I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Nightstruck by Jenna Black Published by Tor Teen on April 5, 2016
Pages: 304
Source: the publisher
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It starts with a cry in the night.
Becket, walking her dog one winter evening, fears it’s an abandoned baby left out in the cold. But it is something else—something evil—and it tricks Becket into opening a doorway to another realm, letting a darkness into our world, a corruption that begins transforming Philadelphia into a sinister and menacing version of itself…but only at night.
The changes are subtle at first, causing Becket to doubt her senses and her sanity. But soon the nightmarish truth is impossible to deny: By day, the city is just a city, but at night it literally comes alive with malevolent purpose. Brick and steel become bone, streetlights turn into gallows, and hungry alleys wait to snare mortal victims. Terrified citizens huddle indoors after dusk, as others succumb to the siren song of the night, letting their darker sides run wild.
Once, Becket’s biggest problems were living up to her police commissioner father’s high expectations and a secret crush on her best friend’s boyfriend. Now she must find a way to survive and protect her loved ones…before the darkness takes her as well.
This book was insanely epic and creeptastic! It reminded me of a cross between Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers (with the “night” in Nightstruck reminding me of the “Netherworld” in Soul Screamers) and Jana Oliver’s The Demon Trappers (because of the vibe/feelings I got from Nightstruck. Also, because of the atmosphere in Nightstruck versus The Demon Trappers).
In the beginning, I wasn’t crazy about the characters. They started out filled with tropes and cliches, which was disappointing. But as the story moved forward, the characters began to come into their own, began to change and develop. Becket was super relatable with the whole “my shyness translates to aloofness or unfriendliness” thing. I was really shy in middle school and high school especially, and people would say those same things about me – although the words they used were a bit more mean (like “snob” and “bitch”). For the most part, Becket didn’t really change all that much – until the end. Then she changed a LOT. But even before that, I could feel the subtle change in her, even if it didn’t amount to a huge growth.
Piper was a bit annoying in the beginning, but mostly because she played a part in a tired cliche that I’m getting very sick of in YA. It goes something like this: “I’m the main character and I’m average but my best friend is gorgeous. She could have been the popular cheerleader who is mean to everyone, but she’s totally not like that! Everyone likes her and she likes everyone and all is right with the world.” Why is the pretty girl always popular and mean OR the person everyone says COULD have been popular and mean, but actually everyone likes her and she likes everyone else? Why isn’t there an in-between on this? It’s impossible to like or hate everyone. This is something YA needs to work on doing less of.
I regret that my annoyance at this trope was taken out on Piper, since I ended up LOVING her character later on (which, if you’ve read the book, you’re probably like “…Really?” But I seriously liked her better AFTER. And if you haven’t read it, you’re probably so confused, so I’m just gonna say… GO READ IT!). Like, her whole little sales pitch to Becket totally won me over! I’d be a goner if I were in this world, haha!
As for other characters: I like Luke, but as a friend, not as a potential love interest. I’m not sure how I feel about the “He’s my best friend’s boyfriend, but…” thing. I LOVED Bob the Dog!!! I know I wasn’t supposed to like Aleric, but I kind of couldn’t help it… Don’t judge me!!! And as for Becket’s Dad… Wow! Did NOT expect his story to go the way it did!!!
The ending was INSANE and SO unexpected! The intensity of the last 7 pages alone was enough to give me a heart attack! Like, I seriously can’t put my feels into words without spoilers so I’m just going to silently scream at you to read this amazing book so we can fangirl incoherently together!!!
Overall, I HIGHLY recommend this book! I can’t say it enough! I also can’t wait for book two because, again, THAT ENDING YOU GUYS! OMG!!!!! JFC!!!!! I NEED to see what happens next!!!!