Audio Book Review: Struck

Struck

By:  Amanda Carlson

Publish Date:  May 24, 2016

Format:  eARC

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  1st in Phoebe Meadows series

First Impression:  Modern day girl collides with the worlds of mythological gods, demi-gods, and creatures.

Synopsis:
When Phoebe Meadows gets struck by a strange light in the stockroom of Macy’s, life as she knows it flies out the window. As if being hit by lightning isn’t bad enough, she’s accosted in the subway by a man with a missing hand, arrives home to find a raven on her kitchen counter, and her neighbor, Ingrid, shows up dressed like a gladiator hell-bent on protecting her.

Before Ingrid can shuttle her to safety, Phoebe is kidnapped and tossed into one of the Nine Worlds where she’s quickly forced to come to terms with what she is: A valkyrie. The only problem is, she has no idea what that means.

After a narrow escape, she finds an unlikely ally in Loki’s son, Fenrir. Together the valkyrie and the wolf must battle their way back to New York City and reach the valkyrie stronghold where Ingrid is waiting for her. But with danger and obstacles at every turn, she might not live long enough to learn the full truth about who and what she really is…

First Sentence:
I blinked open my eyes to find two concerned faces hovering above me.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles  

My Thoughts and Summary:
*I requested a copy of this book for an honest review.

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I read the book, and enjoyed it. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to listen to it as I've become a huge fan of audio books lately. And this one ranked well in my list.

Emma is new to audio for me and she did a wonderful job. I'm a huge fan of narrators doing different voices, tones, and attitudes when narrating secondary characters. Emma does that, giving each character their own voice and personality vocally, making them easy to differentiate as she narrates. My attention was drawn to the story's details when I heard a new voice come to live in the narration, drawing the world with words and voice. If Phoebe was whispering or thinking, we get a softer feel to Emma's voice, portraying the feel for us. Emma's cadence is measured so we clearly hear all the words, but the emotion in her voice brings the moment alive for us, relaying the feel of fear or anger. As the story goes we hear different emotions of Phoebe through Emma as she becomes the character. I love that she did different voices for the different creatures...demons... and more that appear in the world and talk.

I think I enjoyed the book much more in audio than reading. I got the feel of all the characters vocally along with the words written. Also the middle that seems long when reading, did not have as long of a feel to me in the audio version.

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Full review that still stands true for me with the book and characters:

Phoebe thought New York was dangers, until she gets a glimpse into the life of Asgard.

Phoebe is struck by electricity at her day job at Macy's. She's tossed into the whirlwind world of Asgard and more as the shock was sent to awaken her Valkyrie side. Phoebe comes to grips with crazy notion that the mythological gods and creatures really do exist with a first hand experience of the terrible pain they can inflict. Yet, she finds Fen who helps her at every turn when he doesn't have to. With Fen's help she returns to New York where her and Ingrid were separated, just to learn now she must find her way to the Valkyrie stronghold.

Phoebe is dropped into the dangerous mythical world of Asgard and beings of power to learn about them. Her way through it, is the rough way. By rough I mean painful and deadly. But in all the pain she suffers, she finds one person that helps her. Fenrir  the wolf. Fen, as Phoebe has taken to calling him, is trapped in a different world and those wanting Phoebe dead send demons and more after her, drawing the two closer to each other.

Fen... Mmmm. He is a hot catch! Fen sounds delicious but he's also the strength that Phoebe needs at her side too. He's old in human terms but he know much of the Asgard ways and beings. Without knowing it, he's teaching Phoebe about his world as they come across dangers.

I love that Phoebe is an honest person. She's not hiding information from Fen. Well, maybe one piece of information, but that will have to come out. Right? Even if it's not verified yet. Phoebe trusts Fen and doesn't want to lose the one person that's helped her in this crazy new world. I love how Phoebe is determined to keep her friends with her and all are to stay safe. This is a strong will that I find great in a character.

A modern day girl trying to make a living has collided with the mythical world of gods, demi-gods, demons, the hags, and many more powerful creatures. Phoebe is stronger than she ever thought, and will have to fight to not be a victim, and she's determined to do just that. A great story of Phoebe coming to her power but still needing to understand it, but she suffers along the way realizing she is more and can do much more than she thought. She comes across many things and people, but she knows she has much ahead of her to set straight the prophecy that the Norn (the three hags) will do anything to stop, including kill her.

This book is the beginning for Phoebe. She never knew of the mythical world or valkyries, demons, demigods, and more. Her eyes are opened to the world that exists parallel to the one she grew up in. We get to see, with Phoebe, the dangers present and why they want her. This story is Phoebe learning who and what she is, and accepting it to live. I'm curious to see how Phoebe grows in the books to come, now that she finally has seen the truth. I didn't feel as drawn to Phoebe in this book, but I wasn't turned off either. I liked what a saw and I'm wanting to see it grow with each book. We have a cast of characters that have their own troubles and complications that could conflict with each other, but they have knowledge and power between them that will come in handy.

The action that Amanda is known for writing is present in this book as well! There are terrible troubles at every turn that Phoebe has to face, along with decisions to make. If you enjoy Amanda's Jessica McClain series, you'll love this one too!



****If you found my review helpful, please click Yes at Audible. Thank you!