Sacrifice (Elemental #5) by Brigid Kemmerer-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 30, 2014

Earth. Fire. Air. Water.

One misstep and they lose it all. For the last time.

Michael Merrick understands pressure. He’s the only parent his three brothers have had for years. His power to control Earth could kill someone if he miscalculates. Now an Elemental Guide has it in for his family, and he’s all that stands in the way.

His girlfriend, Hannah, understands pressure too. She’s got a child of her own, and a job as a firefighter that could put her life in danger at any moment.

But there are people who have had enough of Michael’s defiance, his family’s ‘bad luck’. Before he knows it, Michael’s enemies have turned into the Merricks’ enemies, and they’re armed for war.

They’re not interested in surrender. But Michael isn’t the white flag type anyway. Everything is set for the final showdown.

Four elements, one family. Will they hold together, or be torn apart?

•••••••••••••

REVIEW: SACRIFICE is the fifth full length and final(?) novel in Brigid Kemmerer’s contemporary, young adult Elemental paranormal series focusing on the four Merrick brothers. Although each of the storylines includes all four brothers and an ensemble cast of characters (including Sacrifice), SACRIFICE focuses on the eldest brother and earth elemental, twenty three year old Michael Merrick.

In the world of the supernatural Elementals-water, fire, earth and air-there is also a group known as the Guides. As with any paranormal storyline, the Guides are the requisite evil whose mission is to rid the world of all Elementals. The Merrick family has been targeted for destruction but the who and the how is a constant mystery. As Michael struggles to keep his family together, following the murder of their parents five years earlier, he is fighting a losing battle when the police and the fire department suspect one or all of the Merricks in a series of fires, explosions and deaths. The Department of Family Services has been notified and it is time for the Merrick brothers to find another home.

The romance aspect of the storyline is limited because the focus finds Michael striving to keep control of his element while all around him death and destruction thrive. As the body count increases, he becomes the number one suspect when the investigators find Michael at every crime scene. Michael has been set up but who is the one behind all of the threats.

The writing is simple. The storyline has some graphic violence and numerous deaths including someone close to the Merrick family. No one is safe when the Guides come hunting for the Elementals. The world building continues with the familiarity of the Elemental power and the continuous destruction by the Guides. Even those connected to the Merrick family will find themselves at a disadvantage and a target for destruction.

SACRIFICE is the supposedly the final instalment in Brigid Kemmerer’s young adult, ELEMENTAL series. It does not end on a happily ever after but a happily ever after –for now. There is no resolution to the family situation and Michael’s relationship with Hannah points in another direction now that the truth has finally been revealed. Brigid does not wrap up the series with a pretty little bow but with a ‘sh*t happens and everyone must move on’ kind of attitude. I would hope that there will be a few more novellas to wrap up the storyline-perhaps an epilogue that looks to the future and what has happened to the Merrick brothers in the intervening time.

The copy I received included the three Elemental Series novellas–ELEMENTAL (the introduction), FEARLESS and BREATHLESS (see review below).

Reading Order
.5 Elemental
1. Storm
1.5 Fearless
2. Spark
2.5 Breathless
3. Spirit
4. Secret
5. Sacrifice

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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BREATHLESS
(Elemental 2.5)
by Brigid Kemmerer

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 2013

Click HERE for our interview with AXEL JORDAN-the cover model for Breathless and Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

Too many secrets. Not enough time.

Nick Merrick is supposed to be the level-headed one. The peacemaker. Since it’s just him and his three hotheaded brothers against the world, that’s a survival tactic.

But now he’s got problems even his brothers can’t help him survive.

His so-called girlfriend, Quinn, is going quick as mercury from daring to crazy. Meanwhile, Quinn’s dancer friend Adam is throwing Nick off balance, forcing him to recognize a truth he’d rather shove back into the dark.

He can feel it—the atmosphere is sizzling. Danger is on the way. But whatever happens next, Nick is starting to find out that sometimes nothing you do can keep the peace

REVIEW: BREATHLESS is the third novella in Brigid Kemmerer’s contemporary, young adult (YA) Elemental paranormal series focusing on the four Merrick brothers whose powers specialize in the four elements-water, air, fire, and earth. Breathless is the introduction to Nick Merrick’s storyline and one that gives the reader a closer look at Nick’s reluctance to accept Quinn as his permanent ‘girlfriend’.

Brigid Kemmerer touches on a topic that can be controversial for young adult and teens. When Nick Merrick finds himself torn between what society expects and what he feels for another young man he knows that he isn’t the only one with similar feelings. Confusion about his new found attraction to Adam is the beginning of the next stage in Nick’s young life.

The secondary characters play a small role throughout the story but the focus is on Nick’s conflicted feelings. His emotional stability is dependant on his family and friend’s acceptance, and the acceptance of the young man who is the recipient of Nick’s new found feelings.

Copy supplied by Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy