It wasn’t *bad*, I just hated reading it, and the payoff wasn't worth it in the end. Take from that what you will. The writing was good, but the interspersed news clippings and excerpts were a waste of time.

The first part of this book was great! I loved the premise of the storyline. It was new, edgy and engaging, but then it quickly changed to something I definitely wasn’t expecting. The progression of the plot was odd and not very enjoyable. I’m not sure I would want to read the next book in the series.

I found the first half of the book to be engaging and enjoyed the twist of seeing the adult versions of the YA heroes. I usually really enjoy stories with alternate universes/realities and this was no different, but at about 3/4 of the way in, I just really lost interest. I had a hard time finishing it, although I imagine many will enjoy the story,

I guess I am going to be in the minority of reviewers here because I didn't really like this book. I had a hard time making myself finish it. I loved the premise to begin with but it fell into the pitfalls (or drains, I guess) of sci-fi, especially multidimensional works. So many inconsistencies that the author tries to explain them away with, well, it's a different dimension. In order for another dimension to work the differences have to make sense. And too many times here, they do not.

One top of that, I really don't like most of the characters. Part 1 tries to introduce them to us but the vague descriptions of what must be truly important and life changing events fell flat for me. I understand that the author may not have wanted to write that book. Writing it and then coming back to beloved characters a decade later may have been hard. Veronica Roth wrote for young adults (a genre that my favorite author argues does not really exist, and I agree), so maybe she believed she would be unable to bring in the two audiences she was going for here. Other authors do this fairly regularly. I think a bit of study into how they accomplished the feat would have helped this book along a lot.

I see that this is listed as the first in a series. I don't doubt it will be a successful one and my own compulsive habits will probably lead to me reading the next book. Maybe it will start to gel for me more as it develops. That rarely happens, but it does. I wish I had enjoyed this more. I really do. There was a lot here to work with if it had just been approached in a slightly different way. Maybe in an alternate universe it was and the other me is loving it!

I had very high hopes for this book, but I just couldn't make myself push through it. The beginning was very slow and left you felling very confused.

Chosen Ones is my first Veronica Roth novel (GASP!). I enjoyed the creativity of it and the character development. It caught my imagination and gave me crazy dreams for about 3 days, so there is something to be said about that!
My trouble with it was that 1 - I found myself wanting to skip the interjections of articles and documents from the government, but forced through them because I was sure they probably help important clues. Also, I felt like the book was slow until about 60% through. I kept putting it down to read other books instead. I am happy I used through to the end and I liked the way the clues came together and tied things up, but not too neatly (I hate when it's a complete "happily ever after" ending on these types of books.
Thanks for the eARC. We are placing it on our next high school library book order list.

I wanted this to be so much better. I liked that Sloane was damaged and that she was trying to keep her sh*t together after a horrible battle. Then part 2 started and she was back into a battle. It honestly felt like two separate books that happen to have the same main character.

Really didn't care for this one all that much. just was sort of blah and too much like a YA novel, despite this being marketed for adults.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Veronica Roth proves she's more than just the author of the Divergent series. She has done so much more with this enthralling, entertaining book!

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

I loved this book and had a great challenge putting it down. I thought the author did a fabulous job keeping me always wanting to find out what happens on the next page. And I certainly did not expect some of the plot twists in the book which was a very welcome surprise.

What I liked about Chosen Ones was that it explored not only what it means to be chosen and what happens after a chosen one has fulfilled their destiny, but it also explored the platonic and romantic relationships between characters.

Roth's first adult title is perfect for new adults and older teens looking to bridge the gap from teen fiction to adult fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title to review. All opinions are my own.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars out of 5. It was close to a 5 star book for me, really close, but I would have needed some more of the romance. That's just a persona preference though. ;)

OK-I will admit that I also felt personally betrayed at the end of the Divergent series. We all did. BUT, even with that in mind, I was excited to see what Roth would do with this novel, her first adult novel. And, she did not disappoint. I loved the various text styles (narratives, articles, excerpts, government documents) that allowed the reader to understand the world that Roth created. She did something similar to Rowell's Carry On , which is to give a very realistic and contemporary vibe to something incredible fantastical: magic. The story Roth created features five Chosen Ones here on Earth, all who were found and prophesied to take down the Dark One, an evil force who was able to use magic even though it was not a common place practice. They succeeded, the Dark One died, and ten years passed. This is where our story begins. Sloane, who perhaps carries more baggage over the challenges they faced with the Dark One, is not happy with her life but doesn't know what she wants. And when it comes up that the Dark One might not actually be gone, and her time as a Chosen One might not be over, at least she thinks this is something she knows how to do. She knows how to prepare for battle, even if she doesn't know how to be a normal human living a normal life.

Fast-paced and detailed, this was a fun read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. While the book did have a conclusion (meaning no dire cliffhanger ending) I am hopeful that Roth will continue the series.

Initially hearing about this book, I was very intrigued by the idea of this taking place long after the world has faced it’s challenge. So many books start before some terrible disaster and get you through it, where as this one is all about the years later and how the “saviors” are now dealing with life AFTER. They’re now all 30 somethings dealing with the aftermath and all that comes with — fame, guilt, etc.

There wasn’t a whole lot that made this novel feel more “adult” than YA in my opinion, other than their ages. That being said, I wasn’t upset about it. I think main drawback was the third person narrative. I think it would have done well to be more from Sloane’s actual point of view. I think I would have felt more for her character if we got to see more of the internal battles she faced from her own perspective.

Overall, I loved the idea — something I have yet to read in a YA novel for sure. Definitely excited to see where the story goes in book two!

I'm not gonna lie, after reading some of the Goodreads reviews, I was not sure whether I wanted to give this book a chance. I'm so glad I did, though.

After somewhat of a slow beginning, the story and its characters consumed me in a way Divergent did. I was thrown into a whirlwind of emotions ... do I like him? Do I hate him? Do I love him? Who is telling the truth? Who is lying?

Veronica Roth cleverly knitted some profound statements into the story, my favourite being:
"Just because something is difficult," Edda said, "doesn't mean it's worth doing." So so good!

There were also some passages that made me laugh out loud: "Please, for the love of God, don't be one of those villains who waxes poetic about existentialist nonsense, because if you are, I really will have to cut you," she said.

The emotions all main characters are feeling were described so well I could almost feel the pain, the loss, the panic....

Part III of the book shows Roth's almost supernatural plot-writing skills. Though the book doesn't end with a huge cliffhanger, it does leave the reader wondering about what happens next.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy! What happens to the heroes after the villain is defeated? Veronica Roth's Chosen Ones centers on five individuals who had been chosen to fight and eventually defeat the Dark One. No one had prepared them for what would happen afterward. Picking up their stories ten years after the Dark Ones defeat, the death of one of them sets off a series of events that no one could have foretold. Roth first adult novel has characters with interesting backstories and has created a unique system of magic that I want to know more about. If you're a fan of Roth's past work then Chosen Ones should definitely be added to you to read list.

This was a very enjoyable look at what it means to be a 'chosen one' and how you cope with life when the battle against the dark one is over.

The Positives: There was some very interesting discussion here about the aftermath of trauma and the way in which society handles our heroes, which I thought was well done. I liked our protagonist very much, primarily because she was written to be unlikeable by all traditional markers. She is emotionally closed off, rude, moody and unapologetic about these personality traits, which I thought was very refreshing. I thought the plot was compelling and Veronica Roth took this story in places I really wasn't expecting, which is always welcome.

The Negatives: Although the plot itself had some great twists, there were a few things that I found incredibly predictable, which did detract from my enjoyment somewhat. I also thought that the pacing was a little bit slow at times, particularly in the beginning.

Overall I found this to be an intelligent and enjoyable read and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good superhero tale.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I’m just not a fantasy reader despite how much I sometimes wish I was. I finished it but it wasn’t my genre and wouldn’t be fair to rate on that basis. From my fantasy loving friends, if you love fantasy, you’ll love it.

This was actually my first time reading Veronica Roth. I tried a sample of her previous YA books and it just didn’t click with me, so I never got into them. I had higher hopes that maybe she would shine brighter as an adult writer.

Imagine if you will, someone writes a series about a group of teens that saved the world, and then came back to them ten years later to see how they’re still coping with being so severely traumatized. That’s kind of what we’re getting here, but without the series of them as teens. It sounds interesting in theory which is why I was excited to read it.

Some of my favourite books deal with mental health healing journeys. They have to be handled delicately and with great care. But I feel as though Roth missed the mark here.

I wish I could say that I loved this. Chosen Ones is being marketed as an adult series because of the age of the characters, but it reads very much like YA. The characters didn’t seem all that grown up to me. They gave off very teenagery vibes.

It’s possible this story could have benefited from a first person POV instead of third person. Roth’s writing style didn’t make me feel all that connected to Sloan’s narrative as a third person way of storytelling. I think a first person narrative may have made Sloane feel more sympathetic.

There were some pretty interesting twists a few times throughout the book, but the overall story fell flat. Sometimes it felt like a chore to read and I felt myself skipping parts.

Again, having not read Roth’s previous works, I have nothing to compare Chosen Ones to. But if you are a fan, try reading a sample of this one before purchasing. It might completely hit the mark for you and you’ll love it. Roth’s writing style just isn’t for me.

Chosen Ones follows Sloane, one of five “chosen ones” who saved the Earth from “the dark one” in their teens. Now facing 30 and struggling to cope with the trauma she was forced into by the government at such a young age, Sloane wants answers and closure. After another traumatic event, Sloane and two other chosen ones are pulled into a parallel dimension to fight their dark one. As Sloane starts to piece things together, she discovers that their “victory” may not have been so final and that there are still many horrors left to face.

In the first third of this novel, Roth deftly handles the psychological impact of what being a “chosen one” would do to someone for the rest of their life. Sloane is directionless - she peaked as a teenager, has unstoppable panic attacks and PTSD, & can’t go out without being recognized. However, the cockamamie parallel universe plot and poorly defined magic system and world building left a lot to be desired from this as a fantasy novel. This might have been more successful as a quieter, more introspective novel where Sloane digs into the government secrets and corruption that destroyed her life. The characters are great and watching Sloane grapple with her mental health in a very realistic way was awesome. I think Roth has a lot of potential to write fantasy that appeals to the millennial audience - she certainly understands the psychology of her characters in a way I deeply appreciated - but this first book leaves a lot of room for growth.

10 years ago, 5 average teenagers fought and defeated The Dark One. This story begins where most stories ends. They are left with physical & emotional scars: PTSD, night terrors, drug issues, etc. For some of them, moving on is hard enough, let alone the celebrity status that has followed them ever since. But, after the 10th Anniversary Celebration, when the world wants to celebrate, they end up having to say goodbye to one of there own. It's at this gathering they find out that things might not be over and they have to come to terms with whether they can handle what is asked of them.

I absolutely loved this book. Just when I thought I knew where this was going, I was totally surprised. I really was moved by the character development. You understood what the characters have been through and why they were reacting the way they were. And the complex relationships were just spectacular. I think the relationships might have easily been my favorite aspect of the book. I am seriously thinking about re-reading this very soon! I highly recommend this book. Check this out! Out April 7, 2020.