Spirit (Elemental, #3)

by Brigid Kemmerer

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I love the Elemental Series, so there was no doubt I'd be reading this book. However, as I'm always going back and forth on whether I like Hunter Garrity or not, so I wasn't sure I would enjoy this book. Thankfully, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would!

Hunter has a lot to deal with. It's only been six months since his father died, the Merricks are weary of him, his grandfather throws him out, and Calla, the girl responsible for his father and uncle's deaths, as well as the fires that were blamed on Gabriel, is still out there. As a Fifth, he knows he should be trying to sort things out, but he just doesn't know what to do for the best. When he's trying so hard to focus, along come Kate Sullivan, and Hunter can't keep his mind off her. But Kate is a trainee Guide, and she's come for the Merricks. She has no scruples using guile and charm to get the information she needs as well as falling back on her Guide training. Since her mother's death, she feels she has a lot to prove. This is her job, and she will do it right.

This book is so emotional! Oh, Hunter really has it tough in this book. I dislike his grandfather immensely. I don't give a crap what he thought, treating a kid that way is absolutely disgusting. And Hunter is still a kid, and something I had forgotten. Reading these books, Hunter always seemed to come across quite tough and strong, and despite the fact that he's still at school, I did think of him as being as a lot older than he actually is. Being inside his head as much as we are in this book, you realise just how young he is. He has such guilt and self-esteem issues. Everything is his fault. He's a failure. How can he trust anyone, when no-one ever seems to give him a break. When Kate comes along, it seems like there's finally someone who gets him, someone who doesn't have it in for him. He just doesn't realise she's using him.

Kate... I had issues with Kate, even though she narrates half the story. Despite knowing how she thinks, and slowly getting to know her, I just couldn't warm up to her until three quarters of the way through. When you finally find out what's going on with her, things make more sense, but still, I just didn't really like her. She's bold and confident, I'll give her that, and when it really comes to the crunch, she steps up, but she just did too much early on that I couldn't get past. I know she didn't know the Merricks and Hunter like I do, and this is her job, but I love those guys. The fact that she was after them... I just really couldn't make myself like her.

As I said, this is an emotional book. Kemmerer will wrench your heart with this book. Isn't Hunter dealing with enough?! I didn't believe some of the things that happened. I just couldn't. I thought there must be a twist, something would happen, and things would be sorted. But no. When the Guides are about, there is real danger. And Silver, Kate's mentor, is a sadistic... fill-in-the-blank! Oh my god. He's just so wrong! It's like he has no feeling at all. He's inhuman. This book is absolutely unbelievable.

Spirit is also the steamiest of the books so far. Remember I said Kate was bold? Too right she is. And Hunter just doesn't know what to do, except go with it. It's quite amusing really - normally in YA, it's the guy making all the moves on the girl, with all the innuendo and flirting. Not this time. When Hunter falters, Kate will move his hands for him. That I did not see coming. Actually pretty awesome to see a girl who's confident and comfortable in her own skin and with going for what she wants, and not made to look like someone we should hate for it. Kudos to Kemmerer for showing girls are allowed to be sexual too!

I really loved Spirit, and further proof of what a brilliant writer Kemmerer is. It wasn't my favourite out of the first three, but it's still pretty awesome! And after the events of Spirit, I'm excited to see where things go for Merricks and Hunter. Life is most definitely not going to be easy!