Storm
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Series: Elemental #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Kensington
Summary:
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…
First Sentence: The self-defense class had been a waste of sixty bucks.
My Review:
I’ve heard tons of good things about Storm and the entire Elemental series lately. Everyone was boasting about it – how the Elemental boys were so hot, how they could re-read all the books over and over again, and how I would definitely enjoy reading Storm. However, after finishing Storm, I have only one thing to say: I don’t see what’s so good about the Elemental series really. (Don’t hate on me please!)
The thing that ruined Storm for me was the characters. You know you won’t really enjoy a book when you hate almost every character in the book, especially the main character. I disliked Becca with a passion. That girl is an idiot. She takes drinks from strangers she’s never met at a party located in her ex’s house, keeps major important information that can save her life to herself, and follows the guy that had made her life living hell for a long time, alone, thinking she was all that. Like, what?! And to make things even worse, Becca is arrogantly ignorant to Chris’ feelings for her and makes out with Hunter, even once letting him spend the night with her. Then, when she saw that Chris was hanging out with another girl, Becca proceeds to wildly make out with Hunter in front of Chris and everybody else, practically mauling Hunter down. Yeah, Becca, you’re a totally awesome person that I can just admire.
This was stupid. She wasn’t some wallflower to be mocked – she was with Hunter. (268)
You wouldn’t have had to be “mocked” Becca if you haven’t started that making out show with Hunter the first place to make Chris jealous.
And Becca’s “best friend,” Quinn, wasn’t any better. Quinn goes into Becca’s personal space, barging into her family life. Quinn also ditches Becca before Becca has any chance to explain herself, is bossy and takes away Becca’s safety net, and worse of all, ditches Becca for a guy. How can Quinn ever be anyone’s best friend? No, just no.
“I’m good.”
Becca stared at her for a long moment, then opened her mouth to protest again. “I’m just trying to make sure you’re okay-”
“Jesus, Becca,” said Quinn. “I have a mother.” (110)
Chris was the only person I really liked in Storm. He was nice, thoughtful, and dependable. That sixty bucks thing? Although I’ll hate to agree with anything Quinn said, I’ll have to agree with her on this, what he did for Becca was seriously cute. Throughout the last half of the book, I was constantly chanting “Chris, walk away, Becca is not good enough for you!” repetitively in my mind, although I know it was a pointless thing to do because he would probably end up with her anyway to make readers happy.
As for the second plot twist near the end of the book, I saw that coming from a mile away. I wasn’t at all surprised about that plot twist; it wasn’t that hard to figure out.
One thing I did like about Storm is watching Michael rebuild his brotherly relationship with his three younger brothers: Chris, Nick, and Gabriel. It was nice to watch all the tension between them build up, then turn into understanding for one another.
Michael tightened his grip. “I’m sorry.” His face was close to his younger brother’s. “I’m sorry.” (314)
I also enjoyed reading about Brigid Kemmerer’s version of the Elementals, especially how she used a pentagram to describe their powers. The pentagram made the Elementals unique, otherwise, without the pentagram, the Elementals would be just like all the other supernatural books out there: people that can control the power of water, fire, earth, and air.
I’m not sure if I’ll check out the next book in the Elemental series, Spark, even though tons of people claim that it was a better read than Storm. Gabriel was pretty awful in Storm, and I don’t think I can handle reading another book focused on an annoying character again.
My final thoughts? Storm was an okay read, but definitely not anything special. Will I recommend it? Sure, if you can look past Becca’s character faults, Storm would have actually been an enjoyable read.
I loved this book. But maybe that’s because I’m a sucker for cute boys (that sounds way superficial, sorry XD) But I get you. Its definitely not a perfect book, but it is a fascinating one. Great review Kelly :D
Jules recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: Deception by C.J Redwine
LOL, no offense, but the only guy I thought was cute in Storm was Chris, but at the same time, I didn’t find him cute at all, if that makes any sense. I have high standards when it comes to my book boyfriends. :P
Thank you Jules! (:
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: Storm – Brigid Kemmerer
Oh noes!! I’ve been dying to read this book because I want to see what all the fuss is about (which that alone should scare me off because I usually end up being the black sheep for really hyped-up books).
Becca sounds horrific! I have serious issues enjoying any book if I despise the main character. Especially if she’s that stupid. Characters are really important to me!
So sad to see you didn’t love it, I believe now I’ll go in with lower expectations so I don’t end up being disappointed. In fact, I’m pushing this one down a bit on my TBR list.
Jessi @ Auntie Spinelli Reads recently posted…Charm and Strange Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway
Yep, that’s exactly me and hyped up books. I’m super suspicious when books come with the hype because I automatically have high expectations for them, but they let me down 95% of the time.
Characters are important to me too and oh my god, Becca was so freaking annoying. It was so hard to cheer for her when she acts the way she does. >___< Kelly recently posted…Book Review: Storm – Brigid Kemmerer
This was one of those books I started, but kind of got put aside. Not because I wasn’t interesting in finishing it, I just had other stuff I wanted to read more. I’d like to get back to Storm eventually, but I have the bad habit of not finishing for a very long time. I had similar issues with Becca’s character. Lovely review. :)
Rebecca recently posted…Review: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Thank goodness I’m not the only one who had issues with Becca’s characters.
Other people never noticed or thought I was crazy for hating Becca, but yay, I’m not alone! :D
And good luck with finishing Storm, it was on the backburner for me too. :P
Thank you! :D
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: Storm – Brigid Kemmerer
I always hate it when I’m alone in my opinion (just like Anna and the French kiss: everyone is in love with it and I still find it a ‘meh’ book with many flaws). Becca sounds horrible! I can’t stand those type of girls and I really need to connect with the characters.. Hmm, thanks for the honesty and I will wait a while. I have enough good books waiting for me.
Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted…A tiny forced hiatus.
-gasp-
You didn’t like Anna and the French Kiss Mel?! Shame!
Just kidding. :P
If it wasn’t for my love for St. Clair, I would GLADLY acknowledge all the flaws in the book. Seriously, book boyfriends ruin your rationally to think sanely.
And ugh, Becca is so horrible. I literally wanted her to die because then, she’ll finally learn her lesson.
Good luck with Storm Mel – you might need it!
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: Storm – Brigid Kemmerer
I actually really LOVED this book. Lol. But you are totally right, books with hype make me seriously suspicious….
Great review!
Jackie
Jackie recently posted…Review: The Book Of Luke
I know! It’s better if books come without the hype, I would definitely enjoy it more then.
Kelly recently posted…Series Overview: The Revenants Trilogy – Amy Plum
I was planning on reading this because of the hype but I’m glad I read your review before I did. Even if it’s an okay book it really annoys me when hyped up books aren’t all that because they always leave me disappointed.
Yeah, most hyped up books left me disappointed, and Storm is definitely in that list. I was expecting to be all over it like other people. ):
Kelly recently posted…Series Overview: The Revenants Trilogy – Amy Plum
I’m kinda on the fence about these. I have heard people go on and on about these but the covers certainly don’t appeal to it, plus I don’t like books that are all hyped up just about how hot the guys in It are. And your review didn’t make me any more excited about it. Oh well my TBR list is already miles long…
You’re definitely not the only one who doesn’t like the covers Rachel, I don’t like them either. To be honest, the boys are not that good looking and if I see them in real life, they’ll scare me.
And honestly, none of the guys in Storm are hot. I just don’t get it, am I blind or emotionless or something?
Kelly recently posted…Series Overview: The Revenants Trilogy – Amy Plum
Hi! thanks for the review. I tried to read Elemental 0.5 but the book failed to engage me. Anyway I decided to give it another chance ( because everyone is commenting about this series ). I don’t read it yet, and I must confess that I’m worried after reading your review lol, I haaaaaate stupid characters, sooo we’ll see hahahahaha
Hi there! -waves- :D
Oops, you reminded me, Storm had Elemental 0.5 in there, but I’ve never read it. When I finally finished Storm, I was so tired with Becca that I automatically slammed the book shut without reading Elemental 0.5. Oops. :x
And good luck with Storm; I hope you like it a lot better than I did!
Kelly recently posted…Series Overview: The Revenants Trilogy – Amy Plum
I was the same way with this book, I just didn’t understand way people went gaga over it. The plot was okay, nothing that really stands out and most of the plot points where so predictable. And the characters just didn’t click for me, they almost felt flat.
I’m also with you on the only thing that was great to read in this book was the brother’s relationship and how the author did the elements aspect of the book. Both of those were the things that kept me reading. I might just read the second book for the to, not sure if I am though. But I might.
Great review :D
Kimberly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves (43)
Yeah, you were so right to warn me about Storm Kimberly.
It was so hard to connect with any of the characters, they were so annoying!
And yeah, the brothers’ relationship was sweet to read about. I was all like “awww!” in the end.
Thank you! (:
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: How I Lost You – Janet Gurtler
Hi, I just noticed this review and wondered if you would like to link it in to the current monthly collection of books that people loved on Carole’s Chatter. This is the link There are already some great books linked in that you might be interested in. It would be super if you came on over. Cheers
Oh, thanks for sharing this with me Carole! :D
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: How I Lost You – Janet Gurtler
Hey, I just wanted you to know that this was a nice review. I like reading other people’s opinions on books that I liked a lot. I quite liked the characters, and thought it was cool that each book in the series follows a different character. Nice review! :-)
Thank you Luke! (:
Yeah, I like the idea that each book in the series follows a different character, it keeps things interesting and lets us know what’s going on in each character’s minds. ;D
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: How I Lost You – Janet Gurtler
For the longest time, I didn’t have an issue with Becca being with Hunter because Chris was such a jerk to her. When she tried to get closer to him, he pushed her away. And considering her reputation around school, when Hunter took the time to get to know the girl past that reputation, I thought it made a lot of sense that she would appreciate his attention. Though, I always had my suspicions about Hunter that kept me on edge, even during some of their more tender moments.
I really disliked Gabriel in this (he was such an asshat to Michael!), but by the end of Spark I was in love with him; I hope this series gets better for you if you decide to continue with it!
Kelly recently posted…Keeping Up With the Blogosphere
Hmm, you definitely have a point there Kelly; I can see why Becca was interested in Hunter. Chris had tried to take the time to know Becca though, like the time he gave her sixty bucks and when he sat with her and Quinn and lunch. Becca just kept pushing him away. :l
I dunno, this is complicated, you’re either Team Hunter or Team Chris in the beginning. :P
Yeah, I’ve heard that Gabriel gets A LOT better in Spark. However, I’m not hoping for much because expectations always let you down. Hopefully I will like Spark when I have time to read it! (:
Kelly recently posted…ARC Book Review: Wasteland – Susan Kim & Laurence Klavan
Great review! This book is actually my favorite of the series so far. I love Chris and his water talent. These Marrick boys sound really hot! <3
I don’t really get the appeal of the Marrick boys. >___< They just seem like regular boys to me. :P But yeah, Chris was okay. Kelly recently posted…Book Review: Wallbanger – Alice Clayton
This is why I have not read this one yet. SO many people love it, and that always scares me. Especially after I read a review and the MC isn’t exactly the best character ever. I may one day check it out. But I don’t think that I am going to be in a huge hurry.
Yeah, I was as suspicious as you are now Jaime, but I eventually gave in to the pressure and the hype and tried it out. It didn’t really work out as you can see in my review.
Hopefully you’ll like this one better than I did when you give it a chance! (:
Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [47]
These characters sound very unlikable which would totally ruin it for me too!