Friday, May 31, 2013

Blog Tour: Spirit - REVIEW



Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer
Release: May 28, 2013
Source: e-ARC (provided by publisher) 

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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…



There is something so addicting about Brigid's books. They are all well written, with action-packed plots that have me on the edge of my seat, but my love for Brigid's books has more to do with her ability to make believable and relatable characters. In Storm, I fell for Chris. Then I fell for Gabriel, in Spark. Really, I love (and still love) all four Merrick brothers. Hunter is not a Merrick, but he's a rather important character to the series. The whole time I was reading Spirit, I just wanted to hug Hunter. He's a guy just trying to understand which side he's on, and what's 'right' and 'wrong'. He knows that the Merricks, pure elementals, aren't as bad as some Guides would have him think. But he also knows others have died, and it was his father's job to bring these pure elementals in.

Kate also grows up believing that pure elementals are nothing but bad news. That they must be exterminated. She's confident, strong, and incredibly self-assured in her abilities to bring in the Merricks. Then she meets Hunter. At first, he intrigues her. They exchange some flirtatious text that had me grinning, and she she figures out his connection with the Merricks, which make things incredibly complicated. Kate's conflicted, trying to figure out whether Hunter is friend or foe. And let me say that the chemistry between the two is electric. I loved them together. So. Much.

Really, this book is about truth. Both Kate and Hunter are trying to come to terms with the fact that not everything is black and white. You can't always trust what you've been told, and eventually, you have to come up with your own set of standards. Your own truth.

Sure, the plots may be somewhat 'formulaic', but the characters are absolutely fantastic. And the ending of Spirit departs from the formula of both Storm and Spark. It's a pleasant, but it's also a devastating, surprise. Why did you have to do it Brigid? You've now left me in a puddle of emotions. Hopefully, you've already read the first book in the series, but if not, what are you waiting for? Four (well, five) hot guys? Female characters that can hold their own? That's what this series offers, so I suggest you start reading it ASAP. Find out what all the fuss is about.

Thank you to Wendy Darling of The Midnight Garden for letting me be a part of this tour!



code for free download for the Elementals ebook (available on Kensington site only, through link below):