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322 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2015
***Kristalia (can I thank you enough for your support during my reading of this book. If not for you, I would've gone crazy without an opportunity to share my crazy theories with someone who already read the book and can give me some hints *hearty hug*), my friend, I have a theory about this books title and I will share it under the spoiler tags.
My friend's amazing review for this book you can find here.
Actual rating 4.4
“I can see how it would be exciting, spending time with a dangerous young man. You girls today can’t seem to separate your fact from your fiction. Life is not a movie.”
“I was young once. I know what it’s like to see a strange boy, full of drama and mystery.”
We have a rather predictable plot from the first look: boy's mom marries a cop and they move to live with him in a new town. Boy's mom dies soon after the wedding - she is strangled in her own bed and all the doors and windows were locked. Everybody thinks boy did it, and they are cruel toward him. Then boy meets a girl and there's something special between them. Girl believes boy didn't kill his mother and decides to help him find true killer. Nothing new, right? But then there's space between the lines, and this space is full of memorable amazing moments and unexpected mouth gaping twists:
☑ believable, head-strong characters
☑ hot romance
☑ intriguing mystery
☑ lots of humor
☑ amazing writing
☑ intense what-is-happening-I-need-answers-right-now last 40% of the book
☑ I-think-I-need-a-sequel moment
If you are ok with all the above - this book is your type and you may proceed with reading this review, if not... well, you still may read this review out of curiosity *wink-wink*
Brigid Kemmerer creates strong and, at the same time, vulnerable male characters. Thomas. I was in love with that boy after the first paragraph!
I think of Thomas standing outside the church. He was unfamiliar, with thick, dark hair that fell somewhere between edgy and hipster. When I got close, I noticed the high cheekbones. The strong jaw. The lean frame.
The eyes clouded by distress.
Instead, he speaks low, just to me. “Did you get off on it? Think about it in the shower this morning? All hot and bothered for killing your mother?”
Thomas, baby, let me cuddle you and care about you and kill all that cruel bastards for you.
“I’ve never had an entire town hate me. I’ve never been so . . . alone.” He says it matter-of-factly, not self-pitying at all. The words aren’t empty, though. For an instant, the emotion in his gaze is so potent that it feels like it might leach into me and start a round of tears again. His eyes hold mine, and his voice is quiet and low. “I’ve never given a girl a reason to be afraid of me.”
Thick, curly caramel hair, skin too pale for summertime, dark framed glasses, curves in all the right places. She’d be a challenge to sketch, because the tiny waist and the curves would make her look like a superhero comic, especially with that rack.
“I hate that, you know. I get enough people telling me how to dress, how to act, and especially when to eat. This is my life, okay? You don’t need to protect me.”
I had no idea you could be attracted to, afraid of, and irritated by the same person, all within a three-minute period.
His hand is warm, a weight in mine. I should be letting go, pushing him away.
I don’t want to. I feel connected. Anchored. His hand in mine feels right, not wrong.
The memory of Ben’s voice cuts through my thoughts. You’ve got to watch out for yourself, Charlotte.
<...>
Thomas stands there, looking down at me. He’s dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, but there’s no ball cap today. His hair is just this side of messy, and he looks rakish and unruly and immeasurably sexy. Shut up, Ben. Shut up, Brain.
I’m here because I’ve been attracted to you since the moment I saw you outside the church. I’m here because you let your guard down around me sometimes, and I don’t think you do that with anyone else. I’m here because you make me feel like I have something to offer the world, instead of being someone who needs to be sheltered away.
And finally . . . I’m here because I can’t stop thinking about you, and I don’t want to leave your presence until I’ve figured you out.
I don’t know how I can be with him and feel so certain that he’s innocent—but when I’m anywhere else, doubts sneak into my brain and set up shop.
She’s so guileless, and it’s charming. There’s also a part of me that feels like I’m corrupting her with half the comments I make. Like this one: “Does that mean you’re putting me to bed sometime soon?”
I’m glad Charlotte is driving. If we’d stayed in the house, there’s a good chance I would have dragged her down the hall and coaxed her into my bed.
His tongue touches mine, and I break the kiss, startled. He tries to draw back, but I keep my hand on his face, holding him close.
“Sorry,” he whispers.
I shake my head quickly. “Do it again.”
He’s more sure this time, and I’m all but panting into his mouth. My knees are on the seat and both his hands are on my waist, twin points of heat. The lower half of one hand is under the waistband of my capri pants, and I feel his finger slide along the lace hem of my panties.
I can’t take it. I want to feel him everywhere. Without thought, I pull my shirt over my head.
“Charlotte.” My name leaves his mouth in a rush of breath. “Charlotte. You don’t have to—”
“Shut up,” I whisper. “Don’t stop kissing me.”
He’s a good listener.
And then there's chapter 19. This is the point of no return. This is the last 40% I mentioned before. From that moment everything went crazy, and I was fidgeting on my chair, well, actually now I remember I was in a bed... Ok, let's just say, you need to be prepared for the chapter 19.
I dream of Thomas.
It’s a good dream.
He’s in bed with me, and I’m whispering at him to be quiet, that we’ll wake the girls.
In response, he presses his lips to mine, a kiss to silence me. His body is heavy and warm against me, his hands sliding beneath my T-shirt to stroke across my abdomen. I’m wearing less than I was in the car, just an old shirt and some booty shorts, and he makes a low sound in his throat when he discovers I’m not wearing a bra.
“Shh,” I whisper. Then his thumb brushes over my nipple, and I gasp and arch into him.
His mouth moves to my neck. He laughs, a low rumble against my skin. “Shh yourself.”
I need to say a few words about the mystery part. It was solid, it was intense, it was not what I expected, and mostly I liked it. I can't say much without giving a huge spoiler, so just buckle up and be ready for anything.
Also, I'd like to add a few words about friendship in this book. Nicole and Charlotte together were hilarious; they have a real girl friendship without any bitchiness. The scene with texting was my favorite between them.
CR: My dad walked in. I dropped the phone. Worried you were sending more pictures.
NK: Want me to?
CR: YES.
OMG, I so didn’t just type that. If she sends me another picture of him, I will die. Right here in this chair.
A picture comes through almost immediately. He’s wearing a T-shirt and that baseball cap, and he’s carrying enough books to make his biceps flex.
I don’t die. I bite at my lip and just keep staring.
She sends another text.
NK: I expected him to be scary. He’s not. He’s . . . I don’t know.
I know exactly what she means. My fingers fly across the letters.
CR: Intense.
NK: Yes. Intense.
Five minutes later, another picture comes through. He’s surrounded by stacks of books, and he’s got his hat off. He’s wiping his forehead on his arm and stretching at the same time. Biceps, check. Hint of stomach, check. He is so sexy. I wish I could blow these up and tape them to my bedroom ceiling.
I feel like a creeper.
I don’t care.
Then another text.
NK: OMG HE CAUGHT ME
It’s horrible but I burst out laughing.
Another text comes through.
NK: Hey. Hey?
Then another text.
NK: How intense am I being right now?
It’s him. He has her phone.
I choke on air. I cannot breathe.
HE HAS HER PHONE. And he’s reading her texts.
This is awful. I need to die.
Is he mad? Or is he flirting?
The last part of my already too big review (sorry for that, but I just needed to show you all these quotes) I want to dedicate to some rumbling about the mystery and plot twists. Please, do not read further, if you haven't read the book yet.
All in all, it was a wonderful, relaxing read that I recommend to everyone. Just one notion: this book looks like a standalone, but it's not, and it ended with a lot of questions, and I expect a sequel. I want, again, to mention the relationships in this book: we have love, we have friendship and we have family bonds - they all were masterly explored by Brigid Kemmerer and felt realistic and sincere. I understand that the romance felt insta love-ish at times, but it was so potent, I didn't have any serious questions toward it. I can easily read books without romance and enjoy it, but, come on, love is an important part of our lives and it is nice to have a well-done romantic line in a book. Anyway, my inner sixteen-year-old girl squealed with happiness. And that is more than I can say about most books I read.
“Loneliness is a funny disease. You don’t realise how badly you’re infected until someone gives you a shot of contentment – and then it wears off.”
"Loneliness is a funny disease. You don't realize how badly you're infected until someone gives you a shot of contentment-and then it wears off."I knew I made the right decision to read this book just after reading the first page of the this book in the midst of having a book slump. You rarely meet a book that can grab and hold your attention that fast, but Thicker Than Water did it so effortlessly, at least for me. You see before this book, I've read like 2 books and I can't seem to finish them in a span of a week. Those books just won't hold my attention. I thought maybe there's a problem with me, but when I finally decided to read this book, I realize it wasn't me after all since I have no problem engaging with this book, at all.
"Fear is a quiet friend, sneaking up to its fingers between mine."She's actually afraid of Thomas and quite suspicious as well, but doesn't seem to find the courage to stay away from him. Hormones at work if you ask me. Anyway, Charlotte annoys the shit out of me at first, but her character growth throughout the book was remarkable I've eventually liked her along the way. Both of them work their way around to solve the mystery of the crime that will led them to the dangerous answers they both so desperately seek.
Loneliness is a funny disease. You don’t realize how badly you’re infected until someone gives you a shot of contentment—and then it wears off.
► STORY:
"We’ve got an audience."
► CHARACTERS:
His hands don’t move, but he looks up at the sky as if searching for answers. “Everything is upside down,” he says.
I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. “I don’t know what you mean.”
His eyes return to mine. “This,” he says, as if that explains everything. “All of this.”
“I hate that, you know. I get enough people telling me how to dress, how to act, and especially when to eat. This is my life, okay? You don’t need to protect me.”
He lets go of me to press the heel of one hand to his forehead. “I’ve never had an entire town hate me. I’ve never been so . . . alone.” He says it matter-of-factly, not self-pitying at all. The words aren’t empty, though. For an instant, the emotion in his gaze is so potent that it feels like it might leach into me and start a round of tears again. His eyes hold mine, and his voice is quiet and low. “I’ve never given a girl a reason to be afraid of me.”
► OVERALL:
A storm is coming, but still we stand here. “I saw her,” he says. His voice is hollow. “That night.
I saw what happened to her.”
“I know,” I whisper.
His lips curl into a slow smile. “Penny for your thoughts.”
“They’re not decent.”
I. Did not. Just say that.
His smile widens, and he looks genuinely amused. “Really. What if I offer you a dollar?”
I put my hands over my face.
“Can we please just pretend this moment isn’t happening?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Shush, you. Eat your food.”
“No one knew her. No one cares about her. No one cares about finding out who did this. They just care about how much they hate me.”
I have to stop talking. I’m going to lose it right here in the parking lot.
Arms go around my neck, and I stiffen in surprise. She’s hugging me. Charlotte is hugging me.
I can’t remember the last time anyone hugged me.