The Chosen by J.R. WardMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this new installment of the series, but in all honesty it was not my favourite, and I had a feeling that it wouldn't be before I even read it. I loved The Beast, probably because Rhage is one of my favourites, so for me it was a given that Layla and Xcor were not going to be able to top what had come before them. If I had to compare this to previous books, I would put this one on par with The Shadows.
In my opinion this was one of those books where it seems to be a bit slow in places but still has a lot going on. To me this books purpose is to bridge any small gaps in the larger story and set the stage for the next "relationship to unfold". I think that this, as a book, will read better in a couple of years time when there are installments that follow it; for the simple reason that when you binge read an entire series, the individual elements all blend into one very long story, so what for some people are shortcomings with this book eventually won't matter when we all decide to go back and binge read it all over again, it won't be the book that may seem a little slow in places, it'll just be a continuation of what comes before and after it.
I think that this story was very different to what a lot of people were expecting, with the Xcor/Layla element not being quite so central to the story and having all these other smaller elements being brought in to set up for what comes next. I personally think that this book told their story in the best way as I don't feel that there was enough left to be told about to fill an entire book up. We have already seen so much of their relationship unfold in previous books, so I wasn't surprised that they weren't the sole focus here. In all honesty I was a little bit glad. Layla has never been a favourite of mine. For the same reasons that I'm not overly fond of Cormia, Marissa and the other Chosen. There is just that overly innocent/naive vibe about them (admittedly Marissa is growing on me). And as much as I no longer see Xcor as "The Bad Guy", I didn't fall in love with his character either; I'm just ambivalent when it comes to him.
I'm interested to see how this thing with Trez and Therese plays out, and what it means in the grander scheme of things. It's hard to say anything about this without giving away spoilers. I did find it a bit odd though, how we had gone back to looking at how Trez is doing and it becoming almost a secondary story line, and yet there was no kind of follow up, even briefly, on the Rhage-Mary-Bitty situation; not even passing them in the hall or at meal times. For me this was certainly something that felt a bit missing. But then again maybe I'm biased being Team Rhage and all.
A couple of other little side thoughts:
Mrs Ward, what is it going to cost me for everything to work out right with Vishous? Seriously, name your price and it's yours.
The new Scribe Virgin. OH MY GOD! My first thought when I read who got the job was that the Brothers are going to hit the roof. I would never have guessed this. Things are most definitely going to get interesting.
I think if you have followed the series then this is a must read for you. I can't wait to read Assail's book, as I find his character quite intriguing. I'm looking forward to seeing everything plays out and discovering what comes next for these characters. I'm totally loving this series!
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