Chosen for You

The Mating Grounds

By: Ciree Hawthorn

Narrated by: Laura Horowitz

Length: 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Cora and Ronan have been chosen to represent their zones at the Mating Grounds—a genetic diversity breeding program run by the government. Can they choose a mate before their year is up or will they be assigned to someone and lose out on their chance at a love match?

Cora has been homesteading with her family in the wastes for most of her life. After moving to the city and being appalled with her choice in suitors, she’s chosen and sent to The Mating Grounds. Will she be able to find her perfect match or will she be continually disappointed in love?

Ronan is one of the last eligible men in his Zone. When he’s sent away to The Mating Grounds to find a partner, he makes a horrible first impression. Can he overcome his embarrassment and rectify the situation before his ideal girl writes him off for good?

If you enjoy dystopian romances (like Katniss and Peeta’s), a race to partner up (are they your type ‘on paper’?) and a shot of heavy angst, then you’ll love Chosen for You.

©2023 Ciree Hawthorn (P)2023 Ciree Hawthorn

loved the story

I really enjoyed the story line of this book and I wish it was longer. think hunger games but instead of going to their deaths they are sent to a mating ground to find a partner and help repopulate the world.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Great narration, Liked the world, Too insta lovey

The narrator for the book was great. The world premise was interesting. The characters fell in love too fast for me, even for a short story. It was too insta love. I wish it were a little longer.

Dystopian world

Prequel to a series in a dystopian world after much of the population dies. A couple switch point of views as they get to know each other.

Total meet cute turned match-up

I did a little bit of a goof, and got this series out of order from the outset, so it was very nice to go back and find out what I had truly missed. I knew about the pairing, but wanted to learn more about the individuals.

Cora seemed to be both excited and nervous. When she saw Ronan with a mop, she assumed he was "the help" not another Chosen. Yeah, well....never assume. She may have wanted to come across as confident, but in actuality she was rather insecure and unsure of herself. Ronan however oozed confidence in most areas. When it came to interactions with Cora though, he was quick to take responsibility for things I didn't feel were actually his fault. I can understand to a point, but she needed to take accountability for her actions and assumptions (yeah, she did alot of that where he was concerned).

As a whole, I enjoyed the story. Cora's antics bothered me slightly fir Ronan, but he made the choice. The narators did a wonderful job IMO of bringing me into the story and enabling me to get a visual picture of the couple in their year long courtship.

I received this recording as an ARC and after listening I am definately excited to see what the Chosen get up to in Our Year In Cria.

intriguing

I liked the storyline plot. This was a new and intriguing concept and I liked that it was so original. It was a bit short and not fully detailed so I gave it less stars.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Cora and Ronan

Cora and Ronan have been chosen to represent their zones at the Mating Grounds in this short story. The story is well written with a good storyline that held my interest as I listened to their story. I enjoyed Laura Horowitz narration. I would like to listen to more in this series. This is a new Author to me.

Didn't Want It To End

Gleeful Goblin Review: This audiobook was so fascinating for me as someone who digs post apocalypse stories and also was lucky enough to successfully leave a home that was rooted in isolationism (religious fundamentalism, homeschooling, the works) because of how much I unexpectedly connected with much of what the FMC talks about early on in the story. She's discussing having grown up as homesteaders and only been around family until later teen years (same), feeling out of place/out of sync with your peers and overwhelmed by the world around you (yup), and finding dating around or bed hopping to be not your jam but feeling comforted by something like the Mating Grounds because you *know* the other person you're trying to connect with is there for the same reasons you are and that predictable structure feeling safe. It was wild to listen to the story from this personal of a perspective because as someone who is happily child free I didn't really expect to connect to that degree with characters who must focus on connecting for the purpose of children. Both Cora and Ronan are just absolutely adorkable in how they dance around each other with liking each other/connecting and I couldn't stop smiling hearing the narrator tell that part of the tale. And oh my poor heart listening to the self doubt/self sabotage with misunderstandings making things complicated.

Overall, just a super fascinating take on rebuilding/maintaining a society that has shades of The Hunger Games meets reality dating show. Gripping story, interesting characters, super quick listening experience. 5/5 Stars.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Short

This is a very, very short story about two people who find each other. Being so short there is no time to learn about characters, plot, etc.

Great Premise But...

The description of this book seemed like a great premise. A future where the remnants of humanity send one male and one female to a breeding program called The Mating Grounds to help ensure genetic diversity. I knew going in that it was part of a series and that it was a short story, but I had hoped for more than what I got.

Each chapter felt like glimpses into a larger story, almost like a movie trailer, without really fleshing it out. The characters felt flat and lifeless, the world was underdeveloped to the point that I almost could not picture it. There were only a few instances of even the mention of other characters, like these two were existing in a bubble. Worst of all, it was all too easy. They meet, they fall in love, they have a misunderstanding, they declare themselves to the government, the end. There is no real story arch, no evolution of the characters, no conflict, nothing to really make me care.

I do think this has a great deal of potential if the story were developed more. But as it is, I do not feel compelled to read the rest of the series.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Excellent Premise, But Way Too Short

This is a super quick listen, only 39 minutes. The story has a fascinating premise, reminding me of a benign romantic Hunger Games! Love is the endgame—or at least finding your mate—not death! In this dystopian story, only small islands of human populations exist, and once a year, a male and a female are chosen from each of the population centers to meet at the Mating Grounds to find someone to have a long-term, making-babies relationship, part of the idea being that they need to mix up the gene pool since it's so limited. The chosen are given time to find love matches, but if that doesn't happen, they will be paired with one of the other unlucky ones! Seriously, great premise! However, this story is so short that there's actually no room for any sort of romance, solid conflict, or a satisfying resolution. This story would have been better as a part of a larger work where there's actually space for character growth, the building of the romance, more glimpses into this fascinating world, and better tension and conflict. Such incredible potential that wasn't realized.