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A review by raissasreads
Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass
3.0
This was a sweet collection of novellas and extra clips that is particularly generous compared to YA short story collections. Most of the short stories were retellings in other characters’ POVs, which were nice, but I would’ve enjoyed more short stories filling in gaps in the timeline that weren’t fully explored in the original story arc. I give it a three star rating, as it is a good gift to fans of this world but definitely is not necessary or adds much to it.
The Queen
This is certainly one of the more intriguing stories, as we see that Amberly’s disposition is very different from America’s. The relationship between her and Clarkson is borderline abusive, and it is a story that I wish I could’ve seen more of.
The Prince
As a retelling, it is more of Maxon’s POV during the initial stages of the Selection. While interesting to read from the other perspective, this short story is almost entirely forgettable, as the sentiments he shares are repeated in Eadlyn’s story, which is in the main series.
The Guard
As another retelling, this story is similar to Maxon’s in that it shares scenes from the original Selection novels. But I did enjoy this perspective more, as we see Aspen’s undying love for America and the true commitment he shared for her. I would’ve liked to witness him fall for Lucy, as that was completely skipped over in this story.
The Favorite
I liked the back and forth format of this novella - it followed the present memory before Marlee’s caning and also showed flashbacks of Carter and Marlee’s story. This would have to be my favorite of the four novellas because of the unique format and because it really outlined the idea of true love overcoming death and all other consequences.
Celeste’s Scenes + The Maid + After The One
All of these were short and sweet and mostly forgettable. Celeste’s scenes only hardened her resolve as the antagonist and the maid could go hand-in-hand with The Guard. I enjoyed that I could finally see more of Aspen and Lucy’s beginnings, but it still left their story in a gray area as the amount of content was woefully low. My favorite of these additional scenes was the bonus epilogue of America and Maxon, as it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling of true love in general.
The Queen
This is certainly one of the more intriguing stories, as we see that Amberly’s disposition is very different from America’s. The relationship between her and Clarkson is borderline abusive, and it is a story that I wish I could’ve seen more of.
The Prince
As a retelling, it is more of Maxon’s POV during the initial stages of the Selection. While interesting to read from the other perspective, this short story is almost entirely forgettable, as the sentiments he shares are repeated in Eadlyn’s story, which is in the main series.
The Guard
As another retelling, this story is similar to Maxon’s in that it shares scenes from the original Selection novels. But I did enjoy this perspective more, as we see Aspen’s undying love for America and the true commitment he shared for her. I would’ve liked to witness him fall for Lucy, as that was completely skipped over in this story.
The Favorite
I liked the back and forth format of this novella - it followed the present memory before Marlee’s caning and also showed flashbacks of Carter and Marlee’s story. This would have to be my favorite of the four novellas because of the unique format and because it really outlined the idea of true love overcoming death and all other consequences.
Celeste’s Scenes + The Maid + After The One
All of these were short and sweet and mostly forgettable. Celeste’s scenes only hardened her resolve as the antagonist and the maid could go hand-in-hand with The Guard. I enjoyed that I could finally see more of Aspen and Lucy’s beginnings, but it still left their story in a gray area as the amount of content was woefully low. My favorite of these additional scenes was the bonus epilogue of America and Maxon, as it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling of true love in general.