Series: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: May 5, 2015
Source: Purchased from Barnes & Noble
Source: Purchased from Barnes & Noble
Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon -- and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible.
But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection -- no matter how fervently she protests.
Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought.
My Review
Stunning, beautiful, and eventful. These are three words that one might think of after finishing the highly-anticipated fourth book in The Selection series by Kiera Cass. I knew as soon as The Heir was announced that I would read it. I mean really... did you even have to ask? (It's one of those "Shut up and take my money" series for me.) You may or may not know that this series and I got off to a rocky start, but I fell in love with it. Once again, Ms. Cass was able to steal my heart and make me swoon with a lovable cast of characters and her witty banter.
So The Heir takes place twenty years after America stole Maxon's heart and became the queen, and now a new selection has begun, but with a twist. Instead of the prince doing the selecting, this time, the heir is a princess! I loved this new dynamic that Cass brings in with this new novel, and it's entertaining to meet thirty-five goofy guys all vying for Princess Eadlyn's heart. Readers get to see how the privileged princess views her people. Sometimes, it isn't pretty. There is some dude drama (you know... fisticuffs and such), and I found it to be a lot more interesting than some of the cattiness that readers saw in The Selection, The Elite, and The One. I'm really hoping that Cass allows Eadlyn to really get to know some of these guys a lot better in the next book.
Then there's Princess Eadlyn herself. I'm no princess, but I felt a strong connection to her the minute I started reading. She's has huge shoes to fill eventually, and the whole country is watching her with an observant eye because she's the first female heir. Everybody is wandering what she'll do when she finally ascends the throne. I loved her disposition. Cass has created a beautiful blend of both America and Prince Maxon's best qualities with Eadlyn, and she's a true royal-pain-in-the-ass. Yes, she's a little bratty, but when you really get to know her, you see that she's a bit insecure like the rest of us. She doesn't want to admit when she's afraid, and she wants to give off the always-in-charge appearance of a future queen. She's built walls that she doesn't want people to climb, and she is very adamant about not falling in love because it only makes one vulnerable. She's doing what she thinks is best to be the next monarch on the throne. She seemed like a very normal YA character, despite her royal lineage.
For those readers looking to see how things for America and Maxon turned out, you're in luck. Kiera includes a few mother/daughter and father/daughter moments, and she also includes a few tender moments of Eadlyn and her siblings. She also offers Eadlyn's commentary on growing up with the two who set the standard for her own Selection. Readers don't get a lot (and I've already seen a few complain about it), but what do you expect when Kiera is writing two books for something that she once fit in three? There just isn't enough room unless you want her to write 500+ page books. I thought she did a great job at getting readers focused on Eadlyn.
And it wouldn't be a Kiera Cass novel if there weren't a cliffhanger. I can't even deal with that ending and the shocking events that Kiera includes in her non-resolution. All I know is that waiting for the fifth and final book will be extremely hard.
About Kiera Cass
Kiera Cass is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series and The Siren. She is a graduate of Radford University and currently lives in Christiansburg, Virginia with her family. Kiera has kissed approximately fourteen boys in her life. None of them were princes.
