Review: Bring on book 3!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 26, 2013
I have read a number of Rachel Van Dyken’s books and, while I’m a huge fan of everything she writes, her novel, Elite (Eagle Elite #1) is my absolute favorite. What initially drew me in to the series is that it was unlike any book I had ever read, combining the New Adult genre with a bit of action and suspense. The plot twist that turned the narrative into a crime thriller featuring the mafia of all things was both unexpected and intriguing. Throw in a forbidden romance between a fresh-faced farm girl and an intense and mysterious bad boy and I was officially hooked. While Trace took the reins in Elite, the narrative of Elect is told via the two most important men in her life, Nixon and Chase.Rachel Van Dyken delves deeper into this world of organized crime in Elite’s follow-up, Elect, unveiling the inner circle of the Elect, which was founded in part by Nixon and Chase. The practiced ease with which Nixon and Chase deal with highly sensitive and dangerous matters is reflected in a different level of maturity in the story. They come across as world weary and jaded, having seen far too much horror in their young lives, which is directly contrasted with the innocence and naivety of Trace in the previous book. It's easy to forget these guys are college-aged considering the responsibilities they handle on a daily basis.I thought the multiple point-of-views were brilliant, because I loved getting to experience the narrative through the various male perspectives. The story is narrated solely by men, with Nixon and Chase occupying the majority of the pages. Not that I don't love Trace, but it was fascinating reading about a love triangle without the input of the heroine caught in the middle of the two heroes. Both Nixon and Chase bare their feelings for Trace, each presenting their separate cases to readers and I can't imagine how much more conflicted Trace might have been if she could read their minds. While love triangles typically drive me crazy, I appreciated that Trace wasn’t intentionally stringing along two swoon-worthy guys. The circumstances surrounding the twisted relationship between the three main protagonists are unusual to say the least.Everything about Elect is on a different level than Elite – there’s more action and romance and the stakes are much higher. There's an ever-present sense of danger, which casts an ominous tone throughout the narrative. New threats are constantly emerging, which kept my paranoia alive, but it's the threat of the unknown menace that evokes the most fear. Rachel Van Dyken does an incredible job at keeping a steady level of suspense throughout the narrative, in regards to both the love triangle and all things mafia-related. There’s never a dull moment in Elect, with its abundance of shocking revelations, twists and turns, starting with the first page and going until the very last sentence of the book.