Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: Out now
How I got this book: From the publisher
Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—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.
When Hunter, the mysterious new kid in town, 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…
This blurb came from the author’s website here.
Storm kept appearing in my Goodreads recommendation list. I had read the back cover blurb and thought that it might be interesting since I tend to enjoy books that involve elemental powers but decided I would wait to look at a few reviews. But then we were offered a chance to review it and since I was already interested I volunteered. Storm is certainly not a lighthearted YA. The characters have to deal with several of the negatives that go along with not fitting in with the other high school students, divorce, the loss of parents through violence, and also the paranormal aspect.
After the initial punch of the opening things slowed down for me. I didn’t like Becca, the heroine, nor did I like any of the Merrick brothers and how they treated Becca. I kept reading and I am glad that I did. As their back-story unfolded and I got to know what shaped those characters before their initial ending I went from reluctantly reading to eagerly flipping the page wondering what was going to come next. Becca stopped letting things happen to her and decided that she was going to stand up for herself. Despite how some of the Merrick brothers acted towards her, she still persisted in warning Chris whenever she spotted some of the guys who initially attacked him.
There were several things I liked about this book. The first thing that I liked is that not ALL of the parents were the absent uncaring types as is so prevalent in YA today. Becca’s mom cared and did the best she could as a single parent. Apparently she also worked hard not to turn Becca against her father after they were divorced. She also mothered Becca’s best friend Quinn who did not get along with her mother. I also liked how being able to use the elemental powers wasn’t without a cost. You could only control them to a certain extent and when they got loose bad things happened. Then there was also the threat of death for possessing that ability.
I did have some quibbles with Storm some of which might have been due to the need to establish the world and key personalities since this is Book 1. I found it hard to believe that all of these “elemental” events had occurred without anyone outside the two groups thinking that something strange was happening. I would have thought that the oldest of the Merricks would have dealt with Becca differently when she brought their brother back to the house after he was attacked. There were a few coincidences that I found a little hard to swallow which were key to the conclusion of this particular installment. I also have some questions remaining about Becca’s father.
Despite my quibbles once I got past the slower section towards the beginning I was invested in this story. I wanted to know how Becca and the Merricks were going to handle their death threat. I wanted the bad guys to get what was coming to them. And I wanted Becca to reclaim her life since her ex-boyfriend spread vicious rumors about her. Given that this is the first book not everything was answered and new questions have been raised. I am interested in seeing what develops in Spark, Book 2.
I give Storm a C+
Links to purchase
Nice review. Even though YA is not my thing, I am intrigued by this book. Like you, I enjoy paranormals with elements in them.
This one didn’t turn out to be too angsty and emo for me although I was worried at first. I am hoping that Spark picks up with the character development at the same level that this one ends and grows from there.
Like you, I like elemental magic. But if a book starts dragging, I really have a hard time sticking with it. Especially if it’s a new to me author. I’ll probably read a few more reviews on this. Great review E. 🙂
@Sophia (FV): Thank you. I am glad I kept reading because I saw some real promise. It was difficult given that the previous books I read kept things moving at a much faster pace. I think I am going to check out some more reviews too *grin*.