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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Not the ending I wanted for the series, but I'll take it. 3.5 stars.
For me, Sacrifice had the same problems that Storm had. The main one being that too much is going on. But, at least this time, I'm invested enough to care. After 3 stellar books (Secret and Spark remain my favorites of the series), Sacrifice falls flat. For one, the book is much too short, with an abrupt ending at the 64% mark. After some pretty serious and shocking revelations, nothing is given the closure it deserves. Hunter's sacrifice happens too abruptly without any kind of conclusion. Gabriel, his supposed best friend, gets no reaction time. His mother isn't given any page time. (In fact, a lot of the female characters are glossed over and/or forgotten.) And surprise Irish is in on it! FIN. It felt like there were chapters missing.
Like a lot of reviews stated, the relationship between Michael and Hannah lacked any type of chemistry. With a pseudo-love triangle that distracts from what could have been page time dedicated to the couple. The problem with an established couple is that we don't get to see the sizzles and sparks of the beginning. The good thing is that we should have a stable thing with lots of chemistry and/or talking. Hannah contributes nothing to the story and her whole plot line feels disconnected. I would have much prefered her being left out entirely and more time dedicated to things like Becca, Quinn, the brothers, and Hunter.
Heck, even if Hannah was kept in, I wanted to see more done with her. I hated that she was left out of the action. I wanted to see more between her and James, James and Michael. I wanted to see more of her fire-fighting, less of the daddy issues. More steam between her and Michael. (Just because a relationship is between adults doesn't mean it can't have the tension or the spark of a teenage one and I hate that implication).
I just, so much WASTED POTENTIAL here. One reviewer stated that this felt like a novella, and I completely agree. It felt much too short.
That being said, Michael is a favorite of mine and his struggles really come across well. I stayed up until 2 am just to finish this because I wanted to see the family reunited. It's also nice to see adult(ish) characters being portrayed as interesting and sympathetic. (It's just too bad we couldn't have had some steamy scenes, too. Adult Elemental series anyone???) The core relationship with the brothers remains strong and it was nice to see Hunter's storyline come to a close.
Here's hoping that this won't be the last book and we see more from Kemmerer in the future. She's on my to-read list now!
For me, Sacrifice had the same problems that Storm had. The main one being that too much is going on. But, at least this time, I'm invested enough to care. After 3 stellar books (Secret and Spark remain my favorites of the series), Sacrifice falls flat. For one, the book is much too short, with an abrupt ending at the 64% mark. After some pretty serious and shocking revelations, nothing is given the closure it deserves. Hunter's sacrifice happens too abruptly without any kind of conclusion. Gabriel, his supposed best friend, gets no reaction time. His mother isn't given any page time. (In fact, a lot of the female characters are glossed over and/or forgotten.) And surprise Irish is in on it! FIN. It felt like there were chapters missing.
Like a lot of reviews stated, the relationship between Michael and Hannah lacked any type of chemistry. With a pseudo-love triangle that distracts from what could have been page time dedicated to the couple. The problem with an established couple is that we don't get to see the sizzles and sparks of the beginning. The good thing is that we should have a stable thing with lots of chemistry and/or talking. Hannah contributes nothing to the story and her whole plot line feels disconnected. I would have much prefered her being left out entirely and more time dedicated to things like Becca, Quinn, the brothers, and Hunter.
Heck, even if Hannah was kept in, I wanted to see more done with her. I hated that she was left out of the action. I wanted to see more between her and James, James and Michael. I wanted to see more of her fire-fighting, less of the daddy issues. More steam between her and Michael. (Just because a relationship is between adults doesn't mean it can't have the tension or the spark of a teenage one and I hate that implication).
I just, so much WASTED POTENTIAL here. One reviewer stated that this felt like a novella, and I completely agree. It felt much too short.
That being said, Michael is a favorite of mine and his struggles really come across well. I stayed up until 2 am just to finish this because I wanted to see the family reunited. It's also nice to see adult(ish) characters being portrayed as interesting and sympathetic. (It's just too bad we couldn't have had some steamy scenes, too. Adult Elemental series anyone???) The core relationship with the brothers remains strong and it was nice to see Hunter's storyline come to a close.
Here's hoping that this won't be the last book and we see more from Kemmerer in the future. She's on my to-read list now!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars
Finally it's Michael's turn, his story. He's been a confused parental-brother figure to his younger brothers, and now Hunter too, for so long that relating to people as contemporaries, or even friends, is difficult. Trusting them is even harder, because releasing his self-control may mean releasing all of it, yet it's become increasingly obvious he can't do it all by himself. His relationship with Hannah and even some possible friendships are at stake, as well as the usual: keeping his family together, and alive.
As before, Brigid Kemmerer's story includes good life lessons: sulking and silence don't help anyone; they cause rifts where each side can assume knowledge of the other's thoughts, motivations and actions. I love the parenting style Michael uses, creating a good balance of humor and discipline, something that would be tricky for even a full parent let alone an older brother to maintain. It's obviously a stressful situation, but it works.
[b:Sacrifice|17149158|Sacrifice (Elemental, #5)|Brigid Kemmerer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392042393s/17149158.jpg|23555789] also includes all 3 of the novellas for the Elemental series, which is great on the one hand but - when your ereader says you're 62% through and then you hit the ending - was a little disappointing. I wasn't ready for the main story to be over! (I'm reviewing the novellas separately.) The conclusion was satisfying though. No easy "happy ever afters" where we all go riding into the sunset, but something I could live with.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Finally it's Michael's turn, his story. He's been a confused parental-brother figure to his younger brothers, and now Hunter too, for so long that relating to people as contemporaries, or even friends, is difficult. Trusting them is even harder, because releasing his self-control may mean releasing all of it, yet it's become increasingly obvious he can't do it all by himself. His relationship with Hannah and even some possible friendships are at stake, as well as the usual: keeping his family together, and alive.
As before, Brigid Kemmerer's story includes good life lessons: sulking and silence don't help anyone; they cause rifts where each side can assume knowledge of the other's thoughts, motivations and actions. I love the parenting style Michael uses, creating a good balance of humor and discipline, something that would be tricky for even a full parent let alone an older brother to maintain. It's obviously a stressful situation, but it works.
[b:Sacrifice|17149158|Sacrifice (Elemental, #5)|Brigid Kemmerer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392042393s/17149158.jpg|23555789] also includes all 3 of the novellas for the Elemental series, which is great on the one hand but - when your ereader says you're 62% through and then you hit the ending - was a little disappointing. I wasn't ready for the main story to be over! (I'm reviewing the novellas separately.) The conclusion was satisfying though. No easy "happy ever afters" where we all go riding into the sunset, but something I could live with.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
In some ways this was a fitting conclusion to the series. Plenty of angst, high stakes and a great deal of courage from the writer to make big moves that authors from this genre typically shy away from.
But I wanted something a little bit different. Great as it was to have Michael's story, it was a shame we went down the feisty-Merrick-boy-learns-a-lesson route AGAIN. And as a series wrap up, where the hell were Becca and Quinn?!
I'll definitely read more from Ms Kemmerer, hopeful that the magic of Storm and Spark is something I'll experience again.
But I wanted something a little bit different. Great as it was to have Michael's story, it was a shame we went down the feisty-Merrick-boy-learns-a-lesson route AGAIN. And as a series wrap up, where the hell were Becca and Quinn?!
I'll definitely read more from Ms Kemmerer, hopeful that the magic of Storm and Spark is something I'll experience again.
Even though this book easily had the most action out of the whole series, and even though the central characters in this book are the closest to my own age and level of responsibilities, this is still probably my least favorite book. Don't get me wrong, the book was good. It was just missing some deeper character driven elements, maybe because by now all of the characters are known entities from the previous books. This is the last book in the series, and it still doesn't really wrap up any of the overall obstacles that the Merrick brothers face. But despite all that, this is still one of the better YA series I have ever read. So I recommend the series, if only half-heartedly for this final book in particular.
All good things must come to an end. So although I have loved and thoroughly enjoyed this entire series, alas I knew it could not last forever.
I love that Sacrifice is Michael's book and that we finally get an insight to how hard it is on him to not only have to deal with being an elemental but also trying to deal with finances, his relationship, and walking the line of brother/parent to his also elemental brothers. Throw in a crazy guide trying to finish the brothers off and it's one dramatic breathtaking ride.
At times I was seriously wondering how much more this poor guy could take. I mean it's bad enough to have everything going wrong but then to be blamed because they think you must be the problem since everything bad seems to happen around you. It's almost too much.
The fast pace and suspense were definitely keeping me glued to the pages. Delicious from beginning to end, Kemmerer has a way of making her characters so realistic and their bonds so true that you can't help but to fall in love with them. So I waited with bated breath to see how things would turn out for the brothers I have come to love and although we didn't get a rock solid ending I can't help but to feel that any other way would feel too definitive and I'm just not ready to let them go just yet. So for now I'll just keep imagining how I think things would turn out for the boys and hope that Brigid decides to one day revisit their story.
*** I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. ***
I love that Sacrifice is Michael's book and that we finally get an insight to how hard it is on him to not only have to deal with being an elemental but also trying to deal with finances, his relationship, and walking the line of brother/parent to his also elemental brothers. Throw in a crazy guide trying to finish the brothers off and it's one dramatic breathtaking ride.
At times I was seriously wondering how much more this poor guy could take. I mean it's bad enough to have everything going wrong but then to be blamed because they think you must be the problem since everything bad seems to happen around you. It's almost too much.
The fast pace and suspense were definitely keeping me glued to the pages. Delicious from beginning to end, Kemmerer has a way of making her characters so realistic and their bonds so true that you can't help but to fall in love with them. So I waited with bated breath to see how things would turn out for the brothers I have come to love and although we didn't get a rock solid ending I can't help but to feel that any other way would feel too definitive and I'm just not ready to let them go just yet. So for now I'll just keep imagining how I think things would turn out for the boys and hope that Brigid decides to one day revisit their story.
*** I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. ***
I did it! I reread this entire series and it still held up to my original ratings! Not gonna lie, I was super nervous about rereading a favorite because you all know how certain books tend to lose their amazingness years after you first read them. But that did not happen here.
Again, my original review still holds true but I will see if I can add a little more from my reread.
I don't know if it's because I'm older rereading this, but I connected more to Michael this time around. He had so much on his plate and tried so hard to keep it from his brothers so that they could have a semi-normal life. And when he finally breaks, you break right along with him.
Then there's his love interest, Hannah. She comes in around the second book and kind of makes appearances in each one until being the main focus here. I liked having her in the previous books as it really set up their relationship and got us, as readers, used to having her around. However, I still stand by my initial thoughts here that whatever she had going on with Irish was weird and not needed. (view spoiler)
But the end...I still am in denial that this is the end of the series. I have talked to Kemmerer about it and she wanted to write more, so hopefully that will come to light someday. Because this ending was heartbreaking - even if it was kind of fitting. Y'all, if you haven't read this series, what are you waiting for?
Original review from 2014
Again, my original review still holds true but I will see if I can add a little more from my reread.
I don't know if it's because I'm older rereading this, but I connected more to Michael this time around. He had so much on his plate and tried so hard to keep it from his brothers so that they could have a semi-normal life. And when he finally breaks, you break right along with him.
Then there's his love interest, Hannah. She comes in around the second book and kind of makes appearances in each one until being the main focus here. I liked having her in the previous books as it really set up their relationship and got us, as readers, used to having her around. However, I still stand by my initial thoughts here that whatever she had going on with Irish was weird and not needed. (view spoiler)
But the end...I still am in denial that this is the end of the series. I have talked to Kemmerer about it and she wanted to write more, so hopefully that will come to light someday. Because this ending was heartbreaking - even if it was kind of fitting. Y'all, if you haven't read this series, what are you waiting for?
Original review from 2014
Sacrifice: - an animal, person, or object offered
-an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy
Not going to lie, based on those definitions I had a pretty clear idea of what was going to happen in this book. The book is called Sacrifice for Pete’s sakes! So, I was scared. I just knew in my heart that we were going to lose someone that I came to love. What I didn’t expect was the action packed rollercoaster that had the pages turning on their own (and truthfully, I should have expected that).
Michael has always been the aloof brother for me. He’s there in every book almost in the background – offering advice, discipline, playing the dual role of father and brother. We never really got to see how it affected him, we only saw him through the eyes of the boys. So by the time I started reading Sacrifice I was ready to know Michael Merrick.
Oh how this book pulled on my heart strings. From the first chapter until the end, the action is non-stop and so is the heartache. Michaels brothers and Hunter all think that Michael has everything put together, everything figured out, but inside he’s fighting this war with himself. He doesn’t know what he’s doing and all these new problems that are being thrown at him are pushing him to the breaking point.
Michael broke me. I felt for him. Everything he does, he does for his brothers. There is not one selfish bone in his body and when the boys are blaming him for everything going wrong, I just want to hide him away and give him cuddles. Kemmerer writes loss of hope and feelings of failure so realistic that I felt as if I was going through the motions with Michael.
My only issue with the book was the love story. I wasn’t a huge fan of Hannah. Her relationship with Irish in the beginning had me fuming and I was like she better not be another person to screw over Michael. I admit that I grew more warm toward her as the book went on and she explained herself better, but she was never the one for Michael – at least not to me.
The action, the drama, the emotions – all of it just led up to that insane and gut-wrenching finale. One full of twists and surprises that kept me awake to finish this book in one sitting. And who would have thought I would like Tyler? (This actually started in the last book and held over through this one.)
But honestly, these books are driven by the relationships between the boys. That’s the reason I read them and that’s what keeps me hanging on. I know this is listed as the final Elemental book but I can’t help wanting more! Brigid Kemmerer, I adore you and thank you for creating these boys. You have a solid fan in me and I will read anything you put out there.
Wow, brigid kremmerer has out down herself, with this one and the others I couldn't put it down the moment I started reading it. It was finally good to see who the real Michael Merrick, the one hidden beneath that cool demeanor when we first meet him in Storm. I been in love with this series since if first started reading storm. Highly recommended to all who love a bit of love mixed in with adventure and the supernatural xx
This is a great series but the ending where hunters uncle was alive and hunter died after everything seemed rushed and just thrown together.
Apparently this is book 5 in a series, but they weren’t labeled well in my library’s app, so it was probably harder to follow then if I’d started with book 1, but I still found it entertaining.