Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer

Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer
Elemental #3
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Publisher: K Teen
Source: Bought
Goodreads Stars: 4
Rating: Essential

Buy the Book: Amazon UK 

With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.

Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too.

With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust… - Goodreads

I discovered this series last year when everyone was riled up about Spark being released. I wanted to find out what everyone was shouting about, so I bought both Storm and Spark and read them in a couple of days. Brigid Kemmerer has a way of captivating you with both the excellent story and the great characters. So after nine months of excruciating waiting, I finally got my hands on Spirit. And I loved it!

I was very hesitant about reading this book, despite having adored the previous two novels and Michael's novella, because I was not a fan of Hunter. At all. I wanted to strangle him after some of his actions in Storm and Spark, so I had no idea how I was going to handle being inside his head for an entire book.

It turns out that Spirit is exactly what I needed from this series. I realised that I needed to get inside Hunter's head in order to understand him properly. I was very impressed by the way his character was handled. He is very troubled, and very broken, and he has huge trust issues, and it was very interesting and also heartbreaking to see all this from his point of view. As the reader, it was clear that the Merrick brothers were trying to help him, because that's who they are, but Hunter was certain that they were all out to destroy him. It was saddening. So, while I definitely wasn't a fan of Hunter in the first two books, I think we have come to an understanding now. I wanted to hug him throughout this book, and that's a great sign, right?

Once again, I have to declare my love for Michael Merrick. He will forever be my favourite Merrick brother, my favourite character of the series, and one of my favourite characters in YA in general. He's caring and understanding, and simply the best *breaks out into song*. I absolutely adore him, and if he's not your favourite then I am judging your life choices.

Shall we attempt to talk about the ending without going into any spoilers? It's going to be difficult...

The ending was absolutely shocking. I mean, not even the actual ending, more the build up that led to the actual ending. If that makes sense. Basically something major happens towards the end of the book, and I didn't see it coming at all. I couldn't believe it when it happened, and as I continued reading I kept expecting there to be a surprise twist to undo what had been done. I applaud Kemmerer for being brave enough to do such a thing. Most YA authors aren't, in my experience.

One of the things I think this book was lacking is the amount of usage of the elemental powers. Don't get me wrong, some of the characters used their abilities a lot, but I NEED MOAR. Especially from the Merricks. But I guess this book is more about Hunter so... *grumbles* Michael got to use his, though! MICHAEL ❤❤❤

I also thought that, since there is a bit of the story told from Kate's point of view, it could have been more balanced between the POVs. Spirit was definitely more Hunter-centric, and he was featured a lot more than Kate. At least, I thought so. I would have liked to have seen more of the scenes from Kate's point of view because that way I would have felt more connected to her. Maybe.

I did enjoy the romance between Kate and Hunter, though. Kate was kind of a badass, and at one point she stabbed Hunter in the crotch for being a complete ass to her. I approve. Girls should always stick up for themselves.

Overall I thought that Spirit was excellent, and the ending very nearly made me cry. What am I saying, Hunter DID make me cry at one point. I felt so bad for him. Now I'm going to have to spend ages waiting for Nick's book, because I can't get enough of Kemmerer's writing and these characters. And Michael.