Must-read YA: 'Struck' by Joss Stirling

Rhoda Baxter, author of contemporary romantic comedy novels and sometimes contributor to HEA, finds the YA named UK Romantic Novel of the Year to be unputdownable. Rhoda, whose most recent release is Doctor January, shares her thoughts on Struck by Joss Stirling.

Rhoda: Struck, previously known as Storm and Stone, by Joss Stirling won the UK Romantic Novel of the Year award for 2015. It's not often a YA book wins the overall award, so you already know that Struck is something special. I started reading it one Friday, thinking I'd pace myself, but I got so engrossed that I finished it before the weekend was over.

Raven Stone is an American scholarship student at an exclusive British private school full of very rich kids. She knows she doesn't fit in, but she's defiant enough to stand up to the school bullies. Besides, her best friend, Gina, will always stand up for her. But then Gina disappears …

Raven is a great character. Strong enough to cope with life, but vulnerable enough to be likable. She notices that there's something odd going on at the school — the disappearances, the strange behavior of some of the students, the way the good teachers all seem to be leaving. Right from the start, you feel Raven's predicament and you can't help but admire her courage when she stands up for herself.

The hero of the story is Keiran Storm. He's like a young Sherlock (think Cumberbatch) with a hint of Indiana Jones. He's uber clever and very logical in his approach to everything. The only trouble is, his feelings for Raven defy logic and this really, really bugs him. I love that. It takes him a while to come to terms with the fact that he's falling in love. Just when he admits his feelings, he's told he can't see her again.

A sense of danger prevails throughout the book as Raven's classmates get weirder and nastier, going from death threats, to abduction, to torture. Adding to the sense of adventure is the YDA (Young Detective Agency) — the organization that Keiran and his colleague Joe Masters work for. It's hard to say much more without straying into spoiler territory, but suffice to say that the tension never flags. Both Keiran and Raven go through so much and they come out of it changed for the better.

I'm hoping that the charming Joe Masters gets his own book at some point. Although the book is set in a very proper British private school, the cast is remarkably international, which is realistic considering people send their kids to exclusive schools from all over the world. Raven is mixed race. I particularly liked that this is just a fact of who she is and no one makes a big deal of it. It's nice to see diverse characters represented quietly and without fanfare. The story is about discrimination, but by social class, rather than race.

I love a clever hero and they don't come much cleverer than Keiran Storm. The fact that he is easy on the eye doesn't hurt either, of course. He can handle a bull whip! What red-blooded girl can resist that?

Struck is a roller coaster of mystery and adventure, but it still retains that tingle to your fingertips feeling of romance.

Find out more about Rhoda and her books at rhodabaxter.com.