Cover Image: Chosen Ones

Chosen Ones

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This book is equal parts emotionality and entertainment. While there were some bits that I would change, i found myself really absorbed in the story and the different characters' situations. I would recommend giving this book a try.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed the storyline in world building in the novel. I also really liked the characters. I thought this was a solid read, and I will definitely be reading more by this author.

Was this review helpful?

I loved the premise of The Chosen Ones! What happens after the happy ending. After the heroes save the world and everyone is at peace. However, I struggled with this book. The authors writing is fantastic and all the elements for a great book are there, it just wasn't for me.

Was this review helpful?

While the promising premise explored the aftermath of five chosen teenagers saving the world, the novel delved into themes of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, creating a dark and intriguing atmosphere. The well-executed prologue, featuring interviews, excerpts, and documents, provided extra information and enriched the narrative. However, the slow and boring pacing, coupled with the unconvincing characterisation of supposed adult main characters who read more like teenagers, left me disengaged. The genre identity of the book remained unclear, wavering between fantasy with steampunk elements and dystopian mystery. While some creative elements stood out, others felt unimaginative, notably the character named "The Dark One," eliciting frequent eye-rolls. In essence, despite potential appeal to hardcore Veronica Roth fans, my overall experience with the book was not particularly favourable.

Was this review helpful?

I tried getting into this one multiple times but I just couldn't really get into the story. The characters were not ones that I could fall in love with and the plot didn't start immediately. The beginning was very slow and didn't grab my attention. I ended up deciding not to continue reading this after attempting it every year for the past 3 years in different formats.

Was this review helpful?

Let me start off by saying I love Veronica Roth as an author. The Carve the Marks duology is one of my favorite YA series of all time However, this book failed to keep me engaged and failed to keep me interested. I might try a reread in the future, but for now, it's a solid three stars from me.

Was this review helpful?

As a Divergent lover, I was very excited for Chosen Ones - a dystopian novel for adults. However, just because a book is labeled for adults does not make it such. The characters were of adulthood age, yet acted and talked like teenagers. The premise of the book seemed so exciting - teenagers who defeat The Dark One and save the world, but I found the plot to be boring and slow. The redeeming facet of the book was Sloan, who was an interesting and well-developed character.

Was this review helpful?

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth presents a unique and captivating premise that initially drew me in. The concept of a group of individuals chosen to save the world from a dark force is undeniably intriguing. Roth's storytelling ability shines through as she weaves a complex and suspenseful narrative that kept me hooked until the end.

One of the strengths of Chosen Ones is the depth of its characters. Roth successfully delves into their fears, insecurities, and the emotional burdens they carry as they navigate their newfound responsibilities. This added layer of humanity to the protagonists allowed me to empathize with them and feel invested in their journey.

Additionally, the world-building in Chosen Ones is commendable. Roth creates a vivid and expansive universe with its own set of rules and supernatural elements. The intricacies of the magical system are thoughtfully crafted, enhancing the overall reading experience.

However, despite its merits, the book falls short in some areas. The pacing, at times, feels uneven, with moments of intense action followed by slower, less engaging sections. This inconsistency hindered my immersion in the story, making it difficult to maintain a steady level of excitement.

Furthermore, the plot twists and revelations, while initially surprising, lose their impact as the story progresses. Some of the key twists seemed forced and lacked the necessary foreshadowing, leaving me somewhat dissatisfied with their execution.

Lastly, the ending felt rushed, as if the author had to tie up loose ends quickly. I would have appreciated a more deliberate and satisfying conclusion that gave proper closure to the characters' arcs.

In conclusion, Chosen Ones presents an interesting premise with strong character development and world-building. However, it falls short in terms of pacing, plot execution, and the resolution of its storylines. While it may not be a perfect read, fans of Veronica Roth's previous works may still find enjoyment in this novel.

Was this review helpful?

I dnfed this book i stopped on chapter thirteen. I had a hard time getting into this one. I didn’t care for the plot or the characters.

Was this review helpful?

Yeah no this book was not for me. A adult dystopian a la hunger games and divergent. The stort was not very interesting and I wanted to dnf many Times out of barndom. There are better books in the genre.

Was this review helpful?

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Was this review helpful?

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆
2 – I Will Not be Reading More of this Series – Stars

CHOSEN ONES is the debut in a new series by Veronica Roth, in the adult genre instead of the Young Adult genre she dominates. I will admit, I fangirled hard for DIVERGENT, with the original cast of characters, whom I rooted for as if they were real to me.

This novel was one of the most difficult for me to read, and not just because of the formatting issue I encountered. Formatting issue was due to the fact that there were three types of texts in the content. News pieces, redacted documents, and what was happening in the now, all of which looked different on my app. I had to zoom in to see the news pieces and the documents, which meant I was zooming in and out every few pages. The oddest part was how the font was embedded, to the point it wouldn't change via my app. The worst part was how this also affected the backlighting, where it wouldn't darken or lighten or even go to my system backlight settings. It was on as bright as my tablet would go. All these poltergeist-like things only happened on this book, as I kept opening others to check to see if it was a glitch. So imagine almost 500 pages of migraine-inducing insanity.

Now onto the content itself. It was awful. Awful. Others may love it, but I surely didn't.

Imagine being dropped into a 10-book series at the final book, but you're not allowed to read the nine books prior (because they don't exist), then at the last bit of the finale, you're thrust into another dimension known as a spin-off...

At the start, Sloane was giving an interview, and I was hoping against hope that when I turned the page, we would be thrust back in time to experience it for real, like a teaser to whet my appetite for more. Nope, still the 10-year anniversary of the Chosen Ones taking out the Dark One. Where we were given snippets and info-dumps of the events that occurred 10 years prior.

Let me tell you, what happened back then was intriguing, only we don't get to experience it, only get a small fraction of it in a confusing swirl of too much information at once.

I understand what Veronica Roth was trying to achieve. The aftermath and how it shaped the characters. They're treated like heroes, celebrating one of the worst experiences any of them would ever survive, and they all have invisible wounds because of it. The celebrating and celebrity was like sticking a finger in a wound and opening it wider to infection.

Sloane is the narrator, and I was able to mostly connect with her, understanding and empathizing with how she disassociated with emotion, distanced herself from everyone, and was generally miserable in nature. I appreciated how accurate that was portrayed. However, the badass angle was so forced, beyond forced. Sloane would have benefited from a first-person narrative to eliminate the coldness we saw, since we couldn't dive deep enough into her head to truly understand or connect with her.

Then there was Matt, who we're told is just the best person on the earth. Good. Sloane goes on and on about how amazing he is, how she believes he was the only Chosen One, and they were just his helpers. Yet again, this was forced. Beyond forced. If a character is good, you feel it from their deeds, you don't need to be told on every page. It came off as arrogant, as if Matt was soaking up the celebrity no differently than being obsessed with Instagram. Making a day of honoring those they lost about signing autographs and being adored by the masses. Matt came off as fake, no matter how many ways the author TOLD me he was selfless and good. Fake and pretentious.

As adults, adults who had seen death and destruction and helped save the world, they would be more mature for their age, which was in the middle to upper 20s. Instead, they sounded vapid, more young adult than the true teens in the author's other series. Their actions were juvenile, immature for those who were so 'good.' I get that the aftermath changed them, which is what we were seeing, but the before would have been more intriguing with deeper emotional impact if we had actually experienced the before.

The pacing was odd, slow and crawling, in a complex story that needed something to speed it up, slowed down more by the way it was written and what was missing.

I adored the Divergent series. It was an easy read, and by easy, I mean I was able to fall into a vivid world with resonating characters, and actually bled emotion with them. Chosen Ones was a struggle, like working to find the enjoyment in it, while wishing it was written differently. It would have been an organic experience to start at the beginning, instead of making it feel as if we're all missing, missing the best parts. The novel is about what the heroes were up to 10 years later, which wasn't much of anything, instead of actually writing the dang story from the beginning, the part we wanted. The characters were shortchanged.

And then came the spinoff portion, where the first 3/4 of the novel was a summary of what wasn't written in those previous books we see snippets about, where we're thrust into another dimension, feel totally different, and I hated that even more.

This reminded me as if the Hunger Games tributes were asked about their lives 10 years later... but we never saw/experienced/read what happened that got us to that point.

There was zero possibility to fall into the story, connect with the characters, when we had to puzzle piece PTSD flashbacks and inner monologuing info-dumps, as if they were a refresher for a series we previously read, only to be truly dumped into a nightmarish LSD trip.

Done. I'm done. I do not and cannot recommend this novel.

Was this review helpful?

3.5 stars.

Though it’s certainly been done before, I like the semi-usual fantasy trope of “what happens to the Chosen Ones *after* they save the world,” and this book provides an interesting version of that.

From a sheer entertainment perspective, this is a pretty solid offering from Veronica Roth. It’s well paced and compelling, and the plot revolves around an unusual and fun twist rooted in the idea of string theory and the multiverse.

The plot does have some frustrating holes in it, which is a shame because most of them probably could have been cleaned up with tighter editing. There are a few chronology issues, unexplained plot wrenches, and some nonsensical maneuvering of characters that were disappointing. But the bones of the story are good and it’s a fun and smooth read.

I like Sloane a lot, though the secondary characters were a decidedly mixed bag. Has there ever been a more insufferable lead chosen one than Matt? Ugh. I would have gladly sold him to the Dark One for like six bucks. Esther isn’t much better and I wish we’d gotten more of Albie and Inez instead, who certainly seemed both more likable and more interesting in the brief time we’re allowed to spend with them.

The aforementioned multiverse-related twist and a particularly clever spin on the line between villain and hero make this a worthy read, but be warned that there’s some sloppiness in the details and a few frustrating elements that make the experience slightly irksome in spite of the solidly conceived story.

Was this review helpful?

Wow I would not have known that this was written by the same author who wrote Divergent. The writing style has matured SO MUCH in the last 10 years. The world building alone was stunning, but then you think about the twists and turns that went into the plot.

I'll admit, this novel starts slowly. We are dropped into knowing that the main character, the PoV character, has already been a chosen one who is just about to celebrate the 10 year anniversary since they killed the Dark One. Yup, there are jokes made of the unoriginal name that they gave to their nemesis. It's very tongue in cheek. That's pretty much Sloane all over.

This book really picks up once we have a full view of who the five chosen ones are, and only then do three of them get pulled into another world that has diverged from the one that we know. The slow build up is really worth it, because it gives a lot of what is going to be paid off later on.

The book this one most reminded me of, because of that slow burn and then slow reveal of twists and turns that change everything you thought you knew, was The Space Between the Worlds.

I just loved it. It's already a book I wish I could read again for the first time.

Was this review helpful?

The premise of this story was one that I was very interested in and because I loved the Divergent series by this author I was really excited to pick up another of their works.
Unfortunately, this one didn't really live up to my expectation in the execution of the premise. I thought that the main characters were interesting but they didn't make me feel for them the same way some of Roth's other characters have. I thought that the writing was still great writing I love Roth's writing style and I do see myself picking up more works by them.
I think that this is just one that the execution of the story just didn't work for me and that really hindered my enjoyment.

Was this review helpful?

The basic premise of this book was interesting -- what has happened to "chosen ones" ten years after their universe-saving mission is complete? All of the characters carry trauma from the experience, and their celebrity has made it difficult for them to have "normal" private lives, but our primary protagonist Sloane is particularly affected. How will Sloane and her friends respond when a new threat emerges? On paper this had all the elements of a fantastic new fantasy series, with more adult-oriented themes. In practice, while I enjoyed the worldbuilding, I struggled to engage with the characters and the plot. I enjoyed the book but wouldn't consider it a "must read."

Was this review helpful?

Thank you for sharing title with me! I ended up picking up my own print copy. Love Veronica Roth and her books!

Was this review helpful?

I grew up reading the the Divergent series by Veronica Roth but ever since then I have not been able to get into her newer books. I have found the same problem with Chosen Ones. I couldn't even get through half of this book because I was bored. That might just be a personal thing but I didn't really care for the overall story or the characters. Sorry to say this didn't work for me.

Was this review helpful?

I am normally all over a dystopian novel, so seeing that Veronica Roth was taking on an adult novel had me extremely giddy. Although I didn't hate it, I didn't love it either. The story starts quickly as you immediately are engulfed in the lives of the world saving heroes. They fought the worst and are now paying the price personally in what's left of their lives.

Because we are thrown in so quickly, I did feel as if I was missing something. Was there a previous book? Nope....must be me. Of all the characters, Sloane appealed the most but even with this connection, I felt lost once they began their travel into a parallel universe to once again fight through magic. It definitely sets up for a sequel but I don't believe I will be reading it.

Thank you Netgalley, Veronica Roth and Houghton Mifflin for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Okay, this was fun! I LOVED the concept and enjoyed it just as much in execution. Not only was the premise interesting, but I think that deep dive into the character's psyche and understanding how they overcome the typical heroes' journey was fascinating. The pacing was off in a few times which is why we ended up at a 4 rather than a 5 but I really enjoyed this!

Was this review helpful?