Ok this is going to be my review of this series as a whole but I thought I would break it down and do it as one post but book by book with a few comments on each and then a summary of my final thoughts at the bottom for you. Obviously if you haven't read any of this, there may be spoilers in my thoughts for books 2-5 because they are sequels-beware!
I'll also leave the buy links at the very bottom for you.
Thirty-five beautiful girls. Thirty-five beautiful rivals…
It’s the chance of a lifetime and 17-year-old America Singer should feel lucky. She has been chosen for The Selection, a reality TV lottery in which the special few compete for gorgeous Prince Maxon’s love.
Swept up in a world of elaborate gowns, glittering jewels and decadent feasts, America is living a new and glamorous life. And the prince takes a special interest in her, much to the outrage of the others.
Rivalry within The Selection is fierce and not all of the girls are prepared to play by the rules. But what they don’t know is that America has a secret – one which could throw the whole competition… and change her life forever.
My Thoughts: So I was worried that I wasn't going to like this book because it has a slight fantasy element to it but I was really wrong about that because the setting for this book has a slightly fantastical note to it, in that it is set in the future, but everything else is totally recognisable and so I often forgot that this was set within the royal household in the future and not just the royal household now. I think the thing that stops it being unreal is that I don't know what it would be like living inside a palace anyway and so it was all cool. This is the book in the series where we really get to know the characters and I was intrigued to meet them all. We don't find out everything about all of these characters but we really get to know the main characters, Maxon and America. We also get to find out about The Selection itself, which it basically a reality TV show to find a wife for the prince, a show which I would so watch! I found this book slightly slower than the rest in the series because of the all the information, but it was in no way an info dump and I still really enjoyed this book!
The second book in Kiera Cass’s #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series, The Elite is a must-read for fans of fairy tales, The Bachelor, and dystopian YA fiction. This sequel to The Selection delivers even more glamour, intrigue, and swoon-worthy romance, and will captivate readers who loved Veronica Roth’s Divergent, Ally Condie's Matched, and Lauren Oliver's Delirium.
Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection, and to win Prince Maxon’s heart. Now six girls remain, and the competition is fiercer than ever. But America Singer’s heart is torn. Is it Prince Maxon—and life as the queen—that she wants? Or is it still Aspen, her first love?
My Thoughts: I would say that this is my favourite book out of the original trilogy. We get to know more about the ins and outs of The Selection itself, more about the royal family and more about the history of the country. I also really liked the fact that we see America's friendships with the other girls in The Selection, now The Elite grow. I think this was the aspect that I liked best about this book. The action in this book also ramps up a notch because there is more suggestion of another war and threat from the rebels. America also becomes a stronger contender in this race because she shows what a powerful female she can be and I think she has really found her groove by the time we get to this book.
THE SELECTION changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. Now, only one will claim Prince Maxon’s heart…
It’s swoon meets the Hunger Games in the third instalment of THE SELECTION series!
For the four girls who remain at the palace, the friendships they’ve formed, rivalries they’ve struggled with and dangers they’ve faced have bound them to each other for the rest of their lives.
Now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.
America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown – or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the competition approaches its end and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realises just how much she stands to lose – and how hard she’ll have to fight for the future she wants.
My Thoughts: This book has action right from the word go as the violence is stepped up another notch. Obviously we know going into this one that this is going to be the end of The Selection process and we will finally find The One, Maxon's wife and future queen. There is quite a lot of unpleasantness in this book though and so I am glad that America showed her true strength in the last book because I wouldn't have thought she would be able to handle things in this book otherwise. By the time i got this far in the trilogy, I really felt like I knew the characters and so when some of them come under threat, I felt genuine emotion and shed a tear or two. I really enjoyed this conclusion and I can see why people felt that this series should have stayed as a trilogy.
Having said that...
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!
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed the fact that Kiera Cass added another aspect to this series. I know I am controversial in saying that but this book flips the whole royal family lineage on its head and now it is the princess that has to choose a prince for when she becomes queen. I really really enjoyed this book because I found it really interesting making the comparisons between the first all-female selection, and this new, all-male selection. I think that having Eadlyn as the star of this novel was great. She is a strong, confident girl who definitely knows her own mind and this creates for some brilliant moments in the Royal family. She has some great dramatic scenes and it isn't any less romantic because it is men vying for the crown this time. I really loved revisiting characters from the original selection series as well.
35 suitors entered the Selection. Only 1 will win her heart. The fifth and final captivating novel in Kiera Cass’s #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series!
In The Heir, a new era dawned in the world of The Selection. Twenty years have passed since America Singer and Prince Maxon fell in love, and their daughter is the first princess to hold a Selection of her own.
Eadlyn didn’t think she would find a real partner among the Selection’s thirty-five suitors, let alone true love. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you… and now Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more difficult – and more important – than she ever expected.
My Thoughts: This was a really strong conclusion to the series and this duology for me but I didn't like this book as much as the crown. I think Eadlyn begins to think about the country and the royal family more in this book than she does her own wants and needs and that's what I liked about her in The Heir so I think that's why I didn't like this book as much as the first. Again I liked having other characters come up and I really liked the suitors that she has left in this book. All the characters felt real and didn't seem like characters from a fantasy novel but characters involved in a fairytale, in a royal kingdom wanting to be kings and queens. There is of course more drama in this book because it is the conclusion to the series and I really liked that. Overall I enjoyed the ending and thought this was a fitting conclusion to the whole thing.
Overall I am really glad I finally read this series. It really felt like fairytale and I felt like I was reading just a little bit of a Disney story mixed in with a reality TV show that would be on TV today. It allowed me to revisit my childhood in terms of the fairytale element of it and yet it indulge my love of some good drama on the TV with the contest element of it. I didn't have massively strong feelings about the characters or events in these books, I think I only cried once. Some of the characters did grate on me a little with their shallow attitudes but overall it was a bit of fun, nothing too taxing and definitely something to read if you're in the mood for a lovely story and some easy to like characters. This was also a great series to read one after the other and I would highly recommend doing that.
The Selection UK: http://amzn.to/2vUwmop US: http://amzn.to/2wzGH6n
The Elite UK: http://amzn.to/2vUJWYX US: http://amzn.to/2voRn99
The One UK: http://amzn.to/2wNDjUL US: http://amzn.to/2fwTJxl
The Heir UK: http://amzn.to/2wzTKVe US: http://amzn.to/2hQbxnZ
The Crown UK: http://amzn.to/2vUS0In US: http://amzn.to/2fxQV37
I adored the fluffiness of this series! I binge-read the first two books in the trilogy so quickly right before the third was released and was obsessed until I was able to read the conclusion a week later. I agree that this is one series perfect for binge-reading!
ReplyDeleteHave you read the short stories? I have Happily Ever After but I still don't know whether I'm going to rush to read it or not... Thanks for your comment!
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