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A review by protoman21
The Heir by Kiera Cass
4.0
AHHH! The cliffhanger! For some reason, I thought this was a standalone book and Eadlyn was going through her entire Selection in one book, so the way it ended took me by complete surprise. I'm actually very pleased with that, because it takes a lot to surprise me and Cass hit me with 3 big surprises right at the end.
I haven't read any reviews of this yet, but I am really curious what other people think of Eadlyn. Obviously, she is portrayed as selfish and oblivious, but are we really supposed to like her despite this? Because I don't. She is a spoiled brat and if anyone besides her brother dares to point this out to her she banishes them from the kingdom. Obviously this leaves a lot of room for her to grow as a character, which can be good, but I wish there was a little more evidence that she was capable of realizing how snotty she is instead of just ignoring these potential learning moments over and over again.
Another thing that bothered me greatly was the scene with Jack. Ok, I am a man, so I have never experienced a situation like this before, and yes, obviously Jack is a jerk, but I see a gross overreaction to a guy who was trying to impress her in a way that was too aggressive, but probably didn't deserve him being punched in the face (later) and his reputation most likely ruined. And then Eadlyn makes a rule that all men should ask her permission before touching her, which is mentioned maybe once again and then completely flaunted and forgotten later when it becomes romantic or cute for a boy to touch her. In my opinion, it is either ok or not ok to touch a woman without her permission. If you leave it up to interpretation, then you can't vilify a man for making a mistake and crossing this arbitrary line.
I was also disappointed that America was basically unrecognizable in this story. I accept that she would have changed a lot over time and with new responsibilities, but I would think there would be something in her voice that would carry through.
All that said, I still enjoyed the story and like this new take on the Selection. I really hope all that happened at the end of the book will be a wake-up call for Eadlyn and we will finally see some growth.
I haven't read any reviews of this yet, but I am really curious what other people think of Eadlyn. Obviously, she is portrayed as selfish and oblivious, but are we really supposed to like her despite this? Because I don't. She is a spoiled brat and if anyone besides her brother dares to point this out to her she banishes them from the kingdom. Obviously this leaves a lot of room for her to grow as a character, which can be good, but I wish there was a little more evidence that she was capable of realizing how snotty she is instead of just ignoring these potential learning moments over and over again.
Another thing that bothered me greatly was the scene with Jack. Ok, I am a man, so I have never experienced a situation like this before, and yes, obviously Jack is a jerk, but I see a gross overreaction to a guy who was trying to impress her in a way that was too aggressive, but probably didn't deserve him being punched in the face (later) and his reputation most likely ruined. And then Eadlyn makes a rule that all men should ask her permission before touching her, which is mentioned maybe once again and then completely flaunted and forgotten later when it becomes romantic or cute for a boy to touch her. In my opinion, it is either ok or not ok to touch a woman without her permission. If you leave it up to interpretation, then you can't vilify a man for making a mistake and crossing this arbitrary line.
I was also disappointed that America was basically unrecognizable in this story. I accept that she would have changed a lot over time and with new responsibilities, but I would think there would be something in her voice that would carry through.
All that said, I still enjoyed the story and like this new take on the Selection. I really hope all that happened at the end of the book will be a wake-up call for Eadlyn and we will finally see some growth.