Murky Pond

Nicely written romance with a little touch of the paranormal. I read this as a standalone so thanks to netgalley for the ARC which introduced me to Haddix. I liked her characters and the setting was well done. I'm curious where Warren and Lily will go in the future (assuming that this series continues.)

3.5 stars.

This is another absorbing tale from the Firefly Hollow series, full of emotion and troubles and family, all combining to make an enjoyable whole.

Although, I will say, there are a fair few gaps at the beginning that made it a bit tricky for me to get involved. The action starts seven years before the majority of the book, at which point Warren has already been through a lot that we don’t get to see. Then it’s seven years later and again, we’ve missed out on all the important bits – such as Warren and Lily’s friendship and the night where everything went wrong.

It left me feeling as though I’d missed a book or two, which is not the best way to start off a read. However, despite the most important moments not being shown, there is enough of a recap that things soon settled down and I could enjoy what was going on.

Of which there is plenty, often not directly related to either Warren or Lily. I did like Warren, though. He’s been through an awful lot in his life – and I was a bit surprised that most of it doesn’t warrant a mention later on – but he’s a good guy despite it. Lily was more annoying, with her habit of running away and avoiding all issues, and then getting angry at everyone else because she couldn’t get her own act together, but their romance was pretty cute and mostly straight forward. In fact, there were times when I felt like their relationship was being stretched out a little unnecessarily in order to fill the pages.

Which mostly get filled with other Campbells. We see a lot of the extended family in this book, which is always nice, but can be a bit confusing at times because there are a lot of them and every time they get mentioned they get introduced in a slightly different way. I don’t really bother trying to keep track of them anymore, unless they play a significant part.

On the whole I enjoyed this. There is emotion and loss and new beginnings and hope and hurt and a glimpse of the various paranormal abilities this family is hiding, all wrapped around a sweet second chance romance. It’s an easy, comforting read that fits in beautifully with the rest of the series and neatly sets up a few future stories that I look forward to reading.

This is great story of second chances, reemption, and true love healing all,wounds if we allow it too... A great contemporary love story, which I don't normally like. Very well told, written, and great character development! I am not a fan of the paranormal, and this has not changed my mind. Loved the family ties, and love within the very strong family bonds. I recommend, skip the shift and run, adds no value to the story. I hope you enjoy the main part of the story. It is worth the read. Thanks! Enjoy! carolintallahassee

Murky Pond by T L Haddix.
Lily Campbell had one passionate night and one very big mistake, a year- long friendship was sent spinning down the drain. She didn't want to face the reality of what she'd done with her best friend. She fled across the globe.
A bit of a slow starter then it got really good. I loved the story too. I didn’t realise this was part of a series but it didn't matter you could read it as a stand alone. 4*. Thanks to reduce adept and netgalley.

3.5/5


Lily and Warren’s story.

Another standalone in the whole Campbell family’s saga.

Warren went through a lot of pain and tragedy, maybe that’s why Lily seemed a little immature/childish for me when she left during months…
But of course, without drama we wouldn’t have had this love story
Beautiful emotions, and of course the talent of T.L. Haddix

This may be a standalone but if you’re new to the Firelfy Hollow series, just dive into the previous books.
Different love stories, with a hint of paranormal (Kathy is still my favorite of all).