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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I just... NOPE.
I've seen rave reviews about this book and... I don't understand...
Ever heard of Boys Over Flowers? Hana Yori Dango? It's like that, except extremely idiotic.
Alike to the manga/string of dramas, there's this poor girl who receives a scholarship to this extremely elite school where rich people from around the world get their education. At the top of this college food chain is Nixon, Chase, Tex, and then Phoenix. Nixon is the leader of his little group (ahem, Domyouji), Chase is the second guys who's JUST nice enough to her that he seems like a relatively humane person (Rui), and then Tex is a cool guy but is barely ever there, and then Phoenix is just a douche. ENTER TRACE. This girl defies The Elect (-coughF4cough-), and she doesn't dress in designer clothes, and she doesn't think Nixon is some hot guy that she should be falling for. (I would compare her to Makino, but let's face it, Trace is just a whiny girl who can't stand up for herself, and is just ... no.)
Is it just 'cause I know of HYD that I found this less appealing than other people? Maybe, but let me get down to the nitty gritty details.
Trace. Trace was annoying. She had no backbone (and if she did, it was liquid). She sucked at standing up for herself when it actually matters, she literally just sat around and contributed nothing to society. She's also not that smart to be honest. She knows The Elite partially hates her, what does she do? Walks right into their schemes setting herself up for stuff that she can't handle, because by gods she's a weakling. She cried more than she spoke, and when she spoke, half the time she was asking a question. In addition to all that, her thoughts during times of duress are pulled from the gutter. Girl, you have a bajillion and one problems, do you REALLY have time to be thinking about that NOW?
For example, there's this one scene where stuff happens to her and she's like bawling her eyes out and then OH LOOK AT HIM. HE LOOKS LIKE CHANNING TATUM. LIKE LOOK AT HIM *A*
UM. NO.
Also, she says things like "it literally..." and "seriously, this happened..." A LOT. As a reader, I don't need those because I wanna say that what the narrator (MC or third person perspective) says is what they see and what's actually happening. When they say that though, I feel like the credibility of the narrator gets lost 'cause then if they don't say it, did it REALLY happen?
Along those lines, I felt like the author told us what happened more than she showed us. An example of this was when Trace was being moody (again) and she snapped at someone, she said:
Clearly I was dealing with a lot of emotions right now.
Honey, if it was clear, you wouldn't have to state that.
I also found that a number of things were unrealistic. I could see the bullying fine, the mafia stuff fine, kay, whatever. But people chanting some guy's name in the hallway. You just hit crazy on the weird scale.
As per most books these days, this book had that insta-love-hate thing going on. For the most part, she spends the beginning just like NIXONNNN UGHHHHH and then every now and then just like HOLY HELL THIS MALE SPECIMEN IS SO ATTRACTIVE. -3.5 seconds later- I IS IN LUV ~~
UM. NO.
I'm so tired of this insta-love garbage. Love has to stop being such a superficial emotion in books. It downplays the emotion, and makes something beautiful almost meaningless. I don't know why authors think it's acceptable to just toss it out there. I feel like it takes down the book with it because it just shows how much the author was willing to put into the connection between the characters and their back stories.
The last thing that bothered me throughout the book was that the author spent a lot of time setting up for jokes. They weren't subtle things, or just blunt statements that would cause me to laugh, no she would orchestrate a full conversation between characters to get her jokes out, and often times it made me want to facepalm more than laugh.
This book was a huge miss for me. While I didn't mind the overall story, the characters, and the over dramatic everything drove me up the wall. It was the little things - the set up jokes, stating the obvious, telling instead of showing - they all just added up into a novel that I just couldn't bring myself to like. Definitely not on my top ten for this year.
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 2/5
Writing: 1/5
World Building: 2/5
Cover: 3/5
Overall: 2/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.25/5
eCopy obtained via Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley
-review by Between Printed Pages
I've seen rave reviews about this book and... I don't understand...
Ever heard of Boys Over Flowers? Hana Yori Dango? It's like that, except extremely idiotic.
Alike to the manga/string of dramas, there's this poor girl who receives a scholarship to this extremely elite school where rich people from around the world get their education. At the top of this college food chain is Nixon, Chase, Tex, and then Phoenix. Nixon is the leader of his little group (ahem, Domyouji), Chase is the second guys who's JUST nice enough to her that he seems like a relatively humane person (Rui), and then Tex is a cool guy but is barely ever there, and then Phoenix is just a douche. ENTER TRACE. This girl defies The Elect (-coughF4cough-), and she doesn't dress in designer clothes, and she doesn't think Nixon is some hot guy that she should be falling for. (I would compare her to Makino, but let's face it, Trace is just a whiny girl who can't stand up for herself, and is just ... no.)
Is it just 'cause I know of HYD that I found this less appealing than other people? Maybe, but let me get down to the nitty gritty details.
Trace. Trace was annoying. She had no backbone (and if she did, it was liquid). She sucked at standing up for herself when it actually matters, she literally just sat around and contributed nothing to society. She's also not that smart to be honest. She knows The Elite partially hates her, what does she do? Walks right into their schemes setting herself up for stuff that she can't handle, because by gods she's a weakling. She cried more than she spoke, and when she spoke, half the time she was asking a question. In addition to all that, her thoughts during times of duress are pulled from the gutter. Girl, you have a bajillion and one problems, do you REALLY have time to be thinking about that NOW?
For example, there's this one scene where stuff happens to her and she's like bawling her eyes out and then OH LOOK AT HIM. HE LOOKS LIKE CHANNING TATUM. LIKE LOOK AT HIM *A*
UM. NO.
Also, she says things like "it literally..." and "seriously, this happened..." A LOT. As a reader, I don't need those because I wanna say that what the narrator (MC or third person perspective) says is what they see and what's actually happening. When they say that though, I feel like the credibility of the narrator gets lost 'cause then if they don't say it, did it REALLY happen?
Along those lines, I felt like the author told us what happened more than she showed us. An example of this was when Trace was being moody (again) and she snapped at someone, she said:
Clearly I was dealing with a lot of emotions right now.
Honey, if it was clear, you wouldn't have to state that.
I also found that a number of things were unrealistic. I could see the bullying fine, the mafia stuff fine, kay, whatever. But people chanting some guy's name in the hallway. You just hit crazy on the weird scale.
As per most books these days, this book had that insta-love-hate thing going on. For the most part, she spends the beginning just like NIXONNNN UGHHHHH and then every now and then just like HOLY HELL THIS MALE SPECIMEN IS SO ATTRACTIVE. -3.5 seconds later- I IS IN LUV ~~
UM. NO.
I'm so tired of this insta-love garbage. Love has to stop being such a superficial emotion in books. It downplays the emotion, and makes something beautiful almost meaningless. I don't know why authors think it's acceptable to just toss it out there. I feel like it takes down the book with it because it just shows how much the author was willing to put into the connection between the characters and their back stories.
The last thing that bothered me throughout the book was that the author spent a lot of time setting up for jokes. They weren't subtle things, or just blunt statements that would cause me to laugh, no she would orchestrate a full conversation between characters to get her jokes out, and often times it made me want to facepalm more than laugh.
This book was a huge miss for me. While I didn't mind the overall story, the characters, and the over dramatic everything drove me up the wall. It was the little things - the set up jokes, stating the obvious, telling instead of showing - they all just added up into a novel that I just couldn't bring myself to like. Definitely not on my top ten for this year.
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 2/5
Writing: 1/5
World Building: 2/5
Cover: 3/5
Overall: 2/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.25/5
eCopy obtained via Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley
-review by Between Printed Pages
I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did, I was thinking that it would be a college romance story, which it is – to an extent. Nixon and the Elite obviously come off as assholes right away to the point of making Trace want to leave school.
The secrets throughout the book are kind of annoying as every time Trace accepts someone just sidestepping her questions I want to scream. It became quickly obvious what some of the secrets were but there were some surprises in the end.
This is a quick, enjoyable read and not quite a typical college romance. Which I think is a good thing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a New Adult romance with some suspense as well.
I received this ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
The secrets throughout the book are kind of annoying as every time Trace accepts someone just sidestepping her questions I want to scream. It became quickly obvious what some of the secrets were but there were some surprises in the end.
This is a quick, enjoyable read and not quite a typical college romance. Which I think is a good thing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a New Adult romance with some suspense as well.
I received this ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
I spent the first 40% of this book firmly frustrated at the feeling that you'd come in to the story after missing an incredibly crucial point to the book. Once it (finally) started to make sense though, it was easier to connect with the story and the characters.
I enjoyed this more than I was expecting. Basically rich boarding school levelled up to university combined with mafia and dystopia. Rather interesting concept even if it did get a touch Mary sheikh in the end for my liking.
ARC provided NetGalley in in exchange for an honest review.
One thing is for sure, I am going to read the rest of the series. Rachel Van Dyken’s writing style is indeed enjoyable. I like the story, plot and its setting. I’m instantly hooked with it and I can’t stop reading. The characters in this novel are pretty interesting because of the love triangle.
I definitely love Tracey’s character because she’s simple, funny and down to earth but vulnerable. I like how she stood up for herself despite of being bullied. As for her love interests, she’s torn between Nixon and Chase. These two guys in Tracey’s life are rich, attractive and dangerous. I’m not going to elaborate further about these guys because I don’t want to give a spoiler. Let’s just say Nixon is more of a bad boy but sweet in some ways while Chase is one nice guy. ;)
Overall, this book is great and will make you crave for more.
One thing is for sure, I am going to read the rest of the series. Rachel Van Dyken’s writing style is indeed enjoyable. I like the story, plot and its setting. I’m instantly hooked with it and I can’t stop reading. The characters in this novel are pretty interesting because of the love triangle.
I definitely love Tracey’s character because she’s simple, funny and down to earth but vulnerable. I like how she stood up for herself despite of being bullied. As for her love interests, she’s torn between Nixon and Chase. These two guys in Tracey’s life are rich, attractive and dangerous. I’m not going to elaborate further about these guys because I don’t want to give a spoiler. Let’s just say Nixon is more of a bad boy but sweet in some ways while Chase is one nice guy. ;)
Overall, this book is great and will make you crave for more.
"Stupid girls. We always need rescuing."
That line right there sums up the entire book. Trace is just a dumber, more helpless version of Bella Swan/Ana Steele. She does n o t h i n g in this book, everything just happens to her. The only aspect of Trace's personality is that she likes is cows and constantly asserts that she's "not that kind of girl." And honestly she's not that kind of girl--she's not ANY type of girl since she's basically a doll. When she hears the 'big reveal' that the story revolves around, she doesn't even question it or mull it over, she just accepts it. Nixon spends the entire time being mean to her, yet she loves him after a week because he does one (1) nice thing for her. The student body bullies her and she doesn't even stand up for herself. It's just shocking how weak of a character she is.
And a side note, this is so 2000s it actually hurts. All the oh-so-hot dudes wear tight tight clothes and skinny ties. I mean if they're always "packing," where on earth would they even hide a gun in those ridiculous outfits????
That line right there sums up the entire book. Trace is just a dumber, more helpless version of Bella Swan/Ana Steele. She does n o t h i n g in this book, everything just happens to her. The only aspect of Trace's personality is that she likes is cows and constantly asserts that she's "not that kind of girl." And honestly she's not that kind of girl--she's not ANY type of girl since she's basically a doll. When she hears the 'big reveal' that the story revolves around, she doesn't even question it or mull it over, she just accepts it. Nixon spends the entire time being mean to her, yet she loves him after a week because he does one (1) nice thing for her. The student body bullies her and she doesn't even stand up for herself. It's just shocking how weak of a character she is.
And a side note, this is so 2000s it actually hurts. All the oh-so-hot dudes wear tight tight clothes and skinny ties. I mean if they're always "packing," where on earth would they even hide a gun in those ridiculous outfits????
I can't even count how many times I rolled my eyes while reading Elite. There were too many things that deserved the eye roll: Tracey, Nixon, the romance, the story... Elite definitely isn't what I thought it was going to be. It kind of disappointed me with not only the story but the characters. The setting of the novel was an utter joke. A college that acts like a high school in every which way. The students are immature a hell, there are cliques, uniforms, etc. It was basically a high school that was given the name "college" just so nobody would be pissed with how sexually charged many of these pages were. Also, no adult supervision.
Let's start off with the main character, Tracey. Tracey, Tracey, Tracey. Sometimes I liked Tracey, at least at the beginning I did. She stood up for herself, she had a spine, and she was spunky. That is, until she got involved with the "Elite", the "college's" most powerful clique. Then she became the BIGGEST CRY BABY. She was "bursting into sobs" with every other page over EVERYTHING. She couldn't "keep it in". She never could! She LOVED playing the victim.
"I sighed. It would be impossible to forget to breathe, to forget I had a heart, so what made him think it would be possible to forget Nixon?"
At the beginning she was good at standing up for herself, after 15% in? Not so much anymore. She needed some serious saving. She was pathetic. And did I also mention she was completely clueless? There were SO many signs regarding what Nixon was and what was going on around her, but she was of course completely clueless. I cannot respect this girl, she doesn't deserve the reader's respect and I am not even sure why not only one but TWO guys are trying to get her attention. Yeap, here comes the love triangle.
"Open" I opened my eyes and my mouth, since I really didn't have a say in the matter. But then again, it was Nixon. I wasn't given a vote. Ever.
Nixon, Nixon, Nixon. God's gift to earthly women everywhere. Only... not. He is a prick. Not only a prick, he is a mobster! Like, he is only 20 years old and he is already running the family business. Are you kidding? Why is he still attending the "college" which isn't really a college (more like a high school... they make then wear uniforms) from which he was already supposedly graduated? It makes no sense. I dislike this guy so much. He isn't dreamy, he isn't a dangerous bad boy, he is a mobster who thinks the world has to answer to his every beck and call.
"Sobs racked my body until I couldn't breathe or see straight for that matter. I didn't even know which direction I was running. I just knew I had to get out of there. Away from him and away from my broken heart that had just shattered at Nixon's feet."
Don't worry, this isn't unusual behavior for Tracey. She is always bursting into sobs. Hey Nixon, do you mind stepping on that heart for good measure? Thanks.
"Chase's face was suddenly in front of me. Wordlessly, he lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the classroom, damning the mafia to hell the entire way."
Why couldn't Clueless Sobbing Tracey go for Chase? Because he is the nice one of course. But the minute things went wrong with Nixon Tracey ran unto Chase's arms. It's like a bad cheesy chick flick. Then the author tried to quickly assemble together something that looked like attraction between the two characters and we were supposed to buy it. Yeah, no. I need a little more detail in my relationships if I am going to believe this girl is torn between the two guys. Seriously? Chase is the only character I really liked. The only character I would like to get to know better. Well, him and maybe Monroe.
Now let's talk about the girl side characters. Monroe. She is Nixon's twin sister. Being the only other girl in the story of course she gets the "slut" treatment package. Her dresses are too short, she is too beautiful, she is only seen as being interested in partying and guys. She does come to Tracey's rescue when needed however. Even if Tracey doesn't seem to have the best thoughts about her appearance.
"Don't worry, I think I've got the perfect dress." My stomach launched into nervous somersaults. If it was anything like the dress she was wearing now, then I was going to be put in prison for prostituting myself out."
I don't even blame Tracey. No, she just HAD to be the MOST SPECIAL girl in the book. Of course she is a virgin with little to no experience. She is the SPECIAL girl. Everybody take note! Monroe is no good because she dresses "slutty" and is rich and beautiful and so very cliche.
Tracey said and did a lot of stupid things. Like, a lot of them. Look at this little gem:
"Tears threatened again. "Sometimes, Cahse... it's the emotional wounds that hurt the most." I pushed back the anger and sighed. "I'd rather he beat me. Cuts heal, bruises fade-but broken hearts? They carry scars for a lifetime."
I am done. I can't even continue to keep writing about the many things that are just wrong with this book. I can't. I won't. Good luck if you want to read it. I won't be picking up the second one anytime soon, not when there are so many other wonderful things I could be spending my time with.
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 enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. Not sure who I love more, Nixon or Chase.
4 out of 5 Stars
Elite is book one in the Eagle Elite Series. I enjoyed Elite and can't wait to continue with the series. I loved Tracey and Nixon.
Elite is book one in the Eagle Elite Series. I enjoyed Elite and can't wait to continue with the series. I loved Tracey and Nixon.