Elite (Citizen Saga, Book 1): A Dystopian Romantic Suspense Series

I’m not the best at reviewing books so I don’t do it often but I feel compelled to sway your opinion if you’re on the fence about this one. So if you were to go through my kindle history you would see I downloaded this book three times before I actually read it. The first chapter just wasn’t capturing me. Then I decided I was going to give it one more shot and if I really didn’t like it then I was done trying. Well I’m glad I did because this book was amazing. Lena is such a complex character and I love the world that was created. And what’s more amazing is I feel like there’s still so much more to the story that needs to be told. I can’t wait to read the next book.

Wow! I think I just found my best read of the year, so far. Elite is book one in an exciting new series by Nicola Claire. As I have said, I'm not a big reader of dystopian society books, but I couldn't help but fall into this new world so unlike our own, and be blown away by a story of rebellion, personal identity crisis, unity, love, and a nation on the precipice of change.Summary:Imagine living in a society that offers unlimited use of electricity, excellent plumbing, worry-free public transit, rationed access to recreational drugs, and amazing technology, seemingly given to its residents as a gift. The island of Wánmei houses a society with these privileges. Residents are raised with the clean-living ideals of the high-ranking Overseers. Ideals instituted for the good of all Wánmei, and promoted as safe, advanced, but most importantly, protected. Follow the strict rules and touted doctrine, consume your mandatory rations, and all is not only forgiven, but rewarded. The consequences for disobeying the law are immediate and severe. Selena Carstairs was raised an Elite, living a life of respect and luxury, every want fulfilled with ease and superiority. Despite her upbringing and proximity to key players, Selena is aware that things should be done differently, and she's not afraid of breaking the rules. But does she do it out boredom or is it something more? Not even Selena knows for sure until she comes face to face with a man with some stunning knowledge. Trent Masters is a Citizen, the lowest of the social ranks, through and through. Despite portraying himself as a model Citizen, Trent determinedly leads a small, but efficient group of revolutionaries desperately seeking a way to free Wánmei from the oppressive hands of those at the top. Trent knows there is freedom and a better way of life beyond Wánmei's controlling borders, but is at a loss as to how to get proof and convince so many compliant minds. Surprisingly his one chance somersaults herself into his life from the sky. With her most recent stunt possibly outing all her secrets, Selena needs Trent for what he can do for her, but Trent needs her just as much. After all, who better to fight back against the Overseers than an Elite within their ranks? Plans are formed, secrets unburied, risks taken. But can either be trusted? The fact is, neither Trent nor Selena's lives will be the same, especially with the sizzling attraction between them only growing more undeniable. A showdown with the Chief Overseer is inevitable, but there are things happening, active players involved, that Trent and Selena can't have even guessed about, and no one's survival is guaranteed.I am in awe of Nicola Claire's talent. The worlds she can create are stunning, and the story she grips you with feel so real. Elite was everything I've come to know and love about Nicola Claire, and so much more. My first impression of Lena was that she was totally badass cool and cunning, but complex. As I read, I liked her character, but can't deny that her way of thinking could sometimes show her as cold and unfeeling. Basically the Elite she was raised to be, which I hated. Slowly, I came to realize she was as much a victim as the other residents of Wánmei, maybe more so because of her unfailing belief in her father and his vision. Trent kind of stole my heart right away. I loved how strong, intelligent, and loyal to his cause he was. His determination was a driving force for several events in the book, and kept my heart beating erratically and my butt on the edge of my seat. His passionate nature was also incredibly appealing, but could also be seen as a weakness in some instances. His air of authority and danger was sexy as all get out, too. Together, Trent and Lena make perfect sense, but their romance can be said to almost resemble that of star-crossed lovers (hopefully without the tragic ending). The chemistry and connection is there, but Lena's very identity and position in society and Trent's mission and familial ties, continue to work against them. I fell in love with their fight and their very future. While romance was featured, it was in no way at the forefront, leaving that to the action and intrigue, but I know Nicola will deliver in future installments. I imagine she wants us to work for it a bit. ;-) I enjoyed the realistic nature of the story, as well. To read about the world we currently live in as prehistoric, really sent me for a loop. Lol. It had my mind creating all sorts of what-ifs because the many of the reasons for the state of affairs in Wánmei, are very real issues that plague our world today, and our leaps in technology aren't so small. Makes you wonder. Overall, this was a fantastic read, and how could you resist that gorgeous cover! It's a bit of a cliffhanger ending, so be prepared to have unanswered questions and anxiety over what happens next (I'm definitely feeling it). The good news is, Nicola loves us and we won't have to wait too long to get those answers. <3

I so want to give this book a 4! It was fast paced, full of emotion, and had the good old government oppression that you can enjoy in a dystopian novel. The characters were interesting and not one dimensional cut outs. The world building was solid. The horror and angst was there. The interactions between the characters felt authentic, rather than the stilted odd phrasing you often see in books now. The reactions and emotions of the characters felt true. There weren't any convoluted plots or convenient plot devices that really bother me.So why a 3? First of all, I never give a 5 unless it's exceptional. As in a classic or one that truly touched me and affected my soul. A 4 is a very solid book that I really enjoyed and had no problems. This book did have issues. Enough to drop it to a 3.5, which we all know you can't give halves on this rating system.What are the problems? The thesaurus was in heavy use in this book. While I do enjoy a variety of words and not being talked down to in a book, this was just excessive. It read, particularly at the beginning, like an author who is trying to prove they have an extensive vocabulary. It came off more pretentious than authentic or like someone trying to increase the number of characters so they can fill a research paper for school. Beyond that there were several areas where there were misspellings and incorrect word choices. While I could decipher the meaning, it jarred me out of the story enough that it did lower my rating. For a book with such use of a thesaurus, one would expect that grammar would be correct. There aren't extensive errors, but the fact that it tries to read like thesaurus gone wild and still has incorrect word choices of basic words makes it much worse for me.Overall, a good read with a solid plot, fleshed out characters, a strong world, and a fast pace. I would absolutely go on to read more books by this author. Just please spend more time on editing and less of trying to shove as many big words in as you can.

Such an amazing book. Totally gripping. Love the story and the characters.

GRAMMAR AND ORTHOGRAPHY ERRORS TO FIX INCLUDED.The first chapter was, hands down, awful. I really don't know why I continued, but I'm glad I persevered, because this book turned out to be rather interesting—so much so that I'm considering ordering the rest in the series.The author seems to be struggling with dependent clauses. She often has them standing as independent clauses (sometimes with the wrong tenses, too). 'The guests arrived. Were iRec'd and tested. Then led into the ballroom to dance and sip drinks.'They* were iRec'd [...]. Then they were* led [...]. Or, you could use commas to connect all three sentences, as the last two just don't make sense on their own. This is written material, not speech.Now, for the tenses: 'Wang Chao sensed it too. The warmth of his body reaching me as he shifted closer still to my side.'You mean, 'The warmth of his body reached* me [...]'? Yes, I thought you meant that, too.I suggest the author rereads her work and corrects the whole thing, because there are far too many tense mistakes like such for me to list here. (I'll list some other mistakes, though.)The author should also look into the usages of the serial comma, the em dash, FANBOYS (for-and-nor-but-or-yet-so), comma splices, and fused sentences.Now, onto some other errors I've found:> 'The move so smooth, so [...]' = 'The move WAS so smooth, so [...]'> 'Some base primal instinct' = Base and primal are synonymous. Therefore, one of them is redundant.> 'I slipped through aiming the laser at the camera lens.' = There should be a comma between 'through' and 'aiming'.> 'I was soaking wet, thirsty and out of breath.' = Serial comma between 'thirsty' and 'and'. It's a list.> 'The schematics for Wántel's head office came up on the low res LCD screen, I toggled between [...].' = This is a comma splice. It's when a comma is used to connect two independent sentences (meaning they can stand on their own) without the use of a connective (one of the FANBOYS connectors) word. That sentence either needs an 'and' after the comma, or a full stop/period for a new sentence to begin.There are many more of these mistakes, but I can't be bothered with the rest. It's the author's job to make sure their work is at its best before publishing.Now, off I go to order the next book in the series.

I bought this book as the blurb caught my eye, not my usual storyline...and the price.....I wasn't more than 3 chapters in before I bought (at full price) the next 2 books in the series! The characters are easy to identify with, well fleshed out and "real", the story itself is fast paced and not too convoluted. Nicola Claire is a new author for me and I really like her books, so much so I've started her Kindred series and am also enjoying them immensely.

Book is well written. Liked the world building but was confused with some of the names. Characters were good although I expected more loving from the lead characters.

A most odd book. I had trouble visualising the settings of this weird city and who was who. I have read some of Claire's other books, which I like. I won't however, be carrying on with this series.