With the glowing reviews of Merrick brothers, I expected Elemental to be a wonderful novella before I start Storm. But it amazed me how short the story is. Just when I thought things start to become exciting, BAM! It suddenly ends, leave me with gaping mouth. If I have to metaphor my feeling, I feel like jumping from a cliff to a lake when I reached the last page. But instead being welcomed by the cool water, there was only solid wall hit me mercilessly.
Despite the sort of cliffhanger ending, one thing I enjoyed most about this book is the tension. Oh, the tension between Emily and Michael! It is as if I were there, watching them exchange hostile glances and snarky remarks. The conversations are interesting to read and I like the chemistry between them. I love the vivid description of the hot summer days and the deserted sports center. Perfect setting for the start of Michael and Emily’s friendship.
There are a few things I found frustrating in this novella. I don’t understand how things work in Elemental’s world. Does everyone have ability to control elements? I’m really confused because it is never stated clearly in the book. Elemental doesn’t offer answer, but it definitely is a good prequel before you start the series. It leaves you with questions about the community, the power, and the aggression that Merrick family constantly receives. Brigid Kemmerer also does such good job in portraying Michael’s emotion, frustration and turmoil he felt toward his family and sequence of things happening because of his power. I need answers and I’d definitely read Storm. Hopefully it would be a great explosion that I’m anticipating!
“Want to learn?” he said.
“Learn?” Her voice was squeaking.
He tapped the fence with the end of the bat. “How to hit.” She couldn’t. She’d already spent too much time talking to him. This had danger written all over it.
But some part of her heart had already told her brain’s insistent thoughts to shove it.
Because she was already saying yes.
Three cups of tea. I like it. Recommended to read in spare time.
I have this book on my eReader. Haven't got around to it yet, though. Thanx for this review.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the prequel, so I don't how things are in it, but rest assured, some of your questions will definitely be answered in Storm.
ReplyDeleteI loved Michael in Storm, so I'm intrigued by his story, so I'm going to check this one out soon. :)
Great review, Hilda!
I have to smile a little at the cover. It's pretty funny. Glad that you enjoyed it despite the abrupt ending and confusing world building. I tend to read the prequel books after I read the actual book so I already know what's going on.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear this is a good prequel to start the series of with. After all the raving reviews for Storm, I went and bought myself a copy and now look forward to meeting some of these brothers. ;) Great review, Hilda!
ReplyDeleteDrfinite prove that you are hilarious: I started reading this review this morning, before my first coffee (I'm usually very grumpy in the morning, not the best company at all) and before you know it, I was laughing out loud at your analogies.
ReplyDeleteI hope book one will be better than the prequel, I'm still very excited about both. These brothers sound like a nice addition to my flat army. (Army of my fictional crushes, lol)
I agree with your review! As soon as I started getting invested, it was over to quickly. I started Storm (haven't finished it yet) and it didn't really tie up the Michael + Emily story for me, haha. I don't understand the Elemental world either but maybe the books in the series offer insight. Great review, Hilda!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if I wanted to read Elemental before Storm. Novellas are fun but too short for my liking. But I think I shall read it. It's great that it gives a lot of background and that Storm is just a Kindle book away so the cliffhanger hopefully will not bug me that much! I'm very excited to read this series (hopefully I'll get to read it soon) and I loved the quote. Definitely piqued my interest! Awesome review, Hilda :D the part about how you felt about the cliffhanger made me smile. It frustrates me when a novel takes off and then doesn't but thankfully there is Storm which I hope will be amazing! It has to be.. The four brothers sound amazing! :D
ReplyDeleteI also felt somewhat confused when I finished Elemental... but definitely pick up Storm! It's really great, I was pleasantly surprised :)
ReplyDeleteI completely understand how you were confused because I was confused too. I still enjoyed the majority of the book for most of the same reasons. I also loved the chemistry between Emily and Michael. I was amazed at how i was able to care about two characters i never met before in such a short time!
ReplyDeleteWonderful review Hilda! I hope you love Storm!
I've yet to read Storm, though I've heard THE BEST things about it! I seriously need to read it NOW. I think I'll read this novella after I read Storm. I'm sorry this book was frustrating for you, Hilda. :( The ending sounds crazy! And the unanswered questions stink. However, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Especially the relationship between Michael and Emily. :) Lovely review, Hilda! <3
ReplyDeleteI've heard so much about Storm but not so much about Elemental, though I'd like to read them both. Great review, Hilda! I think novellas are often too short but at least you can follow it up with Storm!
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Maybe I shouldn't let this novella decide whether or not I buy the first book. :) Great review, Hilda!
ReplyDeleteOh I grabbed this one too when it was free! I've heard amazing things about this series so it's good to know this prequel is amazing too and how frustrating that it leaves you hanging! But I can;t wait to be thrown into this world! Fab review Hilda! :)
ReplyDeleteOhh, I never noticed that before! I had one of my friends explain the Elemental world in detail (with gusto!) so I already knew all the quirks before I read this, but I guess it probably would've been frustrating if I hadn't taken the crash course beforehand! Still, I really loved Emily and Michael as characters and the whole summery setting, so I'm glad you did too! Wait until you meet Michael in Storm -- your heart will break for him, right after you want to punch him in the face LOL! x)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful honest review, Hilda! <3 You're always completely honest and helpful, and I always love you so much for it :) I can't wait to see what you think about Storm!
I found it so short, too! When I finished all I could think was that I wanted to read MORE. Luckily Storm came out a few weeks later. And I don't remember, but maybe all that elemental thing felt confusing to me, too. But I greatly enjoyed the chemistry between the two of them <3
ReplyDeleteLovely review! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Storm :D
Oh, I LOVED Storm, and I'm reading this now... I can see I'm getting really close to the end, and I'm kind of scared it... I think we're coming into it from very different perspectives... the sudden end, well, I *know* about it from Storm, and the mechanics of the world is explained in detail in Storm (not everyone has elemental powers, but the people who DO, tend to live in communities. 'Normal' people don't know about them)... I kind of wondered how it would read without reading Storm... SO glad you still liked it! Fabulous review! ♥
ReplyDeleteI couldn't stop reading Storm because there were so many things going on, and I loved reading about the characters. I mean just the idea of these uber hot guys with these powers is cool enough. But the real interesting part is that these uber hot guys are far from perfect, they don't actually enjoy their powers, and they are prejudiced for them. I loved the reality of their situation. They're just guys. They have gifts that have ruined their lives. This is Chris's, one of the brothers, story of how it goes.
ReplyDeleteBecca adds to the greatness. Her character is amazing. I was getting so tired of the cookie cutter YA female character leads that I was cosidering banning all books including YA Paranormal Romance. She was so refreshing, and I think her background story has a lot to do with that.