Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Spirit (Elemental #3) by Brigid Kemmerer

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With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.
Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too.

With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust…


Regular followers of the blog know that The Elemental Series is a big hit with Shel. And it wasn’t until recently that I finally had my turn with the books. I read Storm and Spark which I enjoyed immensely but it was the e-novella Breathless that completely won me over.  Kemmerer excels at giving her characters a turn in the spotlight, this time being Hunter’s, and gives them the time to develop properly. And even though Hunter is not a Merrick brother, he is very much connected to them and there’s no escaping that tie.

Hunter is a surprising revelation in Spirit. He appears to be a jovial, easy-going guy in the previous books but in Spirit, all his insecurities and demons are played out. He’s mentally in a bad place here with issues at home and at school which means he’s making some bad decisions that land him in all kinds of messes. Of course, he’s still on the outs with Gabriel Merrick and the rest of the brothers because of his “spying” in Spark. Right now being isolated from the people he has considered friends leaves him very vulnerable to trouble. And trouble comes in the form of Kate, the mysterious new girl at school who befriends him and the Merricks. Spirit has everyone figuring out what exactly honesty means, who can be trusted and how to stand their ground while they’re being hunted mercilessly.

Readers, The Elemental Series has been a blast! Once you get started, it’s hard to put the books down – any of them. One of the best things about the series is that even though these are all teens with special powers, they’re also so very human and relatable.  Everything they go through be it sibling rivalries, high school drama or dislike of authority figures, they’re all reminiscent of stuff we’ve all been through. There are so many times where you’ll find yourself going, “been there", "oh that guy" or “yeah that sucks”. There's bound to be a character or a situation that will remind you of someone you know or something that has happened.

Spirit continues the superb, fast-paced action and humor of its predecessors.  The plot may be thickening but the bonds between our dysfunctional but utterly awesome Elementals are also getting tighter. I’m excited for more!

~ Bel


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