Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Storm (Elemental, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Storm

(Elemental #1)

Brigid Kemmerer (Goodreads Author)

3.95 · Rating details · 25,540 ratings · 2,492 reviews

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they have more power than you dream.

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—all 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 ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 407 pages

Published April 24th 2012 by Kensington

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Storm, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

2012 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade)

1,041 books — 6,587 voters

YA Novels of 2012

1,317 books — 10,652 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.95 ·

Rating details

· 25,540 ratings · 2,492 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Storm (Elemental, #1)

Dec 22, 2012 Emily May rated it it was ok

Recommended to Emily May by: Young Adult Book Club December 2012

Shelves: pnr, young-adult, paranormal-uf, 2012

2.5
Me and this book went on a strange journey together and the end result was very conflicted feelings.

It all started when I decided I wanted to become more involved in one of my goodreads groups and actually pay attention to the monthly book reads. In the past, I used the group for challenges and recommendations but didn't participate in the group read-along, so I decided that I would read every book voted for except the ones that a) I had already read or b) I couldn't obtain for whatever r ...more

flag 131 likes · Like · see review

Feb 06, 2011 Sarah Maas rated it it was amazing

I freaking LOVED this book. It is so, so amazing, and the four brothers are SMOKING HOT. Not to mention, Becca is a fantastic, strong heroine. I can't recommend this book highly enough! ...more

flag 128 likes · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2013 Blacky *Romance Addict* marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: review, 1-star-for-enjoyment, read-paranormal, read-2013, read-na-ya, t-stupid-triangle

DNF

I was really really curious about this one.

Started it.

Nice writing, nothing special but not bad.

The family at the center of the series, uber-interestng.

The heroine, uber-idiotic, blushes at every single damn thing possible and in every single damn situation possible. She behaves like a 13 yo at best, and one who has never been in contact with a male specimen of the human species.

Triangle. I hate them. HATE! Especially seeing stupid indecisive heroines who spend the whole book deciding who to ...more

flag 116 likes · Like · see review

Nov 23, 2011 Whitney rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012-favorites, just-loooooved-it, neat-plot, okay-heroines, all-time-faves, own, lick-this-cover, that-ending-omg, okay-heros

Read the full review here. :]

This book definitely made me want to bend some elements. (That's putting it in avater the last airbender terms. ;p) I think, after reading this book, I'd want to have the element of fire. I've actually always wanted to have a fire element after watching ATLA. And this totally made me want it more. If I couldn't have it, then definitely water. There was totally a connection with water, since it was Chris's ability. c:

description

This is just too much hotness on one cover. ...more

flag 80 likes · Like · see review

Jun 17, 2012 Stacia (the 2010 club) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, cute, favorite-book-guys, paranormal-romance, made-me-laugh, casters-or-witches

"You keep saving me," she said.
"Yeah, well." He stroked the hair down her back. "I think we might be close to breaking even on that."

Even though the covers fail to impress me, the books are quite good! I have to give Storm a 4.25 to 4.5 rating. I truly enjoyed this book, probably more than I have any YA PNR in a while.

It had all the key elements of a cute romance type book I'd want to read :

~ multiple hot guys (jackpot!)
~ lots of action & conflict aside from the romance itself
~ cool ...more

flag 72 likes · Like · see review

Apr 10, 2012 Steph Sinclair rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, kensington, it-wasn-t-all-that-but-enjoyable, alternating-povs, cool-author, i-totally-saw-that-coming, 2012-release, 2-am-or-later, 2013-reads, could-have-been-better

Occasionally, my husband and I will discuss books that I am reading at the time. It mostly depends on if the cover sparks his curiosity enough to find out what it's about. In this case, he saw me putting together the Elemental Virgins post a few weeks ago (which may or may not have led to a few awkward questions. "So you're a virgin, huh?"), so he knew this was one of the books in the series. One day, I was minding my business, cracking up in my little Reading Corner at some witty banter between ...more

flag 62 likes · Like · see review

May 18, 2012 Maja (The Nocturnal Library) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012-favorites, favorites, i-have-superpowers, annoying-love-triangle, alternating-povs, never-saw-it-coming, young-adult, reviewed-in-2012, just-another-book-crush, moments-of-great-frustration

It should take me no more than three words to convince you to read this book. They are the same three words that convinced ME to read it, and I haven’t regretted it at all. Those three words are… are you ready?
Four hot brothers.
That’s all you need to know.

*sigh* Oh, okay. I suppose I should write a “proper” review. Here it goes:

Four Merrick brothers have a very strong connection to the elements: Michael controls earth, twins Gabriel and Nick control fire and air respectively, and the youngest It should take me no more than three words to convince you to read this book. They are the same three words that convinced ME to read it, and I haven’t regretted it at all. Those three words are… are you ready?
Four hot brothers.
That’s all you need to know.

*sigh* Oh, okay. I suppose I should write a “proper” review. Here it goes:

Four Merrick brothers have a very strong connection to the elements: Michael controls earth, twins Gabriel and Nick control fire and air respectively, and the youngest, Chris, controls water. All four of them are far more powerful than they should be which causes the other Elementals to fear them and attack them at every opportunity. The brothers can’t use their elements to defend themselves because they’re all young and untrained and loss of control on their part could mean the loss of many innocent lives.

When two older boys ambush Chris and beat him almost to death, a girl from school comes to his rescue. She somehow chases them away and gets him home but Michael, his legal guardian since their parents died, practically chases her out of the house. Chris doesn’t really know her, even though she’s in some of his classes. He’s heard about her, though, everyone has. People say that she sleeps around with anyone who asks nicely enough. But Becca isn’t like that at all. She’s been through a lot and she’s just trying to keep her head down and avoid being noticed. Then, suddenly, she is in the middle of Chris’s drama, and a gorgeous new boy is showing a real interest in her.

You probably figured out from that last sentence that there is a love triangle in this book. In my humble opinion, there’s no such thing as a good/interesting love triangle, but I can tell you that this one is less painful than most. It made sense in a strange kind of way and it kept me in suspense because, unlike with other love triangles, I actually wasn’t sure which boy Becca would end up with.
Another thing worth mentioning is Brigid Kemmerer’s writing – it is much better than I expected when I first heard about this book. Her style doesn’t draw attention from the story itself, it is straightforward, clean and very easy to read.

Storm doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, but it has a pretty open ending. So many things are unresolved and I can’t wait for Gabriel’s book to be out. This is the type of not-quite-cliffhanger I can live with: everyone is safe, but there are a lot of questions that need answers.

If you are going to read Storm, definitely read the short story prequel first. It takes place about 4 years earlier, and it helped me understand why Michael is the way he is.
My recommendation: go read it. Just keep those smelling salts near – these boys will make you swoon!

Also posted at The Nocturnal Library
...more

flag 61 likes · Like · see review

Jan 18, 2012 Giselle rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, arc

~~Four~~ Five hot guys and one girl. Does anybody have a problem with this?

As if all this testosterone running rampant isn't enough, these four brothers can control the elements: Water, air, earth and fire. The seriousness of these powers is made clear several times throughout this novel. It's a powerful ability to have to be able to control anything from tsunamis and earthquakes, to the spread of diseases; all without raising an ounce of suspicion. Basically, easily becoming an unstoppable, invisi ~~Four~~ Five hot guys and one girl. Does anybody have a problem with this?

As if all this testosterone running rampant isn't enough, these four brothers can control the elements: Water, air, earth and fire. The seriousness of these powers is made clear several times throughout this novel. It's a powerful ability to have to be able to control anything from tsunamis and earthquakes, to the spread of diseases; all without raising an ounce of suspicion. Basically, easily becoming an unstoppable, invisible killing machine. I wasn't sure how exciting a story about element control could be, so I was happily surprised by the constant sensation of danger that I felt while reading this novel. Surround this with a fast pace and intense action scenes, and we've got ourselves a pretty riveting plot.

The brothers. Oh boy. They're quite the eclectic bunch. Each one unique and imperfect, these guys are all exceptionally well developed characters that will grow on you and make a lasting impression. I enjoyed their brotherly banter which never ceases to amuse me. I also found them all endearing even though sometimes I wanted to punch them. Along with these four brothers, we've got Hunter - the New Guy - which was my personal favorite of the boys, then Becca's friends, classmates and parents. Overall, it's a pretty big cast that Kemmerer incorporates impressively inside the story, giving them each charming personalities and important roles that contribute to the story.

Now on to Becca. Becca has to deal with all this ~~hotness~~ raucous. For a change, it's the girl who gets to save the day at the beginning, by coming to Chris's aid and saving his life - which is essentially how she gets sucked into his. Then of course, soon afterwards, she meets Hunter; giving us a love triangle that, even though I'm not a big fan of usually, I quite enjoyed in Storm. First, it's hard not to like these two well-rounded guys who are both pining for Becca. Second, it's very rare that I can feel chemistry from both love interests like I did in this novel. I constantly felt torn on who I wanted her to end up with. While I was happy about the straightforward relationship growth with Hunter, I found myself cringing when we got Chris's reaction to it. Nothing felt forced for the sake of a cliché triangle, it's truly a well written and complex romantic mess.

Full of constant twists and exceptional characters, Storm proves to be a fantastic debut that lives up to its cover. You'll find the perfect amount of romance, action, and suspense for a great start to a very promising series.

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads ...more

flag 52 likes · Like · see review

Mar 21, 2012 Wendy Darling rated it really liked it

Shelves: april, crush-worthy-boys, 2012-favorites, kensington, paranormal-general, read-2012, young-adult, 2012-publication, male-pov, heroines-butt-kicking

Heads up: this one's free right now, and the others are super super cheap as well! http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Elemental...

----------------------------------------------------------------

This book is so much fun, and a terrific start to a promising series. I am far too behind on reviews I have to do to write one for this, but I did write a spoiler-free review of book two here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

If you enjoy sarcastic quips and hot boys with your YA urban fantasy, you'll def ...more

flag 38 likes · Like · see review

Mar 07, 2015 Lady Gabriella of Awesomeness (SLOW) rated it really liked it

Shelves: not-so-secret-admirer-involved, twists-i-did-not-see-coming, read-n-reviewed, a-star-for-the-ending, paranormal-romance, his-and-her-pov, young-love, 3-and-a-half-stars

3.5 Elemental stars

The Elemental series Is a great read for all paranormal YA lovers out there.The story remained fast paced and orginal as the plot twisted in surprising ways until the last page...

'"My mother believes everything in existence has a consciousness," he said. "An awareness. As in, maybe it's not what you like." He reached out and touched her finger, which was still resting on the hematite. "Maybe it's what favors you."'

The two reason this book lost 2 stars for me was because ...more

flag 35 likes · Like · see review

May 30, 2012 Katya rated it it was ok

Shelves: the-ya-project, katya-s-mouth-runs-away-again, kudos-for-the-worldbuilding, 2012

I don't know what to write here. I know I usually start my reviews that way and then churn out essays the length of my arm, but honestly, this book is a paradox: Because I really, really liked it. And yet I didn't.

It's not the idea. It's not the execution. The concept - of four brothers with an affinity to the elements struggling to survive in a world that is hostile to them, is fantastic. The writing is great - the dialogue zings and I often found myself really cheering the characters on. They' ...more

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2011 Brodie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, favorites

It's late night in an abandoned parking lot, but Becca Chandler can't just stand there and watch Chris Merrick be cruelly beaten upon by two older guys. From the moment she saves his life, she unwittingly marks herself as a target. The Merrick brothers are not ordinary. They're Elementals, each with a strong power over an individual element - water, earth, fire and air. They are dangerously powerful and those that know of their abilities want them very dead.

Allow me to take a moment to express ...more

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2013 Heather K (dentist in my spare time) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: little-to-no-sex-content, fantasy, loved-it, at-my-library, favorites-2013, hype-hype-hype, m-f, paranormal, young-adult, first-in-a-series-i-love

To say that this book grabbed me would be an understatement. I read the entire thing in 4 hours and completely ignored my poor husband (sorry honey, I'm reading about Merrick boys, 'kay?!). It was a wonderful blend of action, paranormal, and romance. No insta-love, no cheesy cop-outs, just great writing and a fast pace that kept me frantically reading.

My favorite parts of the book? I love a great YA paranormal that is well done. And by well done I mean that the supernatural elements make sense, ...more

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2014 jade rated it it was ok

Shelves: pnr

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It's easy to recognize the good things about this book: the smooth writing; some dialogues are sharp and entertaining; one character, Hunter, is well developed. However, some other aspects of the book turned me off so much that I cannot give the book a rating higher than 2 stars.

One problem was the love triangle. I felt that Hunter was a much better written character than Chris. I liked his quiet confidence, sharp mind and charisma. He's nothing but supportive of Becca, never judged or hesitated It's easy to recognize the good things about this book: the smooth writing; some dialogues are sharp and entertaining; one character, Hunter, is well developed. However, some other aspects of the book turned me off so much that I cannot give the book a rating higher than 2 stars.

One problem was the love triangle. I felt that Hunter was a much better written character than Chris. I liked his quiet confidence, sharp mind and charisma. He's nothing but supportive of Becca, never judged or hesitated, and he's the one that helped her the most. Therefore it's frustrating to read the scenes between them while knowing she'd end up with Chris by default (it's a Chris book after all).

The bigger problem was Becca. For a girl that was constantly cornered by aggressive guys and a victim of repeated assault and attempted rape, she displayed an unbelievable lack of common sense and learning ability. To me, she definitely fell into the category of too stupid to live. At times it seemed like she just had to make some off-the-chart stupid decision for the plot to continue.

When Hunter told her to leave a party that's getting out of control, she was so curious that she decided to follow the fight instead - and walked right into the guy that had more than once assaulted and attempted to rape her. What happened next? she's assaulted again, big surprise there.

What really irritated me was her behavior after the first sexual assault that had happened prior to chapter 1. I give her all the sympathy for the awful things she experienced in the book and wouldn’t even argue that the blame fell on her attackers. With that said, shouldn’t she have examined her own behavior just for the sake of protecting herself? Yes, she started to go to self-defense class, but what about trying NOT to get drunk among a bunch of drunk guys, which had led to that near gang-rape? instead, what did she do six weeks after that awful event? She went to a party in her attacker’s house (yes, she´s ok with it; no, it´s not to save anyone, just a smart girl having fun.) and got drunk within seconds! again!!! Maybe the first time could be blamed on, I don’t know, ignorance? a second time in one and half months? Really? That’s just too stupid to live.

I guess I had a hard time warming up to a book that had to use the main character's stupidity repeatedly just to advance the plot, especially when the book tried to portrait her as oh so very smart.

...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Apr 17, 2013 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it it was ok

Shelves: tstl, high-school, why-do-i-hate-myself, siblings, sci-fi, tstl-male

I was an only child for much of my life, then, by an unfortunate twist of fate, when I was almost 10 years old, my sister came along. For much of my life after that, the sister and I fought like cats and dogs, mainly because I was a controlling little teenager who viewed my toddler sister as a slave/dog that I could send to fetch whatever I needed. As much as we fought, there was never any sort of conflict on the grand scale of that within this book. Holy crap, this book was filled with massive ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2014 Lazaros rated it liked it

Recommends it for: young adult lovers

A nice, well-executed novel. I wanted to read this because I've always loved books with natural powers such as earth, water, wind and fire. They fascinate me.

'Storm' began with action and suspense and I liked that but somewhere along the way it lost its edge. Maybe because it was uneventful. Then it picked up and it became thrilling again and I loved the ending too, although I would have liked some closure.

So we have this caring, giving, kind girl named Becca who's always been one to have eyes ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2013 Jo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Jo by: Kristalia ♥Dex's,Hugh's & Matt's Lady♥(◕‿◕✿)

Shelves: paranormal-romance

The Merrick brothers, Michael, Gabriel, Nick and Chris are special.
They are pure Elementals, meaning they have an unusual amount of power, with the element they "dominate".

And because of that power, the other Elementals feared them and are set on eliminate them. Only a truce made some years ago, stays between them and the ones that want them gone. However, that don't stop the other of bullying them, beat them up, trying to make them lose control, to break the curse and force the Guides, to c ...more

flag 22 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2013 Carol [Goodreads Addict] rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-fantasy, young-adult

Wow, I haven’t felt this way while reading a book in quite awhile! That feeling that your eyes just can’t move fast enough across the pages to eat up the words. That even when you are not reading, your mind is still on the characters. That your heartbeat is going a little bit too fast. I didn’t even take the time to highlight anything. So this review won’t have any quotes in it. Sorry about that!

In Storm we meet the youngest Merrick brother, Chris. Chris gets his power from water. And, we meet Becca Chandler. She is Chris’s age. Becca lives with her mother but her father left years ago. She never knew why. Becca knows nothing of the world of Elementals but one night after attending a self defense class at the high school, while going to her car she witnesses Seth and Tyler beating up Chris. She is scared to death but she can’t just let them beat him, so she saves him. After involving herself with the Merrick family, she is then mistakenly identified as being one of them and this puts her in danger.

About the same time, there is a new boy at school, Hunter. There is an instant attraction between Becca and Hunter but he has secrets of his own. She wants to trust him, but can she? Then tensions build between Chris and Hunter and she doesn’t know who she should trust! If all of this wasn’t enough for Becca to handle, out of the blue her father shows up and tries to get back into her life.

This book is non-stop all the way through. You are fully involved from the first page until the last page. The characters are all so relatable. You don’t know who to trust. They all have stories of their own that pull at your heart strings so you don’t want any of them to be bad. Except Seth and Tyler. I don’t think there is ANYTHING good about them. In this book I was so proud of Becca. Even with all she was given to cope with, she was strong. Her moral compass never wavered. These Merrick boys are already securely implanted in my heart and I can’t wait to read the next book. All I can say to the author, Brigid Kemmerer is: You…Are…Awesome!!!
...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

May 07, 2012 Zuleeza rated it really liked it

This review is also available on my blog, Qwerty

Okay, it's a challenge to write a review after half a month I finished with this book. Ha-ha! It's what you got when you chose to read a book right before a major exam starts.

One thing I vividly remember though...

This book haz it.

Where do I begin...how about THE FIVE HOT GUYS! (Actually, Becca's dad was actually kind of cute until I actually found out his secret).

Well, it didn't reach the point where I found my ovaries were exploding. But, close en ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

May 01, 2012 ♥Rachel♥ rated it really liked it

After all the glowing reviews for Storm, I was a little afraid that it may not live up to my expectations. Looks like I didn't need to worry!

Let's just get this confession out of the way: I heard "four hot boys" and I just knew I had to read this. The four we're talking about are the Merrick brothers, born with special elemental abilities, able to draw up power and control the forces of nature. Each brother has a specialization: air, fire, water, earth (and yes, they are all HOT!). Because of t
After all the glowing reviews for Storm, I was a little afraid that it may not live up to my expectations. Looks like I didn't need to worry!

Let's just get this confession out of the way: I heard "four hot boys" and I just knew I had to read this. The four we're talking about are the Merrick brothers, born with special elemental abilities, able to draw up power and control the forces of nature. Each brother has a specialization: air, fire, water, earth (and yes, they are all HOT!). Because of their exceptionally strong powers, the Merrick's are viewed as a potential threat. Technically, they should be reported and killed, but the Merrick's parents made a deal long ago to keep them safe, as long as they don't use their powers. This has made them the subject of constant bullying because the neighbors in the community who know of their abilities are fearful and envious. Also, they know they can do whatever they want without the brothers fighting back. But this is about to change.

This installment focuses on Chris Merrick, the youngest of the brothers, and Becca, a girl in his school. These two are thrust together after Becca comes to the aid of Chris, who was being attacked by these cruel bullies. She scares them off, and in the process, becomes a target as well. Becca has had her own problems with these bullies after her ex-boyfriend spread some nasty rumors to the whole school about her. She just wants the situation to go away, but her intentions of lying low are ruined after helping Chris. The enemies of the Merrick's feel she must either be an elemental also, or she's on their side. Either way, she's in the middle. At first, Becca is far from being on their side. When she takes the battered Chris home, she gets nothing but flack from Michael, the oldest brother and guardian of the brothers. She plans on washing her hands of all those surly and ungrateful men! Unfortunately, circumstances continually throw them together. Added to the mix is the mysterious new guy, Hunter (yes, he's hot too!), who shows up at school, intent on getting close to Becca. Hmm….

This story read like an action/adventure movie, a non-stop thrill ride. If I had more time, I could've easily sat down and read this in one sitting. It's one of those stories where you want to keep turning the page to find out what happens next. I loved all these brothers, and it was fun to see Becca deal with them and stand up to their teasing and snarky remarks. She definitely wasn't a pushover. Here's a fun quote:

Gabriel: "Finding a girl in the kitchen isn't exactly and oddity around here." Becca: "Charming." He glanced up at that, a glint of wicked humor in his eye. "I'm sure you're special, though." It should have pissed her off, after Michael's brusque attitude and Nick's hey-baby-why-don't-you-come-inside. But Gabriel's teasing was straightforward, challenging, in a way. He expected her to girl it up, to huff and fold her arms. She could tell. "Not special at all.----I just heard my number called and thought I better show up."

I loved the gradual build between Chris and Becca. I wasn't really thrilled with her getting close to Hunter because I'm not a fan of love-triangles but this one wasn't too frustrating.

This story was a little on the predictable side, but even so, it was very entertaining. I guess we get a short story with Hunter in Fearless, and then Gabriel's story in Spark. Can’t wait!

You can find this review and more at The Readers Den
...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2012 Jessica Buwalda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Oh my giddy-aunt I love this book! This is the sort of book that you crawl into the corner of the couch with, pull up your legs and bring all your limbs as close together as possible, then commence drumming your fingers against your bottom lip while you smile like you have some hidden secret. No really…I did that at one point. I also gasped out loud (a lot), smiled, giggled, and clapped multiple times while reading this book. I may have also hit a dear friend that was sitting beside me while I w ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Sep 01, 2016 eleni rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, read-in-2016, young-adult, fantasy

“I haven't gotten in a fight yet this year!
Despite everything, that made her smile. "It's September."
He waved a hand. "Details.”

So, i'm going to try to write my first ever detailed review of a book because i loved this one so much!

Storm is about a girl, named Becca, who saves a boy, named Chris, when she sees him getting beaten up by two strangers! Then, she gets tangled up in his family story, as she discovers that Chris and his three brothers have special powers according to their element ( “I haven't gotten in a fight yet this year!
Despite everything, that made her smile. "It's September."
He waved a hand. "Details.”

So, i'm going to try to write my first ever detailed review of a book because i loved this one so much!

Storm is about a girl, named Becca, who saves a boy, named Chris, when she sees him getting beaten up by two strangers! Then, she gets tangled up in his family story, as she discovers that Chris and his three brothers have special powers according to their element (earth, fire, wind, water). Now she has to find her way out of this mess and try to help the Merrick brothers while sorting out her personal life!

The plot was great and one crazy thing happened after another! But what really got me were the characters. Each character was complicated and had their own tragic story. Michael, who is the oldest of the four, had to carry the weight of the family and take care of his brothers, after their parents died, and Gabriel was certainly not making it easy for him! His brothers had isolated him and blamed him for everything. The twins had the best sibling relationship, I think. They always understood each other and helped each other. I always feel that twins have a special bond that nobody can break. Gabriel was the 'bad boy', whereas Nick was the sweet, caring one. Finally, Chris was like a confused puppy. He had to learn to control his powers and tried to put up a tough front, but in reality he was vulnerable and lonely! Becca was a great female lead. She was strong and always tried to do the best thing for everyone even though she had been hurt by people in the past. As for the minor characters, Quinn was a bit abrasive and loud mouthed but it was only because she cared so much about her loved ones and Hunter was a character-mystery for me as i feel that there was a deeper meaning behind his every word.
The romance was quite strong in this one and there was a love triangle but i didn't feel that it overpowered the story at any point. I hope this was not the last time we see Becca and Chris because they are so sweet and young and innocent and i love them!
The only thing that I didn't like was the fact that a couple of times women were judged because of the way they dressed. Also, I don't think Becca stopped blushing throughout the entire story.
Overall, I loved it and I can't wait to continue with the series. Unfortunately, I have a full tbr for September, so Spark I'll see you next month! <3 <3 ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Jan 11, 2012 Mimi Valentine rated it really liked it

Shelves: finished-copy-for-review, best-of-2012, boys-i-wish-were-real, reviewed, authors-i-want-to-meet, pure-awesomeness

I was pressured, brainwashed, and totally convinced to go into this book with high expectations, and even then it still blew me away! So. Darn. AMAZING!

Storm starts on a dark night when our awesome heroine Becca literally saves Chris Merrick's life. Everything quickly goes to hell from there when she realizes that Chris and his brothers aren't normal — they're Elementals, targeted because of how powerful they are. And now that she knows the truth, Becca isn't so safe either.

Becca is the perfect ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Apr 23, 2012 Ari rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal

3.5 stars

I had my eyes on this book for a while because most of my friends have read it and loved it, so when I got a copy of Spark (the second book in the series) for review I thought that it was time for me to start reading this series too.

Don't be fooled by the 3 and a half star-rating, the book is quite good and if you don't usually over-think the paranormal worlds (like I seem to do) you will definitely love it more.
This is a refreshing story about 4 boys with powers way too strong for ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2014 Nadia rated it did not like it

Shelves: eyes-are-rolling-and-face-is-palmed, i-wanna-punch-the-hero-in-the-face, dumb-dumber-the-heroine, cheesy-attacks, i-m-so-mad, stupid, frustrating, annoying-side-characters

This book drove me nuts. And I'm in the mood to rant.
You wanna know why? Because idiotic heroine, obnoxious heroes, fucking love triangle, teenage drama.

I'm too old for this shit.

I'm trying really hard to write a coherent review, but every time I think of anything from that list above, I start to see red.

I'll begin from Becca, because she is what made this book insufferable for me. Becca has the personality of a kitchen cloth, which is my witty way of saying she has none. Nothing makes her sp This book drove me nuts. And I'm in the mood to rant.
You wanna know why? Because idiotic heroine, obnoxious heroes, fucking love triangle, teenage drama.

I'm too old for this shit.

I'm trying really hard to write a coherent review, but every time I think of anything from that list above, I start to see red.

I'll begin from Becca, because she is what made this book insufferable for me. Becca has the personality of a kitchen cloth, which is my witty way of saying she has none. Nothing makes her special or stand out from every other girl. Is she exceptionally smart? Hahahhaha, no. Is she stunningly beautiful? Meh. Is she in any other way interesting, maybe cunning or charismatic, strong, brave, daring, anything, just to prove she's a worthy heroine? Nope.
So you see, a cloth is a perfect comparison for her personality.
No, I'm not being fair when I say she has no significant talents. She has one talent. When shit starts to hit the fan, Becca can get in the middle like nobody's business. Every single time things start to go downhill, she manages to get involved and end up in a life threatening situation, only so she could be rescued by the heroes. *facepalms herself into eternity* God forbid she has the presence of mind to get herself out of difficult situations. *facepalms herself into eternity the second time*

Aaaand the blushing! Oh my god, the blushing!! Fine, once or twice I can understand, but every freaking time she talks to someone she blushes! At this point it's past shyness and social awkwardness, this is a physical condition that should be medically treated! Maybe it's like a high blood pressure thing or whatever. That much blushing and flushing couldn't be healthy, for real.

What's next on my list? Obnoxious heroes. As it is in YA, they're all really not boys anymore (as sixteen-year-olds still tend to be) but they're all like really grown up with defined cheekbones and jawlines and muscles and voices and each one is basically sex on a stick, just perfect human beings with no flaws at all. You can't beat them, you can't fluster them, you can't do them wrong.
A conversation between a perfect Hunter and the oh-so-plain Becca is TORTURE!

And fuck me if that love triangle made any sense! And how it was resolved. Ugh. No sense.

I'll cut this review short before I start repeating random words for "emphasis". It's no secret I didn't like this book. But, I'll read the next one. Why? Because I'm a glutton for punishment. Just kidding, I'm not, but I'm feeling patient and maybe the next book proves to be better. I keep hoping this might be like the Fever series, where you have to suffer through the first book to get to the awesomeness that is the rest of the series. So, off to the next book. ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2012 Sarah (saz101) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, favorites, paranormal

Four brothers, each a powerful elemental, a community at war, and one girl caught in the middle, Brigid Kemmerer brings her A-game in her electrifying debut. Storm should come with a cautionary notice. Something like: “Severe Weather Warning: This book will blow you away.”

The Story:
When Becca Chandler saves a boy from a brutal beating in her school’s parking lot, chasing off his attackers, she has no idea what her good Samaritan act is getting her caught up in. The boy is Chris Merrick, who, al ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Jul 05, 2013 Irina Elena rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-pnr, paranormal-or-urban-fantasy, 3-star, read-in-2013

Good... good. Very good. Nothing eartshaking, but hey, good is already more than I expected, since I haven't touched a het paranormal YA in months.
It looks like I read it in 8 days, but it was actually 4, with one long break in the middle. This means that no, I wasn't completely sucked in and sitting on the very edge of my seat, but while reading I was mighty interested in what was going to happen next. Good enough.

I was planning on talking at length about all the typically PNR-het-YA stuff that ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Aug 02, 2017 Giselle rated it liked it

Shelves: bought-online, 2012

Soo it started off good, but got super boring and I lost interest. Heavy with dialogue and not enough plot to keep me invested, I was torn between rating this a two or a three. Elemental powers seem to be intriguing right? But when the brothers all seem to have wild tempers that flare hot and cold, I grew annoyed. Michael and Gabriel annoyed me, but Nick and Chris were okay. Becca was still a cookie cutter character so she wasn't anything new either. So yep, it was interesting, but the romance a ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Sep 14, 2012 Jacob Proffitt rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, urban-fantasy, unfinished

In my ongoing quest to improve my life by not finishing stuff I'm editing in my head to be any good, I'm DNFing this at 41%. I hesitate with this one because so many of my friends really liked it (average of 4 stars). And I suppose I can see the appeal, even if I don't feel it, myself.

Hot guys with powers and lots of emotional masculinity and a sympathetic heroine to pilot us around the plot landscape. That's a draw, I have to admit. So why can't I lose myself in a book so many others find engag In my ongoing quest to improve my life by not finishing stuff I'm editing in my head to be any good, I'm DNFing this at 41%. I hesitate with this one because so many of my friends really liked it (average of 4 stars). And I suppose I can see the appeal, even if I don't feel it, myself.

Hot guys with powers and lots of emotional masculinity and a sympathetic heroine to pilot us around the plot landscape. That's a draw, I have to admit. So why can't I lose myself in a book so many others find engaging?

* Too many assholes. I've been trying not to swear as much, but there's no better way to say that. Everybody in this book is a jerk, and I don't just mean the bad guys. This isn't helped by having the chief assholes be the supposed good guys (and no, I do not except Chris, not entirely at any rate).
* Becca lives on the edge of sexual assault all the freaking time and nobody seems to be bothered by this. Not even Becca.
* The world, once explained (that'll be next), makes no sense whatsoever. I mean, powerful elementals are under an automatic death sentence because they're "too powerful to trust"—said sentence to be carried out by a trained elite cadre of even more powerful elementals? Who thought that made sense?
* Holy freaking exposition dump, batman! This is where I broke, actually. You get veiled hints and microscopic pieces of the background (even when in Chris' head) but it's mostly obscured until Chris and Becca get a moment and suddenly he's telling her his life story. This is not only awkward, but breaks my suspension of disbelief. I've been a teen with a complicated backstory to tell possible romantic companions and let me tell you, the best way to ruin any interest that might exist is to dump it all in one go under otherwise sterile circumstances.
* The bad guys make no freaking sense, whatsoever. If they truly mean to kill the Merricks (and every evidence points that direction), then why are they faffing about with half-measures and stupid threats all the time? Seems to me that a simple ambush or two would accomplish all they could hope to achieve and heaven knows the Merrick boys are foolish enough to fall for practically anything. Like, just to take a simple example, (view spoiler)
* The good guys make no freaking sense, whatsoever. If a community has been hostile for years with increasing (and increasingly open) violence, then what exactly do you think is going to happen to change that for the better? Denial and appeasement are loser strategies and they're even dumber when you can see, for years, that they aren't working. Let's take the head of the family, Michael. The only person he's willing to confront (with violence, no less) is a lone girl trying to help his brother. Nice call, asshole.
* And could Kemmerer be any more awkward in telegraphing Becca's dad's involvement? This is speculation on my part, so this may or may not pan out and be spoilery, (view spoiler).
* New boy in town who immediately falls in with Becca. That's not at all suspicious. Not to mention a completely contrived third leg of a stupid love triangle. And then he shows some kind of power on his own, though Becca is conveniently distracted from it because, uh, story.

All of that feels harsher than I mean it, really. It's just the list of things I was silently editing in my head. Becca is sweet and her life is enough of a misery that you're pulled in almost immediately. Chris isn't a complete asshole, either, though it helps that we're actually in his head sometimes. You naturally want them to get together because they're the only people even remotely sympathetic (I couldn't buy Hunter as an interest. He was too perfectly placed and had too much enigma attached for me to consider him anything more than a distraction. A contrived distraction, at that). So powers, angst, tension, and violence with a heroine doing her best to navigate troubled waters (both physical and emotional). It's engaging, I admit. But I struggled to get into it and eventually realized it was more effort than I was willing to continue. ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Apr 12, 2012 Ferdy rated it it was ok

The first book in the series, which focus on the Merrick brothers, who each have the power to control a different element. The oldest Michael controls earth, the youngest Chris controls water and the twins Nick and Gabriel control air and fire respectively.
The youngest brother, Chris takes centre stage in Storm. The story starts with Becca Chandler saving Chris from being beaten to death by two guys, outside of her school. Becca soon finds out that no good deed goes unpunished when she's pulled
The first book in the series, which focus on the Merrick brothers, who each have the power to control a different element. The oldest Michael controls earth, the youngest Chris controls water and the twins Nick and Gabriel control air and fire respectively.
The youngest brother, Chris takes centre stage in Storm. The story starts with Becca Chandler saving Chris from being beaten to death by two guys, outside of her school. Becca soon finds out that no good deed goes unpunished when she's pulled into the fight between the Merrick's and the people who want them dead.
Chris was a great hero, I always enjoy heroes that aren't sarcastic, cocky, alpha-hole players. Chris has power over water, it was refreshing to see that he wasn't all powerful and all knowing, he was still struggling with his powers and learning control. I found it endearing that Chris was a little nervous and unsure around Becca. I did enjoy his strained relationship with his brother, Micheal, more than his relationship with Becca.
The heroine, Becca was kind of blah. I found myself getting irritated with how she didn't stick up for herself more, she also came across as quite Mary Sueish towards the end. I wish they had been more interaction between Becca and her dad, she had more personality around him, whereas with every other character she was quite dull.
I thought Becca's best friend Quinn was a far more interesting character, she has a tough home life and relies on Becca for help. I lost a bit of respect for Becca when she pushed Quinn away when it was clear that she needed help. I did notice that the few times Quinn and Nick interacted that there was some sort of vibe between them. Out of the brothers, Nick and Chris were by far the best. I am hoping that Quinn is Nick's heroine.
I didn't like that the only male characters that weren't rapey, sexist pigs or complete douche's were Chris and the future love interests of the series. Really author??..that's the only way you can make your heroes swoonworthy and desirable by making all the other male characters villains and bast**ds.
What pissed me off the most was the slut shaming that went on in this book. Yes, I'm aware that slut shaming does happen in real life but the extent of slut shaming that certain characters experienced was beyond ridiculous..it felt like I was reading the attitudes and actions of people from the early 1900's. I was really disappointed and angry with one of the brothers attitude, Gabriel, who is a future love interest. He brags about what a player he is and then when he hears that Becca's slept around he talks down to her and acts like she's not worthy to date his brother..so it's ok for him to sleep around but if a girl does it must mean she's evil, dirty, lowlife scum. He only gives his approval to Becca when he finds out that Becca hasn't actually slept around and that it was all just vicious lies. I anticipate that Gabriel will meet some shy, virginal, wide eyed girl that he falls for (because, of course sexually experienced girls aren't good enough for him), he'll stop his playboy ways and live HEA.
I did enjoy premise and some of the side characters introduced, I'll probably read how good the reviews are before deciding whether or not to continue with the series. ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Challenge Corner: Storm (Elemental #1) by Brigid Kemmerer -- Starting February 17th, 2019	3	3	Feb 18, 2019 09:48PM
So You Say You Li...: Elemental Series	13	20	Aug 02, 2015 02:27PM
YA Buddy Readers'...: Storm (Elementals 1) By Brigid Kemmerer - Restarting July 4th 2015	150	160	Jul 31, 2015 04:01AM
All The Right Books: February BOTM (Storm)	5	12	Feb 09, 2015 07:39PM
Rated YA-MA: Elemental by Brigid Kemmerer	139	278	Feb 09, 2015 03:56PM
Did anyone think that this book was kinda stupid?	11	122	Oct 19, 2014 12:29PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Fantasy > Supernatural

154 users

Fantasy

129 users

Young Adult

112 users

Young Adult > High School

71 users

Contemporary

41 users

Action

35 users

Romance

34 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

24 users

Family

22 users

Mystery

21 users

See top shelves…

About Brigid Kemmerer

Brigid Kemmerer

9,142 followers

Brigid Kemmerer is the New York Times bestselling author of dark and alluring Young Adult novels like A Curse So Dark and Lonely, More Than We Can Tell, and Letters to the Lost (Bloomsbury), as well as paranormal YA stories like The Elemental Series and Thicker Than Water (Kensington). A full time writer, Brigid lives in the Baltimore area with her husband, her boys, her dog, and her cat. When she ...more

Other books in the series

Elemental (5 books)

Books by Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1)

A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers, #2)

Letters to the Lost (Letters to the Lost, #1)

More…

January's Most Anticipated YA Books

As dedicated readers already know, some of the best and most innovative stories on the shelves come from the constantly evolving realm of...

Trivia About Storm (Elemental,...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Storm

“If you want me to fix your homework, you need to leave me alone.” Then he spotted her. “You’re back.”
“Yeah.” She glanced between him and Gabriel. “You do his homework?”
“Just the math. It’s a miracle he can count to ten.”
“I can count to one.” Gabriel gave him the finger.” — 257 likes

“Nick,” he said. “I think I’m going to need you to bite my arm.”
“I think I’m going to need you to run that by me again.” — 207 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

Storm

(Elemental #1)

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Brigid Kemmerer

Other books in the series

Books by Brigid Kemmerer

Related Articles

Trivia About Storm (Elemental,...

Quotes from Storm