Review: "Elite" by Rachel Van Dyken

Note: This ARC (for the paperback edition) was provided by Forever Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Elite is the first book in the new adult (NA) Eagle Elite series by bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken. This series appears to be very different from the Ruin series that I'm a huge fan of and that isn't necessarily a bad thing because no one really wants authors to just keep rehashing the same stuff they have in one series and put them in another with different characters and settings. That would get way too boring for bookaholics.

Based on this first book, the series has characters that are complex and an overall story that is intriguing and original. Let's hope that this is, indeed, a sign of good things to come...and yes, I know that four books have already been released after this one but if you're new to the series and you're like me, the first book sets your expectations for the rest of the series. Elite certainly raises the bar high for the books I have yet to read. ^.^

Tracey "Trace" Rooks can't quite believe that she's actually been accepted to Eagle Elite University, a very private and exclusive school known to cater to the rich, famous, and powerful families all over the United States. She's won the lottery that awards one high school graduate the prestigious Eagle Elite College Scholarship, but the minute she enters the gates of the school, she becomes very much aware that she doesn't exactly fit in with the privileged students and a small group known as the Elect makes it a point to let her know that she is an outsider.

Nixon Abandonato isn't just the student body president; he also happens to be the head of the Elect, a much revered and feared group inside Eagle Elite. He seeks to put Trace in her proper place within the school but there's something about the infuriatingly stubborn freshman that's gotten his attention. He's not sure if he should stay away from her or stay by her side. But then he finds something out about "Farm Girl" that even Trace has no clue about and he realizes the world as she knows it as about to change in ways she could never have imagined.

There are a number of secrets in the story that may have you wondering what kind of place Eagle Elite really is and what kind of power Nixon truly holds over not just those within the walls of the college but even outside. If you read the acknowledgments at the beginning of the book, there's one sentence that'll give you an idea of what's going on BUT it doesn't explain everything that's happening, so no need to fret. ^.^ I was able to figure out the main twist in the story but it will be interesting to see how it plays into the sequel.

The book does end on a cliffhanger so you'll definitely have to check out the second book, Elect, if you're as curious as I am to find out how the revelations in the first book affect Trace, Nixon, and the rest of their group. ^.^ Cliffhanger and all, I'm still giving Elite four stars out of five because it simply made me want more of the characters and the stories they have yet to tell and how could you ever say "no" to a book like that? ♥

Paperback Release Date: 14 October 2014

Date read: 09 October 2014

Learn more about the gifted Rachel Van Dyken here.

You can buy Elite and Ms. Van Dyken's other books on Amazon | Barnes & Noble.