Review : Sacrifice by Brigid Kemmerer

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : Sacrifice (Elemental #5)
Author : Brigid Kemmerer
Publication Date : September 30th 2014
Publisher : Kensington
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble 

Earth. Fire. Air. Water.

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?

Personal Thoughts

I have been waiting impatiently for Michael Merrick's book ever since I read the first book. This is a series I cherish despite having had some down moments with it (I'm looking at you Hunter). My expectations for Sacrifice were sky-high, not only because this was Michael's book, but also because this was the series finale. Writing this review is kind of painful because Sacrifice was disappointing in many ways.

As always, for me, Michael continued to shine as a character. He has always had such a big heart and I don't know he managed to look after 4 teenage boys so well. I admired him and loved him and needed him to get the happiness he deserved. Being inside Michael's head was wonderful. I loved that we finally got to see all his fears when it comes to his family. The constant worry that he had for them touched me and I think I may have fallen even more in love with him. His love interest, Hannah, though, was a completely different story. Hannah wasn't awful by any means, but I honestly didn't see the point of having her POV in this book because Kemmerer didn't explore her character fully. She could have been a great character, but with the lack of real development, she was unmemorable. When I started this book, I wanted to feel a real emotional connection between Hannah and Michael. Honestly, I couldn't even tell that they were a couple. I don't know if it's because they were an already established couple and unlike the other couples in this series, you don't really get to see them fall for each other, but I was so passive when it came to Hannah and Michael together. There was also a pseudo-love triangle that had absolutely no real purpose to the romance. Kemmerer can write couples with chemistry, her previous books can affirm that, so what went wrong here?

Besides the romance, I hated how the secondary characters, Michael's brothers, were completely set aside. In the previous books, even though each of it focused on one brother, we got to see the interactions between the brothers. Here? Nothing. In fact, Michael's brothers disappeared for a long bit and only had a significant appearance at the end. As far as the plot goes, I thought it wasn't very exciting. The previous installments definitely had better planned, and much more solid story lines. I didn't feel that excitement and thrill that I felt with the previous books. When I closed Sacrifice, I just didn't feel like I had read a series finale because a lot of my questions were left unanswered and the ending felt brusque and completely rushed.

I'm sad that this series ending was a disappointment for me. Honestly, I was just expecting so much more, considering Michael has always been my favorite character. I sort of felt cheated of his story because this was so lacking. While I may have been let down by Sacrifice, I do recommend this series as a whole.

Rating 

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 2/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 2/5

**Overall Rating : 2.5/5**
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Teen for the e-ARC of Sacrifice.

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