Review--Thunderstruck by Shannon Delany

Jordan, Rowen and the crews of both the Tempest and the Artemesia strike out for Philadelphia to start a revolution aimed at abolishing slavery and changing their stormpowered society to one that runs on previously repressed steam innovations and will allow for true equality. But can Jordan and Rowen come back together after all the things determined to drive them apart?

As many of you know I was a huge fan of Shannon Delany's 13 to Life series, and I was thrilled when her new Weather Witch series started. But sadly, as you all might know as well, I really struggled with this trilogy. It was a lot to process for some reason. Thunderstruck was no different really, while I did struggle, I did still enjoy parts of it.

I think why I struggled so much with this series is that there's a lot of multiple third person points of view. I can easily read third or first person point of view, but when there's multiple people talking? It gets a little confusing and overwhelming! And boy, was I overwhelmed with this series. I couldn't stay focused on each character's going ons and doings. There simply just was too many characters with too many agendas.

The world-building was another struggle, yet I admit that I liked the idea of it. If I am saying it correctly, it's a sort of re-imagined past setting with steampunk qualities. The steam and all that, but here we add in people with the ability to manipulate and control the weather. Something that becomes quite the commodity and these people, Weather Witches, are turned into slaves practically. And this is set in a time where slavery still exists in some places.

Jordan has been through a lot in this series and I totally feel for the poor girl. Then there's Rowen, the boy she was supposed to get engaged to before all this happened and he's here to rescue her. Yet, she's not the same girl she once was. She's been changed forcefully over and over again. She does her best to conquer old fears, but you can't always win in that area. Her struggles are very real, and I liked that. I like how a magnificent character can have such real life struggles that other readers can relate to (although I truly hope no one ever has to go through what she did!).

Jordan and her friends know that now is a time for change and they are going to fight to put an end to the slavery, of all kinds. They have a motley crew filled with a variety of characters, including pirates, so seeing their battle promises to be intriguing at least! And it was!

While this series may not necessarily have been my favorite, it has at least had its moments. I will continue to look forward to Shannon Delany's work though for she totally won me over with 13 to Life and I have high hopes that she will return to something with a bit more paranormal to her stories! But will likely try out whatever else she cooks up anyway!


Overall Rating 2.75/5 stars--yes the awkward rating, they are wont to happen. Since this series has been a struggle for me, I cannot in good sense say it was a 3, but it was fairly close though! If you're open to new worlds, reimagined times, and steampunk qualities with a dash of science (ie, weather related items) then this read might be more to your style then it was mine. Do give it a try if you wish! Don't let my review stop you.