Review: You can't choose to put down Chosen
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 10, 2012
Riveting and harrowing, Chosen grabs you by the throat and yanks you in. The villain is horrific and sadistic, so wickedly smart he'll make you feel like vomiting, but he's intriguing all at the same time. The action doesn't let up, and every time something terrible happens, and you don't think you can handle anymore, it gets even worse. It's brutal. It's twisted. It's impossible to put down.Other reviewers sneeringly make comparisons to "torture porn," but while Chosen occasionally manages to evoke in you the uncomfortable realization that you are a voyeur of something you wouldn't ever admit you wanted to see, the book never loses its moral center or asks you to cheer for a violent rapist and murderer. Okay, so maybe you kind of want him to stay alive so you can figure out exactly who DID kill his mother, but that's not the same thing. If riding a fine line like that makes you uncomfortable, run from this book. It'll eff you up. But if you can stomach it, come along for the ride, because it doesn't disappoint.The book suffers from a weak fourth act, signaled by an abrupt change in pace and tone. Apparently, the author usually writes romance and decided to tack one on the end of an otherwise taut thriller. After watching this poor girl get brutalized for 3/4 of the book and seeing her inner resolve never wane, I simply couldn't get behind the idea that she'd completely fallen apart emotionally upon rescue/capture (you'll have to read it to see what I mean) and then wanted to spend all her time counseling the hero-rescuer dude about issues he was having with his dad. After the tension of the first part of the book, it simply felt like it didn't fit.But when the climax finally hits, you'll forgive the plodding interlude, because it's a nail-biter, full of twists and turns and shocking reveals.In the end, if you're looking a for a book that will shock you, thrill you, and keep your knuckles white as you grip your ereader, look no further than Chosen.