Review: STRUCK by Jennifer Bosworth

Title: Struck
Author: Jennifer Bosworth
Series: Struck #1

Summary: Mia Price is a lightning addict. She's survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her. 

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come. 

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn't who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything. 

Why I read it: A long time ago when this came out, I thought this sounded so intriguing, so I got it for Christmas. I FINALLY picked it up in December. I needed a book to read after finished Cress, but I didn't want to get invested in a series because I knew I was going to start Shatter Me as soon as I got it for Christmas. So I chose a book from my TBR jar and this is what I came out with!

Thoughts: As intriguing as I found this premise, I'm starting to think I never finished reading the synopsis. Because I think if I had read the entire synopsis, I would have realized that this wouldn't be a "Danielle" book. Because I did not enjoy it very much.

First, let's talk about characters. I didn't really care for any of them. Mia is whiny and very rarely takes any initiative of her own. Which is strange, since I expected a lightning addict to be much more confident and badass. I truly like a lot of YA cliches, but the girl who tries to hide and go unnoticed is not one of my favorites. Her brother, while playing a couple of semi-important roles in the plot, has very little to actually do or say. In the beginning, I thought his defiant attitude would serve as a good counterpoint to Mia's passiveness, but then he basically disappeared throughout the middle of the book. I felt bad for their mother, but at the same time, I just wanted to slap her.

The other students at Mia's school. Honestly, I can't even remember their names because they didn't have a ton of personality. They were just there to serve as impetus for Mia to get involved--in some way--with both cults. Which I will get to in a moment.

But first, let's talk about Jeremy. Oh, Jeremy. This boy is a Gary Stu if I ever saw one. The insta-love between these two was just awful, and I didn't believe it for a second. Also, there is a little bit of a mystery surrounding who Jeremy is, and boy did I see that one from a mile away. And it annoyed me so damn much that Mia didn't figure it out, too. She should have.

The plot was okay. I didn't realize there were "two warring cults" in the book; I thought there was just the religious cult, which really intrigued me. Cults like that make me very curious, which was part of the appeal of this book. But the two cults aspect really took me out of the story. I knew this book would have a little bit of a paranormal aspect to it, but I didn't expect the religious mythology aspect to play such a large role in the plot.

The story takes place in Los Angeles. But because this MAJOR storm has taken place, there is a lot of world-building to do in order to get a real feel of what this earthquake has done to the landscape and the culture. But instead of learning about it bit by bit, the first ten chapters or so are mostly explanations, with very little real action. Which was not great. I never really got seriously invested into the story or attached to any of the characters.

Maybe I was just expecting something different out of this than what I got. If the sequel to this ever comes out (it's been planned for two years already, with no release in sight), I probably won't be continuing with the series, and this book will probably be going in my unhaul later this spring.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Tell me: have YOU read Struck? Did you like it more than me, or do you agree with my points? Let me know in the comments below!