Review: Elemental by Brigid Kemmerer

Elemental by Brigid Kemmerer
Series: Elemental, #0.5
Source: Borrowed
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication Date: March 27, 2012

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

As an air Elemental, 17-year-old Emily Morgan doesn’t have much power. That’s okay—she knows what happens to kids who do.

Like Michael Merrick. He’s an earth Elemental, one with enough power to level cities. Which makes him sexy. Dangerous. And completely off limits. At least according to Emily’s family.

But her summer job puts her in close contact with Michael, and neither of them can help the attraction they feel. When forces of nature like theirs collide, one misstep could get someone killed. Because Emily’s family doesn’t just want her to stay away from him.

They want him dead.

I really liked Michael’s story. It’s nice to see his point of view of things. Becca made him seem very intimidating and indifferent in Storm, but he’s not that way. Elemental  really gives insight to why Michael acts the way he does presently. It’s so sad, because he’s gone through so much when he was young. As much as his parents say they’re there for him, they’re really not. Not in the way he needs them to be. Michael has to go through all these difficult things himself, without anyone to help.

Emily was an okay character. I wanted to know more about her when reading Storm (yes, I read this out of order), and hoped that this would tell more. But with only fifty pages, you can't really. We definitely see more of who she is in this novella, but it’s not a lot at all. I would have liked it to go more in depth. For her whole family, actually. Because this is so short, no one’s character is really developed very well.

And just a random note: Michael's brothers were cute even when they were just 10 and 11. :D

I’m sort of disappointed at the ending. In a way, it’s like Storm. They finally get together and you don’t know what happens next. Well, you technically do, because it's explained in Storm, but still. I wanted to see the accident, which I guess wouldn't be a very nice thing to read, but come on. Wouldn't that be cool?

Overall, I really liked this, but hell, it’s way too short. I’m not used to reading novellas, and this ended too soon. 50 pages go by before you know it. But read it, definitely.

Review: After Math by Denise Grover Swank

After Math by: Denise Grover Swank

Scarlett Goodwin’s world is divided into Before and After.

Before she agreed to tutor Tucker price, college junior Scarlett was introvert, struggling with her social anxiety and determined to not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.

After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him. Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.

But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?

After being scheduled for the blog tour for the second book in the series, Redesigned, I realized I hadn’t read the first…so I got right on that. And I’m sure glad I did. New adult for the win again!

Scarlett is an introverted math major with a slim amount of friends and no social skills. And she much prefers it that way. When she is forced to tutor Tucker, the schools resident soccer player and playa, she realizes that he is not the same guy that everyone thinks he is. Inside he is very lonely and tortured, and Scarlett recognizes a kindred spirit in Tucker. But will all of his lies and secrets push Scarlett away for good, or will they survive all the impeding destruction?

Scarlett, despite her shyness and awkwardness, is internally strong. She may not seem like it, but she’s been through some really rough patches and I admire her tenacity. She’s beyond smart and very driven and knows exactly what she wants. I thought she would shy away from any kind of relationship and get scared, but she really held her own with Tucker and it was nice to see.

Tucker is a pretty misunderstood guy. During their first few meetings, I caught a glimpse of the inner Tucker, the one he keeps hidden from everyone else. And I loved it. But what I didn’t like was when he kept reverting back to his bad boy ways, but I understood why. I didn’t like how he kept crucial secrets from Scarlett, when I thought he could have easily told her.

Caroline, Scarlett’s best friend, was very wary of Tucker at first because of his previous ways. She was like an angry guard dog watching the front door every time he came home so he didn’t take advantage of her BFF. It was admirable.

I wished there was a bit more of a plot other than the trials and tribulations of their relationship. Something outside of the two of them, ya know? But alas, it didn’t take much away from my enjoyment of the book as a whole. I also did wish that we got some Tucker POV for my enjoyment, but that’s just me being selfish. The romance was special because they went through their whole life not connecting with anyone, and then BAM! They meet. Epic connection ensues. Smexy sparks fly. But who knew the university bad boy was such a sweetheart?

I’ve read Caroline’s story already, and I liked it even more than this one. It’s got a very sexy math major nerd who sure was experienced in other…subjects. ;)

Favorite Swoon-worthy Quotes: His lips find mine, tentative at first, as though he took my words to heart and he’s afraid I’ll shatter if he’s not gentle. His tongue works slow magic on my lips before discovering the inside of my mouth. He’s slow and tender, coaxing my tongue to join his. My stomach tingles, and an ache deep inside my abdomen catches me by surprise. I release a tiny gasp, and Tucker wraps an arm around my back, pressing my to his chest.

Rating: 4/5 Ravens!