Monday Must Reads... Chosen by Denise Grover Swank

Mood: Monday - bleh. 

Chosen - By Denise Grover Swank

Everything Emma Thompson owns fits in a suitcase she moves from one roach infested motel to another. She and Jake, her five year old son who can see the future, are running from the men intent on taking him. Emma will do anything to protect him even when it means accepting the help of a stranger named Will. Jake insists she needs Will, but Emma's never needed help before. And even though she's learned to trust her son, it doesn't mean she trusts Will. 

Mercenary Will Davenport lives in the moment. Hauling Emma to South Dakota should have been an easy job, but his employer neglected to tell him about Emma's freaky son and the gunmen hot on her trail. Instinct tells him this job is trouble, but nothing can prepare him for Jake's proclamation that Will is The Chosen One, who must protect Emma from the men hunting her power. A power she doesn't know she has. 

Will protects Emma and Jake on a cross-country chase from the men pursuing them, while struggling with memories from his past, his apprehension of Jake, and his growing attraction to Emma. Will's overwhelming urge to protect Emma surprises him, especially since it has nothing to do with his paycheck and possibly everything to do with the tattoo Jake branded on his arm. Rich and powerful men are desperate to capture Emma, and Will must discover why before it's too late.


My Take
Denise Grover Swank has delivered another amazing novel! Chosen is a dark thriller that is a definite departure from her previous release, Twenty Eight and a Half Wishes, and proves that Denise's talent as a writer is not limited to a single genre.

Emma is a woman on the run. Jake is a little boy carrying the weight of a gift that would be too large for most grown men to handle. Mother and son are being hunted by nameless, faceless people who are willing to do anything to get what they want - Jake. Without understanding exactly why they are being hunted or by whom, Emma does the only thing she can to protect her son - she learns to live her life on the run.

They run from one town, one hotel to the next, depending on Jake's ability to see the future to give them enough warning to move on before they're caught. Until they are. Jake insists that they need Will but Emma isn't willing to let her guard down and trust Will completely. Which is probably a very good thing since Will Davenport is not exactly who or what he seems.

At a Glance

1.) Emma is a completely real character. She's a mother who is willing to do anything and sacrifice everything to keep her son safe. She's also a woman who is tired, scared and weary of fighting the battle to keep them alive. Denise manages to brilliantly balance both of these facets of Emma's personality making her a very believable and sympathetic character.

2.) The plot is confusing enough (in an awesome way) to keep everyone - including the main characters - guessing from one moment to the next but expertly woven into a narrative that makes it impossible to put down. I LOVE this.

3.) While there is a definite supernatural element it just simmers in the background adding another brilliant layer to the story.

4.) Will - absolutely swoon worthy as the dark and tortured anti-hero hero of this book. LOVE him - also, might hate him a little.

5.) There is just the perfect amount of humor and snark in Chosen to keep it from being too dark - which is awesome for those of us who like to read well into the night!

Chosen is the first in a series of books about Emma, Will and Jake!

In Other News
Don't forget to check out LK Gardner-Griffie's continuing blog tour of awesome! Today she's over with Christine Fonseca!