Stars: 3.5

This was a very original concept...what really happens to a hero after they have defeated evil? I think that Roth gives a really realistic depiction of how ordinary people would cope with extraordinary pressures and trauma. I have always thought that being famous would be incredibly stressful - always dealing with scrutiny, invasion of privacy, and false narratives. Each of the five heroes in this story deal with it differently, some withdrawing into anger or addiction, while others seemingly embrace it. When evil rears it's ugly head again, the heroes must take a critical look at the past, and what they think they know about themselves and each other.

It's difficult for me to put my finger on why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. Roth does a decent job of fleshing out the characters, but I think her set up took just a little too long. I struggled to remain actively engaged and I could put this book down for days at a time without feeling compelled to pick it back up. Now that the characters and story have been established, I imagine I would enjoy a sequel far more, though this is difficult for me to say with any certainty. Considering this is accurate to how I felt when reading her Divergent series, I remain hopeful that the series will prove to be worth reading even though the way she ended it makes me uncertain. It ended with a bang, but then tapered off into different directions. If it wasn't being advertised as the first in a series, I would have assumed it was a standalone.

Although this is Roth's first "adult" fiction book, I still think it will mostly appeal to a younger demographic.

My three words: captivating, plot twists, dramatic

Veronica Roth's foray into adult literature is a really fun ride. The story centers around the Chosen Ones, a group of heroes who defeated the Dark One over a decade ago. The book deals with the aftermath of their dramatic victory, and what happens after one of their own meets their demise.

I thought this was a really unique take on a tired genre. What Roth spends most of the novel dealing with is not the actual circumstances of what happened with the Dark One, but the aftermath. Most notably, Sloane's (one of the Chosen Ones) PTSD and how it continues to affect her decisions and actions.

The story I thought was more compelling before the setting changed (NO SPOILERS I PROMISE). Once the setting shifts, it falls into more of a typical "superhero" type book. However there is quite a fantastic plot twist along the way that lends to its uniqueness. The book also involves sci-fi, fantasy and horror elements, which makes it stand out in the crowd.

I only hesitate to give it five stars because I think it works as a fantastic YA book, but I'm unsure as to why it is classified as an adult book. It is a little more violent than her other works, and the themes can be quite "adult". However in my experience, teenagers deal with a lot more difficult things than we give them credit for. I think a book about a teen who had a traumatic experience and then the consequences thereof would actually be beneficial for adolescents, who often don't realize the effects their current choices will have on their future lives.

Overall, I think this was maybe the best of her books (besides Divergent), I just wish it was classified as a YA book instead. It's a good read for anyone who likes to see a team of people you love saving the world!

The premise here is sort of like that of Ness' Some of Us Just Live Here (which talked about the random other people who just happen to live in the same town as a "chosen one"), except here are five Chosen Ones who are trying to get on with their lives ten years after the Big Event. My first thought was that this was the second in a series - it's not, it's the first - because the characters kept talking about "before" and "what I/we did when...". Despite that initial confusion, it was easy to get into the book. Then there was the secondary confusion of who exactly this book was written for. It reads like Roth's YA books, but it's been published as an adult book; perhaps it best falls into that so-called New Adult category.

As far as the plot goes, it's pretty much standard for the genre: there is someone or, in this case, five someones, who fulfills some prophecy to rid the world of some Big Bad (to use the Buffyverse term). Many people die in the effort, the Chosen have to deal with their guilt/emotions/difficulties and there is a victory. So what if they're not cuddly and loveable? They saved the world! And Sloane fits that description to a T. And then, on the tenth anniversary of the victory, she and the other Chosens get a bit of a wake-up. If this were a stand-alone, the ending would have been perfect. As it is, it suggests a "more of the same" series.

eARC provided by publisher.

Let me start by saying that the “chosen one” vibe of this book drew me in, and it felt very “Umbrella Academy” right from the start. We begin AFTER the event has happened, everyone was traumatized by what they had to do, ten years have passed and they’ve tried to adjust. Sloane is the edgy one who just can’t get beyond it bc some stuff happened that she just can’t get past. So when a parallel dimension opens up, things get a bit crazy.

This book was with me until that shift, then it just got to be a bit much for me. Also, WAY TO LONG. This book took forever to get through, and it made me feel bored, to the point where I was pretty much skimming toward some the end bc a million years had passed since I’d started it. Will for sure not read another’s in the series if there isn’t one (and if there is, whyyyyy? Could you not use ALL the words over used in this book for some sequel action?)

Ultimate assessment, drama, took too long, and meh.

I was so excited to get my hand on this book. While I recognized Roth's style of writing, I could also see her growth as a writer. This book sucked me in and could not put it down. The twists and turns in the story were enjoyable. Sloane had echos of our old friend Triss which I liked. She didn't always seem like a 30 year old but then again given her upbringing, this made sense. Her relationship with the other Chosen Ones was one of my favorite parts of book. I also liked the epic twist. Roth still has a tendency to get bogged down with the details but I have learned to forgive her for this and move on. The constant interjections with articles was a bit confusing though. Not sure how this will be turned into a series but I would enjoy a book dedicated to their original fight against the Dark One as teens or a more detailed history of how the Dark One became who he was.

Sadly this wasn't a book I really connected with. It is supposed to be an adult novel but I felt that it just didn't feel adult, it felt very YA. I wanted a bit more depth in the characters, I wanted their feelings examined way more closely. Sloan is the main character, one of five special teenagers who managed to defeat the dark being that terrorised the earth, time has gone by and now they are in their 30s. Her boyfriend, the far too nice Matt has asked her to marry him and now she is in crisis. Oh and wait, now they are finding out that the Dark One is still there. At this point I walked away.

Sadly this book just lost me. I wasn't engaged, I stopped caring about Sloan and the other guys. I wanted so much more.

Chosen Ones starts out exploring what happens to heroes once they defeat the big bad. This is a concept I never really thought about but I really found it interesting. It even had me reflecting back on all the books I've read where we never get a 'where are they now' glimpse into the future. Maybe the happy ending only lasts as far as the last page of the story?

The story centers on the idea that ten years in the past, a group of 5 'chosen ones' were recruited and sent off to defeat an evil. We are given a glimpse into the different ways each of the characters deal with the trauma. Soon, they realize their world is not as safe as they thought.

I took a while to warm up to the book. I liked the interesting premise, the diverse characters and the story, but I struggled with getting a feel for what happened before the events of the book.. Roth builds on the facts of what happened in the past using narrative and redacted files and interviews that one of the characters requests from the government. The story builds as it goes along.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The story has several twists I did not see coming. I will definitely pursue reading the next books in the series. In all a fun and interesting read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the advanced copy and review.

Great book by a great author! The main characters felt very real. I loved the mix of realistic fiction and fantasy, and the news articles between the chapters.

When a Voldemort-like "Dark One" wreaks havoc and destruction on the earth, 5 prophesied "Chosen Ones" are found to defeat him. Intriguingly, this story takes place AFTER those events, when the 5 are recognized by essentially every human alive, and some of them damaged in ways even they aren't fully aware of. Living with the memory of torture and horror combined with the bizarre level of public scrutiny as well as their superhuman powers does not make for a healthy mix, but fascinating storytelling. And then the bottom falls out of their world when one of them dies, and their reality suddenly alternates into one where the Dark One is still having a grand old time and ready for a rematch. And the now four are damaged and broken and most definitely not. Psychologically rich and intense, with a fast moving plot and gritty characters. Highly recommended.

Veronica Roth is probably a gifted writer. Unfortunately, I have never been able to finish one of her books. This one as well. Too choppy and full of millennial cultural references for this Gen Xer.

Alas, I cannot critique her for this. I just don’t connect with her stories, characters, or plot lines at all. This impetus for this novel is based off of a brief scene in the film “The Hurt Locker.” I would recommend seeing that film even if you cannot get into this book.

The premise of this novel was interesting, but I felt that it dragged quite a bit, finally got going toward the end, and then ended very abruptly. This book was not for me me, but I know some teen and young adult readers that will love it.

I read the "Insurgent" trilogy like everyone else, seemingly, back when it was published around a decade ago. I didn't fall in love with it, which worked in my favor in this instance as I wasn't too broken up by the ending of the last book (most fans of the series were quite displeased). I also had heard that Roth published another duology, but that same indifference to the first trilogy didn't lead me to getting around to it. But when I saw this book start to pop up, I was very intrigued. There are a million and one stories documenting the adventures of a "chosen one" in their grand battle against an ultimate evil. There aren't many that tackle what comes after, other than perhaps brief epilogues or small cameo appearances in another "chosen one's" book/series. This book turned out to be everything I was hoping for and more. 

It's been ten years since Sloan and her friends, the other Chosen Ones, defeated the Dark One, an evil being they had battled throughout their teen years. And in this last decade Sloane has...hid. Not interested in the celebrity status she's garnered, barely invested in the relationships she's formed, Sloane's life is simply going from moment to moment, not caring about much at all. When tragedy shakes her out of this numbness, however, Sloane finds herself caught in circumstances that she won't survive unless she returns to her life as a soldier and confronts the horrors in her past. 

This book was particularly interesting coming off my fairly recent re-read of the "Animorphs" series. That series follows a group of 6 teens, chosen ones, essentially, as they battle a big bad for years on end. The books deal a lot with the realities of a childhood given up to warfare and the life and choices of being a soldier. But after 50+ books, there's only a small, final book that is dedicated to life after these events. It does a good job for what it is, only a hundred and fifty or so pages dedicated to wrapping up the lives of six characters over the years that follow the end of the war. It's clear that the story is only scratching the surface of what life would be like for these kids. And this is only one example. We have so many chosen one stories, but so few deal with the aftereffects.

I wasn't quite sure what we would get from Roth here. I wasn't a huge fan of her original trilogy, and I also read that she had some ideas for this book based off "The Hurt Locker," a movie that, while I can see the importance of the topic, I didn't particularly enjoy. But, man, did I enjoy the heck out of this book. Not only did it tackle many of the tough topics around life after war, the isolation and distancing that many veterans experience, and how "moving on" can look very different to different people, including whether it is possible at all, but it had some amazing characters at its heart and some genuine surprises in the increasingly twisting world-building. 

I loved Sloane so much in all of her broken, dark, and even sometimes cruel ways. The characters in this book definitely challenge the reader in that they often barely resemble the golden Chosen Ones we all imagine. Even a few of Sloane's comrades who more closely mimic the typical hero pastiche often betray signs that they are simply using different coping mechanisms to deal with similarly twisted inner lives. But this is Sloane's story, and it is Sloane's darkness and path forward that we explore as we slowly learn more about her time during the war and how she's been managing (or not) in the ten years since. She has some very unlikeable moments, but for me at least, these simply grounded the story all the more in a what reality would look like for young people whose life was essentially consumed by a prophesy and a seemingly never-ending battle against a more powerful evil force. There are no easy answers or easy fixes here, and even by the end of the book, it's clear that any "completeness" for Sloane comes at understanding and accepting her entire person. 

The world-building was almost the biggest surprise. I didn't really know what to expect and the book description gives only the barest hints. But wow, I didn't expect where this book went at all. There's a huge twist that comes in the first third and when we got to that I thought "Ok, that was a surprise, but now I'm on the right page." Nope! The twists and turns kept coming one after another from there on out. Even after finishing the book I was having to think back over it and try to piece things together. 

I don't remember a lot about Roth's particular writing style from the "Insurgent" series other than it felt like a fairly standard YA style ala "Hunger Games." But I have to think Roth has grown by leaps and bounds to create this. The writing is confident and sure, even as it tackles topics that can be hard to deal with and discusses moments and choices that, if not handled well, could turn readers off from some of our main characters and themes. The same world-building and all of its complexities also speaks to an increased dexterity in juggling many balls at once. There are layers within layers, but the story and character arcs are never consumed by the increasingly complicated world, history, and magic system. 

This was a great book. I think Roth's work has grown by leaps and bounds here, and she deftly tackles a topic that is rarely explored in fantasy works. It looks like on Goodreads it is listed as the first in a series, but to those who were burned by the "Insurgent" trilogy and have long memories and lasting wariness, I think this book reads perfectly as a standalone. If I hadn't looked, I wouldn't have known otherwise. This is also published as an adult fantasy novel, but I think it would appeal to YA readers as well. I'm pretty confident this will end up on next year's Top 10 list for me; it's that good.

Rating 9: Dark and twisty in all the right ways. 

(Link will go live April 8, 2020)

Sloane is a former hero. She and the other chosen ones saved the world 10 years ago by defeating the Dark One. All of them witnessed terrible things, and they've all coped in their own way, some healthier than others. Sloane— well, Sloane is a wreck. The Dark One impacted her perhaps more than anyone else, and those psychological wounds linger, making her feel unsuited to a normal, peaceful world. When the team is magically transported to a parallel dimension to defeat another Dark One, Sloan is simultaneously disoriented but back in her element.

Nice things first.
-I am so done with earnest superhero stories after 10+ years of Marvel movies, so it's nice to see more mainstream variety about the darker nature of being a hero and the aftermath.
-When a solution to a problem presents itself late in the book, it makes sense because careful groundwork was laid.
-A move to adult-oriented fiction can just be an indicator for violence and sex, it but to me it really means higher stakes and shades of grey. There's some of the latter two in here, especially with a reduction in the Mary Sue nature of many YA protagonists. For example, Sloane genuinely hurts the people she cares about.
-Seeing some different versions of Chicago was pretty cool, though native Chicagoans can probably evaluate this better than I can.

Now the downsides.
-There's a challenge of building 2 worlds here—the one Sloane and her teammates are from and the one they're transported to— and neither felt real. Like the Divergent books, the world-building feels slapdash. There are lots of details but little substance. The magic system has rules, but only kinda.
-I really wanted to see Sloane work out her past in her home world. Once she's in the other world, she's still mean to everyone, but she's suddenly right about everything. It felt deeply unsatisfying to not actually address her trauma but just to smash all the things.
-There's a big old McGuffin, but it was integrated into the end of the book better than I anticipated.
I don't understand how Sloane became sympathetic to the love interest of the book. I say this as someone who is a total sucker for almost every romantic subplot (and anything else-- I cry during movie trailers). This relationship needed more to be believable.

I suspect fans of Divergent will like this more mature work, but it suffers from too many of the same flaws for me.

3 1/2 stars
Sloane and four others teens with magic powers slayed "The Dark One" making them superheroes overnight. Ten years has passed and they have all had trouble dealing with celebrity but now a new wrinkle has occurred. They are sucked into a parallel universe where - gasp! their Dark One is still alive and causing trouble. It is up to them, mainly Sloane, to get rid of this force and get back home.
The beginning showed real promise of being a different spin on fantasy and I loved the characters and how they were dealing with all these issues and then came the other universe and I began to lose the story thread. It is the perfect blend of adult language and humor written within a young adult fantasy framework. I loved Roth's DIVERGENT series and think this will be a great bridge into books for the adult market. It read like a mash-up of Marvel /DC comic superheroes meets THE WALKING DEAD meets he who shall not be named from Harry Potter. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I don't think veronica roth is for me, this is her 5th book that I have tried by her. I think I can only read certain fantasys

I really liked Chosen Ones and felt that the author did not disappoint my expectations (after reading and liking the Divergent series). The Chosen Ones follow five no-longer-teens who were destined to save the world a decade ago. Despite being successful, Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther came away traumatized and mentally stuck in the past. Through Sloane's view point, it's obvious that being the Chosen Ones came with a heavy burden. A burden that's made heavier when it comes into question if they truly were successful in defeating evil ten years ago. I felt that Sloane's character was beautifully flawed, honest, and relateable as she struggles with the choices she must make when evil comes back with a vengeance and only the Chosen Ones can save the world (again).

After Carve the Mark, I was a bit nervous to read Roth's new book. I was relieved to discover that this one avoided the major issues in her previous book. That said, this one is a solid entry into urban fantasy. It contains some explorations into what happens to the "hero" of a typical YA novel after the "Dark One" has been defeated. The traumas experienced in the fight against evil leave their mark on each of the characters in different ways. Then, a new evil emerges, and they need to fight the battle all over again, this time knowing the toll the fight will take. Overall, this one starts a bit slow with quite a bit of world-building, and has a few very predictable "twists," but has an intriguing hook and a satisfying ending.

Super interesting and unique story, style, and everything else. I liked the writing, the break up between chapters with news clippings and other plot driving materials. The characters were great. It was kind of like Umbrella Academy - that show on Netflix? - but way better. Way, way better. Really loved the chosen hero/chosen villain dichotomy. Would definitely recommend!

Despite some pretty big characteristics that are generally turnoffs for me - unlikable lead, somewhat grim tone - overall I did enjoy it - the writing is solid, a distinct network of characters is built, I appreciated the interesting world-building, and I thought the plot twists were well done. The idea of what to do after the incident that shaped you or that seemed to be the main focus of your life is an interesting one, and I liked the different angles from which Roth came at it. However, I found the book somewhat overly lengthy, with portions dragging significantly (and not necessarily helped by the outside documents inserted, some of which are necessary to understand the narrative and others which are just sort of atmospheric). Simultaneously, though, I found myself wondering how well-served the book was by giving somewhat vague description of the heroic backstory and wishing for more there - I understand the technique, but the emotional significance of things like the relationship with their mentor is somewhat robbed by the fact that we're meant to imagine the context of that relationship from side comments and minimal backstory. I'd be interested in another book based more on the plot/cliffhanger than the characters, but would hold back from committing to any more than that.

I am a big fan of the Divergent series. I was so excited to see that Veronica Roth had ventured into the Adult world, as many of her original fans have grown and would connect with more mature themes. I haven't finished the book yet but I'm confident in saying that I'll be recommending this to my customers when it releases this year. I need to find out more about the Dark One, the Drains and what happens to the Chosen Ones.