Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Sacrifice (Elemental Book 5)

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2016

Spoilers

That ending was the worst!!!! I thought that it was going to keep going because there is so many unanswered questions but it just stops. I don't know if she set it up to where she could write more of she got more books picked up but that's totally how it seems. I am not happy with that ending if there won't be anymore books.

Well about the actual story, it was good. I am not a huge fan of Michael. I don't hate him or anything he just isn't my favorite Merrick. (Nick and Gabriel are my favorite.) He treats his brothers like they are a burden more than he treats them with compassion. I know he loves them but sometimes it would be okay to show that.

The only thing I have to say about Hunter is he finally redeemed himself and I don't think he is gone. Like I complained about first thing I don't feel like the ending was sufficient so I will have to answer all my questions on my own and Hunter being gone doesn't feel like it was right. Also why would you drop the bomb about Irish and then make it lead to no where? I am so perplexed about how this ended that I can't get over it.

I am glad everyone found a little bit of peace for now. I would have given this book 5 stars if not for the ending. I loved the series and I wish there was more to it. I wish there was one more book in alternating views between the brothers that answered the holes that were left open.

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Sugar Spice

This better not be the end!

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2014

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Review:

I think this is one of the most authentic and enjoyable YA series with male characters as protagonists. Everything feels so real, as if something like this is actually going on in a small town somewhere and there are these boys who are fighting everyone and everything to stay together and protect their family. The characters are simply so fleshed out. The current book is the finale and the fifth instalment in the series. Based on how everything has been escalating, I expected a lot of tears, angst and dark times and having witnessed how the author doesn’t always go the conventional way and isn’t afraid to make unpopular choices, then there was plenty to fear.

Most important, I was dreading a huge sacrifice, which is not hard to predict by the blatantly obvious title, but I was completely caught off guard by the person who actually ended up making it. I didn’t see that coming and it was like one minute there’s tension, danger and a seemingly impossible situation and then IT happens and I didn’t even realise that it happened and then I suddenly did and I had a blank look for a minute and then I read on. Now in retrospect, I would have hoped more of a momentum from it, because it seemed quite rushed and passed too quickly. I had also hoped to see more reactions to it, more pain, contemplations and regret from others, but after the culmination, the book ended quite fast.

To a degree I was happy with the book, but it also ended on a slightly open-ended note. Some topics were closed, but on a grander scale, nothing was really solved. I feel that there is a lot of room for more books and the story didn’t feel final. I’m definitely looking forward to more stories in this universe and having the Merrick brothers as main characters would be beyond wonderful, but focusing on someone else with them still somewhere in the background is fine as well.

This is Michael’s book, through and through. He finally has centre stage and we see how difficult his life has really been after he has taken full responsibility for his three brothers. The man has a huge burden on his shoulders and doesn’t share it one bit. With everything going wrong, I mean everything, this book just keeps the punches coming and Michael is not spared or given time to breathe. When you think it can’t get any worse, then it most certainly does. It felt so unfair and I pitied him so much, but he’s a tough guy who will hold through anything for his close ones. I had huge respect for him already from the first book, but it tripled in this one.

If you expect a lot of romance from this book, then you will be disappointed. Yes, Michael’s relationship with Hannah is one of the main plotlines, but they spend little time together and most of it’s via sms. The emphasis is clearly on action, one bad thing happening after another and the fate and role of Michael in this huge mess and trying to find light at the end of the tunnel. The book also was told through Michael and Hannah’s points of view, but they are too preoccupied with their own personal issues to concentrate on them as a couple.

Overall:

I’m incredibly sad to be leaving this series behind, so I will simply choose not to and will wait for other adventures in this universe, because there simply has to be more. In regards to it being the final book, it wasn’t everything I was hoping, but I still liked it.

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A Book Vacation

I need more.

Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2014

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Kemmerer’s Elemental series has been my guilty pleasure for a few years now. And with this novel, Kemmerer has technically closed the story with this final chapter of the Merrick brothers, giving readers Michael’s story as it all comes to a head. And yet… I’m not certain it’s really over.

Let me explain. Kemmerer has always woven a tale that pulls readers in from the get go. Sacrifice is no different. By this point in the series, the Merrick brothers and their friends are like a part of my family. I know them so well because Kemmerer really knows how to create realistic, beautiful characters, and Sacrifice is no different on this end. The brothers, who I’ve come to love, are again faced with hardship–perhaps the worst yet, and it tore my heart in two as I read. The emotions are real, and I just adored everything about it. Everything, except the ending. The ending, while a resolution that works, comes on quite fast, leaving readers with questions. Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting the antagonist to be who it was, and I liked how Kemmerer threw me for a loop with the big reveal, but I didn’t understand all the aspects that went in to it. I reread it twice, but in all honestly, the ending was too neat; everything wrapped up much too quickly once all is said and done. And I still have questions. I have questions about the bad guy, about newcomer Irish, Hunter’s grandparents, the guides reactions to it all, and what’s going to happen next for the Merricks. Yes, a resolution is there, and I loved it, even though it happened a touch too fast for me and not everyone gets out unscathed, but even so, the potential for more chaos is there, too, and I’m waiting for more–for the other shoe to drop. This is a wonderful novel, and I truly enjoyed it… but I need a spinoff series…

Of course, Kemmerer did leave me stunned with one aspect that I knew was coming from the title, SACRIFICE, but still didn’t expect. I spent the next few pages hoping it’d be undone, but alas, it’s not. You might want some tissues. I think I was stunned enough that I didn’t even blink. No tears for me, it just… can’t be. Right? And it happens so fast that if you do blink, you’ll miss it. I really have no words. Except that you must read it. If this is really the end, then you just have to read it, but I’m still waiting. For more. I need more. The Merricks are a part of me now, and… I just need more.

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Kimberly Davis

What? That’s the sacrifice?!?! After 5 books that’s the ending?!?!

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2021

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I loved this series for the most part. But the ending, the sacrifice - it was horrible. As in it was rushed, I had to go back and make sure the two sentences that said what happened really happened. Then I kept thinking, no that can’t be right by some twist of fate it didn’t really happen. But the author didn’t give me the miracle I wanted. Then the book just came to a halt, ended and there are so, so many things left unresolved. It was a great book until the last two chapters. I actually ranted to my family about the awful way the author concluded this series. I am so unbelievably disappointed.

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Ami Guimond

Excellent series and amazing ending

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2019

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I loved the whole series. I think I read all 5 and the 3 novellas in about two weeks. Wonderfully developed characters. Engrossing story. Well edited. I will miss being lost in such a fun series with it's twists and turns. I may just read it all again! Also, I loved the ending. I thought the author did a fantastic job of tying everything together while still leaving room for the imagination of the Merrick's future.

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Amazon Customer

These are GREAT books for everyone

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2014

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Well I think I accidentally hit send before I was finished! :( Let's start over. These are GREAT books for everyone, not just young adults. Start at the beginning of Book 1 and you are off to the races. I read all five in a week and I work full time!! Great for the young and old; they are great for helping teach how to cope with bullying and school and other young adult crises and situations. I had already talked to my granddaughter (13) about reading them, and now I'm going to do more than talk--I will push her like the Maximum Ride series and Mortal Instruments, etc. These are more down-to-earth. Great job Ms. Kemmerer! I want MORE~

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I Read A Lot of YA!

I do love this entire series

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2014

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I do love this entire series. It's rare that I continue to read a series much less read all the books. And it's even rarer to find a fifth book in the series that I find just as awesome as the first, if not even just a little bit more. Not sure what Brigid has in store for the Merrick brothers, but she did a fabulous job making me love them through each of these books, I can only hope there will be more. Yet, if this is the last, Sacrifice was completely satisfying as a series end. Either way, I'm a happy reader. Thanks BK!

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Renee

What a find!

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2017

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I'm so damn happy I stumbled across this series. Each story carried its own voice and delved into the lives of very different people, despite their relationship. Such a great concept for a series and I could definitely read many more books set in this world.

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