29 April 2012

Review: Storm - Brigid Kemmerer

Release Date: April 24th, 2012
Paperback: 353 pages
Publisher: Kensington

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they have more power than you dream.
Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—all the ones she doesn't want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water—just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.
And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.
Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all.
The storm is coming . . .


 I certainly was fooled by Storm's cover. I didn't think this novel would be THAT good. But after reading many reviews from fellow bloggers, I changed my mind and gave this novel a chance. And I'm so glad I did! With a refreshing of idea of mixing the four elements with four (hot!) brothers, Kemmerer's novel is one that you don't want to miss!

Becca is an ordinary girl who regrettably has one rather unfair and awful reputation because of her ex-boyfriend's lies. But that all changes when she saves Chris Merrick's life and gets mixed into one crazy and unfortunately dangerous situation. Chris (water) and his brothers control the four elements and because they are so strong, people are trying to kill them (most of the time). By getting mixed into this Becca finds out some rather disturbing (or freaking awesome) truths about her and her family. Is she really that ordinary?!

This took me completely by surprise with such an amazing plot and deep characters. The plot is full of action that will leave you at the edge of your seat. And of course there is this mystery regarding the Merrick family. Kemmerer sure masters the ability of surprising us with great twists and turns. Despite all these great things, I found a bit weird that we only find out more about what happened to their family after a lot has already happened. And one thing that deeply annoyed me was that after reading Elemental (the prequel that centers around Michael, the older brother) I was eagerly awaiting some news about the ending's outcome but that only came REALLY late in the novel.

Becca was one heck of a character! She was strong and determined yet greatly compassionate. Of course she did annoy me sometimes by being blind to Chris's advances. However I understand her reactions. But by far, my favorite characters were the Merrick twins. Gabriel (fire) and Nick (air) were somehow completely the opposite of each other yet both completely to my taste! Michael (earth) sure seems like a bad guy but later one can understand where he is coming from. Hunter was the only character I deeply disliked! While Storm only focused on Becca and Chris, I can't wait to see what's in store for the remaining brothers who will be the main focus in the following books!

Kemmerer's Storm certainly has the capacity of causing one huge "storm" in the YA genre. A novel full of action, surprises and sweet romance, this one is a must-read! With such originality and great writing abilities, I'm sure waiting on Kemmerer's next novel and sequel to Storm, Spark!


Brigid Kemmerer was born in Omaha, Nebraska, though her parents quickly moved her all over the United States, from the desert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the lakeside in Cleveland, Ohio, and several stops in between, eventually settling near Annapolis, Maryland. Brigid started writing in high school, and her first real “novel” was about four vampire brothers causing a ruckus in the suburbs. Those four brothers are the same boys living in the pages of The Elemental Series, so Brigid likes to say she’s had four teenage boys taking up space in her head for the last seventeen years. (Though sometimes that just makes her sound nuts.) Website
                                                      

2 comments:

  1. Oh my ive been hearing so many good things about Storm, but since Ive got so many books to review and this book arrived almost close to its date that I decided to read it somewhere in mail :( but I am still looking forward on reading it. Great review, glad you enjoyed it Rachel. x

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  2. The cover of Storm and the premise is what drew me in initially but once I opened the book and began reading, I was hooked. Storm is about so much more than good looking guys and teenage angst. Bridget Kemmerer effortlessly wove real life issues into her book and having been through situations that were so similar to both the Merrick brothers and Becca endeared them to me all the more. Every single character in this book had a strong voice and an important role in the storyline. The twists and turns were endless and had me so riveted that I found it very difficult to put down this book.

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