Blog Tour: Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer

I'm participating on the Spirit blog tour! Here is a review of this amazing novel for you guys! You will also have the chance to vote for your favorite Elementals guy and the winner will be featured in a short story by Brigid Kemmerer (vote for Gabriel..just kidding, vote for your favorite!). If you want to check more of the stops on this tour, go here (where we are giving away 10 finished copies of Spirit!).

Release Date: May 28th, 2013

301 pages

Publisher: K Teen

With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.

Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too.

With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust…

To tell you the truth, Spirit was the novel I was least eager to read from this series. I'm a huge fan of Gabriel and the other Merrick brothers but I didn't know if I would enjoy Spirit as much since it centered around Hunter. I was wrong. I enjoy it, a lot; however I was always happier when the Merrick brothers also made an appearance and they make a lot of them! Spirit was the perfect mix, to make some of us (me included) to like Hunter more and it certainly succeeded.

Nonetheless Spirit is a sad story, full of action, humor and great characters, but still a sad story. Hunter's life is no picnic and by the end of the novel, I realise that at least he's got the Merrick brothers now. It was amazing to see their relationship get better along the novel. Michael was specially an amazing character in this novel. The plot itself was also amazing (as always in this series), full of twists and turns and complications for our beloved characters. Many unexpected things happen and that is always a plus for me, when the twists and turns really come out of nowhere!

I have mixed feelings towards Hunter. I liked him, but sometimes I didn't. I don't know really know why but he just annoyed me sometimes. But I always understood why he did what he did, it certainly isn't easy to be always so alone. I loved his relationship with the brothers and his scenes with them were my favorite in the whole novel. I guess I'm biased. Kate is also a great addition to the series. She is strong, independent and a bit ironic (my favorite kind). 

Spirit was a great addition to this series. I know that even though I don't like Hunter as much as I like the others, I know he plays a big role in the story and I'm glad that Brigid wrote about him as well. I was surprised that I liked this novel so much, I didn't expect that. I would certainly recommend this to all fans of paranormal novels out there and of course, people who already read the prequels, you will not be disappointed!

(ARC) Review: Spark - Brigid Kemmerer

Release Date: August 28th 2012
Paperback: 432 Pages
Publisher: K-Teen

Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally.
Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can’t. Like the fire that killed his parents.
Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he’s not doing it.
More than Gabriel’s pride is at stake -- this could cost him his family, maybe his life. And no one seems to hear him. Except a shy sophomore named Layne, a brainiac who dresses in turtlenecks and jeans and keeps him totally off balance. Layne understands family problems, and she understands secrets. She has a few of her own.
Gabriel can’t let her guess about his brothers, about his abilities, about the danger that’s right at his heels. But there are some risks he can’t help taking.
The fuse is lit…

I have no words, literally. Spark blew me away and I really don't think any other novel from the Elemental series will be as good as this one. Gabriel was already my favorite character in the prequel, Storm, so you can imagine my eagerness to get my hands on this one when I found out that the sequel would revolve around him. Spark didn't disappoint me at all and it was totally worth getting excited for!

The Plot: Kemmerer's writing is just amazing and if you read Storm, you know she can write every kind of scene perfectly. The romance scenes are as good as the action scenes and so on. Spark is the perfect mix of romance, action, tension and well, everything. Nevertheless I have to say that Spark wasn't in any way similar to Storm. Gabriel and Chris are completely different, therefore their stories too, which for me is a positive thing. Spark gave me the impression of being more serious and sad and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Characters: Gabriel is an interesting character; fire being his element, Gabriel is explosive and unlike his brothers, cannot use his element frequently. He struggles a lot and has to learn how to handle things alone. I think the tension between the brothers was a good twist and I loved how it all played out. Gabriel certainly grows up in Spark and we get to see another side of his character, a more sensitive one. So after reading Spark, I love Gabriel even more! Layne was a nice match for Gabriel because she is his complete opposite. The romance scenes were sweet but not the best in the book.

Spark totally made my list of favorite reads in 2012 and I most certainly will be rereading it soon. Gabriel was such an amazing and different character and I would love to read more about his twin, Nick, because I don't think he is as perfect as Gabriel thinks he is. I'm sure everybody will enjoy Spark: fans of paranormal, romance, contemporary, you name it. If you haven't read Storm yet, I can't emphasize this enough: read it now!

 Thanks to K-Teen for providing me with a copy of this wonderful book for review!

Brigid Kemmerer finds the time to write somewhere between caring for her family and working at her day job, but sometimes she ends up mothering her coworkers and managing her family. Storm: The Elemental Series is her first novel. Website