My review: five out of five stars
Not going to lie, when I first started this book I wondered what ask the hype was all about... I didn't love it at first page or even first chapter. Somehow, page by page, chapter by chapter it sucked me in. I finished the second half off the book in just one evening. I have the second one ready to read and a promise from my husband that book three will be purchased payday. Can't wait to read how this series turns out!
The Elite
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.
The One
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.
My review: 5 out of 5 stars
The Heir
Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon - and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible.
But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.
Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought. My review: four out of five stars
When I started this book, I kind of wanted to kick Eadlyn, the main character. She acts like such a spoiled brat. I get that she is under a lot of stress trying to learn the details of running the country, but she didn't do it with nearly the grace that her mom and dad did.
Overall this was a great addition to the Selection series. It is interesting that after Maxon's selection he still asks it of his daughter, but the story reveals that there is a reason behind it and an understandable one.
This book did end with a bit of a cliff-hanger. Had I known that, I would have waited until closer to May when the final book is due out. It's worth waiting for!
The Crown
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.
My review: four out of five stars
This book perfectly wrapped up the selection series. I loved the first three most, but this one was close after.
In book 4 I saw Eadlyn as quite the spoiled brat, in book five, she starts to see how she was one. Watching her come to terms with how her country felt about her was an interesting story. I kept hoping for her to find some kind of balance between who she was and what she wanted to be. It was difficult to see how much she let others' opinions of her get to her heart, but totally understandable when you are trying to run a country. This book kept me listening right along. Didn't want to stop listening for anything (hence the reason I finished in less then 24 hours!) I loved seeing Eadlyn learn and grow into queen.
I won't spoil the ending but I loved it. Seriously, if you read the first books, try this one out. Totally redeemed the last two for me. Before reading this book, I thought they should have stopped at three but now I see that the last two really add to the overall story.
I enjoyed hearing this book read to me. Perfect finish to this wonderful series!
Happily Every After
The contents of Happily Ever After are as follows:
-The Prince (with the two bonus chapters), Maxon’s novella
-The Guard, Aspen’s novella
-The Queen, Amberly’s novella
-The Favorite, Marlee’s novella
-Three scenes from Celeste’s POV
-Lucy’s scene (bonus scene from The One)
-The bonus epilogue
-Where are they now?
-A map
-Various illustrations
My review: five out of five stars
This book is simply wonderful. I really enjoyed getting to see the Selection story from different points of view. Another thing this book has that I really enjoyed were some illustrations as well as a map. Being able to see these characters and the places they came from was something you don't get in many "grown up" books.
The hardest one to read was The Queen. This is a prequel novella meaning it comes before The Selection. Knowing the kind of man King Clarkson ends up being is almost heartbreaking. Cass wrote a note at the beginning of the novella about it, and I think that helped me understand a bit but it was still rough.
The Prince gave you Maxon's point of view for the first part of the Selection. It was interesting to read about the things he was stressing about. The first meeting between America and him was pretty funny.
The Guard is Aspen's story. It's all about how he goes from being a part of America's love triangle to becoming the man he becomes. This was probably my least favorite of the novellas, but still gave more of the story and was enjoyable overall.
The Favorite is Marlee's point of view. She is the favorite in the selection before she makes a choice and has to suffer the repercussions. I honestly loved reading about her story. The love that she and the guard share is just beautiful. It's easy to see why Maxon wanted to help them out and why they remain a part of Maxon and America's lives.
You get three scenes from Celeste's point of view. I found them interesting and they definitely gave more depth to her character. However, they didn't help me like her any more.
There is also a bonus chapter from Lucy's point of view. I like seeing how "the help" sees things, gives you more of a real view of people. This just added to my love of America.
This book concluded with After The One, basically a "where are they now." Just a glimpse of the final four and where they are now. I found it interesting to see where the other princess hopefuls ended up.
Happily ever after is a really good companion to The Section series. I felt like it really added to the love I already have for this series. I love that authors are starting to give us more of the other characters stories.
