Review: Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

Title: Spark

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Publisher: K Teen

Publication Date:

Pages:

Genre: Paranormal

Series: Yes (Elementals #2)

Source: Purchased finished copy

Rating: A

Summary (from Goodreads):

Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally. Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can't. Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he's not doing it. And no one seems to believe him. Except a shy sophomore named Layne, a brainiac who dresses in turtlenecks and jeans and keeps him totally off balance. Because Layne has a few secrets of her own…

Review:

I am rapidly falling hard and fast for Brigid Kemmerer’s Elementals series. Let’s recap really quick: Amazing writer? Check. Five hot guys? Double check. Intriguing plots? CHECK. This series is everything I’m looking for and then some. Spark is on the second book, but this series already has a special place in my heart and on my shelves. Now I just need the rest of the series to finish it off.

Spark is Gabriel’s story and honestly the one I was most excited about since reading book 1, Storm. Gabriel is definitely the bad boy of the group. He has this devil-may-care attitude that Kemmerer seamlessly blends with a fiercely loyal heart. I’m a sucker for a bad boy and Gabriel is one of the best I’ve encountered in YA books.

Layne is fantastic as the female lead in this one. In fact, I think I enjoyed her more than I did Becca (the heroine in book 1). And considering I adored Becca, that’s quite a feat. Layne is so human and so very real. I loved her somewhat dorky ways and how intelligent she was. I love that she didn’t blindly trust everything going on for the sake of a budding romance. She had questions and hesitations that most female YA characters don’t have.

I love how all the guys act together. Kemmerer doesn’t have them use flowery language to suck female readers in. Instead the dialogue and actions I think are accurate depictions of teenage guys. These boys are messy, sometimes crass, and don’t have all the answers. I think that’s one of the best points not just about this novel, but the series as a whole. I mean, sure we all swoon over dreamy guys who know exactly what a girl seems to think, but that just isn’t real. These guys are real. These are the boys you find joking around the halls of a high school … they just have a few extraordinary abilities.

I really cannot stop gushing about this series. I’m lamenting the fact I have to wait an eternity for book 3, Spirit, because this series just gets better with each chapter. Fans of romance and paranormals will want to read this series ASAP.

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