Thicker Than Water

Actual rating 3.5 starsI 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 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!Happy reading :)

I really like Brigid Kemmerer's writing. I think she writes angsty boys really well. I also think she writes romance pretty well. So those are two great elements of the book.There's also a really frustrating part of the book, that everyone thinks Thomas is a murderer and they treat him like crap. There's one part where Thomas wonders why they hate him so immediately when they don't know anything about him. I'd like to know that too. Also, what about innocent until proven guilty? (okay, okay, I know that this is just the logical side of me talking. We all make snap judgments). However, it is still really frustrating that no one gives the poor guy a break. We can actually see him starting to crack as the book goes on, and it's so futilely frustrating! (So, I guess that means that Brigid Kemmerer did a really good job, because she evoked such strong feelings in me)It is a paranormal book, and I think that's kind of Kemmerer's jam (see: the Elemental series). I saw that people were kind of thrown off by the paranormal aspect. On one side, the book is categorized in the paranormal genre. So...I don't think anyone should be surprised about that element. However, I can see what people mean. For the first 70% of the book, it reads like a very well-developed, well-paced contemporary thriller/mystery. The characters are all fairly normal. The main issue is Thomas's angst and his need to prove his innocence. Then, boom! Paranormal stuff!Though the Paranormal elements did seem late-in-the game, they didn't necessarily seem tacked on. The book sets up the whole story for that to be the reveal. However, the tone of the book did read a bit contemporary thriller in the beginning.Either way, I thought the book was fun and well-written. I liked the characters, I liked the romance, and I think that the end reveal was a decent twist. I do think things got tied up a bit too conveniently (though there were some open ended things. So, sequel?) All-in-all, I'd still recommend this book. Especially to fans of Kemmerer and to fans of well-written angsty boyz.

Thomas’s mother is dead, he is in a small town where he knows no one, and everyone thinks that he killed his own mom. But did he?Charlotte isn’t convinced that Thomas is guilty of murder, and maybe if she gets to know him a little bit better she can help him prove his innocence.What the heck is this book?HONESTLY.I love Brigid Kemmerer. I’ve read a lot of her stuff before and I’ve always enjoyed it. But this book was garbage trash.I have not been so duped in my effing life.THIS BOOK HAD THE AUDACITY TO SWITCH GENRES.But not only did it switch genres. IT DID IT AT 80% IN!Livid. LIVID I TELL YOU.I’m actually so upset about this that I can not even give you a proper review about what I thought of the book. Because NOTHING matters after that bait and switch. Everything you thought you knew about the plot and the characters becomes completely obsolete. It was so frustrating.It literally made no sense. NONE AT ALL.The genre change was weird and unnecessary.I personally feel like the author wrote herself into a corner and then instead of reworking the beginning of the book she just decided to give everyone powers as an easy out.It was disappointing, I was very obviously mad about it and I felt like it was a total fail.Things stopped making sense and characters started acting out of character. Elements were added that were unnecessary and a paranormal aspect was included that should never have been approved by the editor.love Brigid but what the actual hecklike… two stars?

I've been waiting for what feels like years for a new book from Kemmerer. I make it no secret that her Elemental series is one of my absolute favourites. It's pretty much everything I want in a series of books. Thicker Than Water is a little different but still has Kemmerer's signature writing and fully developed and personality filled characters.Kemmerer does an excellent job of setting up what is ultimately a very head scratching mystery. Obviously with it being a mystery I can't give much away, but Thomas is being blamed for his mother's murder. And it really doesn't make sense. The murder scene is really tricky and all evidence really does point in Thomas's direction. As to why he's being ostracized by the town. It's hard not feel for Thomas seeing as he's in this alone. His mom and him are new to the town. This is where Charlotte comes in. Even though she only meets him as his mom's funeral she believes his innocent. The problem there is her brothers and dad are police officers and besides being over protective they obviously want Charlotte to keep her distance from Thomas. But that's really not happening. Their instant attraction to each other(Kemmerer is a romance writer at heart) might start to slip a veil over what's really important. Thomas is a great brody character, and is really hard to read. Even though you get his POV, with some key points missing it's really hard to 100% believe that Thomas is innocent. Charlotte looks a little meek on the outside but I soon came to see her as a sassy and smart girl.Like I mentioned, the mystery is on point. Their is thousand twists I didn't see coming. One of them adding a bit of a paranormal element to the story. It really adds a bunch of thrilling moments. I honestly could not even guess how the book would end. And because Kemmerer is such a snappy writer, writing a romantic mystery really worked well with her writing style. I know this is supposed to be a stand alone, but I don't want that. I need a sequel. Which is really my only qualm with the book; we just get the answers and that's not enough. There's no open ending, But there's so much more that could be built upon. So here's hoping.

I was really intrigued by the summary of the book and the cover. I really wanted to read it and I wasn't dissapointed. It wasn't what I was excepted at all.Thicker than water is a mystery thriller with a paranormal twist that really took me by surprise. I really loved Brigid Kemmerer writing.The book is divided by the PoV of two person. Thomas who is the main suspect in the murder of his mother. And Charlotte who's best friend was also murdered in a similiar way. Thomas claim that he's innocent and Charlotte who barely know him, seems to be the one of the only person who belive him. But finding answers about but murders might get them both killed as well...

Absolutely loved this novel, my attention was grabbed immediately and I didn’t want to put it down. In fact I devoured it within a couple of days. As you read further into it - you find yourself thinking of course.....I could not put it down and promptly ordered more by this incredible author.