Minder, by Kate Kaynak

Title: Minder (Ganzfield, #1)
Author: Kate Kaynak
Publisher: Spencer Hill
Release: May 6, 2010
Source: Author

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...

After putting this book off for so long, I finally decided to give it a shot. I don’t know what I was expecting when I started reading, but it was definitely different that what I found within the pages of Minder. Kate Kaynak has found a way to blend a sweet romance with some exhilarating action that had me flipping the pages eagerly the whole time reading.

I really enjoyed the premise of Minder, and the Ganzfield series. I love it when several different paranormals come together in a book or series. Though all the paranormals had something in common in this book, they had different powers among themselves. I also loved how the paranormal aspect in this book had a scientific explanation, which gave the story a level of believability.

Kate Kaynak has a straight-to-the-point writing style that gets right into what is important, and leaves the rest out. I do wish there could have been more of the world besides Maddie and Trevor’s relationship, but I can already tell that their love is going to be what this series revolves around. I can only hope that more of the world they exist in is explained in future books in this series.

Maddie was likeable and strong-willed, but when she met Trevor she sort of turned her whole life around for him. The connection between the two is so immediate and, I hate to say it, unrealistic that I did find it to be a turn off at first. But once I got past the whole “we just met, but would do anything for each other” aspect of their relationship, I was able to enjoy it for what it was—a sweet, loving relationship between two characters.

Minder is a great introduction to the Ganzfield series, and I will surely be reading the rest of these books, along with any other work Kate Kaynak comes out with. I can’t wait to head back to Ganzfield in the next book!