Storm (Elemental)

Brigid Kemmerer is a refreshing new voice in YA literature. Storm has a lot going on, and all of it is fantastic. The plot is intriguing, action-packed, and unique. The characters are wonderfully flawed, fully developed, and easy to relate to and care about. Storm is one of those books that I could not put down. I read it all in one sitting, and my only thought at the end was, "it can't be over! I want more!" This is one of the best debuts I've read all year, and I cannot wait to read Spark, the sequel. This is a book that cannot be missed.Becca, the female lead, has had a rough life. Because of this, she is extremely paranoid around people, especially males. Her reactions may seem a bit extreme at first, but as her story unfolds, the things she does start to make sense. She just wants to protect herself, but she feels like she'll never be safe again. Her past and the fact that she always wants to help others, even though she can't help herself, make her a character who is easy to care about. I connected with her almost instantly, and I was rooting for her the entire time. Also, she is a strong character. She has been through a lot, but she is able to continue facing adversity. She rarely complains, too, which is nice.Chris, the male lead, has also had a rough life, but in a different way. The poor guy is also socially stupid at times, and I wanted to smack him on more than one occasion for saying something stupid. However, it's clear that he has a good heart and he doesn't want to hurt anyone. He just wants to be able to live his life without people constantly threatening him and wanting to kill him and his brothers. I have no idea what it would be like to live like that, but I still found myself sympathizing with him. He is a likable, albeit socially clueless, character.The secondary characters are also extremely well-developed, though I can't wait to learn more about Gabriel in Spark. I felt like I knew Michael already from the novella, and Nick and Hunter are also two characters I want to see more of. I wasn't a huge fan of Quinn, Becca's best friend, but I didn't hate her either. She is just more typical and generic than the others. There is nothing special about her, at least nothing I could see.The plot is action-packed from the beginning, and as the book progresses, the situations escalate and become more dire. By the end of the novel, I was white-knuckling my Kindle, furiously clicking the "next page" button in order to see what would happen next. Also, the plot is unique. I've never heard of an idea quite like this one, where people can control the elements in the way that these kids do. The reasoning behind who has power and who doesn't is also interesting. I hope to learn more about it in the following installments.Another thing that I loved is the fact that there is no insta-love between Becca and any of the male characters. Everything develops naturally from friendships. That's a nice change from how most YA novels operate. There is a love triangle, but it's not that dramatic. It's just enough to keep you guessing. And Becca has a good reason for choosing who she chooses. There is none of this, "oh, but I love you both," crap. I respected her for that.Additionally, the pacing is perfect. Nothing felt rushed, and nothing dragged. Furthermore, I loved the alternating POVs in this novel.The POV is third person limited, and it switches between Becca and Chris. Sometimes I don't like that, but for this novel, it worked. I really enjoyed being able to see things from both Becca's and Chris' perspective. It helped me get to know them better. I felt like I understood both of them more clearly than I would have had the novel just focused on one character.It was also interesting to me how Kemmerer seemed to weave messages into the story without being obvious about it. I'm not sure if this was intentional or if it was just how the story played out. The entire thing was natural. There seemed to be an anti-bullying undercurrent within this novel, as well as the "don't judge what you don't understand," and "you never know what someone else has been through" philosophies. Kemmerer did not use a character as a mouthpiece against these things, in fact, these issues were barely mentioned. However, the novel shows what happens when people judge, hate, and bully for no good reason. It shows how things like that affect entire communities and not just specific people, and it shows how much damage is truly done when things like that occur. It also illustrates how bullying can get out of hand and become extremely dangerous. Again, I'm not sure if she intended for this to happen, or if this is just how the story played out, but it was all extremely realistic. Nothing felt forced, and nothing felt preachy. Whether or not these messages were intended, I am glad they are in there. People need to be more aware of how they treat others, and I feel that art, literature, media, and music are places that can draw attention to these problems and make a difference, especially when the situation is handled in a subtle and classy manner.Now for the "content warnings." There is no sex, just light kissing, but the topic of rape is discussed. There is also a scene where some male characters attempt to assault a female character. However, nothing is very graphic, and the attempt is painted as the disgusting and heinous act that it is. It's not graphic, but it's certainly not glamorized. It's clear from the way it's handled that doing something like that to someone is never acceptable, no matter what. Also, there is some mild swearing. It's not on every page, but it is in there. I found that refreshing. Personally, I'm tired of all of these books that have no swearing at all in them. Seriously, even if people don't run around cursing constantly, everyone lets an obscenity slip every once in awhile. I hate when YA books try to make teens look all angelic and innocent, and the characters say things like, "golly gee whiz, I just got shot in the stomach. Wowee that sure does hurt. Fudge nugget." So, the random obscenities at appropriate times worked and felt more real than these novels that avoid swearing all together.Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone. The plot is fantastic, the writing is top notch, the characters are amazing, and the messages within the story are inspiring. If you haven't read Storm yet, you are missing out.

Storm starts off with a bang and never stops. Even though this a YA paranormal romance the characters are alive, jump off the pages with real life issues that people deal with on a daily basis, just add in some heroes with elemental powers.Chris the hero is just trying to live a normal teenage life going to school, do the everyday normal teenage stuff, but at the same time keep his elemental power under control. Everything changes when Becca, a girl from his high school saves him from getting his butt kicked to death by two older boys who know what he is and want him to lose control so the others will come and kill him. Because of this, now Becca is part of this war going on with the other boys and this leaves Chris hot and cold. He starts to like her but knows she can not be with him because of her safety. I enjoyed Chrisfs character he is the more quite of the brothers.Now Hunter the mysterious new kid in school is yummy with his tattoo, piercing and Goth, Punk, New age style. He seems to always be there rescuing Becca from the other bad boys and always has his retired police dog, Casper with him outside of school. He shows interest in Becca and can be a bit jealous and protective of her. Loved it when Hunter and Becca are together they are fun and normal. The first time he rescues her from the other bad boys in the pet store she works out is a cute scene that got me all tingly in the stomach. They talk about how he can meet girls by his dog rescuing them."Who would, you think?""Softball team," she said without missing a beat. "Those chicks are tough."He grinned. "Thanks for the tip." He started to turn for the front of the store, then stopped. "You play softball?"Becca is a strong will heroine who not only has to deal with her dad coming back into her life after leaving her and her mom, nasty rumors going on in school from a boy who she thought she liked at one time but now they are people trying to hurt her because of the war with the Merrick brothers and the bad boys. She is not your wimpy heroine in distress. She can throw a killer punch.What I loved most about Storm, is that itfs not just about Chris, Hunter and Beccafs love triangle. There is so much more going on with the Hot Merrick brothers. They all have a their own personality. Gabriel and Nick the twins are the smartasses, more so with Gabriel, who I just adored, loved every scene he is in and look forward to his story. Michael is the serious oldest brother who has so much on his plate. There is a reason he is this way, as he has to protect and care for his younger brothers since the death of their parents. Never a dull moment when the brothers are together, they had me giggling a lot through out the book. Here are some of my giggling moments.Chris and Gabriel getting in trouble for getting back at the boys that beat up Chris."Boo hoo," said Gabriel. That smile was gone.Michael glanced over at him. "What were you thinking?" When he didn't get an answer, he reached over and smacked Gabriel on the back of the head.Becca asking Nick "You do his homework?""Just the math. It's a miracle he can count to ten.""I can count to one." Gabriel gave him the finger.Chris needing Nick to get his arm to bleed:"Nick," he said. "I think I'm going to need you to bite my arm.""I think I'm going to need you to run that by me again."As I was reading Storm I kept thinking to my self who is this new kid, what happened to the Merrick brothers parents, what happened to Becca with the boy she liked at one time that started those bad rumors about her, why did her dad leave, what happened to Michael and Emily and why are these older bad boys so desperate to have the others come and kill them. Brigid Kemmerer did a phenomenal job at little by little giving away to details through out the book on everything I wanted to know. She did not leave anything out. Not only did I find out everything I wanted to know, but surprises came that I never saw coming towards the end of the book. Wow! I could not turn my e-reader fast enough, stayed up late as I had to finish to see what was going to happen next. Oh my gosh no one seems to be who I thought they were. The ending was perfect and I am still shocked by the outcome and look forward to continue this series.I highly recommend Storm as it will have you wanting more with Brigid Kemmerer amazing writing style, sweet romance, kick butt action scenes and definitely the hot Merrick brothers.If you are new to this series start with Storm. Do not make the mistake I did and started with Elemental (Elemental #05). Elemental will make more sense if read it second.Orginally posted at Fallen Angels YA Book Blog

Loved it. great start to the series

Ich war noch nicht halb durch das Buch durch, da habe ich mir alle anderen Bände gekauft... so gut ist es!Becca sieht wie ein Klassenkamerad auf dem Schulparkplatz verprügelt wird. Da sie gerade aus einem Selbstverteidigungskurs kommt, duckt sie sich erst einmal. Dann nutzt sie das Auto, um die zwei Angreifer zu verteidigen. Chris ist ziemlich übel zugerichetet und als sie ihm helfen will, kommen die Angreifer zurück. Sie wehrt sie ab und schaffte es Chris ins Auto zu schaffen. Er will nicht ins Krankenhaus und so bringt sie ihn nach Hause, wo er mit seinen 3 Brüdern lebt. Die sind alles andere als freundlich zu Becca und sie flieht mehr oder weniger aus dem Haus.Als sie von den zwei Angreifern am nächsten Tag auf ihrer Arbeit bedroht wird, kommt ihr ein weiterer Klassenkamerad mit seinem Hund zur Hilfe.Becca ist hin und her gerissen zwischen den zwei Jungen, die sich nicht ausstehen können und den Schwierigkeiten mit den Typen, die immer gewalttätiger gegen Chris und seine Brüder vorgehen. Und zu allem Überfluß taucht auch noch ihr Vater wieder auf.Was ich an dem Buch mag:Die Beschreibung der Elemente - wie der Regen sich anfühlt. Das ist nur eine Kleinigkeit, die das Buch aber um Längen besser macht, wie ähnliche, die auf so ein Detail verzichten.Alle Beteiligten verhalten sich normal, obwohl manche Superkräfte haben, sind sie normale Jugendliche, die nicht plötzlich weise oder besonders klug handeln.Ein unbedingte Muss für alle YA-Fantasy Fans!

When it Rains, it PoursThere is simply no way to describe Storm without using a large quantity of puns and snappy punch lines. The title of this book is so perfect for the story which is as fast as lightning, as thrilling as thunder and as brilliant as the heaviest rainstorm on a sunny day. It pulls the reader in quickly and keeps the tension high, keeps the interest going and just simply doesn't allow the reader to ever got bored. It is intense and it is perfect for that simple reason. Of course, the entire novel isn't all set at break-neck pace but even when it slows down, it still manages to pull the reader along making it very difficult to put the book down. If you thought Elemental was a treat, wait until you climb upon the rocky shores of Storm.The Atmosphere TightensThe storyline of Storm is so compelling and I just really loved it. I liked that it switched POV and that Brigid really manages to keep you entertained. I felt that some of the topics mentioned were serious and yet she really covered them brilliantly and realistically. It was so unique and original and I just found myself pouring over the story wishing that it would never end. There was so much going on, so much to keep you reading that it is just difficult to write this review without giving too much away. It is easy to say, however, that this book was full of flavour and this was in large part due to the magnificent story. Becca's journey was great to read but it was the combination of hers and Chris' that really got to me. How things happened, where it all went right and wrong... it was all just so well written that I really wish I had written it myself.It was briefly mentioned in my review of Elemental but I absolutely adore Brigid's writing style. I love that she owns the third person narrative and truly makes her own. You can feel the characters emotions as well as your own, you can acknowledge what they're doing and why and you're always given just enough information without knowing exactly what will happen next. It was truly stunning to read and helped to really bring this story alive for me. Brigid is nothing if not a brilliant writer.The Clouds ThunderThis novel would be absolutely nothing without it's amazing and realistic characters. At first I was a little put back at the idea of four brothers and all that could come with it. I gush as much as the next person but sometimes I don't like feeling girlie when I do it so why would I like to read a book with four guys in it? Well, I'll tell you why. Because there is something for everyone. You get just enough information from each guy, enough emotion and characteristic to know that they are four very different individuals but none of them take too much of the spotlight. They really manage to fill every corner of the novel without making it seem too cheesy or annoying and I can say quite easily that upon reading Storm, Chris was the guy that had my heart throbbing.I adored Becca in this story. I found her to be really down to earth and just trying to get through her life with the least amount of drama. I liked how strong she was without even realising it and how she would go to the rescue without even thinking. In a lot of situations I would have just walked away but Becca just stepped up and did what she felt she had to and I truly admired her for that. She was a great character and I felt that she was the perfect match for Chris. At first I had different opinions on the matter but towards the end it was just so perfect and amazing and I really did love how that relationship grew to where it went. It was all just so stunning.Hunter. Ah, Hunter. There is so much I could say about this guy, so much I want to say but feel that most of what I say may give away too much of the story. I will tell you that I have mixed feelings for him. I want to love him, I want to just be happy for his existence but on the other side of things, I just don't like him at all. He's so protective and caring throughout the novel that it was just so great. You could see that he loved his family and really just wanted to keep his promises. He was such a brilliantly written character - another reason why Brigid is just such a talented writer.Lightening Strikes from AboveThe concept of this book, well, of this series, is so creative. I've never read another element type of book but this one really makes me want to go out and try some more. I loved the idea behind it all, the way that the brothers are pure elementalists and how they control but also how they can't control the elements. I love how it adheres to and hinders their life and how it is all tied together in one big bow. It is just such an inspiring concept that I loved to read about but I truly loved that despite being a major point in the book, Brgid somehow managed to also make it seem more like a subplot as opposed to the major plot of the book. It is simply a background of who they are.Sparks are IgnitingIf you can't tell yet, I absolutely loved this book. I read it extremely quickly because I found it incredibly hard to put down. I was completely enthralled by everything going on and I know that there is probably a tonne of things that I haven't even mentioned or touched upon in this review that I loved about it but I don't want to be rambling on for ages! I would easily recommend this book to anyone because not only is it compelling and full of electricity, it is also an easy, fun and imaginative story that everyone really should read. Perhaps I wouldn't recommend you to read this book but rather force you too. So, if you're still just sitting here reading this review, may I ask you to close this and go and buy - or read - this book NOW!

Als Becca Chandler abends nach einem Selbstverteidigungskurs die Schule verlässt, beobachtet sie, wie zwei junge Männern einen anderen brutal zusammenschlagen. Um nicht tatenlos zuzusehen, wie sie den Jungen zu tote prügeln entscheidet sie sich kurzerhand dazu, ihm zu helfen. Leichter gesagt als getan, denn die Jungs sind zehnmal stärker als sie. Bevor jedoch alles außer Kontrolle gerät, gelingt es ihr, sich und Chris ins Auto zu verfrachten und zu flüchten. Ohne zu ahnen, das dies eine Lawine von Ereignissen auslösen wird...Chris Merrick fühlt sich machtlos, schwach. Dabei ist er alles andere als das. Er hat genug Macht, um Menschen zu töten...und es wie einen Unfall aussehen zu lassen. Er und seine Brüder Michael, Gabriel und Nick gehören zu den wenigen, die die Elemente kontrollieren können. Naja meistens jedenfalls. Doch diese Eigenschaft ist gefährlich und wenn sie nicht aufpassen, sogar tödlich. Sogenannte "Guides" sind nämlich darauf trainiert, sie zu vernichten. Und sie haben schon länger ein Auge auf die Merricks geworfen.Becca ahnt nicht, in welcher Gefahr sie sich befindet, bis plötzlich die zwei jungen Männer sie im Visier haben und sie einfach nicht in Ruhe lassen wollen. Als dann auch noch ein neuer Schüler in ihre Klasse kommt, der eine ungekannte Anziehungskraft auf sie ausübt, ist das Chaos vorprogrammiert.Becca war mir äußerst sympathisch. Mit der Zeit lernt man sie als Leser etwas besser kennen, wobei ich mir jedoch mehr Hintergrundinformationen zu ihrer Person und etwas mehr Tiefgang gewünscht hätte. Manchmal kam es mir beim Lesen so vor, als würden nur die Ereignisse geschildert werden. Nachdem ihr Vater vor Jahren sie und ihre Mutter urplötzlich verlassen hat, fühlt sie sich im Stich gelassen. Als dann auch noch etwas in den Ferien passiert und ihr Ruf in den Dreck gezogen wird, wirkt Becca sehr unsicher und verletzlich, was beim Lesen mein Mitleid geweckt hat. Jedoch wollte ich sie manchmal auch einfach nur packen und schütteln, weil ich manche ihrer Entscheidungen überhaupt nicht nachvollziehen konnte.Chris auf der anderen Seite mochte ich unglaublich gerne, obwohl man nicht sehr viel über seine Person erfahren hat, was ich wirklich sehr schade fand. Dennoch war er mir von Anfang an sehr sympathisch, besonders nachdem man ihn und seine Familie besser kennen lernt. Er ist der jüngste der Merricks und fühlt sich dementsprechend eher wie ein Außenseiter. Besonders hat mir beim Lesen die Dynamik der Brüder gefallen. Ich mochte die Art, wie sie miteinander umgegangen sind und ihre kleinen Streitereien. Besonders Gabriel, der "böse" Zwilling, hat es mir angetan, weshalb ich mich wahnsinnig auf sein Buch freue! Auch waren die Gespräche zwischen den Brüdern wirklich seeehr unterhaltsam beim Lesen und haben mir oft ein Grinsen entlockt, welches gar nicht mehr verschwinden wollte.Ebenfalls fand ich die Idee & die Umsetzung mit den Elementen unglaublich gut. Obwohl ich mir natürlich etwas mehr Informationen zu Beginn des Buches gewünscht hätte. Denn erst ab ca. 120 Seiten werden die "übernatürlichen" Fähigkeiten erklärt. Dennoch mochte ich die Mischung aus normalem Highschool-"Drama" und den übernatürlichen Elementen. Insbesondere nachdem einige "Unfälle" passiert sind und das Buch einige unerwartete Wendungen genommen hat.Die Autorin hat einen sehr angenehmen und fesselnden Schreibstil. Die Welt, die sie geschaffen hat und die verschiedenen Elemente und ihre Besonderheiten haben mich beim Lesen fasziniert, sodass ich gar nicht mehr aufhören konnte zu lesen. Die Seiten flogen wirklich nur so dahin.Und ehrlich gesagt konnte ich mich bis zum Schluss auch nicht entscheiden welchen der beiden Jungs ich mehr mochte. Chris oder Hunter? Normalerweise bin ich nicht so der große Fan von Dreiecksbeziehungen (sie nerven einfach nur!), aber in diesem Fall war ich selbst ganz hin- und hergerissen, wie auch Becca. Hunter war der geheimnisvolle Neue an der Schule, immer zur richtigen Zeit am richtigen Ort. Wie auch Becca, hat man als Leser nicht selten Herzklopfen bekommen. Insbesondere nachdem er einige wirklich süße Dinge getan hat! Dennoch mein Herz hat für Chris geschlagen...aber das muss natürlich jeder für sich entscheiden :)FAZIT:Trotz all der Kritik hat mir dieses Buch wirklich sehr gut gefallen und mich auch überrascht. Eine wirklich interessante und fesselnde Grundidee, die hoffentlich in den nächsten Büchern noch genauer erläutert wird, mit einer handvoll heißer Jungs ... was will man mehr? Ich bin jedenfalls schon sehr gespannt, wie die Reihe weitergeht!

So many of my friends have been raving about Brigid Kemmerer's Elementals series and I really enjoyed the prequel short story Elemental so I had high hopes when I picked up Storm. Thankfully the story lived up to my expectations and this is a great debut novel. I loved the fact that it was a YA paranormal book that has moved away from vampires and shapeshifters and come up with something different. Here we have people with the ability to control the elements which is definitely a power I've not seen much of but can't wait to learn more about.The Merrick brothers are all very powerful elementals each with control over a different element. Because they are so strong they are considered dangerous by the other families in the area who have less power than they do. The others worry that the Merrick's will expose them all and they will stop at nothing to keep their secret. The boy's parents made a deal with the other families though, a deal that should have kept them protected. As long as the Merrick's don't expose their powers or harm others then the other families must leave them alone but the younger generation don't agree with the deal that their parents made and they have spent years attacking the brothers trying to get them to break the pact first.Michael is the oldest and most powerful brother, he is an earth elemental and has had to take over the role of breadwinner and surrogate parent to his siblings since their parents were killed. I loved Michael in the prequel short story and at first couldn't understand why he was so different in this book, he comes across as very moody and uncaring but when I found out why I was completely heartbroken for him. His attitude was completely understandable and he is under so much pressure trying to keep his brothers safe, he really has the weight of the world on his shoulders and I hope we get to see things become easier for him as the series continues.Next we have the twins Nick, an air elemental, and Gabriel who has power over fire. Nick is the peacemaker in the family, he is always trying to smooth things over between Michael and Gabriel and he is also the most easy going of the brothers. Gabriel is the troublemaker, he resents the fact that Michael is always telling them what to do and he hates the fact that he refuses to stand up for them against the other elemental families. Gabriel is an expert at flirting and has a way with the ladies but he also has a quick temper and you wouldn't want to get on his bad side. Last but by no means least you have the youngest brother Chris. Chris is a water elemental and he is only just beginning to learn the extent of his abilities, he still finds it difficult to control his powers and is the one most at risk of exposing them. Chris is a really sweet guy and I loved the way we got to see part of the story from his point of view.Becca has been in the same class as Chris for years but they never really spoke until the day she sees him being attacked by two other students in the parking lot. Becca may be half the size of the boys attacking Chris but she can't leave him there helpless and alone and rushes to his aid. You have to admire Becca, she has been through hell at school thanks to the bullies who are making her life miserable but she refuses to let them see her cry. She holds her head up high and does her best to rise above them, it isn't easy for her but she is tough and has survived things that would have broken most people. Thanks to Becca's bravery in coming to Chris's aid she soon finds herself in a whole heap of trouble though and the bullies are now the least of her problems. Chris's whole family is under attack by an extremely powerful elemental and if she isn't careful Becca could find herself hurt in the crossfire.I don't want to say more about the plot so you'll just have to read the book yourself to find out. With four hot brothers, a selection of kick ass characters with unusual powers, fast paced edge of your seat action and a different romance with every story this is a series to watch out for and one I can't recommend highly enough. Now I'm off to pick up my copy of Fearless!