Storm

I read this book in October 2012, and reviewed it on my blog on January 10. Gore: No Magic: Yes Romance: Yes Action: 5 stars Pacing: 4 stars Plot: 4.5 stars Cover: 3 stars Becca Chandler is girl who's having a rough school life, it's because of her ex-boyfriend soccer player, who spread lies about her, which people at school believed and now people think she's going out with half of the school. Because of this, she took a self-defence class which is after school. She thought that it would be a normal evening after that, but she didn't expect to end up being in a fight (two boys were beating up another boy in the school parking lot way after school). At first she's not sure what to do, since those guys are a lot bigger than her, but then she decides to save the boy using her car to scare the other two boys away, then she finds out who the victim is, his name is Chris Merrick, who is in a few of her classes, but she never talked to him before and she doesn't know much about him either. Unfortunately, because of her interference, the other two boys think she's one of them, an elemental. An elemental is someone who can control one of the four elements, although, only the Merrick brothers are known to have so much power that they're really dangerous, which is why other Elementals want them dead, they're scared. Chris' element is water. When Becca finds out about Chris and his brothers' powers, she's in more danger than ever. The arrival of a new kid at school, who is Becca and Chris' age, seems to make things more complicated. As more and more bad things happen, Becca must figure out her real friends are, and who she should stay away from. I enjoyed reading this book. I liked Chris and Becca both, although at some points, Becca kind of annoyed me, but I still like her. I love that she at least tried to defend herself, so she wasn't exactly a damsel in distress, because she was kind of like a normal girl, except for those rumours about her. Chris seemed boring at first, but later on in the story I started to like him. Becca thought that she was in love with Hunter, but many times, when a person feels safe and things are a bit too easy, while the other person seems dangerous, doesn't always mean that you're right. I don't hate Hunter, in fact, it seems obvious that he's confused and doesn't know what to do, but unlike others, when Becca thought that she was in love with him, I didn't feel much romance between the two. I liked this book a lot better than the novella, Elemental, that takes place five years ago, but I wish that there was more information about what happened to Emily, since Elemental didn't really have an ending, and we only get a little bit information about what happened to her in this book. I hope that we will get more information about her accident in the next book. We learn more about the Elementals and their community. A lot happens in this book. I kind of expected one of the twists near the end of the book, and the other one, not so much. The ending is not a cliffhanger, but I still want to read the second book right away. I have it, but I haven't read it yet. I love that this series also has something different in it, like with Soul Screamers and the Lux series, this series has something different, you guys know that I'm getting tired of seeing too many vampires, werewolves, faeries, and zombie books, and that I love reading about different supernatural stuff (I know, I said different too many times in this sentence, but I can't think of what other words to use). I'm trying to stay away from vampire books for a while, there's a big rant I did about that, which I'm not going to post, this post will be way too long then, and I don't think that anyone is interested in reading a rant about creatures in books that I'm tired of. I like that the future books in this series will focus on and be the POVs of a different brother, including Hunter each book, like: the second book is from Gabrielle (one of the twins) POV, and the third one will be Hunter's POV, etc. At the end of this book I did still had some questions that needed answering, but that's expected knowing that this is the first book in a series, I can't wait to see what will happened in the next books. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I kept flipping page after page, eager to know what happened next. Storm is entertaining, has good writing and flows nicely, is funny, has action in it, has some romance in it, and an enjoyable read. I recommend this book. I rated this book: 4.5 stars. To read more reviews, visit my book blog: http://www.nazishreads.netshow more

I liked this book, and it was a quick read with plenty of action. All of the Merrick brothers blended together for me at first. Nick, Gabriel, Michael and Chris. I guess Chris not as much as the others because he is the one beaten and where Becca gets pulled into their world. But they were all thrown in at once, and I just didn't get a good feel for them. I started to realize their roles and differences around Chapter 5 and 7 though. I liked Becca's voice and personality, that she was taking self defense classes at the beginning, and she used those skills to help out someone in trouble. It showed a lot about her character, because she could have just hidden and ran off, but she stood up to a bully and defended herself and someone else. Also, just her way of speaking and thinking had me able to relate to her. I was also amazed at how much pain she went through and still could love others and empathize with them. Yet, she still had this fire in her, and I loved when it was righteously funneled. The theme of bullying is so important. It is So hard and and shows the destructive power that words and rumors can have. Like how she learned to stand up for herself and wasn't just being helpless. New guy aka hunter was hot and I appreciated how respectful he was to Becca. I couldn't help but wonder if there was more to him that it seemed since he came onto the scene just as Becca knew the truth about Chris and his brothers. Although I liked Chris, I couldn't help but think for most of the book that it would be better for Becca not to be involved, that up front, Hunter seemed like a simpler and safer option. But that was not fair because Chris didn't control who he was only what he tried to do with it. And I respected his closeness with his family, and how he was learning control. The reasons why he tried to be distant from Becca to start with were really good, because he didn't want her to be in danger. But I loved how he stood up for her, and admired her strength. I just don't think that he was given a fair chance, and I want to see more of them together. I liked the humor that was laced in. There was chemistry with both guys and I was in the same position as Becca, not seeing the whole picture for most of the story. I was shocked at how it played out, and how all of the threads of the story came together. Bottom Line: Great start to an action packed paranormal that kept me guessing.show more

Favourite Quote: "Nick smiled. "I kind of like the irony." "Jesus, you are such a nerd." Gabriel flung the lighter at him. "Stop using big words." "Five letters is a big word?" This book was another 5/5 stars for me. Mainly because the characters are just the best! Seriously, they were all hilarious, I laughed my way through this entire book. Let's start with Chris, the youngest brother whose element is water and he is one of our P.O.V characters. He's kind of average compared to his brothers in my opinion but I still thought he was sweet and cute but also had protective, angry side to him. I loved the way the author wrote and description Chris's connection with water it was done so creatively to the point were I almost felt a strong connection to water! It really helps the reader understand Chris's character. I especially loved his relationship with his brothers, the family element in this book was done extremely well. We got to see the other brothers but I'll talk about them when their books are released. Our other P.O.V is Becca whose up there with the Merrick family in how hilarious she is. I guessed the main twist with her from the very beginning but the other twist involving her family I was really surprised at. Chris and Becca's relationship is hot and cold throughout the entire book, their relationship is still kind of unsolved by the end. Their main problem was the character Hunter who I wasn't very fond of, he was my least favorite character because I felt something was off about him. Even now I've read the second book I still don't like him. Okay, onto the plot. This is very action packed right from the first page, the scenes were all done very well so I loved them. There were numerous sub-plots some I felt were kind of unnecessary but they didn't take the focus away from the main plot so I wasn't too bothered. The ending was not wrapped up but that was okay because there is more books in the series. Overall I highly recommend this book, one of my favorite books this year!.show more

This book has been getting a lot of hype, so I was a little wary going in. If your expectations are too high, you'll be disappointed no matter what, but if you expect a bad book, you're likely to be harsh on it. When the book opened up, I was excited that it gets right to the point with Becca saving Chris. We then meet the brothers, and I really wanted to punch all of them. The pace of the plot felt a little slow at first, but it actually really isn't. Every scene has a purpose and the buildup to all the fun stuff like finding out more about Chris and his brothers and the romance triangle with Hunter, Becca, and Chris. The character development and progression of the conflict is written so precisely to make the anticipation of each big moment exquisite. I ended up loving the brothers, despite their flaws and hanging on every word waiting for the next "storm". There are a lot of very emotional topics tackled in this story ranging from family dynamics to high school social dangers. Of course there's also some supernatural ethics included too, making for a very dramatic read. I cried here and there, hung on every word, and spent all night unable to put it down. Brigid Kemmerer weaves a stunning tale that is mesmerizing and enthralling as it provides an intricate plot full of magic, suspense, and sweet romance. Storm is an awesome start to a fun series and I will recommend it to all my friends that love a good YA read!show more

Wonderful! I managed to read this book in one day. Always a good sign, I think. This book moved at a fast pace and had enough action to keep me glued to the pages. Four hot brothers, Michael, the twins Nick and Gabriel, and the youngest Chris. They all have a power of the elements. They are pure elemental's so they are extremely powerful. So much so, that other elemental's feel threatened by them and would like to see them dead. They constantly get beat up and harrassed by other families in the community who know what they are, especially Seth and Tyler, also elementals, but not as powerful. Becca is leaving her self defence class one night, when she sees a guy being beaten up by two guys. The guy is down, seemingly unconscious, but they're still kicking him. Her phone is dead, and afraid they're going to actually kill him, she uses the only weapon she has, her car. She drives toward them yelling that she's called the police and this scares them off for a bit. The guy on the ground is Chris Merrick, from her school, but she doesn't really know him. Between the two of them, they manage to get Chris into the back of the car and get away. But this puts her in the line of fire from Seth and Tyler too. Becca was a really likeable character who I took to straight away. She is emphatic and brave. Her and Chris seem to come together a lot now but their relationship kind of flashes hot and cold. The new kid, Hunter, also shows an interest in Becca, so we do have a love triangle which was annoying but worked out for me in the end :) I really liked the Merrick brothers too. Michael is a bit of an ass in this so I was glad I'd read Elemental and got more of an insight into this character before starting Storm. Nick is a serious character who appears to be the more intelligent of the twins, while Gabriel would come across and more fun loving and carefree. They often switch places for tests and sports. And Chris was really cute and likable. The next book in this series, Spark, is centred around Gabriel. I'm looking forward to finding out more about him and his powers as a fire elemental.show more

(Source: I won a digital copy of this book ) This is the first book in the 'Elementals' series. Chris Merrick is an Elemental, this means that he has an affinity for one of the elements - in his case water - and can harness its energy for his own use. Becca is sick of people gossiping about her and spreading rumours behind her back, all thanks to her footballer ex-boyfriend. She thought that a self-defence class would help, but she didn't expect to stumble upon two boys beating up another boy in the car park after class. Using her car to scare off the attackers, she goes to help the victim, who turns out to be Chris Merrick, a boy that she knows only vaguely from school. Things are about to get complicated though when the two boys who attacked Chris begin to think that Becca is an elemental too, and begin to attack her too. The arrival of a new kid at school seems to only add complications, and as the trouble esculates, Becca must work out who her real friends are, and who she should be hiding from. I enjoyed this book. It totally grabbed my attention, and I found myself at nearly 20% without even realising it. Chris was an interesting character, although there was more romance coming from the new boy - Hunter, with regards to Becca. It was actually really difficult to choose between the two boys at several points during the book, even when we knew that Becca would probably end up with Chris. I liked this book a lot better than the novella 'Elemental', but I wish that we could have gotten a little more information about what happened to Emily, as Elemental didn't really have an ending, and we only really got hints as to what happened in this book. I can only hope that we will continue to get information on this in the next book! I liked the storyline in this book, it was well written and flowed nicely. I like that the future books will focus on different brothers and am really interested as to see where this story goes. There was a bit of a twist at the end of this book, part of which I saw coming, and part that I didn't! At the end of this book I did still have questions that needed answering, but knowing that this is the first book in a series, that's kind-of expected. I would have liked there to have been a bit more romance between Chris and Becca rather than Hunter and Becca, but this didn't spoil that story. Overall; a good YA paranormal read, and I'm interested to find out what will happen next! 8 out of 10.show more