So I'll keep this one short. I loved the first 15ish chapters, they were gritty, dark and what I feel like would be an accurate depiction of the trauma of saving the world – Sloane has flashbacks and survivors guilt, all wrapped up into a neat little package of PTSD and lost innocence. Then it gets very slow and nonsensical for a while until it ends in a thoroughly unexpected way for which I applaud Roth.

The magic system is treated in a way that is a collision of naturally occurring magic and one based around the power of the objects in the world.

I found most of the characters to be relatable but Matt, saviour of the world and (not so) loving boyfriend of Sloane, is just a massive dick who I feel like let fame get to him.

Other than the extremely slow burn of the story, my main peeve was the building up of a certain character to seem important and then their sudden departure for no other reason than ‘they just didn’t come’.

Overall, it was an average read – while I may never visit it again, I feel like I would read the next in the series, simply to see what happens and whether the forgotten character actually had a purpose.

Things aren’t entirely what they seem in Roth’s version of Earth, in terms of hero and villain characters’ roles as well as these characters’ (gaps in) understanding the situation at hand.

Sloane is a perfectly imperfect heroine. She’s expected to play the games of the media and hold the identity that her fame as a Chosen One has thrust upon her. But she is incapable of BS and full of rage, fear, unquenched revenge fantasies, vulnerability, and the sometimes inconvenient drive to live truthfully and fully.

Roth could have potentially pulled back on the messy, complicated, partial resolution among multiple worlds toward the end for a simpler step forward but didn’t take an easier way out. I’m not sure where it leaves us for book 2 but can’t wait to find out.

Veronica Roth was one of the first authors I fell in love with and I’m glad that I read this book! Just like the carve the mark duology I really fell for this book even though I went in with low expectations—considering nothing will hit me like divergent did. Even so, this wonderful book was unexpected and a much needed break from my normal reads

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this one, I just knew it was going to be adult and contained superheroes.
I have to say, I was very disappointed..
This book is about 5 chosen ones, 10 years after they defeated the dark one. Even though all 5 of them are chosen ones, they keep pointing at Matt for being the Chosen chosen one. We read the story from Sloane’s perspective, one of the Chosen ones. Even after 10 years she is still struggling with the trauma she got during the fight with the dark one, understandably.
After reading 100 pages, I was about to DNF the book.. I then realized I almost finished part one, so I decided to push through and read the beginning of part two before deciding to DNF. The beginning of the second part caught my attention so I continued on.
Honestly I disliked all the characters.. Especially Sloane, she annoyed me so much. She kept being like ‘no one understands me’, and she didn’t communicate and kept doing her own thing..
I also thought it was quite annoying that they kept saying that Matt was the Chosen chosen one, but the story showed us something else..
I was thoroughly confused by the plot. I couldn’t understand most of the things that were happening, or at least not why. There were also some media parts, like newspapers, interviews, and parts of books. I have no idea what that had to do with the rest of the story, they told of  the story of 10 years ago, when the dark one was still around, but I didn’t see why I needed to know this. So at some point I started skimming over them, because I didn’t care.
As I mentioned before, the second part started off with an interesting twist that I really did not see coming so I wanted to continue to see if the book became more interesting. But then the plot became quite predictable, but by then I was so far into the book that I just wanted to finish it, but I had a hard time picking this one up. Honestly might as well have DNF’ed.
I’m also not really sure why this is classified as adult instead of YA?!

The Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth is the 1st in the Chosen Ones fantasy/scifi series

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Information:

Ten years ago, five teenagers (Matt Weekes, Sloane Andrews, Ines Mejia, Albert Summers, Esther Park) fought and bested the Dark One, who had brought much destruction and death to Earth.  The five had been recruited and trained by the government, because one of them was prophesied to become the Chosen One who would save the world.  The five did, indeed, vanquish the enemy, and have been celebrities ever since.



My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

The world has moved on, and most of the magic from the time of the Dark One has been forgotten.  But it is a little harder for the five, although most have found ways to capitalize on their fame.  Matt is considered the Chosen One, and seems to love the attention of his fans.  Esther is a fashion icon, and has a large following on on Insta!, but also has a mother who is battling cancer.   Ines is more nervous, a little paranoid, but has put her graphic arts skills to good use.   Albert, although a top model,  is the quiet one, and the only one who suffered lasting physical harm by the Dark One.  Sloane is the tough, anti-social one, and her losses are buried deep.

Sloane prefers a more private life, which is almost impossible.  She is angry, and lashes out at everyone and everything.  She is drifting, has no goals, and no desires.

When one of the five dies shortly after the ten-year anniversary, they all feel lost.  At the funeral, they find that their job is not done.  There is another battle they will have to fight....this one may be the death of everyone.


My Opinions:   

This is Veronica Roth's first book aimed at the adult audience.  However, most of it read like it was still aimed at the YA crowd.  The characters were supposed to be in their late 20's or early 30's, but read more like early 20's.  I often enjoy YA novels, so this didn't bother me.

I wasn't that fond of Matt (a little arrogant), and Ines had no outstanding qualities.  However, I loved Albie, who was in so much pain.  I loved Esther who was so full of life.  I loved Sloane.  She was an angry, unwilling participant, and very unpredictable.  She was so unhappy with everything - mostly herself.  She didn't want to be a hero.  She didn't want to battle anymore.  She didn't want any more death.  Or maybe she did.  But she was so strong, so loyal, so likable.

The book was divided into sections, which I thought may be cumbersome, but worked well.  The pace moved well, and the plot was really good.  Roth's ability at world-building was good.

I am not sure where this is going as a series, but I will continue to follow.

I think I got about halfway through this book before I decided I couldn't really be bothered with the rest of it, which was a shame because it started off quite promisingly. The basic premise of Chosen Ones is that it's dealing with the aftermath of the usual YA and fantasy fare - the prophesy identifying someone who will defeat the Big Bad.

In this case, not one eponymous chosen one but a number of them, identified and trained by the government and now trying to put their lives back together after their nemesis has been destroyed. We lose a couple of them along the way, to suicide or just left behind when the plot turns, and by halfway there are three: Matt, Sloane and Esther. All three have been through difficult situations and coped with them in distinct ways, though it's mostly the point of view of Sloane that dominates the narrative.

Sloane is trying to cope with her hellish experiences by distancing herself from the others, right at the time Matt wants to propose to her - he seems pretty much incapable of figuring out (or does he even care?) what's going on in her head most of the time. Meanwhile Esther has reinvented herself as a social media influencer and comes across as pretty vapid, that kind of quirky that gets annoying after a while. Matt, up to this point at least, is the worst defined of all of them.

It's fair to say I was starting to lose interest but plugging gamely onwards when the plot suddenly took a left turn and the three of them were dragged into an adjacent parallel universe where magic is used extensively (as opposed to our world, where the chosen ones are pretty much that because they can wield magical items). It seems they're being tasked to take over where a chosen one from that universe has failed, dispatching that universe's big bad or else.

I think if we'd stayed in our universe and spun out the plot of how they coped with everything, not to mention that it seems pretty clear the nemesis they defeated is still lurking around somewhere waiting for round 2, I might have carried on. As it is, I just found myself caring very little about the fate of that universe or the people I was supposed to be concerned about.

So you saved the world as a teenager....anything that comes next is kinda anticlimactic right? Ten years later and pretty much has turned out that way until Sloane discovers maybe they didn't kill the big bad guy after all......


This book has a little of everything magic, sci-fi, adventure, I recommend it!

This very famous and popular author steps away slightly from YA dystopian to give readers a more adult story. What if there was a Voldemort type character setting off cataclysmic events in the world ? The Dark One as he’s known has done just that but humanity found five children foretold by prophecy to be able to band together and defeat his twisted magic. Fast forward ten years and these apparent saviours of the world might be heroes to many but they each bare their own invisible scars , struggle with day to day living and then the unthinkable happens and one cannot cope anymore leaving the other four attending his funeral . This is where the true story really begins as we learn of alternative dimensions which need these troubled souls to yet again face evil.
This had a jerky start for this reader and I struggled to really just get pulled in initially. I did like the way the author explores how these children have grown up totally unprepared for how they feel about what they have endured and there’s almost a sense of ptsd. They were seen as little more than a weapon and as the story continues it all starts to happen again which could make the strongest amongst us unravel and struggle to cope. I didn’t like all the characters but then again I don’t think I was meant to. It is easy to empathise for them however and I’m pretty sure many readers will be clamouring for more.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I have yet to read VR's YA novel series yet, so I came into her debut adult novel with a open mind. It has a rather slow start, picks up in the middle, and is honestly anticlimactic in the end. I was also lost a bit of the time and felt the story was scattered.

I really liked this book. It had moments where it was a little slow. The beginning had good momentum and the middle was where I lagged but the 2nd half of the book picked up again. I haven't read any of Roth's books since the divergent series (and couldn't get into Carve The Mark) so I really liked this move into an adult novel even of it slightly YA-ish at times. I'd be interested to read a second book if there are plans for one. ♡

I feel like I was promised one book, then handed another one. Chosen Ones is divided into three parts. The first part, which takes up approximately the first third of the book, is the story that the synopsis promises. The second part takes the protagonists, and subsequently the readers, into new territory. I skipped to the end and read the last couple chapters; it seems like the story takes another big shift in between parts 2 and 3.

Chosen Ones is told in the third person from Sloane's POV. In between chapters, the book provides news clippings, interview transcripts, emails, and various memorandums. Some provide interesting facts, but they interrupted the flow of the larger story. I eventually began skipping them and didn't feel like I missed out on anything.

While the five Chosen Ones moved on with their lives, they suffer from trauma. Sloane and Albie, in particular, because of a shared experience from past events. While the book alludes to events during the Chosen Ones' fight against the Dark One, much is kept hidden and revealed slowly over the course of present events, and not everything is revealed before part 2. While this builds intrigue, it also made it difficult to relate to the characters because the story juggles the present timeline, past reveals, and the various memorandums.

Chosen Ones is a slow read. For the most part, I felt like the events pulled the story, moving the reader and the protagonists from one location to another, without Sloane taking active action outside of a single event. When it seemed like the action was picking up, part 2 introduced a new story, and suddenly I was back to learning about the world again.

DNFed @ 43%

The Chosen Ones was supposed to be an adult novel but it felt very juvenile. Definitely YA. The characters acted like teenagers and hard to like.
The story occurs 10 years after the downfall of The Dark One. Therefore it felt like I was reading a sequel and missed all the action. It was very slow to get into it. The story was convoluted and did not have a bang of an ending that I was hoping for. I won't be reading the next book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Veronica Roth for a copy of "Chosen Ones" in exchange of an honest review.

Just a heads up this is not a teenage book and it is not part of the Divergent series. It is a Dystopian novel written about adults. This story started out abruptly as the reader is dropped into the lives of heroes who have saved the world 15 years ago. As teenagers, they gave up their lives to fight the darkest evil they had ever imagined and paid dearly for it.

As they are dealing with their individual baggage, they come together for an annual celebration of their heroic deeds. For the first third of the book I literally felt like I was reading the second book in a series, and I was really lost. I searched online to make sure I had not missed the first book, that is how lost I felt.

The book gets very interesting once Sloan and her friends are transported into another dimension and have to fight evil all over again. A deep look at super heroes, their flaws, and societal issues like ambition. Sloan is the best character in that she is realistic and her honesty is refreshing, even when it is not well received. I enjoyed reading the last two thirds of the book and can see why author Veronica Roth set the book up the way she did.

Veronica Roth isn’t an author I have a sentimental connection with; I tried reading Divergent years ago but DNF’d it because I got bored, and none of her other work has really called to me. As soon as I heard about her adult debut, though, I knew I’d want to try it because I am weak for stories that explore the aftermath of being a Chosen One, of having to deal with the trauma of saving your world in the public eye.

At first, this is exactly what Chosen Ones was about and I started getting that exciting feeling that this could be a new five star read.

Fifteen years ago, five teenagers saved the USA from a sinister figure known as the Dark One. Now all in their late twenties/early thirties, they’re celebrities whose every move is watched and scrutinised by the media. Our main character, Sloane, suffered greatly at the hands of the Dark One, alongside her friend and fellow Chosen One Albie, and she’s still trying to find ways to cope with her trauma while her boyfriend, Matt (another fellow Chosen One), has become America’s golden boy who uses his influence to support charities and can’t quite understand how Sloane isn’t coping as well with what they all went through.

The first third of the book I really, really enjoyed. So much of it was spent following these people and watching how, despite sacrificing so much of themselves for their country, they can’t get a moment’s peace to face their demons. It would have been a quieter fantasy story, sure, but I so wish the whole novel had simply followed all five of these people and how going through what they went through, and are still going through, had determined the kind of adults they’ve become. I wanted this novel to ask the question: what does a Chosen One do when they’ve done what they were chosen for?

In fairness to Roth, there is a lot about Chosen Ones that I did like. Sloane, in particular, I loved, but I suppose that should come as no surprise when I have a tendency to love spiky, ‘unlikeable’ women in my fiction.

But then the novel becomes a story about parallel universes and the Chosen Ones once again having to fight the Dark One, who maybe isn’t as dead as they thought he was. The problem here is that by bringing the villain back – although it feels strange to say ‘back’ when he isn’t a villain we’ve met before – Chosen Ones becomes yet another YA chosen one story dressed up as an adult debut.

That sounds harsh, doesn’t it? There are definite differences between this novel and a typical YA fantasy. There’s a lot more swearing, the violence is a little more gory and, of course, our protagonists are older. I wouldn’t call Chosen Ones a YA novel by any means (not least because adult fantasy written by women is always being labelled as YA when it isn’t) but, for me, it does hit a lot of those familiar beats of a YA novel. I’m trying very hard to review what this story was instead of lamenting what it wasn’t, but I so wanted this to be a story about dealing with trauma and other people’s expectations and I think a lot of that gets lost when our main characters have to learn about a new world and a new magic system.

Also, considering this novel is called Chosen Ones, it’s really about Sloane—I expected more of a group feeling from it, and I was also rather disappointed that one of the Chosen Ones, Ines, is queer, and yet she gets left out of the main adventure. I’m hoping we’ll see a lot more of her in the next book, and I’m wondering if the books in this series might each focus on a different Chosen One, but until I know more about the second book I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series or not. I like Sloane, but I don’t think I want to follow her for another 400+ pages when I’d like to get to know the other Chosen Ones.

I did ultimately enjoy Chosen Ones, though, and I imagine a lot of other readers will love it. It’s a story with a really good sense of humour, and I think it’s exploration of the minute differences between being a Chosen One or a Dark One were really interesting. If you’re a fan of novels that blend fantasy with sci-fi, or you’re into stories about parallel universes, this is definitely one you should check out.

Just wow. I love this one. Coming into this world after the hero’s have already saved the world was such a good plot choice. Who knew they had to save the other world too! I know. Crazy.

This books held my attention. It made me feel for these characters, these worlds. I loved the realistic approach to magic and the real problems that would undoubtedly surface if everyone had powers (or even just a few).

I don’t really see where she can go further with this story but I am all in! Can’t wait for the next installation in the series. My only disappointment is how long I’m going to have to wait for the next one.

Fans of Veronica Roth's Divergent series will be excited to read this first installment of her new series, Chosen Ones. While advanced as written for an adult audience -and despite the fact that the principle characters are in their late 20s/early 30s- I found the story to be perfectly appropriate for a younger crowd. I enjoyed the story, but the character development was a little lopsided. I now know way more than necessary about what feel like sidekicks and not near enough about the bad guys. And where is all this magic coming from? Hopefully these questions will be addressed as the series continues.

Okay, I was as interested as the next reader to read Veronica Roth's new book. Though I didn't love Divergent, the writing and artful storytelling is what has brought my back.

Chosen Ones? It literally could not be more the same. It really feels like you're reading a Divergent novel and I found it disappointing. In my eyes, this entire story is one enormous spectacle. The characters' depictions are extremely "embellished", their actions and dialogue highly dramatic. Every time an important event takes place, I imagine the characters moving in slow and elaborate motions. It was very entertaining actually. In fact, reading this felt like watching a Japanese anime especially with its constant talk about energies, unusual powers.

My main issue with this novel was that I simply didn't care all that much about it. I didn't care much for the characters, which all blended in my mind after a while. I didn't care for the plot, which stalled in the middle and made the pacing feel off. I didn't care for the world-building which was just a renaissance painting world with superpowers. I just didn't care.

I would put this book down and forget to pick it back up. I wouldn't feel any desire to truly get back into it. I felt pretty meh about the whole reading experience.

I feel like I wanted more than I got. I wanted more because I expected more. That said, I really liked the end, and not because it was over! I liked it because it was everything I had expected the entire novel to be.

I was drawn in from page 1. I love the choice to start this story after the initial action, and to tell it in part through "official" documents of the events that happened - and then where it goes after that.! Sorry, no spoilers - just know that this is super fun, super engaging, great distraction reading.

Ten years ago in an alternate Earth, five Chosen Ones defeated and killed the Dark One. To the world, they are heroes. They are celebrities, with all that entails - interviews, glamorous parties, fans lining up for autographs, and paparazzi. All of them have been hugely impacted by what's happened and suffer from nightmares, PTSD, alcoholism and drug abuse. But what if the Dark One never really died after all?

I really enjoyed Chosen Ones! This is definitely an adult book - for example, the Drain is horrific. It reminded me of Harry Potter if it was for an adult audience, in a way. I love that this takes a more 'serious' look at all of these so-called superheroes and Chosen Ones, and how actually, the things that they go through will seriously impact them and the toll it would have on their mental health. It feels like a breath of fresh air to read a book that thinks about mental health of heroes in this way - though I'm sure there are other authors who have tackled these sorts of topics in a more realistic way, this is the first one that I have read.

The story is told from the perspective of Sloane Andrews. I really liked her. The book begins with one of those sexist interviews that glossy magazines often run, which reminded me of that horrendous Vanity Fair interview with Margot Robbie. I love that Sloane is independent, angry, loyal and fights to find out what the truth is - she doesn't just accept what others tell her. Many characters in books claim to find it hard to trust others so it was good to see that Sloane really doesn't - for example, she watches others to see their routine and requested the files on her and the other Chosen Ones.

As they follow Sloane to the alternate world, we also see a lot from Matt and Esther. I really liked them too - they all feel so realistic and vivid. I like that they are all dealing with the stress of the situation in their own ways. But Sloan was definitely my favourite!

Both of the alternate worlds are really interesting, and I enjoyed reading about what was the same and what was different. The book is set in Chicago, which I've never visited before, but I imagine that any locals or people familiar with the layout of the city will appreciate the comparisons between our world and the alternate universe more than I did. I love the idea of alternate worlds that run alongside our own so this was particularly enjoyable for me.

I liked the ending, too. It was exciting, tense and dramatic. Part 3 in is full of action while the first two are slower, and I couldn't put this down.

This was a fantastic read and I really enjoyed it. I am a fan of the Divergent series so I had high hopes and this certainly lived up to it. The world and the alternate history is really interesting and I would have loved to learn more about this and how the world has changed since magic was found. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys more gritty fiction or realism, or anyone who likes independent female main characters.

~

This will also be added to my blog at www.lecari.co.uk.on Sunday 7th June and promoted on my Instagram.

I just couldn't get into this book at all and actually had to force myself to read it.

I found the book slow and boring.

I know some people might enjoy this one but I think maybe I am just too old to even read more YA books theses or I am just tired of them.

I give this 1