Review: Storm (Elemental #1) by Brigid Kemmerer

Storm (Elemental #1) by Brigid Kemmerer

Publisher:  Kensington

Release Date: August 24th 2012

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/Romance

Source: Bought

Format: Paperback

Goodreads Summary:

Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys all the ones she doesn't want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her. 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.

My Review: 

Storm which is the first book in the Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer is an incredibly fun, action packed, and thought provoking book. It also is dangerously addictive. It was definitely one of those un-putdownable books that just have so much going on for them that you can't help but carry it around with you everywhere you go to sneak read it any chance you can get. And even though this book is shrouded in the supernatural realm since the characters wield and control different elements (earth, air, water, fire) it also surprisingly feels like realistic fiction as well since the characters are, well, very real. The way they speak, the challenges they face (such as bullying), their emotions, it all felt so true to the problems that young people face today and it was really refreshing.

The characterization in Storm is just phenomenal. The primary and secondary characters were all very fleshed out and well developed. And let's talk about the Merrick brothers, shall we. What can I say about them except that they stole my reading heart with their unique family dynamic and their very distinct personalities. The eldest Merrick, Michael, is the patriarch and head of the family, a bit moody because he has to watch over his younger brothers, but with a very good heart. Then, we have the twins, Nick and Gabriel, Nick being the studious level headed Merrick brother while Gabriel is  the sarcastic one with a hot temper, and last but not least, Chris who is the youngest and sweet/shy Merrick brother. These brothers may all be very different from each other, not only personality wise, but power wise, since they all control a different element, but they all share an important and endearing quality which is their good heart and intentions.

We also have Becca who is the female lead in the story, who is such an amazing heroine. She has been put down a lot due to severe bullying and rumor spreading, but she is very resilient. She takes defense classes to learn how to defend herself and every moment in which she is faced with a dangerous situation, she never backs down or flees, even though she may be scared on the inside. An impressive character. There is also her best friend, Quinn, who is very outspoken and sarcastic, a great best friend. What Becca and Quinn share with the Merrick brothers and every other important character in this novel (Hunter, a guy who befriends Becca and Quinn) is that they are all being bullied, oppressed, neglected, or verbally abused in some way, and are each scarred by their distinct life situations and trying to overcome their problems in Storm.

I really liked how bullying in all its forms and places, be it in high school, at work, at home - was covered in this novel. In Storm, we can see the ramifications of it and how bullying doesn't affect that one person who is being bullied, it affects every one around that person as well. What is it that really happens to you or any person when you are being abused in some way, be it mentally or physically? - you withdraw. You change. You are no longer the same friend, sister, brother, cousin, mother etc that you were before. You become angry and distrustful and all relationships tend to crumble if you start believing the mean things people are saying about you. I thought Brigid did an amazing job at showing how bullying and oppression can affect the psyche and a person's perception about themselves and those around them.

My favorite aspect of this novel: the language. The dialogue in this novel felt like it was taken straight out of real life. It felt like conversations that I could have or any person could have in real life. I like that some characters cursed sometimes because people are not always proper in real life. We get mad, and we say things, and though people look down on cursing, like it indicates a person's level of intelligence (I don't agree) - people use it to vent, some of these characters did just that and they were so believable because of it. And the dialogue was never cheapened by that aspect either because thing is sometimes if cursing is too overused in a novel it can distract from what you are reading, but not in Storm, it worked.

Least favorite aspect of this novel: the romance. Don't get me wrong, you guys. The romance between Becca and Chris, the main love story in this novel, was beautiful. Very sweet. They were beyond adorable BUT they weren't given enough time to be together. The novel was spent solving their drama with their fams or the elements and that whole world or Becca hanging out with some other semi crush, and when Becca and Chris finally realize they like each other, guess what? BAM - the book is done. It was soul crushing for me. I just wanted more Becca and Chris in my life because they were SO endearing, or maybe I'm overacting, it's a subjective point of view really; some people might just happen to love the pacing of their relationship, but they just had so much there, and I just felt like, personally, they needed more book time.

My rating: 4/5