Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
How do I write a reaction to Rachel Van Dyken's "Elite"? I guess on one hand, you could say this was trying to be a humorous, thrilling romantic read in the scheme of New Adult, but it rubbed me the wrong way for the utter implausibilities in the storyline. I had a hard time getting through much of it because it seemed like a poorly written version of the YA series "Private" by Kate Brian, or even a poorer version of the anime/manga series Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers). And then it transitioned to something more that I couldn't follow for the utter over the top drama it held.
The story revolves around Trace, a young woman who moved from Wyoming to attend an elite college after winning some kind of draw/contest (don't ask me - it was in the book, it was a weird place to start from). As the new girl (or "Farm Girl" as she's called), she's subjected to so many hazing rituals on the part of the Elite, who pretty much rule every aspect of the school including holding key cards which control how much the heroine has to eat and live off of in the facilities of the school. She gets drawn between the affections of the guys who are supposedly the "king bees" of this institution and are among the privileged few. I had a really hard time believing these students had so much control over the teachers and access to things around this institution. It drove me a little stir crazy as I read through it because I couldn't suspend disbelief at the establishment being what it was.
The heroine gets subjected to not only being drugged and made to think she slept with one of the Elect (and gets called names and petty labels for the insinuation), but also becomes the butt of several sexually harassing gestures and creepy come-ons that made me cringe as I read through the work. And the heroine has some kind of weird association with cows that was repeated over and over in a way that wasn't endearing at all.
And the larger conflict? I had to shake my head at the convoluted associations it made with mob mentalities and murder and just...I couldn't. I just couldn't.
But apart from that, this is pretty much your typical New Adult novel for cliches - uber jerk love interest, heroine who pines for hero despite him being a jerk, female-female hating, slut-shaming, bitch-slamming...wash, rinse, repeat. Argh. And this was one of those books I really hoped would be different.
I can't say I have a handle on Rachel Van Dyken's style of writing yet (Her prose in itself is compulsively readable - I finished this fairly quickly for time, but it contained a lot of grammatical errors for tenses, comma use, among other measures - more than it should've had even for a galley), but it's probably better I stop with this respective series because I had too many issues with it. It was not fun in the least.
Overall score: 0.5/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Forever.
The story revolves around Trace, a young woman who moved from Wyoming to attend an elite college after winning some kind of draw/contest (don't ask me - it was in the book, it was a weird place to start from). As the new girl (or "Farm Girl" as she's called), she's subjected to so many hazing rituals on the part of the Elite, who pretty much rule every aspect of the school including holding key cards which control how much the heroine has to eat and live off of in the facilities of the school. She gets drawn between the affections of the guys who are supposedly the "king bees" of this institution and are among the privileged few. I had a really hard time believing these students had so much control over the teachers and access to things around this institution. It drove me a little stir crazy as I read through it because I couldn't suspend disbelief at the establishment being what it was.
The heroine gets subjected to not only being drugged and made to think she slept with one of the Elect (and gets called names and petty labels for the insinuation), but also becomes the butt of several sexually harassing gestures and creepy come-ons that made me cringe as I read through the work. And the heroine has some kind of weird association with cows that was repeated over and over in a way that wasn't endearing at all.
And the larger conflict? I had to shake my head at the convoluted associations it made with mob mentalities and murder and just...I couldn't. I just couldn't.
But apart from that, this is pretty much your typical New Adult novel for cliches - uber jerk love interest, heroine who pines for hero despite him being a jerk, female-female hating, slut-shaming, bitch-slamming...wash, rinse, repeat. Argh. And this was one of those books I really hoped would be different.
I can't say I have a handle on Rachel Van Dyken's style of writing yet (Her prose in itself is compulsively readable - I finished this fairly quickly for time, but it contained a lot of grammatical errors for tenses, comma use, among other measures - more than it should've had even for a galley), but it's probably better I stop with this respective series because I had too many issues with it. It was not fun in the least.
Overall score: 0.5/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Forever.
Different. I am not sure exactly what I expected, but this book was different-in a good way. I was surprised, irritated, and totally engaged the whole time. Finished it in an afternoon and then jumped right in to the second book!
An easy, entertaining read. I've never read a mafia book before, nor have I thought it would be that interesting. I'll definitely read the second one just to fill my guilty pleasure of young romance and machine guns.
I'm loving this book so much! It's violent, but it's a sexy kind of violent. I really need to read more about how mafia works so I can understand what the characters are talking about :P Definitely a must read!
I love this series
I don't know how many times I've read this series now, but each time I am reminded just how much I enjoy it.
Rachel Van Dyken has long been one of my favourite authors, and Elite was the first book of hers I read. I remember the first time I read it. I had bought it when it first came out, and started reading it a couple of months later. I couldn't get enough. This series has always been one of my favourites, just because it is full of mystery, angst and characters that are easy to love and hate. Sometimes at the same time!
I don't know how many times I've read this series now, but each time I am reminded just how much I enjoy it.
Rachel Van Dyken has long been one of my favourite authors, and Elite was the first book of hers I read. I remember the first time I read it. I had bought it when it first came out, and started reading it a couple of months later. I couldn't get enough. This series has always been one of my favourites, just because it is full of mystery, angst and characters that are easy to love and hate. Sometimes at the same time!
I’m not sure why I procrastinated reading this book. The reviews I’ve seen for this series are glowing. Well actually I do know. From my 1st multiple/duel pov book years ago, I’ve become obsessed with them. It’s to the point I sometimes struggle staying interested in books with only 1 POV. Multiple POV books have spoiled me and make it hard for me to quickly jump to read one that is not.
While only 1 POV, this book definitely lived up to the hype. Do not let how long it took for me to read this book fool you. Some author *Cough* Pen Douglas *Cough* and her fb book group got me addicted to Meteor Garden on Netflix . Rather than read Elite I read the English subtitles displayed for that amazing show whose audio is only in Chinese and consisted of 49 episodes. And then I had to find more shows like it. So you see my length of read is soo not accurate and does not reflect on my enjoyment of this book
Enough about my issues drama I love Mafia Romance books if they are done right. This one so is. You got some drama, you got bad boy protecting female main character and you get a bad boy that can’t decide if he loves being bad or not. Also, the female lead is usually tough / strong. She’s got to deal with big bad Mafia guy after all. Elite did not disappoint, you got all those elements. You got a strong female lead who is left in the dark about her own past. You got a hot bad boy that hates dealing with drama but has to cause thats what a boss does.
Next on my read list is reading book 1.5 without skimming for specific passages. Excited to get boys pov in full! Also I already peaked book 2 is Multiple POV which I am excited for.
While only 1 POV, this book definitely lived up to the hype. Do not let how long it took for me to read this book fool you. Some author *Cough* Pen Douglas *Cough* and her fb book group got me addicted to Meteor Garden on Netflix . Rather than read Elite I read the English subtitles displayed for that amazing show whose audio is only in Chinese and consisted of 49 episodes. And then I had to find more shows like it. So you see my length of read is soo not accurate and does not reflect on my enjoyment of this book
Enough about my issues drama I love Mafia Romance books if they are done right. This one so is. You got some drama, you got bad boy protecting female main character and you get a bad boy that can’t decide if he loves being bad or not. Also, the female lead is usually tough / strong. She’s got to deal with big bad Mafia guy after all. Elite did not disappoint, you got all those elements. You got a strong female lead who is left in the dark about her own past. You got a hot bad boy that hates dealing with drama but has to cause thats what a boss does.
Next on my read list is reading book 1.5 without skimming for specific passages. Excited to get boys pov in full! Also I already peaked book 2 is Multiple POV which I am excited for.
3 stars
This story made very little sense. There were so many plot holes that I’m surprised I was still able to follow the plot (more or less). Basically this isn’t it if you’re looking to read something that.. makes sense. That being said, I still read every word, and will probably continue to read about other characters from the series because .. I just can't stop myself from trying.
I won’t continue with book 2 which follows the same couple, because honestly their “love” and relationship didn’t really exist and they had no chemistry, connection or even enough romantic interaction.
This story made very little sense. There were so many plot holes that I’m surprised I was still able to follow the plot (more or less). Basically this isn’t it if you’re looking to read something that.. makes sense. That being said, I still read every word, and will probably continue to read about other characters from the series because .. I just can't stop myself from trying.
I won’t continue with book 2 which follows the same couple, because honestly their “love” and relationship didn’t really exist and they had no chemistry, connection or even enough romantic interaction.