Ganzfield series and by book 6 I'm almost numb to Kate Kaynak ripping people away from us. Though I will admit the round of deaths by the end of this one really threw me for an emotional loop. The feels are in overdrive at the moment.

There's also no closure for at least one of the characters. This person is just...like...missing. With the last line of the book being an email from Maddie to this person saying "Let me know that you're still alive, okay?" and BAM that's it. End. So for a few minutes there I was slightly hopeful. I mean I know the author states in the note at the beginning of the book that this would be the final installment of the series. But at one point there had been a total of 7 books listed in the Ganzfield series, the last one titled Solitary. Which, if you knew anything about the series, you could easily speculate like I did that this would have been the perfect title for a book centered around our missing person. It's perfect! I thought okay this isn't it! There will be more! I'll get closure! But as I went on Goodreads...that book is gone. And with that my hopes were crushed.

I know this has just been one giant rant, so for now, I need to just let it go. I never set out to be mean. This will still always be one of my absolute favorite series I've ever read. Period. Sorry if this was all harsh and such, but like I said, Kate Kaynak I really wish you would have delayed it even longer and not rushed through to the end because we can feel it in the story. And I hate having unanswered questions. Now I'm going to go wallow in my emotions. Does anybody have any chocolate?...

REVIEW: Operative (Ganzfield #5) by Kate Kaynak

Title/Series: Operative | Ganzfield #5
Author: Kate Kaynak
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Published: March 15th 2012
Format: Paperback | Pages: 231
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Source: Purchased B&N
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!!

Kate Kaynak | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Ganzfield

Maddie and the rest of the team must catch the person selling classified information to terrorists--before they become the targets.

I was lulled into a false sense of security with the ending of Accused (#4). No wait, let me rephrase that. I was prepared for another massacre. Hey I wasn't the only one! Everyone in the book spent a good deal of time prepping and planning for a military attack. It was building up and I was dreading the incoming attack. How many were going to die this time? Would it be any of the people I care about....AGAIN? So many questions. So much anxiety. Thankfully to have the only death being one of a disgusting, horrible person. Which was a good thing. But Kate Kaynak can't just leave you with that warm fuzzy feeling. Nope. The person who killed the baddie was of course left emotionally scarred at taking a life, even if it was a useless one. A life's a life right? And the way that person cracked from the experience had Accused ending in a heartbreaking cliffhanger. Enter Operative...

The opening line of chapter one is two words long. Two. So if you're, for some strange reason, wondering how many words it would take to have me thoroughly book depressed...it's two. *Sigh* I still have 11 more pages to read as I'm writing this. That's it. What am I waiting for? You know that being lulled into a false sense of security I mentioned at the beginning? I just got hit with a cold hard blast of reality. Well, in a literary sense of course.

Ending this is so bittersweet because Soulmate, the last book according to Kate (Goodreads says there's Solitary a #7 but..who knows), it's not due out until July....and then that's it. I am going to be unbelievably sad to see it go. I know in many cases when a series keeps going on and on people grow irritated with it and wish it would end already. But Ganzfield is so different and so unbelievably well written, the characters are so vast and loveable and funny, there isn't a doubt in my mind that it wouldn't feel that way for me. Six books just doesn't seem enough for this amazing world I've fallen in love with.

So I'll leave you with this, once again, my plea for you to please read this series. If you're a lover of the paranormal, with a splash of romance/love and...a little bit of blood and death...okay sometimes A LOT of it! This series is exactly what you need.

REVIEW: Accused (Ganzfield #4) by Kate Kaynak

Title/Series: Accused | Ganzfield #4
Author: Kate Kaynak
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Published: August 15th 2011
Format: Paperback | Pages: 251
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Source: Purchased B&N
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!!

Kate Kaynak | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Ganzfield

Someone in the government knows about Ganzfield...and he has special reasons to target Maddie.

Reading the Ganzfield series, is a bit like being in a mentally abusive relationship with someone you can't help but love anyway. And Kate, I do love you, but I'm so emotionally drained after reading these books and I love every freaking minute of it! And each one just keeps getting better and better. With Ms. Kaynak the grand puppet master of it all sitting high on her lofty perch. I swear I have a bit of minder in me because I can hear her now:

"Aww. Cute little readers. All snug and feeling safe and secure. You like that new character I brought in do ya? WELL THINK AGAIN!!" *Character X drops dead* *Evil cackles ensue*

Yeah she really gets you in the feels department. Which has me freaking out because a character Seth who I've always liked pretty well when he's popped up in the past, has now worked his way into my heart and I adore him. So much. And there are still three books left. If he doesn't make it through to the end...*sigh* I don't know what I'll do...Hmmm. Can you unread books? Because I'll take it all back I swear I will! 

The best thing about Accused, though, is that it is the funniest of the series so far. Man can this woman write humorous scenes. I was bursting out laughing. Literally in tears, no joke, at points. You need to read these books just to get to this one for the scenes where Maddie and Trevor get darted alone. That's all I'm saying. I know it doesn't make sense now. You can come back later and thank me. 

And thank goodness I have Operative sitting right here ready to go next. The way this one ended. Ugh. The feels. Now I need to go recover and get a good nights sleep so I can start the abuse all over again tomorrow with the next book. YOU need to go add these books to your piles! All of them: Ganzfield Series

So I opened up Operative to start it and this is what I see:

I told you the ending was ugh! Hahaha ... death threats.. SEE I told you she's funny :)

REVIEW: Legacy (Ganzfield #3) by Kate Kaynak

Title/Series: Legacy | Ganzfield #3
Author: Kate Kaynak
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Published: January 27th 2011
Format: Paperback | Pages: 304
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Source: Purchased B&N
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!!

Kate Kaynak | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Ganzfield

Maddie has more problems than the average seventeen-year-old: A psychotic killer with superpowers wants her dead. A serious medical issue makes a "normal life" impossible. And she's about to be introduced to Trevor's family. Guess which one freaks her out the most.

I am so torn right now, between taking a breather and processing everything I just read in this book and just doing this now. So many feelings spinning around that I don't want to slip away. *Sigh* ... here we go. This book, no more like this whole freakin' series is such a roller coaster of the feels. This is in no way me complaining here!!

First off I appreciate the fact that instead of steady info dumps in the fist couple chapters to kind of "remind you" of what happened in the first two books like most do, Kate Kaynak writes us up a few page "refresher" to remind us what sparks and charms and minders, etc all are and who has what ability and a couple of lines about everyone and what happened to them in Adversary. It's awesome! That way we just get straight into the story. And it's here, before the story even continues that I first cracked up. The way she started it all with the "Previously, at Ganzfield..." Okay, maybe I'm easily amused but...

And then there's Maddie and Trevor's new pet names for each other "Freak" and "Four Hands". Trust me it's cute and humorous. But it's not all fun and laughter. In true Ganzfield style there's quite a bit of sadness in this one as well. Trevor just cannot catch a break. 

We have an epic battle. Epic betrayal in the worst way possible. There's some new people to love. Some new people to despise. And just when you start to think "More people? But there's so many to remember already!" Don't worry some will be taken out of the equation for you! I'm telling you this book is a yo-yo of emotions. And I am so addicted!

I am still loving this series immensely and am looking forward to continuing on with Accused. Box of tissues in hand...

REVIEW: Adversary (Ganzfield Series #2) by Kate Kaynak

Title/Series: Adversary | Ganzfield #2
Author: Kate Kaynak
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Published: January 7th 2013
Format: Paperback | Pages: 186 
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Source: Purchased B&N

★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!!!

Kate Kaynak | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Ganzfield

The other minders, sparks, and charms aren't the only threats facing the people of Ganzfield. Things are more dangerous than they seem for G-positives, and not everyone will survive. Does Maddie have what it takes?

This second book in the series picks right up where the first one left off. And once again we're pulled into this exciting world of people with extraordinary abilities. This book though, in my opinion, has just a slight bit more of a darker feel to it. There's more danger, more tragedy and more loss. 

I was worried, as I always am, when a first book in a series grabs ahold of me like Minder did, that the second book would quite hold up to the first. You know how it is with sequels. Well, this book did not disappoint. I can just about say, it was almost better than book one! 

With a powerful enemy in the wings, tragedy strikes at Ganzfield and Maddie and her team have to prepare for rescue missions far worse than what they got Trevor free from in the first book. Not everyone who goes in, comes back out. And some of those who do, don't look like they'll ever be the same again.

Don't fret! It's not all doom and gloom though. There was just enough traces of humor and love mixed in there so that you aren't a complete emotional wreck by the end! Maddie and Trevor's bond is stronger than ever. I absolutely adore them as a couple.

This is such an amazing series so far and if it continues like it has thus far, it will just keep getting better. Must read series!!

REVIEW: Minder (Ganzfield Series #1) by Kate Kaynak

Title/Series: Minder | Ganzfield #1
Author: Kate Kaynak
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press 
Published: May 21st 2012
Format: eBook | Pages: 264 
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Source: Purchased B&N

★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!!!!

Kate Kaynak | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Ganzfield

Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn is special, but she needs to figure out how to use her new abilities before somebody else gets hurt. Ganzfield is a secret training facility full of people like her, but it's not exactly a nurturing place. 

Every social interaction carries the threat of mind-control. 

A stray thought can burn a building to the ground. 

And people's nightmares don't always stay in their own heads. But it's still better than New Jersey, especially once she meets the man of her dreams...

Let me start off by just saying... Wow!!! WOW!!!....Wow...

I literally had like $3 and some change left on one of those prepaid Visa cards the other day and it's not like you can get a lot with that so I did what any normal book nerd would do and thought to myself... "To Barnes & Noble!" (or insert your favored ebook shopping place :here :D)  Minder was one of the suggestions they gave me based off of previous purchases and it sounded interesting enough. Interesting? Pfft...try frickin' AMAZING! 

It pulls you in from the very beginning with Maddie, the main character, going through a highly traumatic situation causing her to be spirited off to Ganzfield. Think, smaller scale Hogwarts but with more of a reform school type of vibe. (In my opinion anyway!) A place where young people with special abilites like herself go to be trained and go to school. But just when she's starting to feel like maybe she's found someplace safe and good, she realizes things inside Ganzfield aren't exactly what they seem. People are controlled with fear and not by who you'd expect.

Then she meets Trevor. (Ohhh Trevor. I've definitely collected him into my group of book boyfriends :P) Anyway! The bond that Maddie and Trevor share is simply amazing. I swear every time they were in a scene together I would let out one of those dreamy sighs and I'm sure I had a silly grin on my face. I just love these two. And they really brought out the best in each other and strengthened each other.

Another character I highly enjoyed was Dr. Williamson. In part because of the bond that he shares with Maddie as a fellow Minder and in a paternal sense. But mostly... Every. Single. Time. He would blurt out the "What happened in the library?!" stuff..I  would quite literally laugh out loud. And not just a little snicker either. It was an all out burst of laughter. I don't know why, but it just really had this great comedic timing to it that tickled me. 

I am really frustrated with only one thing. WHY CAN'T WE "SEE" SETH?!?!?! Okay. Just had to get that out there. I guess it's kind of fun having someone who we only "hear" their thoughts. Adds an air of mystery. It gives me someone who I'm not quite sure about yet. Is he someone who's trustworthy? I guess we'll see. Is he always going to be the voice in our heads? Kinda reminds me of that show Home Improvement years back, with the neighbor whom all you saw was his eyes, they always had something blocking everything else on his face. That's Seth in this book to me. I guess time will tell!

I cannot recommend this book enough. I immediately bought the rest of the books that are out so far, and am excited to start reading them! I think I've found a new obsession! :)