Struck

By: Rachel Langley

Narrated by: Jelyne Helms

Length: 8 hrs

Publisher's summary

The headline read: A Deserted Town: Where Are the Missing?
The missing. That’s what their friends and family had become.

Laney and Leela are identical twins, except for a birthmark and two very different personalities. Home for the summer after college graduation, they go on a camping trip with their two younger siblings. When they return home, they find the town empty. Everyone is missing, including their parents and Laney’s boyfriend, Hollister.

Besides some strange marks on the ground caused by a lightning storm, there aren’t any clues, and without any leads on the disappearances, the police leave the town isolated and closed off. Laney falls into despair, and Leela is not sure how much longer they can remain in their home, hiding from the authorities.

When a mysterious man named Curwen arrives, claiming he wants to help them, Laney and Leela aren’t sure how to proceed. He decides to tell them the truth even though it is forbidden - he works for the leader of an underground resistance, and he knows what's happened to their friends and family. Curwen offers to help the twins on a mission to rescue their parents and Hollister - a mission that could cost them their lives. They must decide whether to trust him or risk being separated from their loved ones forever.

©2018 Rachel Langley (P)2019 Rachel Langley

Don’t blink or else you’ll miss it.

I was so pleasantly surprised with this title. The storyline is great and it has lots of twists and turns along the way. You will learn to love all of the characters even the ones that you think you’re being forced to hate. The science-fiction aspects of this book are super cool. I could not put it down but unfortunately Work got in the way of me finishing this one even quicker. The story kicks off with a huge mystery right at the beginning and doesn’t let up. You learn and grow with the characters along this throw ride. However, I still feel we have much to discover about this group of people. I love the universe and world building this author puts forth in this book. Two separate worlds that are eerily similar yeah totally different. I listen to the audiobook version and the narration was delightful! There was a certain honesty to the performance and you always knew which character was speaking. Whether it was a male or female character the narrator offered different voices and cadences which really spice things up with this title. It was a very exciting and enjoyable experience listening to this audiobook. I have already purchased the second book in the series and cannot wait to begin it. I was provided a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review from audiobook boom. This in no way affected my opinion of this work.

Phenomenal!!!

I literally just finished this audiobook about 3 minutes ago and OMG and HOLY CRAP. I loved this book. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it at first.. It just didn't give me the OMG I HAVE TO READ THIS vibe. But now that I have finished book one... OMG... I NEED BOOK 2 IN MY LIFE ASAP! Absolutely nothing played out the way I thought that it would, and I am normally practically psychic when it comes to predicting books, movies, or things like that. (I also read tarot cards lol). I can't wait to see what happens next. I also really enjoyed this narrator. She was really good and definitely brought something to the story. I can't exactly put my finger on what it is exactly, but whatever it was, she did a phenomenal job as well. I am a HUGE fan!
~This book was given to me at my request. I am providing an honest and voluntary review. Thanx for reading and please hit the like button! Thanx! ~

Loved it!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I thought this would be so much different to what it was. I was expecting some sort of Roanoke story about a town disappearing or maybe the whole world being wiped out. I was surprised at where the pot took us.

I was very pleased with this book all around. The characters were amazing and I loved the girls. Of course, some of the decisions of the characters (main and non main) left me shaking my head. Like WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?????? Overall, this was a fantastic book and a great start to a series

Interesting and Satisfying!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I was pleasantly surprised with how much this book picked up after the first quarter! Langley wrote a beautiful blend of sci-fi and dystopia/apocalypse with distinct, lovable characters that will grab a hold of anyone looking for a YA novel. Usually the romance in YA novels is cringey, but Langley did an awesome job of not writing anything like that in here. I don't want to give too much away, but the world she created was intriguing and giving us chapters with different POVs was an excellent way to get to know the inner-workings of each character. Jelyne Helms did a wonderful job narrating, giving each character their own tone!

My only gripe is I wanted to explore the world she created a little more, maybe get the POV of someone from that world. Despite this, I'll probably wind up getting the second book just to delve deeper into the sisters worlds!

Exciting Intrigue and Sacrifice

Imagine being in love with your soul mate and everyone in your world knows it.  Then waking up the next morning only to discover your world is no more; everything has changed; everyone is … just gone.  Laney and her twin, Leela, travel to a distant place to try to set things right and rescue their friends/family but to do so means traveling in the light, a powerful and dangerous journey with a most uncertain outcome!  The girls are faced with serious consequences as they move forward with their plan, it becomes clear that not everyone will be coming home.

Rachel Langley, the author, weaves a delicate story of love and compassion, intrigue and betrayal, and morality.  The dialog, action, emotions are all genuinely young adult and realistic.   Langley builds each character slowly with detail both physically and emotionally.  There were a few twists that made the story more moving and exciting.  The story, the characters all flowed smoothly.  I liked the way in which we heard from both of the twins – seeing their perspective was satisfying.

The narrator, Jelyne Helms performed the audiobook wonderfully.  Her voices were realistic and comforting – just the perfect pitch and tone for each character.  She read the book comfortably and seemed very familiar with it.  Her tone and inflection gave weight to her characters sounding appropriate ages.  Plus she captured the personality of Leela and Laney perfectly.

There was only one small minor glitch in the publication.  Otherwise, the production quality of this audiobook was top-notch.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Struck.  I hope to hear the second part of this series.  I want to see how things play out.  The cliffhanger was perfectly timed and presented.

Struck sci-fi/paranormal adventure

Laney and Leela are twins living with their parents after college. They, Laney’s boyfriend, their parents and two siblings encounter a strange event on their family camping trip. A strange storm and unusual lightning wake them from their sleep where they wake to find their parents and Laney’s boyfriend missing. Their disappearances begin a course of events that take the twins further from home that they have ever been.
This was an interesting and exciting story! I liked the way it was told from both twins’ points of view. The pace was good and the drama kept me listening longer and longer. It was hard to stop listening when real life butted in.. I am excited to grab book 2 on Kindle unlimited and see what happens next! I give Struck 4 stars!

Fantastic Story

I really, really enjoyed this book. It makes a great stand alone book, but I definitely want to return to this world and find out what happens next. It was suspenseful and funny and serious and magical (Kim of). It was all the things I like. There were plenty of holes in the story, so it’s not exactly believable, but I didn’t care. I just really enjoyed the story line and the characters. The narrator was great. She did an awesome job with all of the voices. I can’t wait to listen to the next book in the series. I received this book for free at my request from Audiobook Boom in exchange for my honest opinion.

Quick and Interesting Sci-Fi Read

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I had a hard time rating this book, but I did finish it one day, so that's saying something. As a whole, I found the book compelling: the plot was interesting, and there was just enough mystery that I was hooked from very early on (even if most of the big reveals were pretty predictable), and I was definitely left wanting more when I finished.

The characters were kind of mixed bag, and I would have loved to see a bit more development, especially differentiating between Laney and Leela. It really took a few chapters for them to start feeling like distinct characters, and it actually took me a while to even realize the perspective was switching between them. Personally, I found Laney to be a bit annoying, but I liked Leela enough to make up for it. Both sisters did feel way younger than their supposed 22, though, to the point where this reads much more like teen/YA lit than anything else.

The narration was fine, and it felt like she really got better at differentiating the two sisters as she went along. Sometimes, it was a bit stilted, but overall, she was pleasant enough to listen to.

Overall, this was a compelling, easy read, and it set up the sequel well. I'd love to give the sequel a read if it comes on sale or I have a credit to spare.

Rollercoaster Ride

When twins Laney and Leela go camping to their favorite spot with their siblings, all is right in the world. Until they return home the next day and realize that everyone in their town has gone missing. With very little clues as to what happened, they stick at home, desperate for answers. When a mysterious man shows up in their yard, they have plenty of questions and he has all the answers.

This was such an immersive fantasy with a fantastic worldbuilding concept. The idea of traveling through lightning is brilliant. I also loved the backstory of the King and the curse though the ending left me wanting more. I really hope there’s some kind of sequel or novella about Lela and her decision because there are so many questions I still have that went unanswered.

Every character had a distinct personality, the twins especially. I liked Cory’s personality the most though. He had an adorable little brother impression, and the way the author wrote him was adorable. Of all the characters though, I think the one I related to most was Leela. She was the easiest to understand, and I found myself rooting for her the most. Especially when Laney was being difficult.

This was a shorter listen, but definitely worth giving your full attention to. I didn’t expect any of what came, and I’m very glad I gave this story, and author, a chance.

Narration was as wonderfully done as the story.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Fun premise with cool elements!

Good narration. She gave a clear performance and fit the characters well. I do wish she had a bit more variation to her voice for different characters, but overall, I enjoyed the listening experience.

Love the premise for this story. Laney and Leela, twin sisters, are camping with their little brother and sister, and Laney’s boyfriend, Hollister. Hollister ends up leaving a little early to plan a surprise for Laney. There’s some strange lightning type strike thing; the group starts home after that, but when they get to their town, all the people are missing. Including, the twins’ parents and Hollister. The twins and their bro and sis stay in hiding when the government comes to investigate, so they can find out what happened and save their parents and Hollister. Luckily, they find someone who knows more than they do; it turns out the people were taken to a different dimension. So, the twins set out on a mission to a different dimension to save their parents and Hollister. Things definitely aren’t going to be easy; especially when there’s too many secrets going on. This new dimension has some weird traditions and they don’t listen to much reason, so the girls are in for some dangerous things.

Loved the fun adventure and there were some cool, unique elements to the story. The story is too slow at times; too much inner monologue, but had interesting moments. We get POV chapters from Laney and Leela; which is great, but they would be doing and thinking similar things, so it gets a bit repetitive. I would’ve liked a bit more action. The twins also don’t really act like they are in their 20’s; more like they are teens, so I would’ve liked a bit more maturity to them. Some of their actions were weird at times; Laney was a bit annoying and both sisters needed more common sense, but I still liked both twins and the supporting characters. I also enjoyed the little bits of romance to the story; Laney and Hollister have a sweet connection.

Overall, there was enough fun elements to keep me entertained and wanting to continue the story with the next book. There’s some intriguing ways this story has developed, so it’ll be interesting to see how the plays out in the next book.