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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I think it's one of those cases that can be labeled as "it's me not the book".
Problem is I tried to read while I was quite tired and this is not a fast paced and action packed story.
For a part of it you feel like you're in the middle of a series and something is going to happen. But nothing happen for a long time and and I was finding hard to keep on reading.
There's a moment towards the end when you understand what was all about but it took so long.
I liked the style of writing, the world building and the character are well developed even if a bit too juvenile for my taste.
I will try again to read it. I can't recommend it unless you're in the right mindset.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Problem is I tried to read while I was quite tired and this is not a fast paced and action packed story.
For a part of it you feel like you're in the middle of a series and something is going to happen. But nothing happen for a long time and and I was finding hard to keep on reading.
There's a moment towards the end when you understand what was all about but it took so long.
I liked the style of writing, the world building and the character are well developed even if a bit too juvenile for my taste.
I will try again to read it. I can't recommend it unless you're in the right mindset.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book and consider it Veronica Roth’s best to date. The audio, read by Dakota Fanning, was excellent. It took a turn in the middle I wasn’t expecting but the second half, even though it felt like a slightly different book, was still awesome.
I initially liked this book--the question of what happens to Chosen Ones after their adventure is finished and they try to go back to normal life is an interesting one, and Roth seemed to be treating the PTSD and other issues the heroes experienced thoughtfully.
Then the book went back on its premise, tossing the characters into a new adventure and just telling that adventure story straight. It read just like any other YA adventure story (I know it's not marketed as YA but Roth's roots still show through), except that the characters had some fade-to-black sex once or twice (and even that is not actually off the table for YA) and they were in their late 20s.
So it was disappointing, not really because it was a BAD book but because I was hoping for it to be something else. (And in fairness to me, the marketing copy is heavily weighted toward the initial 20% of the book and not the adventure which forms the latter 80% of it.)
Then the book went back on its premise, tossing the characters into a new adventure and just telling that adventure story straight. It read just like any other YA adventure story (I know it's not marketed as YA but Roth's roots still show through), except that the characters had some fade-to-black sex once or twice (and even that is not actually off the table for YA) and they were in their late 20s.
So it was disappointing, not really because it was a BAD book but because I was hoping for it to be something else. (And in fairness to me, the marketing copy is heavily weighted toward the initial 20% of the book and not the adventure which forms the latter 80% of it.)
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really struggled to finish this book. The plot sounded interesting but just failed. Needless to say that I won’t be reading a prequel/sequel should it come along.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Chosen Ones goes down as a guilty pleasure for me. I haven't read any of Roth's previous works, although I have seen the Divergent movies and giggled throughout them.
It reads on the border of new adult/young adult. I found the writing style enjoyable and it kept me hooked. The main characters are not complex enough in their emotions for the book to really stand out as adult; they do come off as one-dimensional and petulant at times.
The start of the story seems like a book in reverse. It's ten years after the defeat of the Dark One, and the group of Chosen Ones, teens at the time of the event, are returning for a grand event. It's modern day Chicago, and there's some trace amounts of magic present in the world, but only the Chosen Ones were able to wield it.
It's noted that strange disturbances are starting to happen again. The group wonders if the Dark One is returning. Then the plot takes a crazy twist and veers down a road that you didn't see coming. I can't say much without spoiling it. I wish the twist happened much earlier, as I think time was wasted setting everything up.
The main character, Sloane, is like a caricature of a hurt, bad girl. She can be annoying at times, but Roth won me over somehow. It was a nice change reading from the viewpoint of a character that didn't care about others feelings.
The character of Mox I immediately thought of as Kylo Ren/Adam Driver by the description, and as I look at reviews here I can see multiple other people picked up on that as well. For me, that's a bonus, albeit makes it more like a fanfiction type story than a real original story, but whatever, I was committed.
The relationship between Sloane and Matt. Let me tell you people, the way things went down for them, it never goes that well. That is probably the most fantasy thing in this book.
The world-building was decent. I didn't understand why the modern day Chicago didn't use any of the magic. Was it just because it was caught up in dangerous objects? I know there was some experimentation, but seems to me that some of the Chosen Ones should have been using a little on the side anyway.
The second setting the outfits and such seemed absolutely ridiculous. The diversity of our world today, how would we all just collectively say, yes we want to wear heavy, fancy robes because magic? I get annoyed when a whole world is reduced to such similarity.
Anyway, if you are looking for something really inventive and new, this isn't it. If you want a young adult type like book with a bit of romance, and no real adult emotions, tied in with an evil bad guy, this is the book. If you want something as a palate cleanser that seems a bit ridiculous, this is it.
As I said, I gave this 4 stars because I had a fun time, but this isn't ground-breaking, amazing literature.
It reads on the border of new adult/young adult. I found the writing style enjoyable and it kept me hooked. The main characters are not complex enough in their emotions for the book to really stand out as adult; they do come off as one-dimensional and petulant at times.
The start of the story seems like a book in reverse. It's ten years after the defeat of the Dark One, and the group of Chosen Ones, teens at the time of the event, are returning for a grand event. It's modern day Chicago, and there's some trace amounts of magic present in the world, but only the Chosen Ones were able to wield it.
It's noted that strange disturbances are starting to happen again. The group wonders if the Dark One is returning. Then the plot takes a crazy twist and veers down a road that you didn't see coming. I can't say much without spoiling it. I wish the twist happened much earlier, as I think time was wasted setting everything up.
The main character, Sloane, is like a caricature of a hurt, bad girl. She can be annoying at times, but Roth won me over somehow. It was a nice change reading from the viewpoint of a character that didn't care about others feelings.
The character of Mox I immediately thought of as Kylo Ren/Adam Driver by the description, and as I look at reviews here I can see multiple other people picked up on that as well. For me, that's a bonus, albeit makes it more like a fanfiction type story than a real original story, but whatever, I was committed.
The relationship between Sloane and Matt. Let me tell you people, the way things went down for them, it never goes that well. That is probably the most fantasy thing in this book.
Spoiler
Not even one real tearful, messy conversation where they try to make it work??? Someone throwing some objects? Complete lack of desperation?The world-building was decent. I didn't understand why the modern day Chicago didn't use any of the magic. Was it just because it was caught up in dangerous objects? I know there was some experimentation, but seems to me that some of the Chosen Ones should have been using a little on the side anyway.
The second setting the outfits and such seemed absolutely ridiculous. The diversity of our world today, how would we all just collectively say, yes we want to wear heavy, fancy robes because magic? I get annoyed when a whole world is reduced to such similarity.
Anyway, if you are looking for something really inventive and new, this isn't it. If you want a young adult type like book with a bit of romance, and no real adult emotions, tied in with an evil bad guy, this is the book. If you want something as a palate cleanser that seems a bit ridiculous, this is it.
As I said, I gave this 4 stars because I had a fun time, but this isn't ground-breaking, amazing literature.
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Dark One, a Chosen One, a prophecy (made by a woman named Sibyl), your soul placed in an object… Is this Harry Potter? Okay, it’s nothing like Harry Potter really, but throwing these facts into your face at the very beginning of the story did feel a little off. Like the writer forgot how to use her own creativity and based her story off someone else’s.
Chosen Ones ended up being an urban fantasy story set in Chicago where five teenagers beat a villain named The Dark One 10 years ago. They’re still living in the aftermath of everything that happened when they’re sucked into an alternate version of Chicago and have to beat their Dark One, who is called The Resurrectionist there, once again or order to be able to go home.
The story is mixed with different newspaper articles, research papers and excerpts from books. On the one hand it’s quite interesting to learn bits about the world and what happened this way, but on the other hand it’s also very annoying because the story is constantly interruptered, which disrupts the flow of the story.
Even after around 100 pages I found it hard to figure out where the story was going. At first I thought it would slowly tell uswhat had happened during the Dark One’s reign and final battle, but that was disclosed quite early already. At one point I just felt like I was walking around reading information that didn’t have a purpose. I really didn’t add to my enjoyment of the book. And then it was: okay, parallel universes it is.
The Dark One, a Chosen One, a prophecy (made by a woman named Sibyl), your soul placed in an object… Is this Harry Potter? Okay, it’s nothing like Harry Potter really, but throwing these facts into your face at the very beginning of the story did feel a little off. Like the writer forgot how to use her own creativity and based her story off someone else’s.
Chosen Ones ended up being an urban fantasy story set in Chicago where five teenagers beat a villain named The Dark One 10 years ago. They’re still living in the aftermath of everything that happened when they’re sucked into an alternate version of Chicago and have to beat their Dark One, who is called The Resurrectionist there, once again or order to be able to go home.
The story is mixed with different newspaper articles, research papers and excerpts from books. On the one hand it’s quite interesting to learn bits about the world and what happened this way, but on the other hand it’s also very annoying because the story is constantly interruptered, which disrupts the flow of the story.
Even after around 100 pages I found it hard to figure out where the story was going. At first I thought it would slowly tell uswhat had happened during the Dark One’s reign and final battle, but that was disclosed quite early already. At one point I just felt like I was walking around reading information that didn’t have a purpose. I really didn’t add to my enjoyment of the book. And then it was: okay, parallel universes it is.
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Gaslighting