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Storm - Brigid Kemmerer
The Characters
I can say now that I liked Becca. Not the most amazing heroine ever, but I did admire her bravery and guts. And her humor. But there were times in the book where she was so dumb and making the unwisest decisions and I just wanted to growl in frustration. That, fortunately, did not happen.
Chris Merrick. Hmm... I adored him. I truly did. I was afraid in the beginning that he would be one of those cold, indifferent love interests, and in a way he was... but he wasn't. He was so much MORE. He actually had a personality... character! He cracked me up with his wisecracks and really lightened the tension at points. And I understood his annoyance and intolerance with his brothers at points... I would have moved out awhile ago if I were him. It's a wonder he didn't crack!
The twins were pretty awesome. Each had their own thing, but I grew to love them both. Nicky was such a sweet natured guy and pretty smart too, which is something to admire these days. I loved Gabriel and his playfulness... and even his moments with his temper... Despite all of the destruction he caused, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him although I admit I got angry at points. He's just so misunderstood and a lost soul, waiting for his voice to be heard. In my opinion.
Michael was an amazing older brother. I hated how they all treated him because he was trying so hard to take care of them and help them not get into life-threatening situations and they repay him back by getting into more situations like those, because of their need for "revenge." Michael matured so much for his brothers and I truly admired him. By the end... I loved him the most out of all of the brothers. I admit it!
Hunter was pretty hot... at first. He seemed really nice and caring and it just didn't seem right with his appearance. (I'm not judging, just saying) It hit a false note for me towards the middle and compared to Chris, he wasn't too funny. And by the plot twist, I barely liked him at all.
The point of this long, long rant is to point out how the Merrick brothers ROCK. MERRICK ALL THE WAY. NO JOKE.
The Story/Plot/Writing
Although this story isn't the ORIGINAL-EST story out there, it is pretty original for an element book. This story kept me interested and turning the pages! I have always been pretty fascinated about elements and this book did not dissatisfy in that area. Plenty of elemental scenes to keep me on the edge of my seat... or bed. I wish the author played more with the elementals though... make the Guides more threatening? The only real threat seemed to be Tyler and Seth. Not too interesting to read about, honestly and they had no depth to them. This made the story move like a blur!
As for the plot, in the middle, I felt like that it had no direction. It seemed a little pointless and would lead to nowhere. It seemed to fizzle out. But luckily, the author spiced it up with a villain and lots of action. Plus the plot twists! Although they did surprise me somewhat, I had seen the hints here and there so it didn't come as a huge shock, sadly enough. Surprise element is very important!
The writing was absolutely magnificent. If there was one thing I would commend Storm about, it would be the writing. I felt it flowed so smoothly and the words were beautiful and seemed to jump off the pages. There was never a scene that was awkward... all seemed right and perfect. And most of that was due to the writing. The vivid descriptions were incredible too!
Hm... am I missing anything? Oh yes. How could I? THE ROMANCE.
As you should know, the romance is between two guys. Hunter and Chris. Now at the beginning, I was stuck between the two because they were so similar to each other. Honestly. But then Hunter's serious side appeared along with Chris's wit and humor. The fact that Chris could take a joke attracted to me more and I became Team Merrick boys. She shares something with both boys though and it's clear that there's chemistry with both boys. Argh. What aggravates me is how Hunter got two awesome kiss scenes and Chris got none. I know, I know, but STILL. And for the Drew thing... I have no words except for that I'm happy it never got to that extent.
Anyways, this was a fabulous read and I'm dying to read Spark. Like literally. I'm DYING. I can't wait til September. Just no. NOOOOOOOOOO. I need Gabriel's story NOW.
And I'll leave you with a quote from the last page.
"Because he had her face in his hands, and he'd brought his lips to hers." (What an ending.)
TEAM MERRICK!
3.75 Stars!
*I've never worked so hard on a review. Oh my goodness, it's long.*
