Review: Storm (Elemental, #1) by Brigid Kemmerer

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It should take me no more than three words to convince you to read this book. They are the same three words that convinced ME to read it, and I haven’t regretted it at all. Those three words are… are you ready?
Four hot brothers.
That’s all you need to know.

*sigh* Oh, okay. I suppose I should write a “proper” review. Here it goes:

Four Merrick brothers have a very strong connection to the elements: Michael controls earth, twins Gabriel and Nick control fire and air respectively, and the youngest, Chris, controls water. All four of them are far more powerful than they should be which causes the other Elementals to fear them and attack them at every opportunity. The brothers can’t use their elements to defend themselves because they’re all young and untrained and loss of control on their part could mean the loss of many innocent lives.

When two older boys ambush Chris and beat him almost to death, a girl from school comes to his rescue. She somehow chases them away and gets him home but Michael, his legal guardian since their parents died, practically chases her out of the house. Chris doesn’t really know her, even though she’s in some of his classes. He’s heard about her, though, everyone has. People say that she sleeps around with anyone who asks nicely enough. But Becca isn’t like that at all. She’s been through a lot and she’s just trying to keep her head down and avoid being noticed. Then, suddenly, she is in the middle of Chris’s drama, and a gorgeous new boy is showing a real interest in her.

You probably figured out from that last sentence that there is a love triangle in this book. In my humble opinion, there’s no such thing as a good/interesting love triangle, but I can tell you that this one is less painful than most. It made sense in a strange kind of way and it kept me in suspense because, unlike with other love triangles, I actually wasn’t sure which boy Becca would end up with.
Another thing worth mentioning is Brigid Kemmerer’s writing – it is much better than I expected when I first heard about this book. Her style doesn’t draw attention from the story itself, it is straightforward, clean and very easy to read.

Storm doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, but it has a pretty open ending. So many things are unresolved and I can’t wait for Gabriel’s book to be out. This is the type of not-quite-cliffhanger I can live with: everyone is safe, but there are a lot of questions that need answers.

If you are going to read Storm, definitely read the short story prequel first. It takes place about 4 years earlier, and it helped me understand why Michael is the way he is.
My recommendation: go read it. Just keep those smelling salts near – these boys will make you swoon!

Oh, and if by any chance you've read this already, I'm curious to hear which brother is your favorite. As long as it's not Michael. Michael is... not available. *g*