"He'd spent so many years worrying about everyone else that it was a shock to hear someone express worry over him."
Sacrifice is an accurate portrayal of the saying: when it rains, it pours. Everything that could go wrong for the Merrick family takes place at the same time. Kemmerer is not afraid to put her characters through the most.
Michael's character development throughout the series has been amazing. He started off seeming like a jerk in the beginning of Storm, but with each book in the series, he proved that he's a decent person who's trying to do the right thing and protect his family from separation and danger. His PoV is heartrending, because he had to grow up fast and take on a lot of responsibilities, and his fears, emotions, doubt and insecurities are interesting to read about, especially because he's one of the most logical characters in the series.
I never had strong feelings towards Hannah, but I thought she was a cool character and expected to like her in Sacrifice. Unfortunately, her PoV didn't do much for me. Her story and issues don't have much of a role to play in terms of the overall plot, her personality is all over the place and there's something lacking, but I can't put my finger on what it is.
While romance isn't the focus of Sacrifice, I didn't care about Michael and Hannah's relationship and the chemistry between them is barely there. I'm also not a fan of the weird hints at a possible love triangle that ended up dissolving into nothing.
I'm sad that the Merrick brothers don't have a lot of page time in the finale, but the scenes they're in are so powerful. Then there's Hunter, Adam and Tyler who really step up and come through. Adam is a great guy, Tyler becomes almost fully redeemable and Hunter literally does the most. The title fits the story because all the characters sacrifice something in some way or another, but Hunter is the true sacrifice. His death is so abrupt though. He deserves better.
I love elemental powers and while the Elemental series is light on the paranormal aspect, it's well-written and seamlessly interwoven into the plot. It's extremely interesting to read about how Michael's element manifests.
The plot is action-packed and the Merrick's are in constant danger. They literally don't have a chance to breathe. Unfortunately, the plot feels rushed and the world seems to have become too much for the author. The ending is also a little unrealistic, but I'm saying this about a series that deals with real-world issues extremely well.
I have mixed feelings about the open-ending of this series. There are two plot threads that are followed through until the end. I'm sort-of satisfied with one of them, Michael getting custody of his siblings. While Michael doesn't yet have custody, there is hope that it will happen. He also still gets to see his brothers, who are living together and have a comfortable roof over their heads. I'm not happy about the other because it's still unresolved, which is the threat of the Guides. Just because the Guides were killed doesn't mean that more Guides aren't going to come looking for the Merrick's again. Irish mentioned that there is change coming with the Guides way of thinking, but who knows when that might happen. Being a full elemental still means being in danger and the finale didn't deal with this issue. I hope that Kemmerer comes back to this series at some point to tie up the loose ends mostly because I want more content from this series.
Sacrifice is a solid finale, but I'm a little disappointed because it wasn't what I was expecting. I'd still highly recommend the Elemental series though. It has realistic and flawed characters, awesome family relationships, elemental powers and it deals with paranormal and contemporary issues. I'll probably read every single bit of content that Kemmerer writes for this series and I hope she comes back to it in the future.
"Things happen, and we deal with them."