ELITE (Eagle Elite #1) by RACHEL VAN DYKEN – Review

Gitte: I have to say this book turned into something I was not expecting at all. There was violence, drama and highly emotional scenes with romance thrown in. Oh and there were cows, both the animal kind and the human variety hahaha.

I really enjoyed this story for what it was, but have to say the latter part was my favourite, we got all kinds of intrigue, drama and suspense.  In some ways this came across as two books in one if that makes sense with the first half being kind of slow and very YA.

This Author is brilliant and is definitely a one-click for me after having read a few of her books now. Her writing is flawless and she writes with emotions and humour. Her one-liners floor me and her characters are multi-layered.

I would say that this was in my opinion more YA than NA and should be marketed as such to make sure readers know what to expect romance wise. So my rating is based on a YA comparison.

The actual story once it got going was addictive and the characters were very well written. I may be in the minority though when I say that I completely fell for the guy who wasn’t the main character. Don’t get me wrong I loved Nixon but if I had the choice, Chase is my man! What did you think Jenny?

Jenny: What did I think Gitte? Well first off I have to say that Rachel Van Dyken saved the day again. After just finishing a pretty hard and emotional story we needed something fun, something that allowed us to just read and enjoy and take us away for a little while and Elite did just that and more.  This was definitely a surprise and I didn’t expect it to be so full of intrigue and drama and unexpected twists.

It was certainly more YA especially in the first half and my rating also reflects that feeling. I agree that the second half of this story really hit its straps and took us somewhere else entirely and I for one loved it.

This author will definitely be giving my 1Click trigger finger a work out because I too have fallen in love with her style of writing, her engaging characters and the humor she injects into a story. Her one liners certainly floor me and she makes reading her stories an absolute delight.

“Oh gosh, I have officially died and gong to magazine model hell” – Trace

Gitte: So we have Trace who became an orphan at age six and was consequently brought up by her grandparents in farm country leaving her quite naïve and innocent, which at times I have to say, I found slightly annoying but at other times sweet and adorable. I felt for her so bad when she was thrown into drama and crazy arse situations at her new school with a crowd of scary and bullish fellow students called the Elect. Her world literally turned upside down and this girl didn’t have a clue what hit her. The truth hurts as they say and literally comes when you least expect it to and bites you in the bum or pulls a gun at your face….

Nixon, Chase and Phoenix were awful and I thought uh oh…I am not going to like any of them. But…huge but, as the story developed I soon fell in fictional character love with all but Phoenix. You’ll find out why.

“Don’t touch the Elect. Don’t breathe the same air as the Elect, and don’t….Just don’t.”

Nixon was lush; a gorgeous tattooed and pierced bad arse who was at first really quite unpleasant and evil but behind this façade he was protective and loved with passion. His character and transformation when truths come out was really quite surprising and I LOVED it.

“I’ll protect you until the day I die, even if it means I have to protect you from myself. Because in protecting you from me, I was protecting you from them.” – Nixon

Now as for Chase, I can’t say exactly why, but I fell in complete love and preferred him to Nixon. He was not only fierce; he was also so protective, passionate and loving and had this powerful way about him that had me swooning. He was brutally vicious one minute, then the powerful protector the next.  Actually, can I have a Nixon/Chase sarnie Jenny?

Jenny:  Yes you can have that sarnie but only if I’m invited!!! Nixon and Chase….yummmy!

“I couldn’t stop staring.  I mean, the guys were attractive, but Nixon was a step above the rest. He was chaotic perfection” – Trace

Trace’s world certainly got tipped upside down and every day for her was a challenge.  What should have been a wonderful experience for her soon changed into something very challenging and she was tested to the max.  At times she appeared so strong but she also frustrated me a little though I sympathised with her because she was out of her depth so many times.

There was such a great cast of characters and nothing was as it seemed.  Nixon caused her whiplash with the way he blew hot and cold and only added to the confusion she felt and reminded her how out of her depth was in her surrounding.

“Geez, that boy had more mood swings than grandma when she went through menopause” – Trace

Nixon and Chase….where do we start?  Nixon was bossy, antagonising, gorgeous and protective and could be such an arrogant dick but oh I did love him from the start. What is it about these guys? LOl Once you learn his reasons you fall in love with him even more. He’s quick witted though intense and I can see why Trace was drawn to him.

“Oh do continue, I love getting reprimanded. You gonna spank me later too?” – Nixon

I enjoyed this book for what it was. A good fun read that was exactly what I needed at the time.  I escaped into the world of the Elite. The secretive world which I can’t wait to go back to. Please oh please let us have Chace’s story because like you Gitte, he definitely stole my heart. What a gorgeous, fiercely protective friend he was. I want to know more about him.  He was divine!Yep, this one ticked the boxes for the escape I needed.

Gitte: So yeah I enjoyed it, but preferred the second half of the book for sure. I hope Chase gets his own story and I cannot wait for the next book in the series as this one leaves you hanging a bit with all the drama. I do hope that there will be less emphasis on the YA element though in the next one.

“The last name Abandonato either covers the sin or gets you killed. Either way the outcome is the same, I guess.”

“And what’s that?”

“You’re never free.”