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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Loved it! Cant wait for the sequel.
Full review to come.
Full review to come.
This is just your typical, formulatic YA. You have your speshul snowflake of a MC that's better than anyone else in this small town with only small-minded people. She has no friends because she's apparently a freak but also because she's above anyone else. Then there's an asshole, but hot, mate, hot love interest that's, you know, just so HOT, like!!11!!! Then we have cheating ex-boyfriend who just wants to get back with MC and MC starts to consider it because he so sweet!!!! Of course, there's also this slut who's like so slutty because she has SEX, OH MY GOD!!! Not to mention that MC actually slut-shames her own brother because he often has sex. No. Just no. I'm sorry I don't know what people see in this. I tried reading it till the end just because of the mystery, but I ended up skipping the last 100 of pages and seeing who did it. And, to be honest, it didn't surprise me, I kind of expected it.
So yeah, this book did nothing to me. I felt as if I've read it hundreds of times already and maybe I am missing something, but this was just painful to me.
So yeah, this book did nothing to me. I felt as if I've read it hundreds of times already and maybe I am missing something, but this was just painful to me.
I was intriqued the moment they introduced Gabriel. I really loved this novel, I loved the mystery and suspense. Gread Find!
I love teen sleuths. I love teens with paranormal powers. So it’s no wonder that I enjoyed this book combining the two. Yes, the blurb is kind of stupid. I can’t see something like “It’s a gift. And a curse” without thinking of Adrian Monk and snickering; I mean, it’s his trademark line! It’s like trying to use “With great power comes great responsibility” without irony. It can’t be done.
Clarity lives in a Cape Cod island town where tourism is big business, and her family makes their living doing psychic readings. Unlike many tourist traps, though, they’re for real: Clarity uses psychometry to read objects, seeing the past of who held them last, while her brother Perry can talk to the dead and her mother can read thoughts. When a young female tourist is murdered, Clarity’s unique skills as a psychic are in demand, but the case becomes more complicated when she learns that Perry was with the girl on the night she died.
Anyway. So, I must mention Veronica Mars. She's THE teen sleuth to end all teen sleuths. Clarity resembles Veronica in her prickly toughness, her snarkiness, and her resourcefulness. Though she’s psychic, her intelligence and inquisitiveness are just as useful in solving this mystery. She just has a little bit of a psychic edge. She’s no professional like Veronica, but she fits well in the long line of dogged, intrepid teen detectives that precede her. But what really strikes me about the similarity is how they are outsiders in their community. Clarity says right away that she doesn’t really have any friends outside of her brother and her brother’s best friend and (once upon a time) Justin, who is now her ex-boyfriend. She tells herself she’s an outsider because of her paranormal powers, and that’s part of it, sure, but it’s also because she’s unforgiving and stand-offish. She’s always armed to the teeth with witty remarks and righteousness and once you’ve wronged her, you don’t get a second chance. I’m not saying she’s totally at fault for her isolation, because the casual bullying from her peers is real, but I got the feeling that she could make some female friends if she wanted to. That really reminds me of Veronica Mars, whose suspicious nature and taste for revenge is legendary for trumping personal relationships. Though Clarity warms up and becomes more forgiving, especially with her ex Justin, it explains a little bit why her brother, who is frequently described as charming and calming and easy-going, has less trouble at school. (There may also be a male-female double standard thing going, but then, when isn't there? I think in this case self-perception has a lot to do with Clarity's unpopularity versus her brother's popularity.)
Of course, while I’m saying that Clarity reminds me of Veronica, that’s where the resemblance ends. (Don’t worry – my essay on Veronica Mars will never see the light of day! You can thank me later.) This is not a dark, twisty thriller where you can’t trust anyone. Even though this is about multiple murders, it has a light tone and I never worried that anything bad was going to happen to the main characters. The story doesn’t take any risks. But what it does, it does well. It presents several viable suspects for the killings and didn’t take the super-easy way out. (I even fell for one of the red herrings!) It’s fast-paced and there’s a sense of rising stakes; the longer it takes Clarity to solve the mystery, the more in danger everyone is (especially when her brother is finally accused of the crime). The opening sets up the tension right away, and if the reveal of who is pointing the gun at Clarity is a little over the top, I still appreciated not being able to immediately guess who it was going to be.
Still, the villain’s monologuing scene is just that: monologuing. Harrington does such a good job making you suspect various people – all we know is that Clarity recognizes the killer – that it’s kind of disappointing how one-note the killer becomes. Not that I don’t buy their motivations, just that I think we should be past the point where the killer waves a gun around smugly explaining everything in one long info-dump. I know what I’m going to do if I ever become a killer with an evil plan: carry it through as efficiently as possible, with minimal time wasted explaining it to people I intend to kill anyway.
The other problem I had was that I didn’t really buy how Clarity ended up working the case in the first place. Not just because it’s ludicrous that the mayor and the police would ask teenagers to investigate, even if the teenagers are a psychic and the son of the new police detective. (Even though it is. Ludicrous, I mean.) What kills me is they don’t recruit the other members of her family, like Perry, who can talk to ghosts, which might be, I don’t know, useful when people are being murdered. And while I like Clarity’s mother, that’s some seriously hands-off parenting. She seems to know what’s going on the whole time, but she never intercedes in her daughter's investigating.
Finally, I enjoyed how chill the love triangle ended up being. I have no problems with love triangles, as long as they don’t become the main focus on the story, and as long as all three characters are equally well-rounded. Justin, the ex-boyfriend who made a drunken mistake, and Gabriel, the son of the new detective, are both good love interests. They both have baggage that affects Clarity without really being about her: Justin cheated on her, but it’s really more like he was taken advantage of while drunk by a scheming girl; and Gabriel hates psychics because of. Unlike some love triangles, right now I don’t care who Clarity ends up with, because I like both of them and was way more interested in the murder mystery. Happily, in this book, I don’t have to care. I don’t think it’s a cliffhanger that the book ended without Clarity choosing one of the guys; the murder mystery was solved, and that’s what’s important.
This has definite series potential.
Clarity lives in a Cape Cod island town where tourism is big business, and her family makes their living doing psychic readings. Unlike many tourist traps, though, they’re for real: Clarity uses psychometry to read objects, seeing the past of who held them last, while her brother Perry can talk to the dead and her mother can read thoughts. When a young female tourist is murdered, Clarity’s unique skills as a psychic are in demand, but the case becomes more complicated when she learns that Perry was with the girl on the night she died.
Anyway. So, I must mention Veronica Mars. She's THE teen sleuth to end all teen sleuths. Clarity resembles Veronica in her prickly toughness, her snarkiness, and her resourcefulness. Though she’s psychic, her intelligence and inquisitiveness are just as useful in solving this mystery. She just has a little bit of a psychic edge. She’s no professional like Veronica, but she fits well in the long line of dogged, intrepid teen detectives that precede her. But what really strikes me about the similarity is how they are outsiders in their community. Clarity says right away that she doesn’t really have any friends outside of her brother and her brother’s best friend and (once upon a time) Justin, who is now her ex-boyfriend. She tells herself she’s an outsider because of her paranormal powers, and that’s part of it, sure, but it’s also because she’s unforgiving and stand-offish. She’s always armed to the teeth with witty remarks and righteousness and once you’ve wronged her, you don’t get a second chance. I’m not saying she’s totally at fault for her isolation, because the casual bullying from her peers is real, but I got the feeling that she could make some female friends if she wanted to. That really reminds me of Veronica Mars, whose suspicious nature and taste for revenge is legendary for trumping personal relationships. Though Clarity warms up and becomes more forgiving, especially with her ex Justin, it explains a little bit why her brother, who is frequently described as charming and calming and easy-going, has less trouble at school. (There may also be a male-female double standard thing going, but then, when isn't there? I think in this case self-perception has a lot to do with Clarity's unpopularity versus her brother's popularity.)
Of course, while I’m saying that Clarity reminds me of Veronica, that’s where the resemblance ends. (Don’t worry – my essay on Veronica Mars will never see the light of day! You can thank me later.) This is not a dark, twisty thriller where you can’t trust anyone. Even though this is about multiple murders, it has a light tone and I never worried that anything bad was going to happen to the main characters. The story doesn’t take any risks. But what it does, it does well. It presents several viable suspects for the killings and didn’t take the super-easy way out. (I even fell for one of the red herrings!) It’s fast-paced and there’s a sense of rising stakes; the longer it takes Clarity to solve the mystery, the more in danger everyone is (especially when her brother is finally accused of the crime). The opening sets up the tension right away, and if the reveal of who is pointing the gun at Clarity is a little over the top, I still appreciated not being able to immediately guess who it was going to be.
Still, the villain’s monologuing scene is just that: monologuing. Harrington does such a good job making you suspect various people – all we know is that Clarity recognizes the killer – that it’s kind of disappointing how one-note the killer becomes. Not that I don’t buy their motivations, just that I think we should be past the point where the killer waves a gun around smugly explaining everything in one long info-dump. I know what I’m going to do if I ever become a killer with an evil plan: carry it through as efficiently as possible, with minimal time wasted explaining it to people I intend to kill anyway.
The other problem I had was that I didn’t really buy how Clarity ended up working the case in the first place. Not just because it’s ludicrous that the mayor and the police would ask teenagers to investigate, even if the teenagers are a psychic and the son of the new police detective. (Even though it is. Ludicrous, I mean.) What kills me is they don’t recruit the other members of her family, like Perry, who can talk to ghosts, which might be, I don’t know, useful when people are being murdered. And while I like Clarity’s mother, that’s some seriously hands-off parenting. She seems to know what’s going on the whole time, but she never intercedes in her daughter's investigating.
Finally, I enjoyed how chill the love triangle ended up being. I have no problems with love triangles, as long as they don’t become the main focus on the story, and as long as all three characters are equally well-rounded. Justin, the ex-boyfriend who made a drunken mistake, and Gabriel, the son of the new detective, are both good love interests. They both have baggage that affects Clarity without really being about her: Justin cheated on her, but it’s really more like he was taken advantage of while drunk by a scheming girl; and Gabriel hates psychics because of
Spoiler
something that happened in the investigation of his missing sister (yeah, I think that’ll come back in the next book)This has definite series potential.
Good effort on a debut novel. I like strong snarky female main characters so I hope the follow up flows better and that Clare doesn't act like such a whore.
A new paranormal twist in the beginning for me. A family of gifted people live in a small cape town that survives on its summer tourist season. Everyone knew her entire family could do something special. Clare can sometimes get visions from touching objects. She is the main character, and we follow her summer, as tragedy strikes her small town. What better way to meet the new detective in town?
Clare and Perry, her brother, are in the middle of this murder that is now chasing tourist and potential income out of town. Perry loves his ladies and just so happened to be with the victim the night she was killed. He sets off to prove he’s innocent. Clare is asked to join her ex and the new hottie to investigate the death. Oh yeah, the new hottie is the new detectives son.
The more leads they track down, the more bodies start popping up. Things are spiraling out of control and Clare can’t stop it. Before she knows what’s happening, she has a gun to her head. Now this is where I tell you to go get the book. I’m not going to tell you the ending, but even I was surprised.
This wasn’t my favorite book, but it wasn’t a bad read. Could be a quick read for a speed reader! Go check it out if you have some extra time this weekend.
Clare and Perry, her brother, are in the middle of this murder that is now chasing tourist and potential income out of town. Perry loves his ladies and just so happened to be with the victim the night she was killed. He sets off to prove he’s innocent. Clare is asked to join her ex and the new hottie to investigate the death. Oh yeah, the new hottie is the new detectives son.
The more leads they track down, the more bodies start popping up. Things are spiraling out of control and Clare can’t stop it. Before she knows what’s happening, she has a gun to her head. Now this is where I tell you to go get the book. I’m not going to tell you the ending, but even I was surprised.
This wasn’t my favorite book, but it wasn’t a bad read. Could be a quick read for a speed reader! Go check it out if you have some extra time this weekend.
This novel centres around a unique family who resides in a small town outside of Cape Cod. Each of the family members have gifts of clairvoyance--mom can hear thoughts, brother can see spirits and daughter can see images of a person's experiences through touching objects. When a murder occurs, the daughter, Clarity (Clare) is sought out to assist find the killer. Cool premise and, to be honest, that part of the book was exciting and secretive. I, however, did not like the main character at all. She was cruel and selfish--not someone I'd be inclined to read about in future novels.
I enjoyed this book. It was really fast paced and got to the action and the important things very quickly but there were certain scenes that I felt needed more detail and a slower pace and It wasn't there. It had me on edge trying to figure out who the killer was, and when the time came to reveal the killer it wasn't a surprise. Also felt like the revelation of who the killer was as lacking. I felt that the author could have created a little more mystery to shock the readers. Clare is a great character and I really enjoyed reading from her POV. I loved all the characters and the beginning of the book was funny and interesting. And the love triangle was probably the first one that I've liked and didn't know who should Clare choose because they're both great! I was disappointed towards the end of the book since I expected more than what I got. Will probably read the next one just out of curiosity since this one did not leave me desperately wanting more.
3.5
3.5
Aside from the annoying love triangle, Clarity was an intricately crafted paranormal mystery. Unlike most novels where protagonists suddenly discover that they have some fantastical power, Clare has lived with her ability to see the past for years. She's a well-written and sarcastic character and I enjoyed her close-knit relationship with her mother and brother. Paranormal elements aside, the murder storyline was suspenseful and full of twists and turns and completely captured my attention. Who knew paranormal and mystery could create such a wonderfully written, original book?