Book review: Storm

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Genre: YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy 
Rating: 5/5

Do you have any idea what that feels like? To know everyone thinks you're something you're not?

Right before school started, Becca was just an ordinary girl with ordinary high school girl problems. Until traumatic events led her to be the talk of the school thanks to her douche bag twat arsehole cuntface of an ex-boyfriend. 

Then one day she saves Chris from getting the beating of his life and then both of their lives are in danger.

Characters

I loved all the characters. I applaud Brigid for her spectacular way of writing them because you can't help but love them all. Well, excluding Drew, Becca's ex-boyfriend, and his mates.

What I loved about Becca Chandler, our female lead, is that she's strong. She's strong despite the fact that people are always spreading shit about her. She doesn't let it get to her. She ignores it. Although throughout the book you cannot help but wish she stood up for herself more. Nevertheless, by the end of the book she does and let me just say, it was so badass. 

Chris Merrick, our male lead, our very very sexy male lead. Oh hubba hubba. Okay, get a grip. You're writing a review. *clears throat* Anyway, Chris is the youngest of the Merrick brothers. All of whom are very sexy too. Like how does Becca even stand in their presence because I think I would just faint or burst from the amount of sex appeal they hold.

He and his brothers are different. They have powers. Powers of one of the elements: water, air, fire, earth and spirit. They're very powerful and dangerous. And it's because of these powers they possess, they are marked for death. They're marked because the other Elementals fear them and try to take them out at any opportune moment they can find. All the brothers are fantastic characters and bring a certain aspect to their family dynamic. It is both hilarious and amazing to watch read because I rarely come across YA novels that have large families and demonstrate that family banter which I just absolutely love.

Hunter is the "New Kid" and is another sexy dude.

What I loved about Hunter is that he challenges Becca. She gets out of her awkward shell and takes risks with him and her confidence begins to shine. Shine bright like a diamond baby. Anyways, he seems too good to be true, right? Right. Turns out Hunter has a secret of his own. DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUN...

Plot

It enthralled me right from the very start. Storm is in both Becca's and Chris's POVs which is great because they are both so different yet they are so amazing together. They help each other when the other is at their worst. With the love triangle situation, you can't help but love both guys. Well, maybe that's just me. But I was rooting for one of them. Oops. Sorry Hunter. Anyway, the plot wasn't slow paced and wasn't overly described or stretched out longer than it needed to which I loved by the way. Thank you, Brigid. I want to attack hug you. There were quite a few fast paced action sequences which keeps you on the edge of your seat and leaves you hyperventilating and in some, you can't help but scream in frustration. Also, the comedic timing is unparalleled and perfect and you can't help but want more. 

Quotes
**You'll notice once you've finished reading them that most are Gabriel quotes because well, he's my favourite.**

"You do his homework?"
"Just the math. It's a miracle he can count to ten."
"I can count to one." Gabriel gave him the finger.

"Maybe we should put some money on it, see how long it takes Chris to get her wet." - Gabriel.

"Do something!" she cried. "Can't you build a wall of ice, or -"
"Are you kidding?" he said. "I'm not an X-Man! This is -"

"I wouldn't go out with him if someone paid me. Ugh, that's just -"
"You know I can hear you, right?" called Michael.

Michael wrapped his hand around the hilt. Then he lifted it, cocked the hammer, and put the barrel against [retracted]'s forehead. "Now where the fuck are my brothers?"

"Hey, Law-and-Order. Let him go." - Gabriel.

"Chris asked me to bite him first."
Gabriel gave him a disgusted look. "You are one sick bastard."

P.S. If you've read the book, you'll understand why their names are in those colours.

Until my next review...

Book review: The Sea of Tranquility

Author: Katja Millay

Genre: YA Contemporary

Rating: 5/5 stars

"I hate my left hand. I hate to look at it. I hate it when it stutters and trembles and reminds me that my identity is gone. But I look at it anyway; because it reminds me that I'm also going to find the boy who took everything from me. I'm going to kill the boy who killed me, and when I kill him, I'm going to do it with my left hand."

You know those books that you automatically feel you're going to love just by reading the prologue? This was one of those books for me. I was pulled into the story straight away and I loved every minute of it. This is my kind of YA contemporary book that I love and it's because it's beautiful in every single possible way.

Characters

The characters were completely real and had so much depth to them. There was none of that cliche bullshit romance in this book (that I absolutely despise) and this made it all the more extraordinarily breathtaking.

"Nastya (pronounced NAH-stee-ya) Kashnikov", our female main character is a silent warrior (literally). Ever since she was 'murdered' two and a half years ago she's been struggling to pick up and put together what's left of her life and to finally seek revenge on the boy who destroyed the girl she once was before. Because of this incident she doesn't speak anymore, not that she can't but because she doesn't want to. Nastya's fragile and flawed but at the same time she's got this amazing strength and fierceness in her. 

Josh Bennett, our male main character on the other hand is definitely not your typical male character who's soul purpose is to save the emotionally broken girl whilst also scoring himself a girlfriend. This is because he is broken too due to the reason being that almost every single person he ever loved and cared about is dead. Josh's way of dealing with his grief made everyone at school stay away from him which is exactly what he wanted. He unconsciously built an imaginary forcefield around himself which Nastya notices and this ultimately is what lures her into helplessly finding herself being intrigued with this mysterious boy who everyone seems to be so afraid of.

Last but not least, another important character named Drew Leighton is clearly one that is to blow all the readers minds. He is depicted as the extremely hot and popular guy at school who everyone loves and who all the girls desperately want to screw. He's a player who's cocky, a complete douchebag and basically all the things that a typical male jock in a YA book is. When you first meet Drew he's the kind of guy you want to punch in the dick but once you get to know, understand and peel back all the layers under his outer image you realise that it's a hug you want to give him, not a punch. So in saying this, I have to applaud Katja Millay on the amazing character development of Drew and also on the interesting friendship between him and Nastya. 

Romance

The relationship between Nastya and Josh develops quite slowly but I think that is what makes their relationship so different and beautiful. It's not rushed so it doesn't feel forced or fake and it's free of any cringe-worthy moments. It is one that will surely send all the readers on an emotional roller coaster ride. Despite the numerous amount of flaws and short-comings both characters have their relationship felt so real even though it wasn't ever set in stone. Both characters felt that there was some kind of imaginary string pulling them towards each other however neither of them wanted to make the first move and ruin the bond they already had with one another. They constantly thought in their minds that they weren't going to let themselves fall in love but it was obvious that as soon as they thought that they were already falling in love. I siriusly don't know what else to write or how to describe their beautiful yet complex relationship so if you want to know for yourself then get to reading the book!

Overall thoughts

I'll admit it is a pretty slow read because there's a lot of building which then leads to the story slowly unravelling to the readers. If you're an impatient person then inject yourself with a dose of patience because in the end this book will be worth your time. 

Katja Millay's writing is poetic, stunning and full of raw emotion. I'll finish off by saying that The Sea of Tranquility is a story filled with love, lust, passion, pain, loss, grief, abuse, power, friendship, humour and hope, and is a must-read for those looking for a meaningful and emotional read that will make them both smile and cry.

Quotes

Now here are a few of my favourite quotes/moments from the book (spoiler-ish):

"Personally, I'd rather shove a cactus up my ass, but apparently that option isn't on the table, so I might as well just rip the Band-Aid off now and get it over with." -Nastya

"I feel like grabbing my crotch and checking to see if my balls are still there because I think they may be in her pocket and I need to get them back." -Josh

"I slide down out of the chair and get as low as I can to the ground so I can twist my head around and see what he's talking about. And I do and it's unmistakable. There, on the underside of the seat, is an engraving of the sun." -Nastya

"It wasn't so much that I wanted to see her again," he says, looking at me with the depth of more than seventeen years in his eyes. "I wanted her to see you." -Josh

"I assume we're alone," he says, turning and locking the door. "You know this is like the fourth bathroom I've looked for you in. I was starting to fear for my safety." -Drew

"I'm not sure how long we sit in Josh's truck, holding hands, surrounded by darkness and unspoken regrets. But it's long enough to know that there are no stories or secrets in the world worth holding onto more than his hands." -Nastya

"I love you, Sunshine," I tell her before I lose my nerve. "And I don't give a shit whether you want me to or not." -Josh

Until my next review, ave atque vale.