Struck

Phoebe Meadows, Book 1

By: Amanda Carlson

Narrated by: Emma Wilder

Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

When Phoebe Meadows gets struck by a strange light in the stock room 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 off 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, Phoebe might not live long enough to learn the full truth about who and what she really is.

©2016 Amanda Carlson (P)2016 Amanda Carlson

Action-packed

Since the Norse mythology is new to me I felt this was a fresh and different urban fantasy. It had a lot of action and great characters. Emma Wilder did a great job with the voices. I'll be getting book 2 next.
I think I'm suppose to state that I won the audible copy of this book in a contest. I joined the contest because I loved the Jessica McClain books and have all the ones available at audible.

A good read.

I love this authors Jessica McClain series and on seeing she had a new one out, I just had to read it!!!

Phoebe is a normal girl, until the day she is struck by lightening. From that day on, she finds out that her neighbour and friend, is her aunt, she is being hunted by the fates, she is in fact a daughter of a Valkyrie and her father is a God!! Then to cap everything off, she is trapped in one of the nine worlds with Lokis son!! How can she escape an inescapable place, one where Fenrir was placed as his prison??

What an intense and fast paced read. This was chock full of action adventure, but best of all, Norse mythology!! I absolutely loved the authors take on Odin, Loki, Fenrir and the Valkyries. The Norse gods are sadly lacking in YA and Urban Fantasy books.

Phoebe was an awesome heroine. I loved the fact that she was so inclined to not believe what was happening to her and questioned everything, though I'm tired of the MC being super powerful or "the chosen one", it get's old!! Why can't they just be normal in an extraordinary world ;) Anyway, I really liked Phoebe. She was smart, sassy in a way and not afraid to do what was needed. I think it was her innocence that really made me feel for her.

Fen was definitely swoon worthy, though I hated that they had the "instant connection". That again get's old quickly!! I loved the authors take on him and why he was locked away!! Need to see more of him in the next book.

In all this was an awesome read. Plenty of action, incredibly fast paced and totally engaging, this is a must read. I can't wait for book 2 to see where this story goes.

Emma Wilder was good, not quite there yet, but I think with practice she will become great! She had a decent amount of tones and voices but she didn't preform the book as well as I hoped. I wanted her to portray the tenseness more and really bring this to life! I will try this narrator again to see if she gets better!

Nice start to the series

I’ve been a fan of Amanda Carlson’s since I read the first Jessica McClain book several years ago. I was really excited to hear that she had a new series coming out and it was based on Norse Mythology. This is a section of paranormal that I’m not extremely familiar with, but I’ve been enjoying the stories that I’ve read based on this mythology.

So here we have Phoebe who has always thought of herself as a pretty normal person. She is fairly new to New York City. She is making her way working in the shoe department of Macy’s. That is until one day she is struck by lightning. Well, she didn’t realize it was lightning at first, because how do you get struck by lightning in the middle of a building. It isn’t until she gets home and finds an extremely large raven in his apartment and her neighbor busts in, wearing really weird clothes and talking about things that couldn’t possibly be real, that things start to really get weird for Phoebe.

Phoebe has a really difficult time dealing with this change in her life. This makes it difficult for the people around her to really save her. She is whisked away to another realm where she continues to meet more people who are going to be a large part of her new life and help her along the way.

I’m having a hard time deciding how I want to rate this story. I liked the characters. The plot was fast paced and exciting, which is something I knew I would get from Amanda Carlson. Her stories are almost too fast paced at times. The romance between Fen and Phoebe was extremely quick and not well developed. I think this series has promise, but felt that this story could’ve used a little more depth. I also felt like somethings just worked out too easily for Phoebe and her friends. There were obstacles, but they were easily solved and moved on to the next one. I would like to see things not be quite so easy for her in the future.

Narration
I enjoyed Emma Wilder’s narration. I had not listened to her before this book, but I would listen to her again. I thought did a good job with males and females. Each character had a distinct voice. I thought her pacing was perfect for this fast paced story. I would try her again.

**I like to thank the author for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing!

Would you listen to Struck again? Why?

Yes, It's a great story

Any additional comments?

Loved this book and it's take on Norse characters/myth. I'm seriously loving the pairing of Pheobe & Fen! Great Characters and a great plot, I can't wait for the sequel!

Good Start to a New Series

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed that you didn't need a strong Norse background to follow it and there was a lot of uncertainty and growth. If Phoebe had been prepared for being struck and beginning the transformation process of becoming a Valkyrie, the story would be much less compelling

Have you listened to any of Emma Wilder’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I enjoyed it. She's not my most favorite narrator but she did well. She was very soft spoken in some internal dialogue that I had trouble focusing on when I was driving to work at 6am but I loved her character speaking voices.

Any additional comments?

My traveling companion was very concerned that I would listen to this book while I was at work or at home without her. i really appreciated that the WhisperSync function and latest Kindle update allowed me to read head without losing where she and I were in it.

Modern day girl collides with the worlds of gods

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

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.

Phoebe has items on her newly formed list that she needs to do, and this book has listed them. Looking forward to seeing Phoebe venture out in this new world she's a part of.

Which character – as performed by Emma Wilder – was your favorite?

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.

Any additional comments?

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. 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.

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.

wow

Amazingly entertaining read. Pheobe is one bass a++ heorine. I am a huge fan of Shannon Mayer series Rylee Adamson and thought no-one could rival Rylee Adamson , but based on this first book of this series I think I just maybe wrong . I can't wait for the next book in the series.

A date with mythology

Would you listen to Struck again? Why?

Yes. It's an interesting story that brings mythology to life

What was one of the most memorable moments of Struck?

When Phoebe and Fenrir meet

Which scene was your favorite?

When Phoebe tells Fenrir who her father is.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Love the book & story. The Narrator is amazing for the story.

Wish it was better

I wanted to really enjoy this book. I listened through Audible. The narrator was a good fit for this story. In this book you find the plot started with Oden and then we met witches, giants, sea snakes, elves, blood, death and the list goes on. The main character was to wishy washy even knowing she has powers she never really tried to use them to save herself. She whined about everything. Her best friend handled the situation so much better. I wanted to read the next book but I don't want to listen to anymore whining. This book is not for me.

Loved it!!! Super entertaining!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! The story is beyond interesting, and the narrator does awesome!

What did you like best about this story?

the Norse god angle was great

What does Emma Wilder bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

There are a whole bunch of creatures, and she has a different voice for all the different types, she does wonderfully!

Any additional comments?

Full review -

I loved this!! I love this type of premise! Phoebe is a woman who is struck by lightening, and it completely changes her life! She finds out that she isn't exactly human, and that there are quite a few enemies that want her dead due to a prophecy, so begins Phoebe's crazy adventure! I love that this story has to deal with some Norse mythology, and I loved that Phoebe is in her 20's, so the story is more adult. This book deals with Phoebe finding out more about who she really is, and Phoebe begins the first leg on her quest to discovering just what in the heck is going on. I love the unique creatures and worlds Phoebe encounters, and I liked all of the side characters. Phoebe is a bit of a damsel, but she does have some awesome, kickass moments, and I'm looking forward to seeing her grow more into her powers, and I'm excited to see where her quest is going to go. I loved the connection between Phoebe and Fen! This story has some steamy moments! There is lots of cool action sequences, and some interesting enemies. I also listened to the audiobook version of Struck, and the narrator did an amazing job! Not only does she do different female and male voices, she also does a whole bunch of different creatures, and she does great with them all! I'm definitely looking forward to the next book! The adventure is just beginning!