Review: Storm

Storm

by Brigid Kemmerer
Book 1 of Elemental

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  3.0 Stars

Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys-- 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. . .

I see why this book/series is so popular.  It didn't take long for me to finish.  And it hadn't taken long before I'd gotten so far into it that there was no point in stopping and leaving the rest for later.  So I powered through the entire thing in less than a twenty-four hour span; maybe even less than ten hours like I did my last book.

I had some nostalgic feelings of those teenage years in high school with all the talk of sports, cheerleaders, parties, bullies... the like.  Except, either I came from a really tame high school, or my perception of those fragile teenage years was a little different.  I had remarked to myself (in written note format), that this gaggle of teens formed one of the most immature high school classes I'd ever read about in a YA book... then I realized that my genre usually teetered on the paranormal and post-apocalyptic, so usually there were very few actual high school settings to choose from.  Still... the "ooh-ing" and the "ah-ing" and the snickering and the gossip and the rumors...

Okay, maybe I might be a little far removed from my high school years, but a lot of that stuff seemed a bit extreme... even for kids.

But enough of that, because, somehow, it still brought the nostalgia in me out to recognize what it used to be like to be young.  Seriously, this might be one of the first YA books I've read that "brought me back to the good ol' days."  Strange, no?

Anyway, back to the book itself (y'know, cause I tend to ramble and segway so much...).

Storm was incredibly exciting and highly entertaining.

It had a lot of moments that made me wonder or frown or cringe.  A lot of the relationship dynamics were a little extreme, and a lot of character details that had me... well, I didn't like all of the character relations, honestly.  Did I like every moment of it?  No.  Was it a perfect book?  Not quite.  Were there things that made no sense?  Oh yea.  Would I change any of it to suit my needs?  Absolutely not.  Storm seems to have a unique personality of its own (if that makes any sense), and despite the fact that there were moments that made me cringe, I don't think I would change any of it for any reason at all.  It's got a creative story line, interesting characters, and a smooth pacing (with some bumps), and decent dialogue.

It reminds me (just a little bit) of those highly addictive anime or manga adventures I used to immerse myself in.  Stock characters and stock story lines in a highly exciting story progression...  These are always fun.

It's a modern world with a hidden secret (which is a genre that I love), and it involves multiple youngsters in action (another plot device I adore), and none of the characters were completely standardized and unique (even if their stereotypes were fairly standardized and boring).  Unfortunately, due to the type of characters and story line presented, the entire book ended up being completely predictable.  All of those supposed-to-be surprise twists?  I figured them all out before Becca even had a chance to start asking questions.  Surprise secret identities... yeah, I figured those out almost immediately as well.

But that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the book.  In fact, I really DO respect the creativity of those surprise twists and surprise secret identities.  They worked.  I liked them.

And judging from the fact that I just couldn't seem to make myself put the book down, I'd also chance to say that I enjoyed it A LOT.  It's not a book I would sit around being speechless about because all I can think of is how "awesome" it is.  But it also isn't a book I have much to contemplate about since it stood in an "easy read" category as well.  The reading experience WAS, however, quite addicting--I don't even think I consciously had a moment to begin my "just one more chapter" mantra because I just kept right on reading without other thoughts.

Storm was lots of fun.  I'm not going to bend over backwards to get my hands on the next book.  I mean, those Merrick brothers are kind of assholes even if they seem to have hearts of gold underneath all of that prickly surface.  And they ARE pretty nice to see together.  But I could do without too much asshole and male posturing for a couple books.

Although I DO plan on reading the rest of the series.  That's for certain.

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This review was originally posted at Goodreads in April 2013.

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