Review: Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

Spark
by Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Kensington (US) / Allen & Unwin (AU)

Release Date: August 28th, 2012 (US) / October 2012 (AU)

Format: Paperback, 345pages

EARTH. FIRE. AIR. WATER. 

 He could feel flames coming through the floor, looking for him. Sparks and ash rained down. He wasn't going to make it. He was going to fail. Again. Then a hand closed over his wrist and pulled, hard. 

 Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally. Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can’t. So when an arsonist wreaks havoc on his town all the signs point to Gabriel. 

 Layne is strangely drawn to him. Layne understands family problems, and she understands secrets. She has a few of her own.

 Gabriel can’t let Layne know that the danger that’s right at his heels. But there are some risks he can’t help taking. 

 THE FUSE IS LIT…

Sexy, exciting and thrilling, Spark is even better than Storm! I'll admit; when I read Storm, Gabriel was never my favourite Merrick brother- it was a toss up between Nick and Chris, but after reading the awesomeness that is Spark, I think Gabriel may be favourite Merrick brother now :)

 To everyone who first meets Gabriel, he'll come across as a douche. Admittedly hot, but certainly acts like a jerk to everyone. But deep down, Gabriel's still a boy; he craves what all humans crave for, whether it be love, closeness, friendship,he craves them all. Yet, the side he displays to the public is merely a mask to disguise his pain deep inside. It was so much easier to understand him, and the reasons behind his actions while reading Spark! I guarantee you'll begin to see Gabriel in a new light regardless of whether you liked him to start off or not :)

Laney, the love interest in this book is a character I liked from the very beginning. Upon first glance, they seem to be from different worlds; he, the hot, popular sport star who receives more attention than is needed, and she, a quiet, straight-A student who goes by unnoticed everyday, Yet, once you peel off the barriers, there's more in common between the two than anyone would've imagined. I absolutely loved the deep and meaningful romance that blossomed between the two! It felt so real, and so heart-warming every time a scene featuring these two came up, I was all giddy inside!! Seriously LOVE THESE TWO!!!

While I was certainly enamoured with the main characters, I have to admit the secondary characters weren't exactly likeable. It's probably because the majority of the time everyone else kept thinking Gabriel is such a jerk and that he purposely ruins everyone's life. No one bothered to even attempt to understand him, which really frustrated me. Becca and Quinn were two characters who really annoyed me. I liked Becca in Storm and I thought Quinn was a considerate and dependable friend to Becca, but in this installment? I wanted to strangle those two. IS IT SO HARD TO GIVE GABRIEL A BREAK? He doesn't deserve to be on the receiving end of your mood swings and rage! Oh, and honestly, I have no idea what Nick is doing going out with Quinn. He can do so much better!

I liked Storm. But, I absolutely LOVED Spark! There are so many heart-warming moments when Gabriel reveals his true self, and so some heart-stoppingly steamy scenes you do not want to miss! I mean, it's GABRIEL. You all have to read his book!<3

Mini Reviews: Storm & I Made Lattes for a Love God

Storm
by Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Kensington (US) / Allen & Unwin (AU)

Release Date: April 24th, 2012

Format: Paperback, 353pages

Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys all the ones she doesn't want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death. 

 And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca. 

 Secrets are hard to keep when your life's at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all. 

 The storm is coming

The Merrick Brothers are hot. I remember thinking when I finished reading this book a while back, that after meeting the Merrick Brothers, you’ll be sure to forget ALL your previous YA boy crushes! Nick and Chris were my favourites in this installment (hmm…I may have changed after reading Spark!) but honestly, ALL 4 brothers, and even Hunter were swoon-worthy J

Love Triangles (and insta-love) are the bane of my existence. Usually anyway. However, the love triangle in Storm was tolerable; even though it seemed to play a significant role in the story, I didn’t mind it at all.

Our main character Becca was likable, but unfortunately I didn’t love her character. She’s strong, stubborn and brave…traits that I usually admire in a heroine, but Becca didn’t stand out. The thing is, I would forget about her character after reading Storm. I guess she's just not…memorable.

Brigid Kemmerer is a genius and I love her for creating these four sexy brothers! I’m positive I’ll be reading every book Brigid writes J

A massive thank you to Allen & Unwin for providing a copy of Storm for review!

I Made Lattes For A Love God
by Wendy Harmer

Publisher: Allen & Unwin 

Release Date: November, 2012

Format: Paperback, 272 pages

 Elly Pickering has a juicy secret. A secret her PR mum won't let her tell anyone because if the kids at Oldcastle High knew that mega-star Jake Blake (yes, THE Jake Blake, teen sensation and all round heart-throb) was coming to Oldcastle to film his latest movie, they might just explode with excitement.

 Elly is determined to get on set and to get more than a glimpse of her Hollywood crush. But now thanks to an unfortunate incident involving a car, a red handbag and the paparazzi, it looks like Elly's lost a lot more than her opportunity to be close to Hollywood royalty. She's lost her dignity, her job and her best friend. How will she ever be able to get everything back to normal?

This has got to be one of the cutest, lightest and funniest books I’ve read in a long time!

The characters were honestly extremely immature, but I didn’t care half the time because 1) I vaguely remember myself thinking like them back when I was their age and 2) the layers of drama cause by these girls weren’t annoying in the I’m-going-to-pull-out-my-hair-and-scream kind; it was just amusing. They acted like the teenage girls they are and what they did were understandable. It was also hilarious reading about all the girls screaming, gossiping and fangirling over their latest celebrity crush! It reminded me of all the Beliebers and…well…some One Direction fans at my high school. (And no, I wasn’t one of them) The high-pitched shrieking of excitement and doing everything possible to see their idol in person felt familiar, and I couldn’t help but grin and support Elly and her friend’s wishes!

I Made Lattes for a Love God is a relaxing read; a book you can devour in one sitting after a tiring day at work or after finishing copious amounts of homework. (I read this in between studying for my exams!) It’s an easy read, so don’t think too much when you read this, just enjoy it! J

A massive thank you to Allen & Unwin for providing a copy of I Made Lattes for a Love God for review!

Book Review: The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

Title: The Night She Disappeared
Author: April Henry
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Release Date: 13th March, 2012
Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher for review via Netgalley (Thank you!)

Gabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part time as a delivery girl at Pete’s Pizza. One night, Kayla—another delivery girl—goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working that night. Gabie can’t move beyond the fact that Kayla’s fate was really meant for her, and she becomes obsessed with finding Kayla. She teams up with Drew, who also works at Pete’s. Together, they set out to prove that Kayla isn’t dead—and to find her before she is.

The Night She Disappeared is a fast-paced thriller that prompts readers to consider the severity of kidnapping/ disappearances that has happened around the world. While it did have its ‘ups’ and ‘downs’, I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

As a hardcover crime fiction fan, I’ve always been fascinated by crime scene investigations, autopsy reports, transcripts of interviews between police and suspect etc. I loved how in addition to the story, there were also newspaper clippings, phone transcripts and even an autopsy report! I was literally over the moon every time I read a police report/transcript/clipping, since these files are such a rare sight in YA fiction these days! 

The story is told through multiple perspectives – Kayla (victim), Drew, Gabie, and even the perpetrator! While I must admit, had I not read the title of each chapter (which specifies whose POV we’ll be reading from), I wouldn’t have been able to tell.  Drew's and Gabie's ‘voices’ were indistinguishable, in my opinion anyway, but funnily enough, it wasn't a huge problem. But I felt the fact that we got to read from the perspective of the victim & perpetrator defeated the purpose of unravelling the mystery behind the girl’s kidnapping- half the book,everyone were freaking out over whether Kayla was dead or not, but since I knew she was still alive, it just…sort of ruined the mystery :/.

I also had a little issue with the characters. It was difficult to connect with Gabie and Drew; I just couldn’t understand Gabie’s rash decisions and while I did understand her feels of guilt, her actions seemed a little..’over the top’. My biggest issue however, was with the police officer- his actions were unbelievable and just so un-police-like. I highly doubt, even with my very limited experience with cops, that they would yell at a guilt-ridden girl and accuse her of not contributing at all to the investigation? (i.e. yelling “you’ve been no help at all”.) I personally find that a little hard to believe.

And before I finish off, as a crime-fiction freak, I’ve always believed one shouldn’t announce a person has died, until the body is found. (It’s common sense, right? Or…not?) But here, the theories were all over the place and even with inconclusive evidence, it seemed the police, and everyone else, decided to believe this particular theory just to achieve some sort of closure. And guess what? I find that hard to believe.

Overall, I found this a very entertaining read, despite the lack of intense mystery & suspense.Even though it was so short, this still managed to get me thinking about some local, and globally known kidnapping cases. (which reminds me...there was an attempted kidnapping incident near my school! *scary*) Anyway, for a 240-page book, this was pretty good! :)