 | Title: Perception
Sexual Content: Kissing. References to sex Rating:
Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying. |
Description
When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?
Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.
Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.
But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?
One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.
Review
I gushed about CLARITY, the first book in this series, when it came out in 2011 because it was so obviously an homage to underappreciated Veronica Mars TV show. Both featured a socially ostracized but witty teen solving mysteries in her small affluent town. It had style, great pacing, a dishy mystery, and subtle supernatural elements to boot. PERCEPTION, while not as strong as the debut, still delivers a decent wrap up to the series.
At it’s heart, the Clarity series is a mystery, and PERCEPTION kicks off right away with not one but three solid mysteries: a missing teen girl, a stalker, and a traumatized ghost trying to communicate with Clare’s brother Perry. All three mysteries are balanced well throughout the book, and Clare makes a few wrong conclusions while investigating that made her feel all the more real. I also appreciated that the ending was a big surprise on all fronts, but still fit perfectly will all the clues leading up to it.
Sadly, part of the magic that I loved so much in CLARITY was missing for me in PERCEPTION. Literally. Clare’s psychic touch ability was almost like an afterthought this time. It didn’t really play a significant role in the mysteries she was trying to solve. In fact, it could lift out entirely and barely affect the story. My other gripe was with the two love interests. They morphed into one character. They said the same suggestive things, flirted the same way, and basically acted the same way. There was zero tension/anticipation about who she would ultimately choose because I couldn’t tell them apart. It was a big disappointment on that front.
According to the author, there aren’t any more books planned for the Clarity series, but that she would love to write more and already has a few mysteries in mind for Clare. Most of the various plotlines—if not all the character arcs—are wrapped up in PERCEPTION, and it does feel like a satisfying ending for the series. Taken together, if you haven’t given these books a read yet, you’re missing out on a couple fun, fast reads and a truly memorable protagonist. Veronica Mars fans especially should run, not walk, to the nearest bookstore.
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I'm reading it now and am almost finished and I would have to agree with you. I felt like something was missing in Perception that was in Clarity. I'm hoping the next one is more like the first book. ;)
ReplyDeleteI wish it had been as strong as the debut too. Sadly, there are no more books planned right now. I do know that Kim is working on a new standalone paranormal YA and that it involves ghosts.
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