Spark - Book #2 in the Elemental Series by Brigid Kemmerer - 4 STARS!

                           Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

Four Sparky Sweet Stars

 

Blurb - 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...

Spark is book #2 in the Elemental Series by Brigid Kemmerer, the story follows on immediately from the end of Storm book #1.

This book focuses on Gabriel he is one of the twins and his element is fire.

I actually liked this book more than book #1, I think Gabriel is a much more complex character than Chris.

So the good bits...

·         Gabriel, he’s a lovely kid whose struggling to meet his own expectations.

·         Layne, she’s intelligent but the perfect balance for Gabriel.

·         This book gave me a better insight to how the boys use the elements.

And the not so good bits...

·         Layne is almost attacked by Ryan Stacey, what is with this author and portraying teenage boys as sex predators.

·         I’m not sure how I feel about Hunter, we are given the impression that he is being a bit of a double agent and playing for both sides.

This book shows how much the characters have evolved as the author has developed her ideas into a book series. I loved how much I engaged with all of the brothers and even Hunter.

I love a book with a group of characters, I think it gives the book more depth especially when it is supernatural or fantasy genre.

I felt so sorry for  Gabriel, he completely disconnected with his twin brother and I felt his isolation and pain. I have twin boys and they adore each other to think about them going even hours without talking seems ridiculous, for identical twins Gabriel & Nick to go from speaking constantly to not communicating at all was heart wrenching for me.

I actually really liked the romance part of this book, Gabriel & Layne have chemistry although it is definitely age appropriate as Layne is only 15. This is the sweet first love type of chemistry that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.

Like Storm, this book is full of tension and intrigue and I can’t wait to find out what Calla the other fire elemental will get up to in the next book.

I really hope that hunter is not double crossing the Merrick bros and co I want him to be one of the good guy because I feel sorry for him and I want him to have a happy ending.

Gabriel, Gabriel he’s only 17 so it feel a bit wrong to say I have a bit of a book boy crush on him but I just want to wrap him up in a big hug. The poor boy has so much guilt about his abilities and how difficult fire is to control that he never has a chance to embrace it.

Michael has grown on me a lot in this book, he is loyal and determined to help his brothers even though he is barely an adult himself.

I love the idea of Gabriel becoming a fireman lol talk about embracing your talents the kid doesn’t burn lol!!

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I plan to  move straight on to book # 3 to find out what happens next.