Posts
Synopsis (From GoodReads):
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.
Review:
I am going to try something different in this review. I will try the Like/Dislike format. I am inspired to try this from the blog Bookishness And Tea. I've never tried this method, so please let me know what you think of this style in the comments.
This is a perfect book to try a Like/Dislike review style since I think I had a Love/Hate experience reading this book!
I was looking forward to reading this book. The Heir is the fourth book in The Selection series by Kiera Cass. It is set 20 years after The One left off, where the winner of the selection marries Prince Maxon. Now their daughter will participate in a Selection (kind of like The Bachelorette). She will get to choose among 35 young men to become her Prince Consort. I went in hoping for a fun read.
What I liked:
via GIPHY
While I personally am not going to wear a ballgown any time soon, I love books where the clothes are a part of the story. I loved that Princess Eadlyn designed her own clothes and it was a very personal, creative thing for her.
The Selected:
via GIPHY
The guys that Princess Eadlyn gets to interact with include a wide range of personalities. There were guys who were upfront about how they wanted the cushy lifestyle of royalty, guys who had a temper, guys who were competitive. I think the author worked hard to show a lot of great candidates (and some bad apples, too). You know Eadlyn will have a tough time choosing.
Eadlyn's Conflict:
via GIPHY
I liked how the book addressed a big issue for me. How could an independent young woman agree to the whole selection in the first place? Eadlyn is only eighteen and I don't think many women her age are eager to get married. I liked that she had many conflicting emotions about the whole thing. She doesn't like being used by her parents as a distraction from social unrest in her country. But some of those boys are intriguing...
What I didn't like:
Princess Eadlyn:
via GIPHY
It's hard to like a book when the main character is a spoiled brat. I really didn't like that Eadlyn was thoughtless toward her maid. I don't recall her ever saying "please" or "thank you" to her. She also thought she was better than everyone else. She loved to remind everyone that she is THE PRINCESS!!! She wanted to been seen as strong, but she was so preoccupied her own self-importance that she pushed everyone else away. It surprised me that she would be like this, given her parents' personalities. I also felt like the author deliberately made her clueless as to others feelings so that in the next books, she will learn to be nicer. But if I can't root for the main character now, I may not stick around to read the next book!
The lack of substance:
via GIPHY
In The Selection there were many tests that the group had to perform such as how would they address problems in the nation. Why didn't the selected have some tasks to perform? All the guys did was go on staged dates with Eadlyn. No wonder she couldn't get too excited about most of the guys. She had no way to get to know them or understand what was important to them. I know they emphasized that Eadlyn, alone, would be running the country. But one of the reasons I enjoyed The Selection was because Prince Maxon valued a partner who would face the country's problems with him. Eadlyn just dismisses the possibility that anyone else could have a meaningful contribution. I find that unrealistic and condescending.
The Ending:
via GIPHY
Okay, I do not believe in putting spoilers in reviews, so I will word this carefully. The ending was ridiculous! The "crisis" the author created was so unbelievable that I actually became incredulous and my daughter asked if I was okay!
There were so many ways to end this. Couldn't Eadlyn have kissed one boy and one that she cared about got jealous and threatened to leave? What if the national crisis became worse? What if a war broke out? Anything would have been better than this ending.
Overall, I was very disappointed with this book.
Rating:
Source: Borrowed from the Library
Format: Hardcover book
Recommendation: If you loved The Selection, it may be worth it to read this book. Otherwise I would skip it.
Will I read more from this author? I will read other books from Kiera Cass, but not from this series. I think it is done.
I haven't heard anything good about this book yet, really. I was excited about it until I started to see how horrible Eadlyn was. I don't know why they even bothered to extend this series, I thought the ending of The One was perfect! I'm kind of conflicted because I kind of want to know what happens, but at the same time, don't want to waste money on the book. Great review! I like the like/dislike format of reviews!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I also heard mixed things about this book, so I got it from the library. That's my method if I am unsure about a book. I think it is worth a read if you liked the series, but don't expect too much.
DeleteI know a lot of people absolutely HATED this book and Eadlyn, but I'm on the opposite side; I loved this book. It's probably my favorite, and I think it's because I just liked Eadlyn more than America. I don't know why, but I kind of liked how she was a bit of a witch, and I liked seeing her go from hating her Selection to being really conflicted about it and who she'd choose. I'm excited to see if she actually chooses anyone in The Crown.
ReplyDeleteErin @ The Hardcover Lover
Hi Erin! I can respect that. I just thought that Eadlyn would be more grounded from the beginning based on who her parents were. I don't think the country would be calling for an end to the monarchy based solely on her, unless she was a total party girl or did something wildly inappropriate. Even though I didn't care for the book, I will still read the next book. Once I start a series, I have a deep need to see it all the way through.
DeleteWow. This is a MAJOR bummer! I've been seeing these types of thoughts quite a bit with this book, so I'm not sure if it's going to be for me. (Well, I haven't finished The Selection series yet either, so... LOL) Maybe someday I'll finish the other series and maybe, just maybe pick this one up. (Though I really don't know.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Ardis!
I gave up on The Selection series a long time ago, although every time I see a review I want to read it. Some people seem to love all the books in this series. I didn't even like the first few.
ReplyDeleteMajanka @ I Heart Reading
I had such conflicted feelings about this one! In the end, I liked it a lot because I felt like it addressed some major issues, and I thought that Eadlyn would end up growing throughout the series. There were a lot of elements to it that weren't there in the last two SELECTION novels. It's too bad you didn't like it! I hope your next read it better :)
ReplyDeleteEli @ The Silver Words
I was conflicted too, I just thought the ending was thrown in there to create a cliffhanger for the next book. I will still probably read the next one (but I'll get it from the library). Thanks for stopping by.
Delete