Tag: Kiera Cass

Book Review | The Crown (The Selection #5) by Kiera Cass

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

The Crown (The Selection #5) by Kiera Cass

Published by HarperTeen on May 3, 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 279

Source: Library

Goodreads: ★★

When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.

Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.

REVIEW

The fifth and final book in The Selection series is here, and I made sure to reserve it at my library so I could read it as soon as possible. I was excited to discover how the series would conclude, and who, if anyone, Eadlyn would choose as her husband. Unfortunately, The Crown fell flat for me, and I’m quite disappointed with it. Let me share why with all of you.

I’ll begin this review with the things I did enjoy about this book. First, I am beyond happy that Kiera Cass finally includes some characters in this series that are not heterosexual. The lack of diversity in this series thus far was one of the biggest drawbacks for me, and I’m so glad Cass not only included some LGBTQIA+ characters, but she also gives a quick explanation of how these characters are treated in Illéa both historically and currently. It is disappointing that one of the characters is written in a stereotypical manner, but it’s great we finally got this inclusion nonetheless.

In addition, I did enjoy the overall ending of the series. Eadlyn ended up with the boy I thought she would, and I think she made a great choice. I also liked finding out more about America’s siblings, and seeing Grandma Singer. However, that’s where my enjoyment of The Crown ends.

My first critique of this novel is the writing style. The quality of writing throughout this series changes with every book, and it is at its weakest point in The Crown. Eadlyn’s first-person-perspective is more colloquial than ever, including cringeworthy sentences such as “I followed his gaze, and he was right. It was seven ’til,” (p. 264). I do think that younger readers of this series will enjoy this writing style more than I do, because The Crown reads as if a teenager is telling you the story. For me, though, it is very annoying, and not the style I like to read.

Similarly, I became quite frustrated with the construction of the novel. Keeping in mind that The Crown is a work of fiction set in a dystopian world, I found that there is a lack of logic in the events of the book. The rest of this paragraph will include mild spoilers for The Crown. Please skip to the next paragraph if you do not want to be spoiled. An example of my frustrations is when Eadlyn takes over as queen for her parents. It makes no sense whatsoever for an 18-year-old girl, whom the general populace dislikes, to suddenly take over the throne when the current king is still alive and able to serve. Illéa is in distress and needs a strong ruler. Yes, this is a fictional world, but in ‘reality’ Eadlyn would never be allowed to suddenly take the throne. The same is true of Eadlyn and Josie’s magically mended relationship. Eadlyn absolutely despises Josie, and the feeling is somewhat mutual. However, when Josie shadows Eadlyn for just one day, the girls’ entire relationship changes. They become best friends and understand each other instantaneously. Again, this would never really happen, and because it did the book lost a lot of credibility for me.

Moreover, the epilogue of The Crown felt completely unnecessary to me. It is only half a page long, and instead of wrapping up the story or showing a glimpse of Eadlyn’s future, it included a series of cliché statements. Not one character name is mentioned, nor anything new learned. I would have really loved an epilogue that served a purpose, especially after the ending of the book. Perhaps Kiera Cass will write another one in the future.

Overall, I’m very disappointed with The Crown. If you’ve read The Heir and want to find out what happens, I recommend just looking up spoilers for this book and calling it a day. I don’t think it’s necessary to read this book, and I honestly wouldn’t recommend this series. I’m very glad that I read it, because it receives so much praise that I think my thoughts provide something different from the mass opinion. If you do enjoy The Selection, I fully understand why, and I’m happy you can get fulfillment out of these books. At this time I don’t think I will be picking up any of Kiera Cass’s other books in the future.

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Book Review | The Heir (The Selection #4) by Kiera Cass

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The Heir (The Selection #4) by Kiera Cass

Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books on May 7, 2015

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Format: Ebook

Pages: 400

Source: Library

Goodreads: ★★★

Kiera Cass’s Number 1 New York Times bestselling Selection series has enchanted readers from the very first page. In this fourth romantic novel, follow Illéa’s royal family into a whole new Selection – and find out what happens after happily ever after.

Kiera Cass’s #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series has enchanted readers from the very first page. In this fourth romantic novel, follow Illéa’s royal family into a whole new Selection—and find out what happens after happily ever after.

Eighteen years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won Prince Maxon’s heart. Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own. Eadlyn doesn’t expect her Selection to be anything like her parents’ fairy-tale love story…but as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she’s always thought.

A new generation of swoonworthy characters and captivating romance awaits in the fourth book of the Selection series!

REVIEW

I was a bit hesitant to jump into The Heir by Kiera Cass after hearing such hit and miss things about it from fans of The Selection series. This book takes place about twenty years after The One, with our main character being Eadlyn Schraeve, America and Maxon’s daughter. While Illéa’s caste system has been disbanded, the provinces are still in trouble. Maxon and America decide that Eadlyn should hold a Selection to provide entertainment for the country while they decide how to solve the political problems. Eadlyn is not a fan of this idea, but decides to go along with it for three months. Of course, the Selection brings more problems than solutions.

If you’ve been following my reviews of this series, you’ll know I have a love-hate relationship with it. I love that these are fun and fast reads, and that is definitely true with The Heir. I find Eadlyn to be a great character and first-person narrator. She is going to be the first woman ruler of Illéa, and has been training for the role her entire life. This makes Eadlyn very confident, knowing she is a powerful woman. While Eadlyn can be a know-it-all, she is actually very naive, and has built a lot of walls around her. I’m quite impressed with how well-developed her character is, and I’m excited to see her growth in the next book.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few things I did not like about this book as well. First, there are still grammatical issues in this series, which really need to be edited. Similarly, I found a few instances where big vocabulary words are used in order to enhance the writing, but they didn’t fit well with the story. The Heir is also extremely predictable, with the exception of a cliffhanger ending. I closed the book feeling as if we only got half of the story. I don’t think it is necessary to split The Heir and The Crown into two books.

Moreover, I also found that the side characters are written in a hot and cold way. I loved how we got to see how the original characters from The Selection are today, but I do want to know more about what happens to all of America’s siblings (we only learn about two of them). Similarly, we also don’t get to meet all of the young men competing in Eadlyn’s Selection. This makes sense at the beginning when there are 35 men, but when the book closes and there are only a handful left, I still don’t know all their names. I find this lack of detail a big weakness of the novel.

Let’s talk a bit about the societal aspects of this book. I am overjoyed that Cass finally alludes to the fact that people in Illéa can be something other than heterosexual. This topic is still not discussed, but it is at least mentioned. I can also tell that Cass is attempting to include a bit more female empowerment in this novel, as Eadlyn is an indpendant woman. However, it’s quite disappointing that female characters typically resort to being the ‘traditional’ woman, and I can see that happening to Eadlyn. I know this series takes place in a dystopian society, but this society is only a step away from our own, and when the series is written for young adults, I think it’s very important to read between the lines and see what teenagers are going to get out of the novel.

Overall, I think The Heir was a good installment in The Selection series. I do enjoy Eadlyn as a main character, and I liked seeing the characters from the original trilogy again. I do recommend this if you really enjoy this series, but otherwise it’s not a must-read. I will be picking up The Crown to complete my read of this series. I just need to know how our time in Illéa will wrap up overall!

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Book Review | Happily Ever After (The Selection 0.4, 0.5, 2.5, 2.6) by Kiera Cass

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Happily Ever After (The Selection 0.4, 0.5, 2.5, 2.6) by Kiera Cass

Published by HarperTeen on October 13, 2015

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 416

Source: Library

Goodreads: ★★★★

Meet Prince Maxon before he fell in love with America, and a girl named Amberly before she became queen. See the Selection through the eyes of a guard who watched his first love drift away and a girl who fell for a boy who wasn’t the prince. This gorgeous collection features four novellas from the captivating world of Kiera Cass’s #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series, as well as exclusive, never-before-seen bonus content.

This series companion is a must-have for any Selection fan, and includes:

The Prince
The Guard
The Queen
The Favorite
Exclusive new scenes from The Selection, The Elite, and The One
Introductions to each novella from Kiera Cass
A map of Illéa and other illustrations
And more!

REVIEW

After completing the first three books in The Selection series, I decided to pick up this bind-up of all the novellas and bonus content that goes along with the original trilogy. Happily Ever After should definitely be read after the first three books, and if you haven’t read them I would not read my review here today. I will be sharing my non-spoiler thoughts on each novella and story included, but there will be spoilers for the original trilogy. Because this is a bind-up, I will share my thoughts on each section individually, and give a star rating for each section.

The Queen | ★★

My biggest disappointment in Happily Ever After is The Queen. I absolutely loved the character of Amberly in The Selection, and this story definitely tainted her. The Queen takes place during Clarkson’s selection, and I liked seeing what another selection was like. It was also really interesting to learn more about Clarkson’s parents, and Honduragua where Amberly is from originally. However, I was extremely disturbed with the ending of this novella. I don’t want to spoil it, but it goes with one of the themes that really disappointed me with The Selection as a whole, and that is how women are viewed. It’s such a shame that women are seen as submissive to men in this world, and I think it’s quite damaging considering these books are geared towards young adults.

The Prince | ★★★

Thankfully, Happily Ever After improved immensely after the first novella. The Prince is from Maxon’s perspective and takes place right before his selection begins, and continues through him meeting all the girls. I liked reading from Maxon’s point-of-view, as I sometimes questioned his intentions in the original trilogy. I was disappointed that most of this novella is basically just a rewrite of scenes in The Selection. That felt like a cop-out to me, as it didn’t add too much to the story. I also felt like we weren’t fully in Maxon’s head, but skimming the surface of his emotions. Nonetheless, I did enjoy this novella, it just wasn’t amazing.

The Guard | ★★★★

I was really excited to read The Guard, which is from Aspen’s point-of-view. This novella has a lot of original content, which I really appreciate. I also loved how we got to learn a lot more about the palace in this novella, as we follow Aspen and some of the other guards and maids. Plus, I was happy to delve into Aspen’s mind to see if he had good intentions. I do wish Cass tapped into Aspen’s emotions a bit more, but this was a solid novella.

The Favorite | ★★★★★

My favorite novella in Happily Ever After happens to be The Favorite, which is from Marlee’s perspective. This novella takes place right after Halloween, when Marlee is caught with Carter, and sharse about the couple’s life together in the palace.  I absolutely loved learning more about their relationship and what went on behind the scenes. This novella is nearly all original content, and while it was quite cheesy, I just loved it.

Scenes from Celeste | ★★★★★

I was also eager to learn more about Celeste. She had such an about face in The One, and I found it quite unbelievable that she would change character so quickly. These scenes really helped me understand Celeste as a person. The scenes are quite sad, in a way, considering her ultimate demise, but they are very enjoyable and add a lot to the overall plot.

The Maid | ★★★★ 1/2

The Maid is a short story from Lucy’s perspective, and begins on the plane ride home from Carolina after America’s father dies. Surprisingly, we learn a lot about Aspen in this story, which I wasn’t expecting. I did like learning more about Lucy and Aspen’s relationship. Of course, it was a bit cheesy, but I’m letting that slide because this book is called Happily Ever After! I deducted a half-star because the story does lack believability.

After the One | ★★★★★

After the One is a short story that takes place two years after the end of The One. It is written from America’s point-of-view, and takes place during a birthday party for Maxon. This is the most adorable story ever, and while I could predict the ending of it, I still loved it a lot. I think this story sets up the next two books in the series well, and I’m excited to continue on with The Heir next!

Where are They Now? | ★★★★ 1/2

Where are They Now? checks in with the three other Elite and shares how they end up in life. I thought it was really interesting to see how being in the selection affected their lives. I felt like this was Cass’s chance to include more diversity into the series, and while she did do one thing that surprised me, I wish she went for it a bit more. Nonetheless, I felt satisfied with these scenes for the most part.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed Happily Ever After. I don’t think it is necessary to read this book, but if you are a big fan of The Selection, or if you’re curious about what happened to the characters, I highly recommend it! I really loved learning more about Illéa, and I loved the map and illustrations included in this book. I’m so glad I decided to give it a read!

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Book Review | The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

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The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

Published by HarperTeen on May 6, 2014

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Format: Paperback

Pages: 323

Source: Library

Goodreads: ★★★1/2

The time has come for one winner to be crowned.

When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she’ll have to fight for the future she wants.

REVIEW

I was hesitant to continue on with The Selection after being quite disappointed with the second book in the series, but I had to find out what would happen! I’m so glad I picked up The One, because it is my favorite book in the series thus far. Originally, this was a trilogy, and so The One completes the original story of Prince Maxon’s selection. I was ready to find out if America would be the chosen one after all!

I was really excited when The One focused more on the politics of Illéa than the other books in the series. We get to learn more about the Northern and Southern rebels, and some really awesome action takes place. I still wish I knew more about this world, but I am very happy that the focus in this book was not just a love triangle.

My biggest critique of The One, however, is with believability. Yes, this is a dystopian novel, but I had a very difficult time believing everything that happens. For example, America tells the reader very early on in the book that she’s realized she won’t choose Aspen over Maxon, yet there is never an explanation as to why. I was glad her indecisiveness was over, but I had no idea why she made this decision out of the blue. There are several instances throughout The One like this, where I had to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy the story.

In terms of smaller critiques, I did notice that there were grammatical mistakes in this book that were fixed in book two. I’m guessing this is a copyediting issue, and perhaps the comma rules just weren’t followed this time around. I also deducted a half-star from my rating because there is a scene where a man slaps a woman without any sort of reason whatsoever. It is never okay for anyone to physically hurt another person, and in the specific scenario in the book it really bothered me. While this is a very small part of the book, it was quite shocking for me to read.

Overall, this is definitely the best book in the series so far, and a solid conclusion to the original trilogy. I really liked the ending of the book, and found it quite powerful. I do wish the cheesiness was toned down a bit, but in the world of Illéa with princes and ball gowns, I have to say it does fit the theme. If you read The Elite and you were unsure whether to continue on in the series, I definitely recommend doing so!

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Book Review | The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass

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The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass

Published by HarperTeen on April 23, 2013

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 336

Source: Library

Goodreads: ★★1/2

The Selection began with thirty-five girls.
Now with the group narrowed down to the six Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon’s heart is fiercer than ever—and America is still struggling to decide where her heart truly lies. Is it with Maxon, who could make her life a fairy tale? Or with her first love, Aspen?

America is desperate for more time. But the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America’s chance to choose is about to slip away.

REVIEW

I picked up The Elite, the second book in The Selection series, right after finishing the first book. The story continues with America and Maxon on a date, just shortly after book one comes to a close. America is still struggling to decide whether she can fall in love with Maxon and one day become Queen, or whether she wants to be with Aspen after all.

At first I was really enjoying The Elite. The writing clearly matured, and the grammatical mistakes I noticed in The Selection were fixed. In addition, I was loving how the story was deepening. There are some really interesting twists and turns in this novel, and I enjoyed learning more about the politics of Illéa. Unfortunately, as the book continued I became more and more unhappy with the direction of the novel.

While I recognize that this series is heavy on the romance, it does bother me that the main plot of The Elite is the love triangle between America, Maxon, and Aspen. There is so much going on in this world, and yet all we get to focus on is America’s indecisiveness. I really enjoyed America’s character in The Selection, but in this book she became extremely unlikeable, and doesn’t act in accordance with her described qualities. For example, Cass tells us America is very stubborn. Yet America is very gullible, and believes what others tell her. She also can’t make a decision, so I’m not seeing this stubbornness executed in the story. Similarly, we are told America is intelligent, but America is constantly acting emotionally rash, and makes poor decisions without thinking. Her character just didn’t seem to be flushed out well.

Moreover, I did notice a few plot holes in The Elite, which greatly detracted from the quality of the novel for me. A small plot hole is when America and Kriss are talking in the gardens. Kriss makes a comment about how America and Maxon like to spend time in the garden, and America has no idea how Kriss would know that. America assumes Maxon told Kriss, but in the first book, America announces on the Report that she and Maxon spend dates in the garden. While this is a small continuity issue, it is a plot hole nonetheless.

The larger plot hole is one that I cannot discuss without spoiling part of the story. However, it is one that greatly affects the series as a whole. I spent a lot of time skimming through the book to see if I could find the answer to this otherwise gaping hole, and I even did an online search to hopefully solve the issue. No matter how much searching I did, it seems like I did find a huge plot hole, and that is really disappointing.

Overall, I felt very let down by The Elite. It started off really well, but then got progressively worse as I continued reading. I feel like this book focuses way too much on the love triangle, but what confuses me is that we could have a really great and solid story if the love triangle was resolved in book one. I also feel like the selection itself should have ended in the first book, so we could now focus more on the world and the politics in this dystopian society. I will still continue on with the series to see how the selection ends, but I was quite disappointed with this book.

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Book Review | The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass

Published by HarperTeen on April 24, 2012

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Format: Paperback

Pages: 327

Source: Library

Goodreads: ★★★

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

REVIEW

I debated whether or not I wanted to read The Selection by Kiera Cass for a couple years, and I finally decided to give it a try after finishing a book that took me three weeks to read. I needed some book candy. In other words, I wanted to read something that I knew wouldn’t be the best book out there, but would allow me to indulge in something sweet. The Selection definitely fits that description.

I’ve heard this book described as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games, and I agree with that categorization. In this book we follow teenager America Singer. She lives in a country called Illéa, which is geographically located in North America, post the Fourth World War. America comes from a poor family, and receives the opportunity to enter a competition in which one girl from every province in Illéa will vie for the chance to marry the prince. Of course, America enters the competition at the suggestion of her mom and secret boyfriend, and the story unfolds from there.

I really loved how fast-paced and fun The Selection is. I read this book in a 24-hour period, and really enjoyed the storyline. While the book is extremely predictable and a bit derivative of The Hunger Games, I had a fun reading experience. I absolutely love reading about books where a competition is at the forefront. There is just something about a good game that really excites me, and The Selection is no exception.

Unfortunately, I do have a lot of troublesome thoughts about this book. I recognize that this is a dystopian world, and it is purposefully written to be a world in which we would not want to live. However, I worry that a lot of young girls will read this novel and not take that into account. For example, women are subordinate to men in Illéa, and are required to conform to certain standards of beauty at all times. Chastity is extremely valued, and it is against the law to have premarital sex. Even more troublesome is the fact that all romantic relationships in Illéa are heterosexual. There is never a mention of anything but a relationship between a man and a woman.

As an adult reading this book, I can see this is a fictional world. A younger reader might associate Illéa’s customs with a guide on how to act, especially since women in America today are still struggling for equality. I mean, it would be a ton of fun to live in a palace and have beautiful clothes and amazing food. Wouldn’t it be fun to marry a prince, even if that meant being his submissive wife? If this was an adult novel, I wouldn’t have these same hesitations, but in a book aimed towards young people, I think it might do more harm than good.

Moreover, the writing in The Selection was a bit lacking for me. There are a plethora of sentences that end in prepositions, and while I recognize that a teenager is the narrator, I wish such improper grammar was limited to dialogue if it truly had to be included. There are also comma rule issues, which I know is a small detail, but one that I expect to be perfected throughout the editing stages of every published novel.

Nevertheless, I did really enjoy the characters in this novel. America is a very likable protagonist, and I was rooting for her from page one. She does have that cliché personality where she is different from all the other girls, but I think that works in this book. I also love Prince Maxon. He is a bit of a mystery, but always goes above and beyond to be a kind and caring person. I would love to read from his perspective at some point in the short stories that accompany this book series.

Overall, The Selection is the book candy I was looking for, and I immediately am continuing on with this series. Perhaps I am taking the book a bit too seriously when I look below the surface and see what effect it could have on society, but I am interested in hearing your thoughts if you’ve read it as well. I do recommend it if you’re looking for a fun and fast-paced read, especially if you love a good competition story as much as I do. Make sure to stay tuned for my thoughts on the other books in this series very soon!

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