#157 Book Review: Spark

Spark (Elemental #2)
Release Date: September 26th 2012
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy:  Fishpond | Booktopia
More Info: Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads:

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…

Cover:

I have a huge crush on the Aussie covers in the series. They are just AMAZING. Love how the title connects both the girl and the boy! Allen & Unwin definitely outdid themselves with the covers. The US covers are awesome too though!

Story:

You’ve met Chris. Now it’s Gabriel’s show time…

Okay, so if you’ve read my review of Storm, you’ll know how much I loved it. I adored every single thing about it, including the overall appearance of the book and the author, Brigid, is a goddess. We, Aussie bloggers, just love LOOOOOVVVEEEEE BRIGID! (and well, it’s not a secret that we have a huge crush on the Merrick brothers too ;)

This is really hard for me to say since I LOVED Storm so much but I think Spark is even better than Storm. From the very first page, I clicked with Gabriel (hey, it’s not only because he’s hot!). The story blew me away. Somehow, I end up reading about a hot guy, fires, firemen, school, basketball and bullying all in one book. This is Brigid’s magic in her writing. The story plot and her realistic descriptions add to the richness of the story. Similar to Storm, this book is also written from two POVs; Gabriel’s and Layne’s. The romance is just sizzling hot it might end up burning the whole book. So yeah, this book pretty much has everything you want in a book. Hot guys, hot romance, hot story plot, you name it, it’s there.

Characters:

If not the story, I think Brigid’s characters completely shine in this book. They’re fantastic, realistic characters who I can easily relate to and clicked with from the very first page. Brigid is absolutely talented. She voices her characters so well I can imagine them sitting next to me and talking to me. 

So, let’s start with Layne! I feel really sad for Layne throughout the book. She has to endure family problems, her brother is bullied by other students in the school and she’s not exactly BFFs with the popular girls in the school. But she’s kind (she offers to tutor Gabriel!), she dresses conservatively although she hides something beautiful beneath her unpretentious appearance. And Gabriel fell for her kindness, beauty and heart. 

GABRIEL. I want to hug you a billion times and never let you go. (geez, how cliché is that!)  Gabriel here, acts like he is a bad boy who doesn’t give a care to anything in the world but there are so much layers to his characters. Brigid unravels them one by one and when we reach the bottom, the ‘true’ Gabriel, I love him even more. He’s literally HOT as well so yeah, no complains here!

Nick! Oh dear, how many times has he made my heart stop beating besides Gabriel? He’s such a swoon-worthy character, kind of like the opposite of Gabriel even though they’re twins. He is like Gabriel said in the book, good. Everything about him screams positive, good and well, good. I love how he truly understands Gabriel and is ready to help him all the time. He also likes Quinn. How cute is that?! 

I’m not going to go deep on other characters but Chris and Becca both make appearance in this book. They’re as loving as ever, completely adorable and Michael’s character becomes more interesting in this book. I want to give Michael thumbs up and high five for being such a great brother! Well, there’s also Hunter and he’s cool since he’s ‘friends’ with Gabriel in this book!

Overall:

Remember how Storm stirred a storm in the world of YA? Well, Brigid is back with Spark, the fantastic and brilliant second novel in the Elemental series. Spark has everything you pretty much want in a book. Hot guys, hot romance, hot story plot, you name it, it’s there. With astounding characters that you can easily click with, Brigid’s magical writing, as I quote from the back of the Aussie edition of Spark, the fuse is lit, guys and you better be ready.

5 Forget-Me-Not flowers for Spark! (But technically, this book needs more than 5 Forget-Me-Not flowers since it's just THAT AMAZING!)

Thank you Allen & Unwin for the review copy!

PS: And just because I can’t help it, GABBBRRRRRIIIEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLL ♥

Check out the book trailer below!

Storm Blog Tour: Severe Weather Warning! - Storm Excerpt

 

Hello guys! Today I have Brigid Kemmerer, author of Storm in the blog to share a yummy excerpt from the awesome book! Have I mentioned how much WE (as in the 9 people participating in the blog tour) LOVE STORM ? If you guys haven't read it, I hope you are convinced to buy this book immediately after reading the excerpt below and join our 'love' army for the Merrick Brothers!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris didn’t hear the sliding door, but the rain told him when Michael stepped onto the porch.

He didn’t bother to look over. “Fight over that fast?”

Michael dropped into the chair beside him. “We didn’t fight.”

Chris didn’t buy that for a minute. “You got it all out of your system with Becca?”

“Who is she, Chris?”

Chris kept his eyes on the clouds overhead and replayed the events in the parking lot. Becca had been kneeling over him, pouring water across his face. He’d come up swinging, sure they were bringing him around to finish him off. Water was all too happy to lend itself to fury—she’d been lucky he didn’t knock her flat. Or worse.

Chris shook his head slightly. “She’s nobody. Just a girl.”

“I think you should stay away from her.”

“Looks like you already took care of that for me.”

“You know what I mean.” Michael paused. “I don’t like her story.”

“Well,” said Chris, turning his head to the side. “You weren’t there.”

That one hit its target. Michael was silent for the longest moment. “What do you want me to do, Chris?”

Something. Anything. Chris looked back up at the clouds, keeping his eyes open to the rain. “Nothing, Michael.”

His brother rolled back in the chair, staring up at the same dark sky, letting the downpour soak him, too. The rain didn’t talk to him, but Chris knew Michael felt something when the drops struck the earth.

“I hate this,” Chris finally said.

“I know.”

“We’re stronger than they are.”

“That’s the problem. You know that.” Michael paused. “Don’t let them bait you.”

Chris pointed to his face. “Is that what this is? Baiting me?”

“Damn it, Chris. They want you to lose control. You know that, right?”

He did know that. Didn’t Michael know he knew that?

“I want to leave,” said Chris.

Michael sighed, a sound full of oh-not-this-again. “And go where? Just how long do you think we could stay hidden? We’re not little kids anymore, Chris. If we move into another community, they’ll report us for sure.”

Chris scowled. “Then let’s go somewhere there’s no community.”

“Oh. Great idea. Where’s that?”

“Shut up. We don’t need them. We don’t need—”

“We don’t need what? A house? School? You want to move to the middle of the woods somewhere and just live off the land?”

Yeah. He did. If that was the tradeoff, he’d take it.

Chris stared out at the darkness and didn’t say anything.

Michael rolled his eyes. “Okay, Chris. Whatever.”

Some of the tightness in his chest was loosening, making it hard to maintain his anger. He could feel it now, the rain tracing along his shoulders, feeding relief into his muscles.

“You want me to just leave you alone?” said Michael.

No. He didn’t. He wanted Michael to sit here and tell him that this time they’d stand up to them, that they would show Tyler and all those freaks just who they were messing with.
But Michael would never do that.

“Yeah,” Chris said. “I’m tired.”

Chris heard him shift to stand, but he didn’t look over. His brother was watching him; he could feel it.

But Michael just sighed and moved toward the door. “Me too, kid. Me too.”

Add the book:

Goodreads 

 

Where to buy? 

Amazon | The Book Depository

Find Brigid Kemmerer at:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh how I love this scene! Michael and Chris are AWESOME. So are you guys excited to read Storm? Well, I suggest you go to your nearest bookstore and grab a copy because it's out in the US already! If you live in Aussie, it's going to be out in 3 days! Chop chop then! ;) Thank you so much for sharing this amazing excerpt with us, Brigid!

Also, don't forget to comment on this post, spread the word about the blog tour and fill out the form below to be entered to win the giveaways, open internationally!

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

The blog tour continues!

Schedule:

Monday 23rd April:  Chris/Becca/Hunter Interview - Read Me Love Me Bookmark Me
Tuesday 24th April: This or That with the Boys of Storm - Shiirleyy’s Bookshelf
Wednesday 25th April: Fantasy Casting - saz101
Thursday 26th April: Brigid Q&A: YOU ask the questions! - Eleusinian Mysteries
Friday 27th April: Keeping up with the Merrick Twins + Review Roundup - Badass Bookie
Saturday 28th April: Storm Excerpt - Forget-Me-Not
Sunday 29th April: Video chat - Book Probe
Monday 30 April:  Chris Interview - Reading Wishes
Tuesday 1st May: Guest Post by Brigid: Five Secrets of the Elemental Series - Amaterasu Reads

Severe Weather Warning! Storm Blog Tour + Giveaways!

A Storm is coming! Over the next week, forecasts are predicting a massive Storm front progressing steadily across the Southern blogosphere. Authorities warn of effects being felt across the globe, with multiple storm point touch downs, interviews, exclusive extras and massive prize packs. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to batten down the hatches for one epic storm event.

Whether you're one of these lucky people who've already read Storm by goddess-turned-author Brigid Kemmerer, or you're impatiently waiting, you have to know that this is one of the most exciting young adult paranormals 2012 has to offer. Over the next nine days, nine bloggers are very excited to be bringing you the Storm Blog Tour! Tune in to your feeds and favorite blogs for never before seen character interviews, a video chat, an interactive Q&A with Brigid, and an exclusive excerpt from Storm itself! If that's not exciting enough, there are fourteen massive prize packs up for grabs, both AU/NZ and internationally! Check out tour dates below, and be sure to tune in to each stop to enter the giveaway!

Schedule:

Monday 23rd April:  Chris/Becca/Hunter Interview - Read Me Love Me Bookmark Me
Tuesday 24th April: This or That with the Boys of Storm - Shiirleyy’s Bookshelf
Wednesday 25th April: Fantasy Casting - saz101
Thursday 26th April: Brigid Q&A: YOU ask the questions! - Eleusinian Mysteries
Friday 27th April: Keeping up with the Merrick Twins + Review Roundup - Badass Bookie
Saturday 28th April: Storm Excerpt - Forget-Me-Not
Sunday 29th April: Video chat - Book Probe
Monday 30 April:  Chris Interview - Reading Wishes
Tuesday 1st May: Guest Post by Brigid: Five Secrets of the Elemental Series - Amaterasu Reads

Giveaway Packs:

  

International Prize Pack 1:
Elemental (ebook) + Storm + Spark preorder 

International Prize Pack 2: 
 Elemental (ebook) + Storm + Spark ARC

International Prize 3:
Copy of Storm + Spark Pre-order



Australian Prize Pack: 
Storm ARC + Spark preorder

Australia/New Zealand Prize Packs (10 winners):
1 copy of STORM + 1 STORM book jacket  + 1 SPARK book jacket
Thanks to Allen & Unwin and Brigid!!

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

#93 Book Review: Storm

Storm (Elementals #1)
Release Date: April 30 2012
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy: Amazon & The Book Depository
More Info: Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads:

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they have more power than you dream.

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

Cover:
LOVE IT. I love the US cover but the AU cover is just as amazing as the US one. I love how the girl and the boy in the cover is connected by the swirl in the middle with the title. I think Allen & Unwin definitely outdid themselves with this cover and the rest of the covers in the Elementals series!

5 Forget-Me-Not flowers for the cover!

Story:

Four 'HOT' brothers. Four powerful elements. One girl caught in the middle. 

Storm is beyond my expectations. Aussie bloggers who have read this book LOVED IT so I was anxious to get this book, checking my mailbox every second waiting for my copy of Storm to arrive. As soon as I got this book, I read it and finished it in about 5 hours. This book is just that AMAZING. I just couldn't stop reading. Okay, so try and remember the last time you read a book with four brothers in it. I can't even think of one! Because it's RARE. Now, have you ever read a book with four brothers who each control an element? NONE, I presume? When I read Elemental, the prequel to Storm, I absolutely fell in love with Brigid's writing. It's highly addictive. Brigid's vivid description of everything happening in the story makes it so real and makes the whole story comes to life. The story is also unpredictable. Storm is written from Becca's POV and Chris' POV. Within the amazing story of Storm, it also carries real life issues such as bullying, fighting and teenagers' life. Not only do I love the story, I love the concept of the Elementals itself. Imagine if you can control one element very well. That would be awesome, right? The ending was so sweet and it's PERFECT. I love how Brigid wraps up Storm and I am already biting my nails waiting for Spark!

Characters:
After officially meeting the whole Merrick Brothers and the characters in this book, my life feels complete. I finally met the whole Merrick Brothers and I love every single one of them. Brigid's characters are simply put: AMAZING. She voices her characters really well and it makes them feel so alive and real. I absolutely loved reading from Becca's POV and Chris' POV. It makes me understand them more as a character in this book and I loved knowing what they think about things happening throughout the book. I connected with Becca from the very first time I meet her in the book and she's an awesome character. I want to be her so I can meet the Merrick Brothers. How I love the Merrick Brothers. Okay, there ends my 'professional' review for the characters because now, you are going to read my swooning over the Merrick Brothers, starting from...Chris!

Chris: Oh dear Chris, take me to the beach with you too. I love water and you control that element so I LOVE YOU. I know so many girls are fighting for you now so I don't think I can win against them but every time I see the beach or even drink water, I will always think about you.

Nick: NICK! So I never thought I would fell for you in the book but you're sweet, kind and you control AIR. Fly me to you, please! I'm begging you! But..tell me. How can I differentiate you from Gabriel?

Gabriel: Gabriel, you can be quite a jerk but who cares? You're as hot as the fire. And oh yeah, you control the fire yourself! I need you for winter. WINTER IS COMING and I want you because you can control FIRE. Keep me warm from the cold!

Michael: I understand how hard it is to take care of your brothers. They are your responsibility and sometimes, it must be tiring, no? I feel you. Being the eldest is never the easiest. You did annoy me in the start of the book (because you're too cold!) but by the end of the book, I love you, again! Just like how I love you in Elemental!

How can you not love the Merrick Brothers? Oh wait, I nearly forgot to mention...

Hunter: Hunter! Hmm, what can I say? You do intrigue me. You are so mysterious and you are the 'New Kid'. I never thought you are more than just a 'New Kid'. I can't say I fell for you as much as I fell for Chris but you are definitely an awesome character!

The characters are so WELL-WRITTEN! Even the evil ones like Tyler and Seth are awesome antagonists!

Overall:
Brigid Kemmerer's debut novel, Storm, will definitely cause a STORM in the world of YA. Her brilliant writing will pull you into a world where people can control elements. Not only is the story amazing, Brigid voices her characters really well and it makes Storm comes to life. I highly recommend you to get this book! You don't want to fall in love with the Merrick Brothers too late because you are going to have to fight a lot of us to get at least one of them!

5 Forget-Me-Not flowers for Storm! I want to steal all the Forget-Me-Not flowers in the world for this book! ;)

Thank you Allen & Unwin for the review copy!

Check out the book trailer!

#77 Book Review: Elemental

Elemental (Elemental #0.5)
Release Date: January 5th 2012
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: K Teen
Source: Gifted from Author (THANK YOU SO MUCH, BRIGID!)
Format: E-book
Where to Buy: Amazon
More Info: Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads:

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they are more than you dream.

As an air Elemental, 17-year-old Emily Morgan doesn’t have much power. That’s okay—she knows what happens to kids who do.

Like Michael Merrick. He’s an earth Elemental, one with enough power to level cities. Which makes him sexy. Dangerous. And completely off limits. At least according to Emily’s family.

But her summer job puts her in close contact with Michael, and neither of them can help the attraction they feel. When forces of nature like theirs collide, one misstep could get someone killed. Because Emily’s family doesn’t just want her to stay away from him.

They want him dead.

My review:

Cover:
Oh boy, I love the cover of all the Elemental series, including both the US and Australian covers! I love how the US covers feature the Merrick Brothers! The cover is PERFECT for the story! Michael looks AWESOME!

5 Forget-me-not flowers for the cover!

Story:

Welcome to the world of Elemental and meet Michael, the eldest Merrick Brothers... 


OH BRIGID, I am officially one of your BIGGEST fans. Even though I've only read Elemental and it's only a short prequel to Storm, I am absolutely in love with her writing and the Merrick Brothers. I absolutely love the 'elements' concept of this book and the story of Elemental. I don't think I've found any books or read any books like this one before. A series with FOUR HOT BROTHERS? Oh boy, count me in! (Although I think it might be really hard to get the brothers for myself because SO MANY PEOPLE are FIGHTING FOR THEM!) Elemental introduces us to Michael Merrick, the eldest Merrick Brother, his complicated life, the element he controls and how he ends up falling for Emily, a girl he's not supposed to attracted to. The ending left me absolutely BREATHLESS. Why? Because I NEED MORE. I NEED STORM NOW and I NEED to meet the rest of the Merrick Brothers!

Characters:
Michael Merrick is officially the first Merrick Brother I've fallen in love with. If there's one thing I loved most about Brigid's writing, it's her vivid and realistic description of her characters. When reading Elemental, I can imagine as if Michael is actually alive and REAL. Brigid's detailed writing allows me to feel what Michael is feeling throughout the book: anger, pain, sadness and it makes me want to hug him. Also, I love the chemistry between Michael and Emily. I love how they're breaking the rules by being attracted to each other and I want more of them! So what precisely am I saying? I'm in love with Merrick Brothers, starting from Michael since he's the one who is featured in Elemental!


Overall:
Elemental, a prequel to Storm will definitely satisfy your curiosity of who the Merrick Brothers are and gives you a taste of Brigid's AWESOME and delicious writing! If you haven't grabbed a copy, what are you waiting for? It's only $0.99 cents in Amazon and plus, you get to meet Michael, the eldest Merrick Brothers before Storm even comes out in April (US) and May! (AUS) 

5 Forget-me-not flowers for Elemental!

PS: If you guys are fighting for the Merrick Brothers, better count me in! :P