Title: Thicker Than Water
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Pub. Date: December 29, 2015
Publisher: Kensington Books
Pages: 322
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Synopsis:
On his own.
Thomas Bellweather hasn’t been in town long. Just long enough for his newlywed mother to be murdered, and for his new stepdad’s cop colleagues to decide Thomas is the primary suspect.
Not that there’s any evidence. But before Thomas got to Garretts Mill there had just been one other murder in twenty years.
The only person who believes him is Charlotte Rooker, little sister to three cops and, with her soft hands and sweet curves, straight-up dangerous to Thomas. Her best friend was the other murder vic. And she’d like a couple answers.
Answers that could get them both killed, and reveal a truth Thomas would die to keep hidden…
Thomas Bellweather hasn’t been in town long. Just long enough for his newlywed mother to be murdered, and for his new stepdad’s cop colleagues to decide Thomas is the primary suspect.
Not that there’s any evidence. But before Thomas got to Garretts Mill there had just been one other murder in twenty years.
The only person who believes him is Charlotte Rooker, little sister to three cops and, with her soft hands and sweet curves, straight-up dangerous to Thomas. Her best friend was the other murder vic. And she’d like a couple answers.
Answers that could get them both killed, and reveal a truth Thomas would die to keep hidden…
Review:
I have some mixed feelings about this book because on one hand, I really enjoyed this and was blown away; but on the other hand, I wasn't entirely happy about how everything turned out and the ending (I'll talk about this later on). I decided to round up since we still can't do half-stars, because ultimately, this is a phenomenal book. There were just some little things that I couldn't get over that made me lower my rating. Overall, I think this will appeal to many readers and the big twist at the end will be either a love or hate type thing.
Let me start with what I liked, since these aspects of the novel vastly outnumber what I didn't like. The writing is absolutely gorgeous! Brigid Kemmerer immediately swept my away into Thomas's world, and she made me feel for him. Thomas's introduction to small town life is definitely not what he was expecting, and it becomes an even bigger roller coaster as the story progresses. Honestly, this book is so unpredictable, and that's one of the things I absolutely LOVED about it. What I was originally thinking would happen, was nowhere near what Brigid Kemmerer actually delivered, and in many ways I adored this. I loved being surprised and blown away. And after the big twist is revealed, you look at the entire book differently. Another aspect of this novel is all of the little twists and turns throughout the story before the big twist. There are a lot of little clues and bits of information while reading the story, and in many ways, it was a bit chilling as Thomas and Charlotte put the clues together. I also loved Charlotte's best friend. She had me cracking up, and I honestly wish she was in the story a lot more than she was.
Now onto the things I didn't like. First, I wasn't a huge fan of Charlotte. I just never felt I could connect with her in the ways that Brigid Kemmerer made me connect with Thomas. I kept waiting and waiting for it to happen, but it never did. Charlotte's family also drove me a bit crazy while reading, and I seriously wanted this girl to match with her inner monologue and grow the backbone every reader knows is there. Second, I had a little bit of a problem with the big twist, but only because it felt a bit unnatural in the story. I think my ultimate problem with the big twist was the fact that it was introduced so late in the story. If it was introduced earlier on, and more of the book would have focused on it, I wouldn't have felt like it didn't belong or was weird in the story. However, I got over this because it really is a genius twist. Lastly, I wasn't a huge fan of the ending because of how open Brigid Kemmerer left the story. As of right now, I'm not aware of any type of sequel to this novel, but if there is, I wouldn't mind the ending. But currently, I don't feel like things were truly resolved.
Regardless of the things I just mentioned, I highly recommend checking this book out. It truly was a unique and engrossing read that will leave you guessing until the end. If you are a fan of Brigid Kemmerer, you will definitely want to read her new novel!! While the ending isn't perfect, I still am blown away by this story and I can't wait to see what Brigid Kemmerer writes next!
Let me start with what I liked, since these aspects of the novel vastly outnumber what I didn't like. The writing is absolutely gorgeous! Brigid Kemmerer immediately swept my away into Thomas's world, and she made me feel for him. Thomas's introduction to small town life is definitely not what he was expecting, and it becomes an even bigger roller coaster as the story progresses. Honestly, this book is so unpredictable, and that's one of the things I absolutely LOVED about it. What I was originally thinking would happen, was nowhere near what Brigid Kemmerer actually delivered, and in many ways I adored this. I loved being surprised and blown away. And after the big twist is revealed, you look at the entire book differently. Another aspect of this novel is all of the little twists and turns throughout the story before the big twist. There are a lot of little clues and bits of information while reading the story, and in many ways, it was a bit chilling as Thomas and Charlotte put the clues together. I also loved Charlotte's best friend. She had me cracking up, and I honestly wish she was in the story a lot more than she was.
Now onto the things I didn't like. First, I wasn't a huge fan of Charlotte. I just never felt I could connect with her in the ways that Brigid Kemmerer made me connect with Thomas. I kept waiting and waiting for it to happen, but it never did. Charlotte's family also drove me a bit crazy while reading, and I seriously wanted this girl to match with her inner monologue and grow the backbone every reader knows is there. Second, I had a little bit of a problem with the big twist, but only because it felt a bit unnatural in the story. I think my ultimate problem with the big twist was the fact that it was introduced so late in the story. If it was introduced earlier on, and more of the book would have focused on it, I wouldn't have felt like it didn't belong or was weird in the story. However, I got over this because it really is a genius twist. Lastly, I wasn't a huge fan of the ending because of how open Brigid Kemmerer left the story. As of right now, I'm not aware of any type of sequel to this novel, but if there is, I wouldn't mind the ending. But currently, I don't feel like things were truly resolved.
Regardless of the things I just mentioned, I highly recommend checking this book out. It truly was a unique and engrossing read that will leave you guessing until the end. If you are a fan of Brigid Kemmerer, you will definitely want to read her new novel!! While the ending isn't perfect, I still am blown away by this story and I can't wait to see what Brigid Kemmerer writes next!
Happy reading :)
~Cassie
I've wanted to read this one since I seen it. I haven't yet but I plan to. I don't know my hopes aren't high but it does sound like it has some things worth reading.
ReplyDeleteI think it is definitely worth a shot, especially if you're a fan of Brigid Kemmerer. While I wasn't totally thrilled with her incorporation of the paranormal element, it was still a good book :)
Delete~Cassie