Review - Chosen Ones (The Chosen Ones, #1) by Veronica Roth

 

Title: Chosen Ones (The Chosen Ones, #1)

Author: Veronica Roth

Pages: 400

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Release Date: 7th April 2020

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 

SAVING THE WORLD ONCE MADE THEM HEROES.

SAVING IT AGAIN MIGHT DESTROY THEM.

Fifteen years ago, five ordinary teenagers were singled out by a prophecy to take down an impossibly powerful entity wreaking havoc across North America. He was known as the Dark One, and his weapon of choice - catastrophic events known as Drains - leveled cities and claimed thousands of lives. The Chosen Ones, as the teens were known, gave everything they had to defeat him.

After the Dark One fell, the world went back to normal . . . for everyone but them. After all, what do you do when you're the most famous people on Earth, your only education was in magical destruction, and your purpose in life is now fulfilled?

Of all the five, Sloane has had the hardest time adjusting. Everyone else blames the PTSD - and her huge attitude problem - but really, she's hiding secrets from everyone . . . secrets that keep her tied to the past and alienate her from the only four people in the world who understand her.

On the tenth anniversary of the Dark One's defeat, something unthinkable happens: one of the Chosen Ones dies. When the others gather for the funeral, they discover the Dark One's ultimate goal was much bigger than they, the government, or even prophecy could have foretold - bigger than the world itself.

And this time, fighting back might take more than Sloane has to give.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

 

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley*

Ten years ago, Sloane and her friends defeated the Dark One, a man who killed thousands of innocent people with magic.

Known as the Chosen Ones, Sloane (along with four others) was picked because of a prophecy and trained using magical items.

With the Dark One gone, Sloane didn't know how to move on and became a recluse as she struggled with PTSD.

Then after commemorating ten years since they won, one of the Chosen Ones dies. At the funeral, the remaining Chosen Ones find themselves called upon to fight once more.

Did the Dark One really die that day? Or could he be alive?

Will Sloane and her friends be able to save the day again? Or will they die trying?

I was intrigued to read Chosen Ones because of the premise - what does a hero do after they defeat the villain? However, this ended up being a mixed read for me.

Sloane was an intriguing character, and while I didn't always like her, I did feel sorry for her because of the things that she'd been through. It was interesting how Sloane and her friends could be so different at times and I liked her interactions with Albie.

When I first started reading this I was enjoying it, but after a while I started to lose interest. The plot didn't grab me, but there were a few twists that I didn't see coming. I didn't feel overly invested in what happened and thought that an event at the end of the book was over faster and far more easily than I expected.

The writing style was easy to follow, but I wasn't gripped.

I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more as the concept sounded promising. I think this was a case where the execution didn't work for me.

Overall, this was an OK read.