Tag Archives: Kiera Cass

Ooo! Ooo! Pick Me! I Wanna be a Princess! – A Review of THE ONE (The Selection) by Kiera Cass

Posted on March 31, 2017 | 1 comment

The One (The Selection) by Kiera Cass (Audiobook)

10507293 This is Book Three of THE SELECTION series. In book one, 35 girls enter a competition to marry the prince and become the future queen. 16248068 In book 2, THE ELITE the competition is cut down to four girls. In The One, those four girls battle it out, so to speak, to become “the one”.

I loved book one, and I liked book two. Book 2 started to get a little political, which I didn’t enjoy as much.

18635016 While the politics are still there in book 3, the author manages to make it a little more fun again, with a fluffy feel that I enjoyed so much in Book 1.

The author never tried to keep it a secret who would win this competition, but the ending of The One managed to surprise me. In some cases, I was disappointed. In some cases, I was shocked. I think some of my shock came from knowing there were two more books. Too much seems to have ended here for two more books, and I wonder if the author intended to finish the series here, but got cajoled into writing two more.

Anyway, there is no real reason to read the next two books after The One. This book definitely has a feeling of “The End”. And where I was disappointed in part of that ending, I won’t let the last 20 pages of the book ruin how much I enjoyed the ride to get there. And, yes, I will probably pick up the next two books. I’m curious if the author will be able to keep the momentum going in this wildly entertaining world, or if it will run dry now that “The Selection” part of the world is over.

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What happens next? A Review of Queen by Kiera Cass

Posted on September 9, 2016 | Comments Off

Queen by Kiera Cass (Audiobook) This is a “prequel” novella in THE SELECTION series. Here, we find out how Queen Amberly becomes queen in her own Selection experience.

This novella really can’t stand on its own. The Selection process is not explained or defined, and situation and characters happen in this book that you would have no idea what is going on unless you’ve read the first book. Also, the writing and world-building is nowhere as deep and intricate as the full novel. But that isn’t really a problem, since its target audience would have read the first book.

QUEEN is an interesting look into the past of the king and queen, and we find out why the king does some of the “meaner” things he does in The Selection.

My real beef about this novella is that it suddenly just STOPPED. I mean, we go through general selection stuff, then the prince tells Amberly that he likes her, and introduces this whole new conflict that had me sitting upright, suddenly really interested and engaged and ready to take on this new part of the adventure.

Then… nothing.

Amberly is happy that he says he liked her, and we don’t get to take the journey with them through that conflict.

Yes, this is just a novella, and if they delved into that plotline, it could have been its own full-length book, but then why not just have him choose her and not act like that conflict existed? It just left me feeling a little unfinished, if that makes sense.

I’d give QUEEN two stars, because the ebook is listed at $2.99 which is really disappointing for what you get. This should be a freebee. I look at books like this as little gifts to readers. – just little tidbits to keep them excited about a series until the next book arrives. At $2.99 (maybe even at $.99) I’m not sure this really delivers.

If you can pick this up at the library, or as a free read (in a legal promotion) And you’ve read THE SELECTION already, I think you will really enjoy this. Just don’t expect the big whirlwind romance you experienced in the first novel.

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Bring on the gowns and tiaras! A review of “The Elite” by Kiera Cass

Posted on June 24, 2016 | 6 comments

The Elite by Kiera Cass (Ebook) This is part two of “The Selection” series. I had super high hopes for this book, probably because I was so surprised by how much I loved the first one. I guess when hopes are so high, a book is bound to falter.

I think part of what I liked about the first book was that it was fluff. I mean really, it was total fluff and it fluffed well. It never tried to be more than fluff. But then here in The Elite, it tries to claw out of the world of fluff and become something more.

Problem is, I didn’t want more. I’d read a few heavy novels before this, and I reached for The Elite expecting more fluff. I got some fluff, maybe even more than normal, but it bothered me that it tried to become “something else.”

I pondered this for a while before writing a review, and I think if I had read this book first, I would have been fine with all the extra political turmoil, because I wouldn’t have been expecting something so light. Does that make sense? Anyway, I liked, not loved this book. I will probably continue with the series, but I will not be scrambling for the next book like I was after reading book one.

**That does not mean I didn’t enjoy this** I just liked the first one better.

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I’m kinda embarrassed I liked this book so much… A review of THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass

Posted on May 20, 2016 | 5 comments

The Selection by Kiera Cass – (Audiobook) Holy Toledo. For some reason I feel like I should blush and run and hide as I admit that I really, really loved this book! Is it genius, the literary epitome of perfect prose? Well, no. Not at all. It is a fluffy, girly novel that appeals to every little bit of me who still sighs when I watch a Disney princess movie.

In the world of The Selection, the USA is now a dystopian country ruled by a monarchy. The future queen is chosen from the ranks of commoners. If you are old enough when the prince comes of age, you can enter the lottery, and if you are picked for your state, you go to the capital with the 60 other “winners” and end up in something akin to a bachelor/Miss America competition—winner gets the prince, and the crown. America (Yes, the heroine has this incredibly cheezy name) does not want to be in the competition, but she tries to stay as long as possible, because each day she stays, her family is compensated handsomely, and they are very poor (so this is a pretty good gig for her.)

I kinda knew the outcome, because “The Selected” are narrowed down to “The Elite” who are the last six in the competition before a winner is chosen. Book two is called “The Elite” so, yeah, no surprise how it ends or who is among the lucky few remaining in the competition… but even though this was ultimately predictable, and I was disappointed that the love triangle that I hoped would die early reared its ugly head again at the end…(sorry minor spoiler)

Anyway – none of the predictability mattered, because the ride to get there was just so much fun. So far this, and Talon are in a class of maybe 5 books that I read in the past several years that left me reaching for the next book. Again, don’t expect anything epic or surprising. This is total fluff, but even typing this, I have a huge smile on my face. Gosh, I feel like a sap for loving this so much. [Hangs her head in shame]

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