Ahhh I was hoping for another Merrick boy story! Spirit is Hunter's story. He's not like the Merrick brothers. He's a Fifth. He is supposed to erase the full Elementals, like the Merricks. He hasn't. 
 Hunter is on rocky terms with the Merrick brothers and Becca. Nobody trusts him and they're not even really sure what side he's on. That's when he meets Kate - and the poor guy gets even more confused. 
 As a Fifth, people are drawn to him and he to them. It's in his nature to want to help people. This is why I don't understand why the Fifths (or Guides, they are called as they get older) have to eliminate the Elementals. It seems like a waste of ability and potential. The Elementals control over the elements can be potentially dangerous, yes. I agree. But there's better ways to go about it. Why don't the Guides teach them to control what they can do? Use it for good? You could still get a story out of that - just considering the character profiles of Fifths, it doesn't make sense. To be fair, maybe they've realised it (a little late) and thats the reason for the 'rebellion' (if you could call it that). 
 I feel like there's a lot of stuff that goes down in this novel that could have been avoided if the characters weren't stupid. Hunter's switching sides and constantly not knowing what he was doing was irritating. I also couldn't stand his need to 1. storm off in a huff and 2. not explain why he was storming off in a huff, as if everyone should always know why he was grumpy at the world. It's not all about you, Hunter, and you could make life a lot easier for yourself but you choose not to. I also found the week-long whirlwind romance with Kate strange and a little unbelievable. But this author has guts! I respect that. 
 That being said, I am still (shocking, right?) enjoying the storyline. I like the action and the secret world of the Elementals. Looking forward to book four, not sure if it will be Nick or Michael (Nick, please!) 
 Also, Author? 
 PLEASE stop telling me how good looking everyone in these books is! I honestly couldn't care less, tell me something real.