Review: Clarity by Kim Harrington

Clarity by Kim Harrington was one of many books I discovered on my "Recommendations" page when I first got a Goodreads account. Apparently, Goodreads knows what it's talking about, because Clarity ROCKS.

 

Clarity by Kim Harrington
When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth? This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats. 

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift. 

And a curse. 


When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case - but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother - who has supernatural gifts of his own - becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

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When I first heard about this book, I was worried it was going to be pretty much exactly like Tempus by Tyra Lynn. You know what I mean: Girl has special power, touches objects and gets flashes of the past. I mean, c'mon, the love interest's name is GABRIEL, same as Tempus. (Actually, I just checked and, to be fair, Clarity was published first. Just so you know.)

The good news is, I was pleasantly surprised. Despite Clare and Jessie's similar powers, and the names of their love interests, these books could not be more different. But this review is about Clarity, so I won't go into the reasons now. (Maybe another time.)

First off, can I just say I LOVED this book. I don't usually seek out mysteries, but oftentimes when I read them I absolutely adore them. From the moment I read the first chapter of Clarity (which, to me, actually seemed more like a preface/prologue than a first chapter), I was hooked and dying to know what would happen. I totally thought that I knew who had committed the crimes and how everything matched up, but it turned out in the end that I was dead wrong. But, in my defense, when I went through my paranoid suspect-everyone phase of reading, I TOTALLY considered the right person. Briefly. (Actually, the whole thing kind of reminded me of watching that movie Red Riding Hood with Amanda Seyfried. I TOTALLY did not see the end of that one coming. And I was mad at myself about it afterward.) Anyway, so the mystery/murder part was really satisfying for me.

I was, however, kind of disappointed at how the romance aspect ended up. Not the romance "in the book", mind you. There was definitely some good romance, and I pretty much fell in love with Gabriel. The disappointment for me was what changed and was left unresolved at the end. During the last couple pages, all I could think was, I really hope there's going to be a sequel, because I am needing closure badly. (And I was relieved to find there is. Perception is coming out March 1st, and I am excited. See the pretty widget over there? ---->)

There were also a few minor characters in Clarity that I really liked. Nate, for one, wasn't a huge character, but I thought he was fun. I dunno, I just did. Also, call me crazy, but I really liked Madame Maslov. She intrigued me. I'm not sure why. I'm holding out hope she makes an appearance in Perception.

More things I liked:

-Gabriel. But of course that goes without saying. The boy is FANTASTIC.

-The Fern's psychic business. I would SO be a recurring customer. That is just SO COOL! Except I probably would book an appointment with just Clare, or just Clare and Perry, because I sooo don't want Starla digging around in my brain.

-Clare working with the police. It had a very "Psych" feel to it. Except for the fact that Clare is a legit psychic and Shawn Spencer is full of crap.

-Yummy's. That's just the best name for a diner I've ever heard. 'Nuff said.

All things considered, I give Clarity <*><*><*><*><*>

(:D)

~Mag