A review by agiecummings
The Elite by Kiera Cass

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Again, this is a book I have read literally countless times. But I am re-reading it in 2023 and actually taking the time to write my review out.

This is a 4.5⭐️ read for me, but it is SO CLOSE to a 5, and it only suffers from the fact that America starts to piss you off a little with her attitude towards Maxon and I think this book would really benefit from a dual POV so you could know what he was thinking. Because you start to think her reasoning is correct, even though in reality he fully loves her. And I think that probably is an accurate reflection of feelings of people in this situation (basically being cast on The Bachelor), but it’s so frustrating to have ONLY that perspective.

Similarly, I think we gloss over the king hurting his son too quickly. I just need to name that those actions make the king heinous and I’m glad he gets killed in Book 3, there I said it.

Finally, the scene in the safe house/hideaway is one of my fave scenes in a book ever. Only slightly topped by a scene in Book 3, which I’ll discuss once I’ve re-read. But I love how romantically Maxon is written and I love how much these two actually love each other.


Book 2 is still fab because you finally have America realizing that Aspen isn’t what she actually wants, and there’s nothing better than that: knowing that she’s here for Maxon and they’ve simply ✨got✨ to end up together. ❤️

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