Mini DNF ARC Review--Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

The first novel written for an adult audience by the mega-selling author of the Divergent franchise: five twenty-something heroes famous for saving the world when they were teenagers must face even greater demons—and reconsider what it means to be a hero . . . by destiny or by choice.

A decade ago near Chicago, five teenagers defeated the otherworldly enemy known as the Dark One, whose reign of terror brought widespread destruction and death. The seemingly un-extraordinary teens—Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther—had been brought together by a clandestine government agency because one of them was fated to be the “Chosen One,” prophesized to save the world. With the goal achieved, humankind celebrated the victors and began to mourn their lost loved ones.

Ten years later, though the champions remain celebrities, the world has moved forward and a whole, younger generation doesn’t seem to recall the days of endless fear. But Sloane remembers. It’s impossible for her to forget when the paparazzi haunt her every step just as the Dark One still haunts her dreams. Unlike everyone else, she hasn’t moved on; she’s adrift—no direction, no goals, no purpose. On the eve of the Ten Year Celebration of Peace, a new trauma hits the Chosen: the death of one of their own. And when they gather for the funeral at the enshrined site of their triumph, they discover to their horror that the Dark One’s reign never really ended. 

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


I was all for Veronica Roth's newest book for adults, Chosen Ones! Teenage superheroes turned adults dealing in the aftermath of the defeating the Dark One many years ago! Yet, sadly, somewhere down the line, I just couldn't read anymore. I read almost half of the book before finally calling it quits.

Pacing was a major issue for me with this one.We follow Solane through her everyday life post Dark One. She and her friends still hold quite a bit of fame for their heroic deeds. One thing that was more hindrance than help were the periodical articles that popped up between chapters. Sometimes there would be a chapter change without one, but most to the time these articles popped up. At times, it was really hard to see how this connected to what was happening now. The ones I read were mostly ones from the past, so it shed light onto Sloane's past and made some things a little clear, like how the Dark One went down. Other times I could not see a connection at all. It would be some sort of general synopsis of people with superpowers, possibly pertaining to one of Sloane's friends, but as I said, these particular articles felt like interruptions from the story.

Just when I thought things were getting interesting with a bit of time travel, we had to get into the metaphysics of how such things would work. As in time travel. Or magic. Physics on magic. It was just too much for me at that point. Science and magic shouldn't really mix in my opinion. I mean to an extent, they shouldn't mix. The way this was going, I felt like I would be getting the history of magic meets physics and vice versa. It was just too overwhelming.

Add in the fact that I was almost to the halfway point and the death of one of her friends only just happened and it was only at this point were Solane and her friends about to start their actual "plot" journey. The first 1/3 of the book felt like some sort of prequel almost and I just couldn't handle it anymore.

World-building and pacing were my main issues with this one. I was enjoying the characters for the most part, I felt like I would've grown more attached to them had I been able to finish this one, but sadly, it just wasn't for me.