A great follow-up novel for a YA paranormal mystery, but I wanted a little something more…
Genre: Y/A, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance
No. of pages: 275
From Goodreads:
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.
This was a nice little parcelled story. Another murder mystery in the same vein of the debut ‘Clarity.’ I did sleuth out the killer very early on though – but the author Kim Harrington has a way of providing clues but not spilling the beans. A fun, if somewhat formulaic YA paranormal mystery.
The tone of ‘Perception’ felt a touch more mature than ‘Clarity.’ And while there were some burning unanswered questions from the debut still lingering by the end of ‘Perception’ – and after doing a little research – I discovered there were plans for more books in this series, but due to poor sales it has been abandoned. It felt like that kind-of-okay television show you were just getting in to and it gets cancelled. Grrr!
Our protagonist, Clare has all of her usual spunk from ‘Clarity,’ but with an increased number of complications to deal with. This really added some tension and helped her character mature. Yay! Way to up the anty Harrington! I enjoyed reading her journey.
But I wanted to bash my head against the desk repeatedly over the love triangle trope. So overdone. But at least it wasn’t filled with swoony, angsty behaviour. Thank the lord. Clare approached her options logistically. Believing in letting her feeling progress naturally to make a decision between her ex, Justin, and the new guy Gabriel.
I will say that Clare’s family unit is still going strong, and to have her mother play a present and involved parental role resonated with me. I sing praises for YA books having family units as a strong theme within the narrative.
I would have liked a pun about Mrs Vaddja (the fortune teller from ‘Clarity’) in the final lines… it would have fit. But that’s the writer/editor coming out in me. Additionally, there were some mysteries touched on again that never progressed – I would have like a few more clues scattered in to progress the arcs. Maybe it would have made this book perform better in sales and increased interest in a sequel? A few breadcrumbs isn’t going to entice readers to wait for the next book in the series with butt-clenching excitement… you need to start building and establishing an over-arcing storyline solidly grounded in each novel in the series. As a reader I appreciate a well thought out and paced development throughout a series.
‘Percertion,’ and ‘Clarity’ for that matter aren’t what I would call favourites – I feel there is something missing from the narrative. Maybe Clare feels a little too distant with her romantic relationships to connect with the target market? Maybe their psychic gifts weren’t utilised in a spooky enough way to hook their readers? It was more of a murder mystery aimed at a tween market. Again, I saw so much potential in this series – and in Harrington as a writer.
I was initially attracted to this series when it popped up in my recommendations on Goodreads because of the stunning cover artwork. After reading the blurb I was definitely intrigued. This collection definitely has all the attention grabbing gravitas – it just needed a few tweaks to turn it into best seller material.
A fun read, but a lukewarm feeling upon completion. There are so many fantastic elements but were either not explored enough, or not put together properly to make this an outstanding read… so I won’t count Harrington out yet.
Her following publications seem to be more middle grade though, so I don’t see myself picking up any more of her titles unless she releases another YA or adult novel. But it was the perfect move for her writing style and I can see her garnering a lot of success.
An enjoyable series to read, but I can see why it has been discontinued.
Overall feeling: Entertaining and underwhelming all at the same time.
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Casey Carlisle 