I struggled with this one. I love a good YA story but this was just not good. The pacing was off, the drama was unnecessary, the characters were shallow, the world was not properly developed, and the plot was confusing.

This was a modern day story with Old Norse myths thrown in. I was intrigued by the premise but it was not executed well at all. The pace was too fast and as a result, nothing was properly explained. I felt as if I missed something that was covered but in fact it was not covered. It wasn't talked about, only skimmed over, if at all. Plus, the lightning fast speed at which this story was told meant I was never given a chance to connect with any character. I wanted to DNF so many times but kept telling myself it would get better. (HINT: It didn't)

I really cannot recommend this to anyone. Even if I had nothing else to read, I would not read this again.

Really interesting concept, fun writing, but I just didn't fall in love with this one! I'm sure it will appeal to fans of Renegade and the MCU.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

I have read many of Miss Drake’s books but none have been like this one. Here we have a shy Stevie who hides behind masks to do her comic review vlog who ends up in the story of her comics itself.

Stevie is smart, kind and sassy when she wants to be. She is also ill and shows incredible strength and positivity when it comes to her illness. She meets Blake at school but he doesn’t really come off the right way. In reality Blake is sweet and kind. He is the hero that we all know comic heroes to be.

Blake is the son of Thor and on earth to find the horn before destruction can occur. He is being challenged in a way beyond what he has ever been before. He is also trying to navigate being human as well. As he is in this new world he finds Stevie to be intriguing and is attracted to her but doesn’t know how to approach her. suddenly Blake’s brother is down on earth with him and Stevie is in danger. Why? Well she is linked to the horn in unspeakable ways.

Stevie is thrust into a story for her comics. Blake is trying to protect her while finding out who is behind the mask that he found intriguing the night the wolves came to earth to help find the horn for the bad guys. Meanwhile, Blake’s brother is trying to find the horn for his mother and him and Blake are beginning a different kind of relationship. They begin to understand and respect one another. Blake shows him why he is to be a good leader in the end and it is wonderful to see.

While everyone is looking for the horn, we see that it is right where no one expects it to be. We see Blake be respectful of Stevie and show how amazing a guy he is and how much he values her with the homecoming incident. Even though these two obviously like each other they are in a situation that has them apart and Stevie trying to do what she thinks is right because of it. That is until they both see the truth and it may be too late. Stevie is in danger, Blake is trying to save her and he does sacrifice a lot for her while keeping her safe and doing the task set out in front of him.

So many tough decisions are put in front of them and they handle them with grace and strength. The story is entertaining and exciting. The writing is wonderful ad the characters you fall in love with those you should and growl at the bad guys as you root for the good ones to win.

It is pretty clear, to me anyway, that I know nothing about Thor and Norse mythology. Like super clear I know nothing and I will be honest, Norse mythology is not my favorite thing. I have always preferred Greek/Roman mythology (mainly because of my love for Persephone, Hades and Ares). I did enjoy this but I think my enjoyment was hindered because of my lack of knowledge.

With this book, it was almost expected of you to know a lot of Norse mythology. Sure, things were explained but I still felt myself grasping at straws to try and figure out everyone and everything. To be honest, I am still unsure if Ragnarok is a good thing or a bad thing.

As for the MCs, they were okay. Blake reminded me too much of Thor. I like Thor but he is so about rules and greatness. I prefer my heroes chaotic good like Iron man or Deadpool. Blake's strictness about rules drove me nuts at times. I did adore his love for Stevie so he had that going for him.

Stevie was okay as well. I appreciated that she was into comics and there was rep for girls with heart conditions. But she was just kind of bland. Nothing about her personality popped for me. Her and Blake were just so much alike, that it was just weird.

Overall, this was enjoyed but I don't think it was the book for me. However, if you are super passionate about Norse mythology then I think you would really like this book. Especially if you really love Thor.

Thunderstruck is a stand-alone read, not super long, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys engaging characters, a fast-paced plot, and a bit of romance while battling trolls and evil Norse gods. Thunderstruck will appeal to many teens, but I would recommend it to readers who are just beginning to move from middle grade books into young adult.

Brenda Drake's books are magical and creative. Thunderstruck is no different. It's unique, fun and in a world of its own. Book nerds eat your heart out. We have gods, cosplay and romance.

Stevie loves comic heroes. She likes to dress up and play all her favourite characters. She has a popular vlog and a secret identity of her own. She's like Clark Kent.. boring high school student by day and dazzling star by night. Her vlog is so popular she is starting to go places.

Blake is living the superhero lifestyle. He is the son of Thor and has been sent on a mission he cannot fail. He has a mystery to solve and a special item to find. He can't help but be distracted by Stevie. He is drawn to her.

Thunderstruck is an adventure book and the main character doesn't see it coming. There's something strange about the new kid but there's also something crazy going on around town. This is a fun book with a godly twist. I really enjoyed this read. It's had all the creativity to make me want to keep turning the pages and the potential for more. 4 out of 5. I like all the different angles to this story and it had no cringe-worthy moments even though Blake hadn't been totally honest with Stevie.

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#Secondlook

"Thunderstruck" was a cute read that follows Einar/Blake and Stevie. All the myths around Thor are true, and Thor's son Einar, likely next in line for the crown, is on Earth in search of the horn. The last signals were around the high school, where he is posing as a student from Norway named Blake. Blake/Einar is searching, but he also finds himself drawn to the kind Stevie- she's quiet but he's noticed how generous and giving she can be.

Stevie has long had heart problems and will be coming up on another major surgery soon. She is also Comic Cam, who wears a mask and posts a vlog to review comic books. She uses the alter-ego to raise money for charities. As someone had saved her family's home by raising money for her last big surgery anonymously, Stevie has tried to pay it forward through her vlog. Stevie also finds herself drawn to Blake, but feels like he is too handsome to like her- and also, Grace is interested in him, and Grace is, kind of, a friend. Stevie also inherited a necklace in an ornate box from her aunt, which came with a mysterious note...

The book is absolutely engaging and page-turning, mixing a lot of Norse mythology with the modern day in a delightful YA fantasy/romance. Stevie and Blake/Einar were both easy to like, and it was interesting to watch their feelings develop (and be held off out of misplaced loyalty). It was a fun action/adventure with some cute main characters (though side characters were all pretty one-dimensional). A lot of Norse gods pop up during the book, and it was interesting to see how they were portrayed herein.

Overall, it was a fun read, and I would love to see it continued in a series (we can hope!). Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This title was a Did Not Finish. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect with it whether it be for characters, story-line or writing style.

Thank you for providing me with a copy.

Love Brenda as a person and also love her books. She's great. Can't wait for her next release.

DNF.

I did not like this one. It was a bit weird.. and I felt like I was too old for it ? It was quite childish and I could not get into it. The characters did not catch my attention and after reading about 35% I could not motivate myself to continue. Interesting concept.. but not really worked out right in my opinion.

Stevie Moon is famous on internet and just ordinary girl in school. She and her friend have a comis book review vlog and she dresses up as comic book hero.

Blake is son of Thor and has come on Earth on a mission to find a Heimdall's horn, before someone use it and start Ragnarok.

He notices Stevie right away and looks at her from the distance. It takes him a long time to even talk to her. Being a great warrior doesn't mean you have great social skills. :)

Blake, his brother, Stevie and her friends form kind of a team to retrieve horn and save Stevie's life.

It's such a lovely story and really quick read. It flows really well, I liked the writing style.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one. On the surface it was light and fluffy but also had the makings of a typical YA novel and I thought the touches from Norse Mythology were different, if not, unique to anything I’ve read in the genre. I liked the set up and the way it was used but I can’t help but think the universe should have been fleshed out more and a little less emphasis on romance but over all this was a quick, fun, read that’s enjoyable.

Let me say I loved this one and if not for some issues it would have been a five for me. The issues were mainly with the transition from scene to scene in the first part of the book. I even reread to see if I missed something a few times. Also, and this is a minor issue, one part said Jules died in a boating accident and then the second part said it was her heart/frost. Now on to what I loved. I loved the overall feel of the book. A little bit Thor with a Teen Wolf feel character and dialogue wise. I was very happy with Kyle and how he wasn't a bad guy but just not like Blake. He had attitude to spare but came through when needed. Blake and Stevie were good together and I always had to laugh at Trevon. Hope to see more from the Thor boys. I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

If you like the Norse mythology you definitely want to read this book. It’s a fast paced, swoon-worthy story with lots of action and I would love to read more about Stevie and Einar! Highly recommended. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing!

*I received a free copy by NetGalley*

I am going to be completely honest. I felt like I was watching Thor for kids, by kids.

I just felt like the supposed semi -god -or was it full god- anyway, he didn't really act like one. -Apart from the fact that he had a hammer only the pures of blood could hold up-. He acted like a little kid. Come on! He was on Earth a full month without searching for any traces of the thing he was supposed to be searching! Responsibilities where?

My ranting apart, it was a good enough fiction book, very laidback, with little scenes of violence or anything of the sort.
*Sigh* I think I'm getting too old for this kind of books.

***3.5/5 Stars***
Thunderstruck was such a cute story. It revolved around Norse Mythology and the pages were filled with friendship, drama, first love and some mystery. I quickly read it in two sittings and I found myself smiling a lot. While it had a younger vibe and a few adorable yet cheesy moments, I enjoyed Thunderstruck and it's characters!

He wanted to get lost in her. Forget he was from another world. A world where she could never go. A world he no longer wanted to return to without her.


Blake, the son of Thor, was my favorite out of all of the characters. He was to recover a horn, and bring it back home. But Blake found himself distracted by Stevie, a girl who goes to the same school as him. And while I thought the son of a god would be charming and charismatic, it didn't always work out that way lol. He was soooooooo out of his element on Earth. He was awkward at times, used too proper of English, and he didn't understand slang (the Netflix comment was my fave rofl!). There were moments that I was laughing yet also cringing for him. But thankfully Stevie was able to see past all of that, just like I was able to.

He just didn’t seem like he belonged on this planet, which was a weird thing to think, but it kept playing in her head.
Really, Stevie. You’re not living in a comic.


Stevie was an adorable girl who had a vlog and loved cosplay. And I assumed her and Blake would easily end up together, that's not exactly how it went down. It all became convoluted when Blake wasn't sure who had the horn. And because of that, he ended up hanging around another girl a lot. Her name was Grace, and I was not a fan. So a love triangle formed. And there was definitely a lot of drama. I'm one of those that loves drama (I use to watch soaps back in the day), so I was a happy girl.

Kyle was leaning against his passenger side door. “Now, wasn’t that sweet? Kill a troll, hack up its body and dump it in the bay, then kiss a cute girl. All in one night.”
“What do you want, now?” Blake rounded the hood to the driver’s side. “Don’t you have someone else you can bother?”


Another character that helped cause a lot of drama was Kyle. He was Blake's brother and in the beginning I wasn't too sure where his loyalty resided. I kept getting annoyed at myself because Kyle came across as someone who I shouldn't necessarily like. Yet I did. He was the annoying brother who would never go away. Heaven help me for liking him lol.

“Why me?” Her words were as silent as a feather falling from a dove. When she looked back up the moonlight touched her face, her cheeks flushed and her dark eyes glistened with tears held back. And he didn’t care that he told her his feelings, because they made her look like that— beautiful.


Now underneath it all, was Norse Mythology. And maybe this is more my issue than anyone else's, but I'm clueless about Norse Mythology. So when a character's name would appear, I didn't understand who they were. It'd say if they were related, but I would have loved to have a little bit of a backstory on who was who. Thankfully I was reading on my kindle, so I would highlight the name and read more about them on the Wikipedia pop-up box. But I do wish some of that info was within the actual story so I'd know who we were meeting or who they were dressing up as.

This time he turned his back. Because he would do anything to save her, even betray her.


The creatures, characters, mystery, and action made this book such a quick, fun read! I was completely entertained, and the story went by too fast. I'm always bummed when I devour a story too quickly. Ohhh one more thing before I go, while it's a YA book, I felt like it would be a great step for those ready to leave MG and step into YA.

PS This is SO random but Trevon (Stevie's best friend's boyfriend) reminded me so much of Murray, Dionne's boyfriend, from Clueless for some reason. So I was always smiling when he was gracing the pages.

*ARC kindly provided by Entangled:Crave via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Thunderstruck is heavy with Norse Mythology, but having full knowledge in such things is certainly not needed to enjoy this fast-paced story.

Thunderstruck is enjoyable and fun, with just enough plot twists to keep the reader engaged and turning the page to find out what happens next. Geared toward teens and maybe young adults, Thunderstruck has all the teen angst elements as most teen/young adult books but with a mythological twist. Gods living among us as teenagers? Well, that’s interesting.

The overall story is quite refreshing and modern, and Brenda Drake does a decent job weaving in the mythological characters without bogging down the plot. As an added bonus, Thunderstruck just may encourage the reader to run off and discover more about Norse Mythology.

As the main character, Stevie Moon certainly has some interesting flaws and issues that lend an air of believability to an otherwise fantastical story. For instance, she has a weak heart, and I’m not just talking about her feelings for Blake (aka Einar, the god posing as a teenage boy who has no clue how to actually behave as a teenager, making him quite endearing). Without providing spoilers, I will only say that Stevie is personally connected to this mythical world, and she finds herself embroiled in a real-live version of the comic heroes, heroines, villains, and other creatures that she loves so much. Kyle (aka Lajos, who is Einar’s brother) is my favorite. His character starts off completely annoying, but he definitely goes through some cracking good developments.

The ending chapters are almost too exciting, with action coming at you from all directions.

I don't really know what else I expected with a book blurb that sounded it would be focused on romance, but I imagined the mythology plot would also have a good part in the plot. On that front, I was a bit disappointed with the book - there was so much potential in a story about two of Thor's sons coming to Midgard, seeing what Thor comics is here versus their own life, and the threat of Ragnarok, but half of this book is taken up by a weird love quadrangle plot, with a lot of high school drama (the latter I get, because this IS set in high school, but in a cage match between high school drama and the fate of the nine worlds, I think Ragnarok wins).

Parts of the novel were interesting, like Blake and Kyle having to fend off creatures to protect the carrier of the horn, Stevie being a vlogger who does it for charitable purposes, the subversion of the expected sibling rivalry to fall into the pattern of Thor-Loki dynamic, but a lot of it was overshadowed by the will-they-won't-they plot of romance going on. Blake trying to navigate a mortal high school would have been interesting if his only interaction wasn't just with the other main characters, and Stevie's almost-psychic doubts about him were unreal. Character motivations and relationship developments were also all over the place, not giving them much depth. There is also a weird timeline where things skip days in the next chapter, but they don't connect well to the previous and it all feels very disjointed.

Shortly, great concept but messy execution.

Myths are crazy popular right now in case you’ve been hiding in a cave and missed hearing about Rick Riordan, Neil Gaiman, or practically anything by Marvel and DC. Riordan has a whole new Norse Mythology series going on, Gaiman just published his definitive edition recently and Marvel has made Thor so famous any teen can probably tell you who Chris Hemsworth is before they could the VP of the US.

Drake has jumped on the bandwagon and provide us her take on the sexy (because you know Hemsworth pops into your head when you hear this name) Thor lineage. Granted her story is more focused on his son but I bet now you’re thinking what a high school version of Hemsworth might look like.

Thunderstruck is a typical YA novel, most assuredly not written for the older end of that crowd who likes to read these whether they publicly admit that or not. You get a modern day take on an Old Norse myth written with a very easy style so you could blow through quite a few chapters before realizing how far you actually read. At the same time that’d be a negative because it is SO fast paced she didn’t slow down enough to really let us connect and enjoy the characters or story. It felt rushed at moments like she had a deadline to meet and left so much to the last minute she was just trying to hit a page count without worrying about what was going on the pages.

You do get quite a bit of cliché, almost cringe worthy, romantic angles so depending on how much of that irritates you versus you just love reading about love be prepared. I thought that part was kind of disappointing because the mythology she tapped into and how she used it was so interesting and fun I would’ve preferred the author fleshing that out more and cutting back on who loves who, wants to be together but can’t, should be together but won’t, drama.

It’s worth checking out if you have time, don’t have anything else on your to read list or you are need a fix until Thor comes out in November. Unfortunately it’s not a novel that will hold a place in your mind’s catalogue of memories so as soon as Chris Hemsworth hits the big screen you’ll be going “Thunderstruck what?”

Thunderstruck is a fun, fast ride with twists and turns and plenty for teens to love. Young readers will enjoy the plot, quest, and mythical beings. I craved even more information about the physical link between the mythical/fictional Norse god-ruled Asgard and Milgard (earth.)

The half-brotherly relationship between Blake and Kyle is banter-filled, and just prickly enough to be quite interesting. I enjoyed the way they play off one another and work together. Blake trying to navigate high school lingo and ways is funny and charming. Kyle dons the role of stereotypical “player” and “jock” and does it well! Many cute moments and laughs here.

Protagonist Stevie is a lovely, endearing character. I wish we’d gotten an even deeper glimpse into her motivations and how she became Comic Cam. What we do get of Stevie shows a girl who is authentic and selfless. This really comes out toward the midpoint of the novel. Her friendship with Amira is positive and supportive––a great look for teen friendships. Stevie’s character blossoms at the book’s climax and she finds courage and strength of “heart” despite her physical heart weakening.

This book hits its stride in the final third of the story. I found myself turning pages to see what was going to happen next.

Although Thunderstruck will appeal to many teens, there is a clear sweet-spot readership for this novel: readers who are just beginning to move from middle grade books into young adult. Drake does a fantastic job setting up and describing battle scenes and interludes with mythical creatures. The level of peril and tension is exciting, but it’s not as intense as we see in many YA fantasy or science fiction offerings. If your teen reader isn’t ready for more emotionally intense portrayals, Thunderstuck is a perfect choice.

This is also true of the narrative. The author keeps the pace quick, the interactions light, and the emotions real and sweet, but not too heavy or tension-filled. Descriptions are simple, clean, and easy to digest––again, perfect for the reader new to young adult.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All comments are my honest opinion.