Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940157289201 |
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| Publisher: | ThunderWords |
| Publication date: | 02/23/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | NOOK Book |
| Sales rank: | 6,573 |
| File size: | 971 KB |
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Clarity
3.9 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
50 reviews.
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Clarity is unlike any book I have read. It is beautiful, tragic, hopeful, comical, soulful, and mesmerizing. I was completely captivated by Helen’s story. Her strength is powerful, her fragility endearing. There is obvious heat and chemistry between Helen and Liam that gives rise to hope that Helen will be able to overcome the serious challenges she faces in allowing someone to enter her life again. While Author Loretta Lost keeps the story light and positive throughout most of the book there are moments that are hard to experience. These moments contribute significantly to Helen’s ability to trust Liam and allowing herself to get close to him. While Helen’s hesitation is more than understandable, I am eager to read the next book in the series and hopeful that she is able to overcome the traumatic moments that sent her into isolation. I highly recommend it!
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Clarity is a story of romance that is like no other I've ever read.
The main character Helen, encountered a horrible event that had a huge impact on her life.
She has a hard time trusting people, but meets a wonderful and charming man named Liam.
He is very persistent and determined to help Helen to overcome her struggles.
This was an extremely well-written book that will keep you engaged from the start.
It was a touching story that leaves you wanting more. I can not wait to read the next book!
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I adored this book. The tragic event that befell Helen in the beginning was raw and bitingly real. But those things do happen in real life, and having a book that addresses that is important. The rest of the book swings between poignant and light, creating a fluidity of prose that was a delight to read. Seeing Helen come out of her shell and fall in love with Liam was a beautiful thing to behold, and especially more so since the entire book is from the perspective of a blind woman who has to deal with a perpetually dark world. Fantastic book!
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Before I began Clarity I wish I had known its length because this is a story which forces the reader to invest emotions and form a deep connection to the female protagonist, leaving us with a feeling of loss when it abruptly ends. Loretta Lost does not refrain from examining the serious issue of rape and the lasting effects such an attack can have on an individual.
Clarity's main character, Helen, has chosen to deal with her trauma by isolating herself from her family and the rest of society, writing novels as a form of therapy. When Helen is contacted by doctors Liam and Owen, with a opportunity to cure her blindness, she is reluctant to participate in the tests, but she is charmed by Liam and makes a deal to be studied if they can take her back home to her sister's wedding. The road trip the three embark on produces some laugh out loud moments and whilst Helen spars verbally with Liam and Owen her tense mood is almost forgotten. Loretta Lost gently infers at a romance between Liam and Helen and I am looking forward to this being explored in the sequels.
As soon as Helen is reunited with her father and sister the atmosphere of the story changes; though Helen is comforted by familiar surroundings she is also reminded of the past she escaped from. I instantly disliked Helen's sister Carmen, who appears selfish and thoughtless and also an hysterical bridezilla!
Although I was not surprised by Clarity's final events, Loretta Lost overwhelms her reader with Helen's emotions, meaning the cliffhanger ending is heart-breaking. Luckily I could immediately purchase Clarity book two and continue reading.
I received this as a complimentary review copy, but this has had no influence on my opinion.
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Helen is a young blind woman who has experienced the loss of her mother and a violent rape.
She is moving past her experiences only to have a shocking revelation at the end of the book!
I won't give away the story line but Clarity is a fast reading book with some twists and turns.
It will leave you ready for the next book in the series!!!
Thumbs up!
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Helen Winters has lived a sheltered and secluded life up until some young doctors come bearing news that they can cure the blindness she was born with. Helen is of course a non trusting, bitter person because of her past disappointments and betrayals. She's uncomfortable with the idea that her life could change, and it does when she meets Dr. Liam Larson. Against all odds, Liam is intent on curing Helen's blindness, as well as show her that there are good people who want to help her. Helen and Liam's love story is epic, and I can't wait to read the next book. "Clarity" is heart-breaking, rousing, and brilliantly written. I felt so much compassion for Helen's character. This is a great read all around.
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Amazing and heartfelt!
This was a lovely and breathtaking story. Helen is such a strong and smart heroine, and I love reading from her point of view. Because she is blind, we get to experience and feel the story so much more through her sense of touch as she trails her fingertips over everyday items, and through her sensitivity to sound and smell. I felt everything she felt. Liam sounds like a true gentleman, and Owen is a riot. I was charmed by all the characters, and the story had plenty of surprising twists and turns. I can't wait for the next installment!
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Reclusive writer Helen Winters has had her share of struggles; the biggest one – blindness. Not that she lets it get her down, in the beginning that is. When horribly raped in college, she quickly spirals down into fear & depression. She drops out of school and moves to the middle of nowhere, to concentrate on becoming a writer. Having huge success, she becomes accustomed to her way of living. A simple knock on her door one day changes everything. But will it be for the better or is she in for a shock?
‘I am not sure what this man looks like, but I imagine that if I could see him, I would be staring up into the face of pure evil. Perhaps I should be thankful that I will never behold something so hideous. If I survive this, I inwardly promise myself, I will have to get stronger, somehow. I can never let something like this happen to me again.'
Interesting story, but I’m not sure if I like it or not. There are parts of it that are very captivating and others where I could care less. The relationship of Helen & her family & the choices she makes are interesting to me, but then the ending kind of falls apart, since it was a bit predictable. But, maybe that’s the direction the story is supposed to flow. I’m not sure if I’ll read the rest of the series, but there is a part of me that would like to know what happens.
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This is a book that honestly caught me by surprise, and not because I enjoyed it. While I normally prefer a good old-fashioned bloody adventure (I like to think of it as a guy thing), I don’t mind a good romance every now and then (I can rather be a hopeless romantic). Going into this book, I expected a fairly standard romance plot. The guy and girl meet and fall in love through some odd and random occurrence of the universe forcing them to run head first into each other. There might be a few heroics thrown in to overcome their problems, or perhaps it would take a more comedic route as a documentary of their misadventures. All of the standard, but still satisfying and enjoyable tropes.
However, this book delivered so much more. The closest thing I can associate reading Clarity to is taking a ride on the biggest roller coaster I can find. The high, light, and funny moments are incredibly funny, and the serious and dark moments can be truly gut wrenching and heart breaking. It really is a rather amazing feat to seamlessly intertwine these two radically different aspects of light and dark into a story. A less skilled author may have been able to make a coherent story out of this, but here the humor and serious tones seem to fit together perfectly. This is a promising indication of Loretta’s skill.
Clarity will make you laugh until you cry, cry until you are afraid, and find the ability to smile in your fear. The characters are memorable and layered; simplistic in their natures and complex in their interactions. Helen is a strong leading lady and gives a fairly positive view of the life of a blind woman without trying to idealize it or turn her into inspiration porn. Liam is a nice guy that shows charm and promise for being a strong leading man. Owen has to be one of the most entertaining and hilarious characters I have ever read, completely defying the initial impressions you might have from him.
It is impossible to write this review without addressing the issue of rape, which is the focal point of much of the story. Loretta handles this with care and skill, taking you through the sways of emotions and tremendous effects that occur to someone after such a horrifying crime. This is the kind of story that really helps to explain why rape is something that a victim cannot just get over. Helen’s journey to free herself from the mental trauma and prison that she been trapped in is what makes this story truly worth reading.
This is an excellent book that I highly recommend. The ending seems an almost cruel point to leave off at, but the promise of more books of this quality leaves me hungry for more. I can’t wait to see the rest of Helen's story with just a few more words of Clarity.
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At the very end, the author puts a statement on PTSD and rape. So as this is a fiction book, it is also based on facts from her life and some of her friends. So, I tread lightly. My daughter was in a marriage of abuse and my sister in law was raped by her own husband. Both are doing much better. I saw how it changed their lives.
I saw where this was going early in the book but it did not deter me from the book. I truly wanted to know how she, Helen (who has blind since birth), would handle it. It was heart wrenching and my pulse went up waiting for what I knew was coming. But unfortunately, there is a cliff hanger. The author had a reason for it and she writes about it at the end.
But backing up; we have Helen who is blind and in college. She is a little lost in school and a man offers his assistance. She trusted him. Yet he led her to a room and raped and beat her. Her life was forever altered. She didn’t tell her family what really happened; only that she was mugged. She went into seclusion and writes books. She eats protein bars and has stuff brought to her. She lives in the middle of nowhere and prefers her life that way. Not trusting others and not wanting to appear weak ever again.
A doctor of hers talked to these two young ophthalmologists who are doing research and feel like the type of blindness Helen has can be fixed. It takes a lot of convincing for Helen to believe them. But her sister is getting married and she needs to be there. The one doctor has read a book of hers and has a crush on her. So, she strikes a bargain; if they will take her to her home for her sister’s wedding she will be part of their research. It is a long ride and the two doctors couldn’t be more opposite. She relaxes around them and they are quite funny together.
When she gets home, she not only gets wrath from her sister whom she hasn’t really seen or talked much to in years but finds out her father’s situation isn’t great either. She feels bad and decides to right the wrong.
After that, I will leave you to read the rest. It is a relatively short book. If I didn’t have a few commitments I would have read the next one right away. The end is a cliffhanger and it breaks your heart and leaves you wanting to know more!
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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Loretta Lost takes us on an emotional ride in this beautiful book. Clarity is about the battles of depression and trust after rape.
The plot is fairly simple and straightforward but has a complicated emotional undercurrent. A student is raped on campus. She can't cope and moves away to a secluded house in the middle of nowhere where she pursues a career in writing. Born blind magnifies her social phobia and fear to such an extent that she shuts out her family and friends and lives as a recluse.
I loved all aspects of this story, but it wasn't until the very end of the book when I read the author's note that I really understood with clarity the real beauty of the words that were written.
Thank you Loretta Lost for taking us on this amazing tour of the broken people who are among us every day.
I can't wait to see what happens next!
4-Bombs
Reviewed by Soreta
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A spellbinding story! I love the way this author writes.
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Really good story....sadly, this is the first part of a 3 (maybe 4-5????)part story. That is the only reason I gave it only 2 stars. We should be told that a book is not the complete story...after I bought the second part, I learned there was a third part. I think I am done with this story.
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This book is about Helen, a blind writer. After experiencing a violent assault while at college, Helen isolates herself in a cabin in the middle of no where.
The book is incredibly fast paced, and exquisitely written. I have had a few blind friends in the past which is part of what makes this book so fascinating to me, her descriptions of the world around her and the people she encounters is so interesting because not only is she blind, she has never been able to see... so she doesn't even have a concept of colors. Perfect plot details and character development. I love Liam and Owen, they had me laughing out loud.
Great cliffhanger and huge twist at the end... going to buy book two right this second!!!!
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Great story,good writing. The sudden ending, not so good. I probably would have read it had I been warned but won't read further due to being misled.
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I thought the book was good and gave one star because of how you ended this!
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The first book was good due to the interesting concept, and it was free. Books 2 and 3 are not worth the money. This interesting story becomes another tweeny romance glorifying women who stay with physically and emotionally abusive men.
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Didn't see that coming!
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Great writing and very detailed.
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This is not a complete story. The free part is just 100 pages, leading up to a cliffhanger then ending abruptly without a conclusion. You have to buy the next books in the series. I hear she uses the same tactic in other books too. Too bad, too, because I liked the characters and might have bought the next book if this one wasn't such a blatant attempt at manipulation. Now I will never read anything else by Loretta Lost. Btw, I saw the "shocking" revelation at the end coming from about the middle of the book.
JB
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Wonderful book
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Incredible story, loved every minute
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I totally loved this book, and can't wait to read more! Helen was so sweet and funny and enjoyable to read. An inspiration.
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This book kept me totally engrossed and I couldn't stop reading. The ending left me in SHOCK and I am eager to read more from this author.
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This is a fantastic novel. The author's ability to describe an entire story from the perspective of a blind person, someone denied the main sense most of us use, is a compelling look into a dark world.
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