A review by bluebeereads
The Selection by Kiera Cass

5.0

Istyria book blog ~ B's world of enchanted books

I've heard people say that these books are addicting. And they really are. And for someone like me, someone who loves fairy tales and romance, even more so. Is this book without it's flaws? Probably not, but I don't notice them. I still love this book as much as I did the first time I read it!

The Selection is about America Singer. She lives in Illea, a country formerly knows as the USA. In this country, people are ranked by castes from One, the highest, to Eight, the lowest. America is a Five. The Selection is a way for the Crown Prince to find a bride and everyone wants a shot at being the bride of the gorgeous Prince Maxon. But America's heart is with someone else. His name is Aspen and he's a Six. When he breaks her heart and makes her enter the Selection, she never expected to be chosen. So she leaves her home to live in the palace for a competition for a crown she doesn't want. And then she meets Maxon. And he's not what she thought he'd be at all.

I do really love these books. They have that Disney fairy tale feeling that I love so much. And to be honest, this one is pretty original for a dystopian. I like the system of the Castes and the world. We got quite a bit of history throughout the story and I liked that. I like knowing the background info. How that country became so different. This story is not about the Selection alone. There's more to it. There are rebels trying to get into the palace. As of now, we don't know what their purpose is yet. But I liked that aspect. It gave more depth to the story and the world. It showed that even this new country isn't as perfect as everyone thinks it is.

"True love is usually the most inconvenient kind."

I really love America. She's a very kind, caring and sweet girl. Yeah, she's stubborn and has quite a temper, but I do love her. I loved how she cared for the maids assigned to her in the palace. I loved how she didn't want to change who she was for someone else. I loved how kind she was to the other girls, even when they weren't always as nice to her. Sure she lost her temper a bit on a few occasions, but I would've too. Especially with Celeste. I hate that girl. She's so fake. I did like Marlee and Kriss. The others didn't really stand out to me, their roles weren't that big. I did like Queen Amberly from what I've seen of her so far. As for America's family, I adore them. May and Gerad especially. I wish I had a little sister, instead I have three younger brothers and that's not the same at all.

And of course I'm talking about the boys. There's Maxon. Gorgeous, sweet, caring Maxon. He really is a sweet and generous person and I adore him. Yeah, he's a big ignorant about everything, but he's been very sheltered all his life. He's very honest and straight forward to America and I like their bond. Next to Maxon we have Aspen. In the beginning of the book, I liked him quite a lot. I expected to be rooting for him throughout the story. But then he just had to be an idiot and let his pride get in the way. He breaks up with America for a stupid reason. That's the moment I became Team Maxon. Even though I didn't even know him yet. Yeah it's a love triangle, but I don't really care in this series. I know who I'm rooting for. In my opinion, Aspen doesn't stand a chance.

Now this is a bit of a spoiler, so if you haven't read the book yet, I suggest you just skip this and don't read it.

Spoiler

While I did expect Aspen to come back into the picture sooner or later, I didn't think it would be as a guard. I did like that, even though it didn't make me like Aspen again. He had his chance and ruined it. But that's just me of course.

I'm glad I re-read this book before going into The One. Next up is The Elite. I do hope I love it as much as I did the first time I read it. If you haven't read this book yet, you really have to. I hope you love it just as much as I do!