Review: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Struck (Struck #1) by Jennifer Bosworth
Synopsis (Goodreads):

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.

My Thoughts: I had a tough time with this book. I liked the setting (disaster and mayhem in LA in the wake of a cataclysmic earthquake) and I liked the resolution but it took me FOREVER (as in, a couple of a days) to get into this book. I was very frustrated by how Mia kept going back to the Seekers when they were obviously lying to her and only giving her half truths. Katrina's actions in particular had me shaking my head. Actually, I think the problem was that Katrina would lie, manipulate, and blackmail Mia and Mia would just kind of be "Oh, well. Don't do it again. You've lost my trust. Oh, you have something else to tell me? Okay. Bring it on." That these people who so desperately wanted her on their side during the upcoming fight were willing to risk her life and force her against her will to join them didn't sit well with me. Even the leader of the Seekers told Mia at one point that he didn't sanction Katrina's ways and then he turned around and tried to psychically force Mia to join them.

I did like the desperation in the aftermath of a cataclysmic event. Between the food shortages, the intermittent loss of water, and the displaced roaming the streets looking for handouts, it created a feeling of hopelessness and despair that was wonderfully creepy. I liked Jeremy. I liked Jeremy with Mia. I liked that they generated heat -- in a literal sense. My biggest obstacle was that the first half of the book I kept putting it down and scowling at it balefully whenever the factions would try to recruit Mia to their respective sides.

Did the second half of the book make up for this? I... don't know. I liked the ending up to a point. I liked that we got a pretty awesomely badass conclusion with lots of lightning and people running around all frantic and scared. I didn't like that the very people who lied to Mia -- and who are still withholding information from her -- were welcomed into her house with open arms once all was said and done. Dude. They lied to you. Repeatedly. Yeah, maybe they redeemed themselves somewhat at the end, but you don't need to invite them to your birthday party.

Here's the part where I'm really conflicted -- I don't know if I'd recommend this book based on how hard it was for me to get into, but I still want to see what happens next. Dangit.

Books in this series
0.5. Prophet
1. Struck - Hardcover | Kindle

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