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nitzanschwarz 's review for:
Elite
by Rachel Van Dyken
Got an arc from NetGalley. Thanks!
Elite is the kind of book you just can't stop reading; Mysterious, dark, intense and dangerous, it tests the age-old question... 'What would you do if your entire life has been a lie?'
Quite honestly, I had no idea what I was getting to with Elite. The synopsis doesn't tell you much, and I just felt it sounded like a fun read, and Rachel Van Dyken is one of those authors I've been planing to read for a while.
Fun read, I said? There is nothing fun about Elite. It deals with bullying, pain, secrets, lies, and the generally grayer parts in life. Those we don't often talk about, and when we do, they're not usually the heroes of our stories. More like our villains.
Despite that, Elite is not exactly a hard read. Van Dyken does a great job cushioning the dark with lighter and comedic elements, but it's definitely not a walk in the park. It's super intense at points, and when it turns that intense it's not pretty. Actually, it's quite terrifying.
But enough about that. Let's talk characters!
Tracey can be really strong and stand out to a bullying jerk who thinks he can intimidate her, but she'll cry and feel sorry for herself after. This means she'll cry and feel sorry for herself a lot (which is the annoying part about her). She can be really gentle and innocent, but then watch someone beat the crap out of another, and while she'll be freaked she won't try to stop him or be scared of those who did the hitting after. Strong, weak, innocent, and not so much... she had many layers and sides.
Enter Nixon - said bully and jerk. Or is he, really? He can be sweet as honey and then ice cold. He can be papa-bear protective, but then humiliate the same person himself, and break their hearts. He can love fiercely and hate just as strongly. And trust me, you do not want to be on that end of his feelings *shiver*. While reading, you'll feel like you should hate the guy (and at times you will), but I could never really do that for long. Which make me kind of worry for my mental health, but meh.
And lets not talk about the other characters in this book. They'll be your friend one moment, stab you in the back the next and the third threaten to kill someone if he comes near you again.
Then there's the romance.
I don't know if I could ever feel the hots for a guy who treated me like garbage and humiliated me in public, like Tracey does, but there's no denying the fact those two are combustive together, and that when Nixon wants to be nice he can certainly be just that.
Err, but I'm not too thrilled about the promise of a love triangle coming up in the next book.
Elite is the kind of book you just can't stop reading; Mysterious, dark, intense and dangerous, it tests the age-old question... 'What would you do if your entire life has been a lie?'
Quite honestly, I had no idea what I was getting to with Elite. The synopsis doesn't tell you much, and I just felt it sounded like a fun read, and Rachel Van Dyken is one of those authors I've been planing to read for a while.
Fun read, I said? There is nothing fun about Elite. It deals with bullying, pain, secrets, lies, and the generally grayer parts in life. Those we don't often talk about, and when we do, they're not usually the heroes of our stories. More like our villains.
Despite that, Elite is not exactly a hard read. Van Dyken does a great job cushioning the dark with lighter and comedic elements, but it's definitely not a walk in the park. It's super intense at points, and when it turns that intense it's not pretty. Actually, it's quite terrifying.
But enough about that. Let's talk characters!
Tracey can be really strong and stand out to a bullying jerk who thinks he can intimidate her, but she'll cry and feel sorry for herself after. This means she'll cry and feel sorry for herself a lot (which is the annoying part about her). She can be really gentle and innocent, but then watch someone beat the crap out of another, and while she'll be freaked she won't try to stop him or be scared of those who did the hitting after. Strong, weak, innocent, and not so much... she had many layers and sides.
Enter Nixon - said bully and jerk. Or is he, really? He can be sweet as honey and then ice cold. He can be papa-bear protective, but then humiliate the same person himself, and break their hearts. He can love fiercely and hate just as strongly. And trust me, you do not want to be on that end of his feelings *shiver*. While reading, you'll feel like you should hate the guy (and at times you will), but I could never really do that for long. Which make me kind of worry for my mental health, but meh.
And lets not talk about the other characters in this book. They'll be your friend one moment, stab you in the back the next and the third threaten to kill someone if he comes near you again.
Then there's the romance.
I don't know if I could ever feel the hots for a guy who treated me like garbage and humiliated me in public, like Tracey does, but there's no denying the fact those two are combustive together, and that when Nixon wants to be nice he can certainly be just that.
Err, but I'm not too thrilled about the promise of a love triangle coming up in the next book.
Everything is a contradiction with this book. It keeps you guessing, keeps you on edge. You never know where it's going to take you. So many things happen is such short time. It felt like months had past when in reality it's only been two weeks.
I'm really curious to see where the story is going to go from now on, and I can't help but wonder if book 2 will be through Tracey's POV or someone else's.
And I will most definitely keep an eye out for Rachel Van Dyken from now on.
I'm really curious to see where the story is going to go from now on, and I can't help but wonder if book 2 will be through Tracey's POV or someone else's.
And I will most definitely keep an eye out for Rachel Van Dyken from now on.