Friday 10 August 2012

Review: Clarity by Kim Harrington



  Title: Clarity
  Author: Kim Harrington
  Publisher: Scholastic UK
  Publication date: 7th June 2012
  My rating: 3.5 stars

 
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?

When I first picked up Clarity, I thought it would be your typical paranormal read, but it ended up surprising me in so many ways.

Clarity “Clare” Fern had the gift of retrocognitive psychometry, by touching certain objects she can get visions from them; so what a person may be thinking, doing or feeling. It’s both a good and bad thing having them. When her family does readings for tourists it can be good for business (the rest of her family also have a gift, her mother's a psychic and her brother Perry can connect with spirits) but it can also be a pain in the butt too, people around town think she is a freak and she can find things out by touch when she necessarily didn’t want to. So when a tourist ends up dead, the mayor and his son Justin, Clare’s ex think she could probably help the police solve the case. The police haven’t been having much luck, so may be Clare’s gift could give them the extra point in the right direction, with things already being awkward with Justin, things are made even more weird when a new detective and his son Gabriel move to town. Gabriel is yummy, but he’s also wary of psychics. The mayor thinks that Gabriel and Clare would make the perfect team. So Clare has to solve a murder case, try not to get too distracted by the hottie Gabriel who doesn’t seem to like her anyway, she still has no clue what to do with Justin either and to top it off a new psychic has moved into town who is a major threat to their business . Could things really get any worse?

From the beginning Clarity reminded me of a mash up of charmed and CSI (two of my favourite programmes) solving a mystery with little clues to go by with the infuriating yet charming Gabriel helping her, would they be able to do it or were they just putting themselves into more danger? Clare liked the charmed sisters was a kick butt heroine, she didn’t take any crap from anyone and despite being surrounded by guys (her brother Perry, his best friend Nate, Gabriel and Justin) jumping over themselves to help her out, she could fight her own battles *hooray!* There’s nothing more I like than a girl being able to stand her own ground, and not going to the first guy she gets her hands on. With the situation getting even more dire and her life also being threatened, Clare still refused to back down. I admire the courage she displayed.

Thankfully love triangles don’t seem to bother me as much, so I didn’t have a problem with the Clare- Gabriel- Justin relationship. And it wasn’t like each guy was trying to out do the other so they could make a better impression in Clare’s eyes. Both had admirable characteristics, Justin the ex knew he had made mistakes in the past, but still wanted what was best for Clare. Gabriel the mysterious new guy Could we really totally trust him? Despite his early rudeness and snarky comments he had a sexual ruggedness which I found so appealing. Whenever a love triangle pops up, I usually take one side early on and stick it out. But by the end of this book I was completely torn between Gabriel and Justin.

I’ve started picking up quite a few mystery books in the last week; I’ve been on a run of great ones, and Clarity I’m glad to say will join that pile. The fast pace, different clues trickling in had me captivated; also there was an essence about not knowing who you really could trust. I think that’s what I really enjoyed about this book I had no clue who the killer was until right at the end. It was surprisingly enjoyable having this big shock reveal at the end. Also the ending? What does it all mean? I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on Perception and find out. 


18 comments:

Vegan YA Nerds said...

You said the magic word: mystery! I filmed my vlog for this week today and I said the same thing, I am on a bit of a kick with books that have me turning the pages as fast as possible!

This sounds really good but it really didn't get a lot of attention. Your description of the love-triangle sounds fine to me and I can't wait to get to know both of the boys!

Wonderful review, Jas!

Leanna Elle said...

I loved Clarity - one of my faves of last year. Loved Clare's voice!

Jessica@Booked Up! said...

Lovely review, Jas! This looks like something I might enjoy, so I'll have to look out for it. And I love Charmed and CSI too. :) xxx

Anonymous said...

I read this one some time back and didn't really enjoy it because I had too many issues with it. I did like the mystery though. I love reading mystery books so it was nice to see the genre entering YA as well.
My main problem was the lack of depth of certain characters. Unlike you, I really can't tolerate love triangles, so it annoyed me a little! :(
I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the book overall, Jasprit.
Lovely review! :)

P.S I'm reading Throne of Glass and I'm loving it so far. :D

Celine said...

I've been wanting to read Clarity for a while now and I've never actually seen the UK cover before! Definitely hope to get the chance to read this soon!

Awesome review, Jasprit! ♥ So glad you enjoyed it!

Anonymous said...

I don't like love triangles, more often than not. Aside from not seeing what's so good about the girl (in most cases), there are books that's so obvious with the endgame pairing. With those, it loses the appeal of the love triangle. But since you said you were torn, I'm guessing the triangle is well-founded... which is a YAY for me :D

Great review, Jasprit. :D

Keertana said...

Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one! I thought this was such a cute and interesting read, but I haven't picked up the sequel yet. I really liked Clarity's character and the love triangle didn't bother me too much in this novel. Plus, I thought the family dynamics were very realistically portrayed as well! Great review, Jasprit! I'm so glad you're on a run of good books - hopefully I'll start one soon! :)

~Keertana
Ivy Book Bindings

Unknown said...

I'm glad that you enjoyed this book, J! <3 I read the first chapter of Clarity some time ago and didn't really enjoy her voice. She seems a bit too harsh for me, but maybe I was too quick to judge. This seems like a good story with just right amount of mystery and romance thrown in. I should check it out soon! <3

Fabulous review, not that I expected less from you, Jasprit! <3

Book Passion for Life said...

Great review lady! I really enjoyed this one and I can't wait for the second book. =) Donna xoxox

Eunice said...

Fantastic review, Jasprit! I was sold when you dropped the line "Gabriel is yummy." LOL! I'm glad you enjoyed this book! Clare sounds like a great MC, I love that she didn't give a crap despite being surrounded by boys! I love heroines like that. I'm a little worried with the love triangle though. Hehe. :D

Jenny said...

Woo hoo! I loved this one too Jasprit, and while I'm normally not a big fan of love triangles, this one didn't bother me at all. Even though I spent a good portion of the book irritated at Justin for what Clare saw, he started to wear me down by the end:) I loved Perception mas well, can't wait for your thoughts. Fabulous review!

-Ria xo said...

Clare's power sounds like a gift and a curse! Ahh, this love triangle sounds like such a great one! I hate [in a GOOD way] when I can't choose between which guy I love more. But it shows that it's an awesome love triangle, and has worked well!

Killer/mystery books aren't my favourites, I'm such a wuss! But I'm glad you enjoyed this, Jasprit!(: and thanks for the great review.

Suzanne (Parabooklover) said...

I haven't actually read too many reviews for this book, I don't know how, cos everyone seems to have read it lol. But I love your review, it's making me want to read it NOW lol.

Aa'Ishah said...

Ooh, my impression of this was a typical paranormal too, but it seems I'm wrong (in this case something that I don't mind ;)). Clare definitely sounds great, I like that she doesn't put up with anyone's rubbish. That alone makes me want to read this. I don't mind love triangles either, and the idea of a mystery definitely appeals, so it seems like I'm destined to read this. Fab review, J! :)

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

It's strange, but the love triangle in this book didn't bother me much either. Or at least, I don't remember it bothering me. :P I can't wait for the next book though! I've heard that it's even better than this one. Fantastic review Jasprit! :)

Pooja. S said...

You had me at mash-up of Charmed and CSI, Jasprit! This sounds so good :D

Beverley said...

This sounds like such an intriguing book! I'm starting to really love mysteries too so I'll think I might add this to my to-read pile, especially after your review!

I'm intrigued to see how Clare deals with her gift/curse and how it's exploited in the book. And I'm glad you didn't mind the love triangles - I usually love them! I want to meet the two boys now!!! It's annoying when you're torn between both though :)

Fab review, Jas <3

Anonymous said...

Oh, I wish I had the gift of retrocognitive psychometry, haha. :) I'm glad you enjoyed this one, Jas! :) It sounds like the perfect fast-paced, engrossing read that I'd like. :) Brilliant review.

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