The Favorite by Kiera Cass

I would like to start by saying this novella, "The Favorite" by Kiera Cass was far too short. This story (briefly) tells the story of how Marlee goes from being the people's favorite to marry Prince Maxon in the selection, to meeting and falling for one of the guards, Carter.

The present time story takes place after Carter and Marlee have been caught together and sent into the prison to being caned and demoted to eights. During this period there is flash backs of how the first met and fell for each other. I'm not typically one for flashbacks; however, this was subtle and added a dynamic that would have been missing without it. I also greatly enjoyed the ending how Carter and Marlee were the first official caste-less people as America and Maxon attempt to change their world for the better. Also, seeing America as a young queen was great and I wish there was more of that in this series. I rated this novella a four out of five stars. If there was more substance it would have scored a five, easily.

One more book left in this world that I hope to get to this month before moving on to a different adventure.

The Prince and The Guard by Kiera Cass

I read both novella's from The Selection series today. "The Prince" is considered to be book number 0.5 and "The Guard" is considered to be book number 2.5. Both novellas earned a 3.5 rating out of five.

In "The Prince" we follow Maxon prior to and until the first encounter with America out on the gardens shortly after the selection begins. I found the brief look into Maxon's home life prior to 35 girls moving in trying to win his heart to be interesting. I would have liked more between him and King Clarkson too. We know his level of evil, but seeing their interactions and how Clarkson manipulated made for an intriguing story.

I knew "The Guard" would be about Aspen Ledger; however, I thought it was going to be how he fell in love with Lucy, and I suppose, in a small way it did toward the end. It was mostly about Aspen's life as a guard, how he helped Marlee and Carter after the beatings, and how he fell out of love with America... or how he saw her falling in love with Prince Maxon. The story was good, and even though it was short it felt a little long.

I've always been team Maxon, so I preferred his story to Aspen's.

One more book in the series to go! Just kidding. I found another novella called "The Favorite". I guess I have two more to read!

The Crown by Kiera Cass

"The Crown" by Kiera Cass is the book end of The Selection series (Although there is a full length companion book called "Happily Ever After" and two novella #0.5 and #2.5 are also available). I rated this book four out of five stars. I will talk about the series as a whole after I have finished Happily.

In the wake of Eadlyn's mother's heart attack, and her father (the king) decides to say by her side, Eadlyn, even with all of her other duties, becomes reagent queen while her mother's life is in balance. If being interim queen wasn't enough, Eadlyn still needed to settle on a husband and winner of the selection.

I think the tension from outside forces was pretty non-existent, and that was something that had previously interested me. I wanted to know the people of the former castes not just the royals. Those outside stories mattered and they only touched on them briefly.

What I liked the most is that I wasn't 100% sure who Eadlyn was going to pick for at least the first half of the book. At the beginning of "The Heir" I instantly rolled my eyes and wondered if this was going to be enemies to lovers story between her and Kyle, where the love of her life is right under her nose; however, how focused they became on Kyle's desire to get out of the palace and implementing his talents with architecture.

Cookie cutter isn't the word I am looking for; however, by the end of the novel, it seems that Eadlyn gets all sorts of happily ever afters, and although this is a novel and fantasy... it still feels super unrealistic. Bad guy out witted. She gets to be queen and marry the one she loves. All is right with the world. Happy. Happy. Happy.

Don't get me wrong, I still loved it. I think the later half of the series really hones in on true emotions and there were lots of times where my heart strings were pulled tight that a tear or two slipped from my eyes. Another quick read, but quite enjoyable overall.