Review Detail

With a certain addictive quality to it, Storm grabbed my attention from the first few lines, keeping me glued to its fast-paced and intense plot until I had turned the last page. While it wasn’t without its issues, I was able to mostly forget that they existed thanks to Storm’s great characterization and humorous dialogue.

I loved Storm’s characters. I can’t even fully express how much I adored each one of the Merrick brothers. Brigid managed to give each one of them a distinctive enough voice that I was able to easily keep them distinguished from each other, while simultaneously making them similar enough for me to fully believe that they were siblings. The sarcastic banter and witty jabs had me literally laughing out loud, often, while some of their tenser moments had me wanting to play mediator: can’t we all just get along boys? Don’t you see that you’re hurting Michael with your awfulness? Somehow, Storm made me fall in love with this broken family while also making me want to give a few of them a good shake – why don’t boys just talk about their feelings instead of building up all of this aggression towards one another!? I loved how their familiarity made me feel like I was a part of the family, and that their teasing of Chris and his feelings for Becca became something that I blushed about.

And I loved Becca. She was so kick-ass sometimes, running of some guys with her car in order to rescue Chris, but also so vulnerable at the same time; it made her such a relatable protagonist! I loved watching her struggle to figure out Chris and Hunters’ motivations and her big secret kept me in suspense for much of Storm’s 300+ pages. Her relationship with Quinn reminded me a lot of my relationship with my girlfriends in high school; it was the type of friendship where you could royally mess up and then reunite over something ridiculous, never concerning yourself with if you would be friends again, only when.

Shockingly, I loved the love triangle. While I was always suspicious of Hunter, he was such a gentlemen I found it hard to keep being so guarded with him. His honesty with Becca was refreshing for a YA love interest, as was his chivalry despite the fact that that’s the reason I suspected him of foul play. Not shocking then, was the fact that I was cheering for Chris the whole time. He’s just so broken and I wanted to see him happy! I thought Storm did a really good job of making both guys huge sweethearts, in their own ways, but giving them both a slightly dangerous and addictive edge that I found insanely attractive.

I loved so much of Storm, but as I said, it wasn’t without its issues. While the idea of Elementals was one I loved, and we learned a lot about their history, I was still hoping for more answers: is this something that has always happened? Why don’t more people know about them? I also had a hard time understanding Gabriel’s aggression, and the younger Merrick boys’ anger towards Michael; I would have appreciated some answers a little earlier. I hated how Becca’s issue (avoiding spoilers) was handled towards the end of the book, how unaffected she seemed by it in what I would consider triggering situations, and it’s use as a plot device was NOT COOL. I also found the plot, while action-packed and suspenseful, to be quite predictable. I was disappointed when a lot of my theories were proven right.

Sidenote: I loved learning, piece-by-piece, what had happened with Michael and Emma. It tied in so smoothly with Elemental, and it kept my curiosity piqued for so long, that I had to take a moment to appreciate how well thought-out this series obviously was!

Despite my few reservations, one of which really bothered me but I’m choosing to overlook because of how much I enjoyed everything else, I loved Storm. The characters were fantastic, the dialogue was witty and fun, and the plot kept my attention despite being slightly predictable.