Autumn Book Picks: Nightstruck

I received this book for free from Library, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Nightstruck: the start of a spooky yet romantic dark paranormal horror series from Glimmerglass author Jenna Black.

The night is the enemy, and the city of Philadelphia is its deadliest weapon.

Becket is an ordinary teenage girl, wrestling with the upheaval of her parents' divorce. A studious high school senior, her biggest problems to date have been choosing which colleges to apply to, living up to her parents' ambitious expectations for her, and fighting her secret crush on her best friend's boyfriend. But that all changes on the night she tries to save an innocent life and everything goes horribly wrong.

Unbeknownst to her, Becket has been tricked into opening a door between worlds, allowing a dark magic into the mortal world. As the magic trickles in, the city begins to change at night. Strange creatures roam the streets, and inanimate objects come to life, all of them bloodthirsty and terrifying. The city returns to normal when the sun rises in the morning, and no one can capture the strange changes--such as potholes turning into toothy mouths and wires turning into strangling vines--on film, which prompts the government to declare that the city has been infected with some kind of madness and must be quarantined. Meanwhile, venturing out of one's house at night has become a dangerous proposition, and the moment the sun sets, most of the citizens of the city shut themselves up in their houses and stay there even in the case of dire emergencies.

The magic is openly hostile to most mortals, but there are some individuals it seems to covet, trying to lure them out into the night. While Becket struggles to protect her friends and family from predatory creatures of the night, she is constantly tempted to shrug off all her responsibilities and join them. Joining the night world means being free of not just responsibility, but conscience, and it means no longer caring about the fate of others.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Tis the season for SPOOKY. Nightstruck by Jenna Black certainly meets the mark for a spine chilling read. It is a young adult book featuring a Philadelphia that’s straight out of hell. And there’s no escape.

Nightstruck basically opens on a sinister note. Apparently a veil between the worlds has been breached and bait has been set. We then move to the first chapter where Becket is out walking her dog (Bob Barker – I love that dog name, may steal it someday) when she hears the cry of an abandoned infant on a church step. The night is cold and no one is there at the church, so she goes to help the baby.

Unfortunately, it isn’t really a baby. Becket unwittingly releases an evil upon the city of Philadelphia. Statues come to life when the sun goes down. Potholes swallow people whole. It is pandemonium. And Becket is caught right in the middle.

Her friend Piper changes personality completely. However, Becket still has the boy next door (Luke) to depend on. Unfortunately her father is the police commissioner, so he’s working long hours and gone all the time. Piper and her band of changed people called the Nightstruck keep begging Becket to join them – visiting some horrors upon Becket and her supports if she doesn’t.

So, I think that Nightstruck definitely has an audience and that audience is not me. There were just too many asides and comments to the reader, breaking the fourth wall and a lot of “little did I knows” which come off as so awkward. I also was not entirely here for the horror. It just kind of descends and there’s no way to really catch your breath. I had no real attachment to the characters or the story. It just was not for me — but I am so certain there is an audience for this book.

Readers who revel in dark books will enjoy Nightstruck. I also think actual young adults will get much more enjoyment than I did from this book. If you need something creepy to get you in the Halloween mood, get your hands on the first of Jenna Black’s Nightstruck series – and make it a double feature by grabbing the second book.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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