The One by Kiera Cass

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for The Selection and The Elite.***

In the third instalment of The Selection Series, America Singer still finds herself at the castle competing for the crown and Prince Maxon. America is a contender in the Selection, but does she really want a future at the castle? And will she ever have her happily ever after?

Rate: 3.5 stars

This book was just like The Elite, just more of America procrastinating and making bad decisions. The One was also unrealistic, and events happened that didn't even advance the plot. And the Selection finally came to a close. But for some strange reason, I whipped through the book, and still enjoyed it.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

America was a very frustrating character at times, and at one point I had to close the book and try and deal with how she was acting and the decisions she made. She was not a very smart character, and was often very emotional. And at one point, she was acting even worse than Celeste. Plus she couldn't make up her mind, and barely kept to her decisions for more than five minutes. 

That aside, let's talk about the rebels. We had the Northerners, who wanted to change Illéa for the good, and then we had the Southerners who were just bad. Throughout the book we found out that random characters like Kriss, Gavril and America's dad were Northerner rebels, which did absolutely nothing to advance the plot. 

Then we had the death of America's dad, which was unfortunate, but I still wasn't terribly sad. I liked the relationship between America and her dad, and I think the death just emphasized their relationship. However, I don't think his death was necessary, because it was already evident that they had a good relationship.

Now, I found the change of Celeste's character completely unrealistic. One day she was the nastiest girl in the Selection, and the next day she was everybody's BFF. In reality, she would not have changed that quickly, it would have been over a longer period of time. And I think the girls still would have held a grudge after all the horrible things Celeste did.

I also found the ending incredibly unrealistic. Maxon completely flipped out when he found out about America and Aspen, even though America and Maxon were all for getting engaged the night before. I found that completely out of character. Then when Maxon got shot, he suddenly realized that he couldn't live without America. Also, how convenient was it that the King,  the Queen, and Anne died, plus the Southerners were over powered by the Northerners. That is not how the real world works, all of your problems do not suddenly disappear.

Anyways, the conclusion was decent. We went from the day of the rebel attack to the wedding day, so we skipped over the aftermath of the battle and the grief, which made for a happy ending. But did anyone else find it weird that Aspen walked America down the aisle?

Overall, the book was oddly enjoyable, despite all the faults. What were your thoughts on this book? Did you enjoy it? Leave your thoughts in the comments down below. Hope you enjoyed the review!

The Elite by Kiera Cass

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for The Selection.***

When America Singer registered for the Selection, she never imagined that she would be one of the thirty-five girls chosen to compete, let alone one of the Elite. Now with only five other girls remaining at the castle, the competition is as fierce as ever. But America struggles to figure out what she wants, to be with Aspen or Maxon. And her time to choose is running out.

Rate: 3.5 stars

This is the second book in The Selection series, so if you have not picked up The Selection and would like to know more about it, I have a review on it as well. Anyways, I didn't enjoy The Elite as much as The Selection. The book wasn't quite as exciting. I think that Kiera Cass could have made the entire Selection process into one book, and what happens after into another. America was just really frustrating in this book. Hopefully her character will develop and she will finally make up her mind in The One.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Okay, so like I said above America was really frustrating. She just couldn't make up her mind. She couldn't choose between Maxon and Aspen. One minute she would be all for marrying Maxon and the next she would be all over Aspen. And that basically describes the entire book. And it is pretty obvious who America will marry, I mean the next book is called The One, and for crying out loud she is wearing an extravagant white dress. Plus The Heir is coming out this year, and that book wouldn't that book have a different title if she married Aspen? Honestly, I'm not too found of any of the characters. I know some people love Maxon, but I don't. Although I don't hate him either. I'm just not too attached to him or Aspen or America.

Thankfully there were some other events taking place during the book. The rebel attacks continued. It seemed like they were searching for certain books that held information of the past. As soon as Maxon showed America the secret library, I knew that was what the rebels were looking for, but that only occurred to America at the end of the book, isn't she supposed to be smart? And while Maxon and America hid away from the rebels together, I was surprised to find out the King had beat Maxon, on various occasions. Well, now we know the King has a nasty side. Oh, and Gregory Illéa as well. He seemed like a good person at first, but when America was reading his journal, we found out that he was not who we thought he was. That's probably why their history is passed down orally. 

As well as the rebel attacks, the girls had to complete various tasks like hosting foreign guests or come up with a philanthropy project. America and Kriss did very well with hosting the Italians, and I was surprised at who well America got along with them. And I was even more surprised that Princess Nicoletta was willing to do something for America to win. Now, America's philanthropy project could have been a good idea if she had thought of a way to actually execute it. I was quite surprised that she had a hard time coming up with ideas. I mean she was starving all the time, so couldn't she have done something about that?

Another exciting event was the whole Marlee thing. Now I was surprised that she and Carter were a thing. But I was sad that we didn't see as much of her after she was whipped. Thanks to Maxon she wasn't completely out of the plot. I was glad that he kept her and Carter around, and that she was able to see America. He went behind his father's back to do the right thing.

I will be picking up The One, but I hope it is better that The Elite. It'll be interesting to see what happens next.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

When America Singer gets the chance to compete in the Selection, a competition wherein thirty-five girls have the chance to compete for the Prince's heart, she only agrees to apply to satisfy her family and her secret love, Aspen. America is surprised when she is selected to compete. Never wanting to compete in the first place, America is whisked of to the castle with thirty-four other girls. As she competes, she realizes that Prince Maxon is nothing like she thought he would be like. Could this new life be better than her old one?

Rate: 4 stars

This book had been recommended to me by at least three people, and I have finally managed to pick it up and read it. It was quite a quick read (I finished it in under twenty-four hours), and one of the more girly books that I have read, but it was quite good. Filled with glittering gowns, televised events, decadent food, and girls both mean (looking at you Celeste) and nice, this book is not to miss. 

SPOILERS AHEAD.

I initially thought that the whole idea of the Selection was totally shallow, with thirty-five girls being shipped of to a castle and the Prince just gets to choose the one he likes best and it doesn't matter what the girl thinks (although they all wanted to compete except for America). I think I would have acted similarly to America if I got the chance to compete in the Selection, I just wouldn't want to. But maybe if my family was poor, in either caste four, five, six seven or eight, I might enter in hopes of winning money for my family, but not the Prince's heart. But when America talked to Maxon the first time outside, we saw his view on the Selection. We learn that Maxon rarely gets the chance to meet any women so this is his one opportunity to find love. Plus, Maxon didn't really seem like a shallow person. I think that if he was, I would still find the Selection totally shallow, whereas now, I find it less shallow.

While on the topic of people's character, let's talk about America herself. Although I did find some of her reactions relatable, I wasn't super attached to her. I don't really know what it was, but I just didn't care about her as much as some other main characters. But that doesn't mean I disliked her. I liked how she cared about the people in the lower castes, like her servants. I thought that it was great that she brought them with her when the castle was under attack and wouldn't let them leave. Plus, I liked that America told Maxon about what it was like to live as a lower caste. And I was really happy when Maxon actually did something about this, he made food available for castes five through eight.  I was really glad he didn't turn out to be a snob. But then we had Celeste, whom I hated. She was just so nasty, and two-faced. She ripped a sleeve off one of America's dresses and spilled punch all over another girls dress on purpose, on her birthday! Plus she makes the most rude comments. But thankfully there were some nice girls, Marlee especially. She was a good friend to America, which can be rare in dystopian novels, a lot of times the female lead doesn't have a really good friend, and I was glad to see this here. Then there was Aspen. I was beginning to think we wouldn't see him again after America left for the castle, but I was proven wrong when he showed up as a guard at the castle. How convenient is that. Of all the places that Aspen could have ended up, it had to be the castle. It'll be interesting to see how America will deal with her feelings for both Maxon and Aspen.

There were many interesting smaller details in this book. One of them would be the caste system. I thought that reflected the society that we lived in today. We had the rich in castes one, two and three and the poor in castes four through eight. Castes one through three were like people living in first world countries and castes four through eight were like those who live in third world countries. Also, everyone wanted to get to a higher caste, where in today's society, everybody wants a higher social status. I liked how America explained the castes, "If you weren't a Two or a Three, then it was just varying shades of bad."

Another interesting detail in this book would be the history. I liked how we got a mini lesson on the history of Illéa, I always like to have some sort of world building or backstory. But the American State of China, really? I also found it interesting how there were barely any history books, and when America found one she was told to keep quiet about it. What's with that? I wonder why that is. Hopefully we'll get more on it in the next book.

I also found the attacks on the castle to be interesting. Maxon thought that the rebels could be looking for something, but what could they be looking for? How will this play into the next book?

Overall, I did quite enjoy this book. I think there is lots of potential for the next book, and I can't wait to read it.