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A review by mdemanatee
The Betrothed by Kiera Cass
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
When we meet Hollis she has already caught the eye of the king, an eye that before now ahas been known to wander the court. So, Hollis has no expectations beyond enjoying her time as favorite. But, it soon becomes evident the king has plans to rise her higher. With an imminent arrival of a rival king, Hollis is moved into the Queen's suites and her ascension to the throne becomes a fact taken for granted. Soon she is balancing her existing friendships, politics, and the King's affections. But she also catches her eye wandering to the oldest son of a family from the neighboring kingdom that has recently taken refuge in the castle.
I probably didn't go into this completely fair. I didn't find the Selection series to be good, but they were at least entertaining. I did not enjoy the Siren. Still, Cass plays into a very specific brand of ballgown fantasy that can be appealing, especially to teens. And while I don't personally her writing is particularly good, it is easy and readable, which I do think serves her audience.
Overall, this has thin characters, world building, and plotting with no real romance.
Hollis' main character trait seems to be that at the beginning of the book she got in a play fight and fell out of a boat. (See, she's quirky and carefree.) From there it's that she makes the King, Jameson, smile. Everything else we know about her is from comparisons to her best friend. So, she's not shrouded in a. family scandal and apparently not particularly studious? And it seems Cass wants us to be able to see her grow into herself and find her voice and assert herself. But she's never particularly interesting. And in finding her voice, she still doesn't have a whole lot to say.
This wasn't a romance. There is a love triangle if you squint. Or if you take that Hollis has two boys she picks between. But she doesn't really have a relationship with either. I hesitate to call her relationship with Silas insta-love, because they really have no chemistry. There's no development of that relationship. All declarations of feeling in either relationship are overly flowery and seemingly untied to any actual emotion. So, if you're going in to this for the romance angle, know that going in. Rather, Cass seems to be using these relationship to try and position Hollis into having a personality. I don't think it works.
Also, a slur, g**** was used twice, the first time when referring to a group of murderers that might be attached to the king of a neighboring kingdom, and why? Why was this very specific cultural slur needed in these two vague made-up kingdoms when we don't have a sense of the larger world...or even if Cass didn't know it was a slur, it should have been caught by the publisher. It serves no purpose and really took me out of the narrative. Especially as everything else was so vague, to have this be a thing that was specific? No thanks.
I will be honest. I will probably read the next book to see where this goes because I'm interested in what Cass' vision for this is. But they're also quick reads. I wish I could have enjoyed this more. At least the Selection had a fun kind of camp to it.
I probably didn't go into this completely fair. I didn't find the Selection series to be good, but they were at least entertaining. I did not enjoy the Siren. Still, Cass plays into a very specific brand of ballgown fantasy that can be appealing, especially to teens. And while I don't personally her writing is particularly good, it is easy and readable, which I do think serves her audience.
Overall, this has thin characters, world building, and plotting with no real romance.
Hollis' main character trait seems to be that at the beginning of the book she got in a play fight and fell out of a boat. (See, she's quirky and carefree.) From there it's that she makes the King, Jameson, smile. Everything else we know about her is from comparisons to her best friend. So, she's not shrouded in a. family scandal and apparently not particularly studious? And it seems Cass wants us to be able to see her grow into herself and find her voice and assert herself. But she's never particularly interesting. And in finding her voice, she still doesn't have a whole lot to say.
This wasn't a romance. There is a love triangle if you squint. Or if you take that Hollis has two boys she picks between. But she doesn't really have a relationship with either. I hesitate to call her relationship with Silas insta-love, because they really have no chemistry. There's no development of that relationship. All declarations of feeling in either relationship are overly flowery and seemingly untied to any actual emotion. So, if you're going in to this for the romance angle, know that going in. Rather, Cass seems to be using these relationship to try and position Hollis into having a personality. I don't think it works.
Also, a slur, g**** was used twice, the first time when referring to a group of murderers that might be attached to the king of a neighboring kingdom, and why? Why was this very specific cultural slur needed in these two vague made-up kingdoms when we don't have a sense of the larger world...or even if Cass didn't know it was a slur, it should have been caught by the publisher. It serves no purpose and really took me out of the narrative. Especially as everything else was so vague, to have this be a thing that was specific? No thanks.
I will be honest. I will probably read the next book to see where this goes because I'm interested in what Cass' vision for this is. But they're also quick reads. I wish I could have enjoyed this more. At least the Selection had a fun kind of camp to it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs