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juicelina 's review for:
Happily Ever After
by Kiera Cass
Warning this review has spoilers for the whole Selection Series along with spoilers from this actual book cause it's hard for me not to be spoiler-y with short stories.
The Queen (2.5 stars)
I couldn't bring myself to like the characters for this one. I just kept thinking about what a terrible person Clarkson was towards Maxon and America so I couldn't sympathize with him. However, now I understand why he "fell in love" with Amberly. It was more about control than love. Amberly did everything he asked of her without question and that's why he chose her. Amberly thought she was in love with him because she had a crush since she was seven and was basically just in love with the idea of him. Their love story is extremely unbelievable and I think I could've done without this particular backstory.
The Prince (3 stars)
I feel like I probably would've enjoyed this more if I had read this right after reading The Selection when everything was still fresh in my mind. It was still an enjoyable story none the less. The whole "romance" between Maxon and Daphne made me cringe though. She was sounding pretty crazy trying to convince Maxon he was in love with her. Other than that, I did enjoy seeing the first meeting from Maxon's POV.
The Guard (1 star)
I was sooo bored through this whole thing. Aspen was being such a whiny baby and it was kind of annoying how he kept pining over America and making little digs at Maxon. I wish this short story was more about his budding relationship with Lucy than his "undying love" for America. I still don't find their romance believable. I feel like the main reason it happened was because Aspen had to end up with someone or not he would probably be pining over America for the rest of his life and because of his hero complex of course it would be Lucy who needed sooo much protecting.
The Favorite (4.5 Stars)
This novella was absolutely beautiful although the passing of time did kind of throw me off because when it transitioned it was abrupt and I didn't realize it was a completely new scene until a couple sentences in. Other than that it was absolutely perfect. I cried at the end. I love Marlee and Carter together as much as I love America and Maxon. I loved seeing their first meeting along with the time they realized they love each other. Then that ending! It was so cute. The fact that Marlee and Carter were the first to be considered caste-less and then America gave them their wedding bands. It was beautiful. Also the art in this books is overall wonderful but the two in this novella are my favorites I think.
Scenes from Celeste (5 stars)
Ahhhh this made me soooo sadddd. :(((( At first Celeste was one of those characters you love to hate and by the end of the selection series you just love her. These three scenes highlight her character development and the last scene made me made me tear up. I honestly wish Celeste had a better ending than the one she got.
The Maid (2 stars)
Like the guard I wish this would've shown more about how the relationship developed rather than the aftermath of it. This pairing is almost as weak as The Queen. I didn't really enjoy reading from Lucy's voice all that much either.
After the One (5 stars)
Loved it!! I love the fact that Maxon cried tears of joy. I even started to tear up a bit too. This was a super cute addition and a really nice intro to the heir.
Where Are They Now? (1.5 stars)
This one I should've read after the one because I honestly don't remember who Natalie is... I feel kind of bad for Kriss cause she got super depressed after losing Maxon and then I feel like she just settled for that professor guy. Then Elise is still as pliable as ever doing whatever will please her family. I don't believe those relationships for a second, but I mean these stories were only like 3 pages each so what do I know?
Anyway this was a good selection of novellas and bonus scenes. I feel like it's definitely better to read while reading the series cause everything will still be fresh in your mind. This edition is also super beautiful and I love the art in it.
The Queen (2.5 stars)
I couldn't bring myself to like the characters for this one. I just kept thinking about what a terrible person Clarkson was towards Maxon and America so I couldn't sympathize with him. However, now I understand why he "fell in love" with Amberly. It was more about control than love. Amberly did everything he asked of her without question and that's why he chose her. Amberly thought she was in love with him because she had a crush since she was seven and was basically just in love with the idea of him. Their love story is extremely unbelievable and I think I could've done without this particular backstory.
The Prince (3 stars)
I feel like I probably would've enjoyed this more if I had read this right after reading The Selection when everything was still fresh in my mind. It was still an enjoyable story none the less. The whole "romance" between Maxon and Daphne made me cringe though. She was sounding pretty crazy trying to convince Maxon he was in love with her. Other than that, I did enjoy seeing the first meeting from Maxon's POV.
The Guard (1 star)
I was sooo bored through this whole thing. Aspen was being such a whiny baby and it was kind of annoying how he kept pining over America and making little digs at Maxon. I wish this short story was more about his budding relationship with Lucy than his "undying love" for America. I still don't find their romance believable. I feel like the main reason it happened was because Aspen had to end up with someone or not he would probably be pining over America for the rest of his life and because of his hero complex of course it would be Lucy who needed sooo much protecting.
The Favorite (4.5 Stars)
This novella was absolutely beautiful although the passing of time did kind of throw me off because when it transitioned it was abrupt and I didn't realize it was a completely new scene until a couple sentences in. Other than that it was absolutely perfect. I cried at the end. I love Marlee and Carter together as much as I love America and Maxon. I loved seeing their first meeting along with the time they realized they love each other. Then that ending! It was so cute. The fact that Marlee and Carter were the first to be considered caste-less and then America gave them their wedding bands. It was beautiful. Also the art in this books is overall wonderful but the two in this novella are my favorites I think.
Scenes from Celeste (5 stars)
Ahhhh this made me soooo sadddd. :(((( At first Celeste was one of those characters you love to hate and by the end of the selection series you just love her. These three scenes highlight her character development and the last scene made me made me tear up.
Spoiler
They kept talking about her future and I just kept thinking about how she died so she didn't get to do any of those things :(The Maid (2 stars)
Like the guard I wish this would've shown more about how the relationship developed rather than the aftermath of it. This pairing is almost as weak as The Queen. I didn't really enjoy reading from Lucy's voice all that much either.
After the One (5 stars)
Loved it!! I love the fact that Maxon cried tears of joy. I even started to tear up a bit too. This was a super cute addition and a really nice intro to the heir.
Where Are They Now? (1.5 stars)
This one I should've read after the one because I honestly don't remember who Natalie is... I feel kind of bad for Kriss cause she got super depressed after losing Maxon and then I feel like she just settled for that professor guy. Then Elise is still as pliable as ever doing whatever will please her family. I don't believe those relationships for a second, but I mean these stories were only like 3 pages each so what do I know?
Anyway this was a good selection of novellas and bonus scenes. I feel like it's definitely better to read while reading the series cause everything will still be fresh in your mind. This edition is also super beautiful and I love the art in it.