Spark
Ms Kemmerer has definitely done it again. I LOVED Storm, loved getting to know Chris, loved watching the relationship development between him and Becca.
And then with this latest instalment, we get Gabriel. Firey by element and firey by nature. And, boy, what a duet of hotness he turned out to be.
When we’re introduced to Gabriel in Storm, we ‘get’ that Gabriel has the biggest attitude of the family. We’re also given the why. But I honestly didn’t truly ‘get it’ until Brigid invited me inside Gabriel’s head. Because, guaranteed, any reader who didn’t before see through the tough façade we’re shown in the first title will soon be wanting to hug and kiss this dude better.
A much darker read than Storm, I spent the majority of Spark with my mouth downturned and just ‘feeling’ for the poor guy. Even when he was screwing stuff up and I should have been mad at him for letting his pride get in the way of leaning on others or sorting out issues I just couldn’t bring myself to be angered by his actions.
Because Gabriel is such a lost soul, so full of pain and so consumed by personal demons it’s a wonder he can breathe.
At one point, I wondered if the author could possibly toss any more at him because, man, he already had pretty much all one person could be expected to deal with (on a seriously bad week).
I’m not going to go into the storyline to avoid spoilers but I can’t close without mentioning Hunter.
Damn, I thought I had that dude all figured out. He’s portrayed as one way in Storm when he’s getting close to the girl for his own intents and purposes. And then we’re introduced to an earlier him inFearless, which left me feeling as though I understood his motivations in Storm better. But then inSpark, he’s completely thrown me again. Yes, I was suspicious about his willingness to buddy up to Gabriel and wondered about the why of it all, but the longer it went on, the less my eyes narrowed in his direction. So, yeah, once again, the dude blindsided me. And that’s doesn’t happen often. Yet, I don’t believe this is an accident. I don’t believe Ms Kemmerer has unconsciously created an inconsistent character. I actually believe we almost have a chameleon in Hunter, that his inner thoughts aren’t quite as gentile as we believe at first glances in Storm, and that he adapts whenever necessary to suit his own needs. And because of that, I’m mightily glad that’s Hunter’s pic I see on the cover of Spirit.
So, to wrap up: I loved this Spark.
Loved the presentiment it leaves the reader with for what could be up and coming for future novels—leaving me wholly relieved by the thought that there’s likely to be a good couple more books to come from these guys because Brigid Kemmerer captured my interest at Elemental and has since been waaaaaaaaaay up there at the top of the totem pole of authors I heart.
If you haven’t already, I urge you to check her out (pssst, she writes awesome moody hot guys).
