Review - Sacrifice by Brigid Kemmerer

Series: Elemental Series #5

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Source: Purchased 

Published - September 2014

Paperback - 324 pgs

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Rating: 3/5

One misstep and they lose it all. For the last time.

Michael Merrick understands pressure. He's the only parent his three brothers have had for years. His power to control Earth could kill someone if he miscalculates. Now an Elemental Guide has it in for his family, and he's all that stands in the way. His girlfriend, Hannah, understands pressure too. She's got a child of her own, and a job as a firefighter that could put her life in danger at any moment.

But there are people who have had enough of Michael's defiance, his family's 'bad luck'. Before he knows it, Michael's enemies have turned into the Merricks' enemies, and they're armed for war. They're not interested in surrender. But Michael isn't the white flag type anyway. Everything is set for the final showdown. Four elements, one family. Will they hold together, or be torn apart?

Quick Thoughts: This was my least favorite installment in the series so far and I'm disappointed we didn't make any progress in this book. I have mixed feelings because I thought this was the end of the series, but it seems there are more books to come. 

Full Review: 

In the past year I have been sucked into the Elemental world. This series is easy to speed through. The writing is simple but evokes powerful emotions and covers difficult topics with respect and honesty. I love this series. Going into Sacrifice I was sad this would be the last installment and worried because the title is so ominous. 

I'm left confused and disappointed though. If you've read any of the books in this series you know Michael is the strong older brother, who leads and defends his siblings while they casually cause trouble. (As boys who have powerful supernatural powers and who are falling in love often do) I've loved Michael as a father/brother figure and was frustrated in this book when his own voice/POV sounded so immature. While I know what Kemmerer was trying to do, have Michael lose control and need to ask for help because we all need help at some point, it didn't feel right and didn't sit well with me.

This installments is short (less than 300pgs) and in general I wanted more. There was a lot of wrap up. In Secret we barely made any progress in regard to the Guides and not much changed in this book either. 

I also thought Hannah and Michael's relationship in this book was much weaker than any of the other romances thus far. There was also this weird love triangle introduced in this book which annoyed me. There are other ways to introduce new characters to this group without shoving a love triangle into the mix plus we've seen this as a plot device before in Storm. Overall the romance portion of this book was lacking for me. Its a big reason I've enjoyed these book so far. Even though they are predictable they are fun and I look forward to the courting and romance of each book. I knew this one would be a little different but it seemed to just drop off the map. 

If this was the last book in the series, I would be VERY disappointed. Nothing seemed cleared up or resolved. However, Kemmerer answered a question on her Goodreads page late last year mentioning she is writing book six right now. The book itself says it is on hold indefinitely. SO I'm confused. This definitely wasn't the end of the story, but I have no idea when the next book will be released.

I hope this series moves forward soon so my bad feelings over this book don't fester too much.