Belinda Reviews: Brigid Kemmerer's - "Spark"

Published September 24, 2012
Category: Belinda's Reviews

You all have no idea how excited I was when I saw online that Spark had an early release date… (As long as I didn’t want to wait for the matching cover art) I swear I did a happy dag dance as I plucked the parcel out of my mail box 10 days later. Maybe I could be a little bit of a fan girl when it comes to this series.

Anyways, here’s the goodreads blurb:

“Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally.

Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can’t. Like the fire that killed his parents.

Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he’s not doing it.

More than Gabriel’s pride is at stake — this could cost him his family, maybe his life. And no one seems to hear him. Except a shy sophomore named Layne, a brainiac who dresses in turtlenecks and jeans and keeps him totally off balance. Layne understands family problems, and she understands secrets. She has a few of her own.

Gabriel can’t let her guess about his brothers, about his abilities, about the danger that’s right at his heels. But there are some risks he can’t help taking.

The fuse is lit…”

The pacing is break-neck fast, but as with Storm, Brigid doesn’t pull any punches. Her guys are complex and the girls they like are generally the smart ones, the ones who have way more depth than the shallowness of the ‘popular girls’. Layne is such a different character from Becca, and yet similar in the way she can stand up to Gabriel, and calls him out on his behavior issues. She’s got baggage, but carries on with grace and a stiff upper lip.

The elements sure get a work out this time, especially when tempers flare in the Merrick home. I missed the less stressed banter from Storm, but the tension kept everything on edge and it worked beautifully to keep the pace fast, and the stakes high.

Spark is a superb book for the school holidays, and if you haven’t picked up Storm, grab it at the same time, because you’ll want to get the back story. There are novellas in e-book format as well, for those who want a little more of the Merrick boys.

You’ll love these books if you like Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Chronicles of Nick, and Crave by Melissa Darnell.

Here’s the trailer!