Review: Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

 

Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Genres: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: August 28th, 2012

Source: Bought on Kindle

 

 

Synopsis:

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…

My Review:

After reading Storm, I just had to have the next book, so I persuaded my dad to buy Spark for me, in hopes that I would like the sequel better than the first book, which is exactly what happened! Spark was so much better than Storm and now I am absolutely dying for the next book. Everything was just so wonderfully done in this book!

My favorite aspect of this book has to be Gabriel’s point of view. How could I not have loved it? I was really curious about him while I was reading the first book of this series, which made me even more excited to read this book. His POV was ridiculously well done. I really felt for Gabriel, and felt like I could understand him. He was nowhere near as confident as he looked, and it was great to get a closer look at him and his thoughts. I could really relate with Gabriel, which made him all the much better.

I also loved the darker topics hit on in this book. Sure, there’s lots of fun and sarcasm throughout the book that just brings a smile to your face, but there’s more serious things as well. It’s great that Ms. Kemmerer included this, I believe. She touched on important things that books tend to shy away from lately. It brought an extra meaning and depth to the book.

The relationship between Layne and Gabriel was also fantastically done. Seriously. There were times were I literally laughed out loud, and other times where their relationship was the sweetest thing. It had its faults, and it wasn’t insta-love either. But yet, they still made it work, which is what I loved. I’m usually not a fan of romance in books, but let me tell you, I was definitely a fan of the romance in Spark.

The one thing that I wished we would have had more of is Michael and Hannah, as well as some more Becca and Chris. This book was pretty much centered on Gabriel, and although we did get to see some Michael in this story (and I loved Gabriel and Michael’s improved relationship with each other in this book, I might add), I wish we could have seen a bit more of the others’ relationships.

Overall, Spark really blew me away. I enjoyed reading from Gabriel’s POV, and the relationship with him and Layne was just fabulously done. Even though I wanted to see a bit more of the other characters’ relationships, I definitely fell in love with this book! My interest in this series is definitely sparked, and I can’t wait to blaze through the rest of the series! (Please don’t laugh at my bad puns, I tried, ok?) If you haven’t picked up this series up yet, well then, what are you waiting for?