In the beginning, I had some hopes for this one but in the end, it didn't work for me.
The mc repeatedly changes her mind with erratic constantly shifting motivations various justifications that felt fabricated just to keep things in flux.
She constantly goes in circles around the same few problems entrapping her until the next convenient event has the time come along and turn her around again.

Most of the character development appeared to just be formulaic "building the crew of specialists" and neither was there a lot of worldbuilding to be found anywhere.

The magic is of the vague made up on the spot kind that always adjusts its power levels to keep things exciting.
The same is true for fighting skills in general I guess and sudden stupidity is always a welcome tool as well.
Outcomes of spicy situations feel very much arbitrary if you can clearly recognize changing rules that ultimately decide them.
All this badly erodes believability.

In the end, the novel seems to finally grow some balls and go somewhere but then we just get rapidly bombarded with a whole bunch of convenient mind-changing information again that leaves the end in uncertainty again. It's not a classic cliff-hanger but it's deliberately set up to retain interest in a frustrating way so I think it is fair to call it a cliff-hanger.

All around an unsatisfying experience that seems to be entirely designed just to bait me to keep reading without actually providing anything of substance starving me out so every small morsel of progress seems like a feast.
I won't continue with this series. ( )

The last few times I've tried to start this I just couldn't bring myself to. I don't know why I had this idea of Snow White but I did and it was just making me shy away - Snow White was never my favourite fairy tale. But it's nothing like that and this book is freaking awesome. I love Shanti! The Honour Guard is adorable. And the humour is wicked good. I was highlighting like crazy all my favourite lines.

Shanti would have to be one of the best heroines in recent years. She's strong and brave and fierce but she is also vulnerable and weak and helpless. She cries and she fights and she's sexual and she's just everything a strong heroine should be. ( )

I found this book to be a decent read for relaxing and killing time, given that I just finished graduate school and needed a reprieve from the dense and complicated texts I normally read. However, this is my least favorite of all books I have read in this genre. I recommend any other book, but especially Tamora Pierce, who writes excellent YA (Young Adult) novels with strong female warriors which are of much higher quality than this novel.

"Chosen" is often poorly written, with typos or missing words and awkwardly worded phrases. There is a strong female lead character, but at times she seems like more of an anti-hero than a hero (she tortures enemies, is elated when killing them slowly, and early in the book, the basis for her power is described as Wrath, which is more fitting for an evil character than a hero). The story line is interesting enough, but predictable, and most other novels have given more thought to the mythology surrounding magic. Higher quality books provide greater detail regrading how magic works, how the hero accesses her power, and so forth; this book often settles for "she pumped more power into it."

But the worst part of this book is the unnecessary sexual scenes which continually intrude into the plot. For example, there is no need for the book to mention that a certain character is a virgin, as it is irrelevant to his ability as a field-medic. Causal statements such as, "he had even bedded some women like her," also add nothing to the plot. A YA novel, such as this is (lacking the sophistication and complexity to be an adult novel) should not begin with a rape scene; a higher quality book would, if necessary, merely allude to the act, without describing the actions of male genitalia. The characters also use magic to cause sexual pleasure, including descriptions of what the invisible hands are doing; this is disgusting to read about (especially in a YA book), and it casts an unnecessary negative connotation over a simple biological function. As other reviews have noted, the author is also overly fixated on the actions of a man's balls, which she describes as "tightening" in response to various emotional states (such as fear, anxiety, etc.) There is also no need for the hero to "kick near his balls" when a "kick to the groin" conveys the same content but without the crude language. Overall, there are too many mentions of what breasts and male genitals are doing, which have no relevance to the story and which detract from the narrative. If these sections were edited out of the story, nothing would be lost, and the result would be a much more satisfying read.

I would give the book 2.5 stars (if half stars were possible); the story was interesting enough, but excessive attention to sexual organs detracts from the narrative. ( )

Shanti is a badass, a serious badass.

She's like a ninja with mind killing powers, she may also be the Chosen to defeat an evil empire, and the leader of a small city may be destined to help her do it.






The book is action packed, and sets up a very interesting series story line, without getting itself bogged down. ( )

Having read Breene's Demigods of San Francisco series not long ago, I hoped that I could dive into another completed series of hers with the same enthusiasm for the plot and pace that I'd come to expect from her writing. I was not disappointed.

In every way that Alexis (from Demigods) was unsure of herself and her powers, Shanti wass simply badass, confident and unapologetic. You couldn't help but admire her determination despite her past and the odds she faced in the mounting threat to her kind and the world she strove to protect. Yet, despite that, she was vulnerable, and often standing alone, even when others would be happy to take up arms alongside her.

I loved every character we crossed paths with, loved the team Shanti pieced together in building the strengths that so many either disregarded or couldn't seem to bring to the surface. I was frustrated that she was so hell-bent on being alone that she fought the kindness and the strength offered to her by Cayan and the others. I hope that she can learn to rely on those around her more as we move forward.

From the start, this book gripped me with its action and its heroes... and while I desperately desired more in the romance, I know Breene can weave that thread well with its slow burn, so I'm eager to see where things go from here for all involved.

I would definitely recommend diving into this series. ( )