Review: The One by Kiera Cass

Title: The One (The Selection #3)
Author: Kiera Cass

Publication Date: May 6th, 2014

Publisher: Harper Teen

Genre: YA, Chick Lit

Pages: 323

Source: Not gonna lie, I preordered this book months ago.

Rating:

Synopsis (from Goodreads): The Selection changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. And now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.

America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the competition approaches its end and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants.

From the very first page of The Selection, this #1 New York Times bestselling series has captured readers' hearts and swept them away on a captivating journey... Now, in The One, Kiera Cass delivers a satisfying and unforgettable conclusion that will keep readers sighing over this electrifying fairy-tale long after the final page is turned.

 

So what had happened was...

I was born and raised in South Carolina, a proud child of the 80's. Also, my dad is Puerto Rican, and my mom is super white. I have neither a Hispanic or Southern accent. No clue why. Growing up, I was awkward. I didn't understand fashion at all (not that I do now) and was never into what was cool while it was actually popular.  But I didn't mind it so much because I had a few really great friends and wonderful outlets. By high school, I was a seasoned dancer, diehard theater buff, and in a chamber choir that at one point was tied for third in the nation competitively.

My great ambition when I graduated high school was theatre. I wanted to be a performer in the WORST WAY! I took a semester off, did a bunch of local shows, taught at a theater camp, and went to Coastal Carolina University in the spring majoring in Musical Theatre.

After making a fantastic mistake and essentially following a boy to a different school (and state) I went to Radford University and switched my major to Music. Then Communication. Then History. Maybe a year into college, I was over theatre (though I still love performing) and decided that what I would really like to do was go on staff with the campus church and just be helpful to students. I settled on History because I could finish it on time after switching so much, and because I liked listening to the stories. 

Then, those plans were thwarted, too. I met a guy who I kept rejecting but whose heart was set on me. He somehow talked me into moving to Blacksburg, marrying him, and having babies together. I'm still not sure how he did this... well played, Mr. Cass. After that, my main hope was to be a good homemaker and stay at home with our kids when we had them.

In 2007, my world was shaken by a local tragedy, and I took it pretty hard. Over the course of the following year, I tried a lot of things to get myself together resulting in me sitting down to write a story where my character had to deal with my problems so I wouldn't have to. The distance from my head to the page helped me step back a bit and cope with all the things I was feeling. I ended up not finishing that story because I woke up from a nap with the idea that would become The Siren and HAD to get that written. After I got into the habit of writing, lots of ideas came, including The Selection and handful of others that are waiting their turn.

Once I started writing, I felt like an idiot. How had I not known I loved this all along? Seriously. Dancing, singing, acting, history... it's all just story telling. And I love it.

I self-published The Siren in 2009 (while I was five months pregnant) after not having a lot of success querying it but aching to give it to the handful of followers I had. Their support was a lot of what made me want to continue to try and share my stories with people.

In early 2010 (when my son was just two months old), I started querying The Selection and was lucky enough to find a wonderful agent in Elana Roth. Sometimes I still can't believe she took a chance on me. After a few months, Erica Sussman at HarperTeen snapped up The Selection, and it came out in the spring of 2012 (while I was six months pregnant with my daughter). Now I'm a #1 New York Times bestselling author, and I'm thrilled to have the chance to share my stories with the world.

I currently live in Christiansburg, VA with my hubby and two kids and spend my free time playing on YouTube and twitter and eating cake. 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Tumblr | Instagram | Vine

        So in all honesty...I'm on a total high from this book right now! I know, I know, the first book I was completely miffed that Kiera Cass had merged two unrelating things together to make a story....and the second book gave me such severe whiplash that I wanted to gauge my eyes out. But as time went by....I wanted, no, needed to know what happened in this story. Don't worry, I will try to hold any spoilers until the end. ;)

The One just came out this Tuesday, and would you believe that it's already a #1 Best Seller?? Holy cow. Truthfully, it's not the best series I've ever read. It lacks in content...but I did get attached to the characters and as much as I wanted to predict the ending, Cass provided several twists in the middle and I kept doubting my theories. You hear me talk about "books I hate to love," well, this is one of them. But even in literature, we all need our guilty pleasures, and sometimes reading simple, mindless chick-lit gives me an extra boost to "read on!" You know, kind of like how during the day you may listen to music your posse approves of, but at night you secretly jam to early 2000's Miley Cyrus or reminisce about *NSync's golden days. You know who you are.

That being said...I ended up falling in love with this series way more than I ever intended to. I hate to admit it, but I really hope Kiera Cass decides to write a post-The One book. Maybe? Please? 

* * * WARNING: SPOILERS * * *

Okay so for all the stuff the happened in The One that I'm dying to talk to someone about (I have a friend reading it, but she isn't finished yet and it's killing me!!). I liked most of the plot twists that she threw in there. This was the only book I felt like we got some real action in. I thought it was cool how the heir of Illéa just came into existence out of nowhere. Discovering that America's father and Kriss were Northern Rebels was also a huge shocker! I really didn't see those things coming.

But seriously, the Prince needed to be less of a pansy about his feelings for America. Wait for her to say it first? Be a man, yo. You can rule a country but you can't tell the girl you wanna pick in a competition that YOU put on that you love her? Did I misunderstand the reason we are all here??

The death toll. Oh my lawd. That was depressing. It was like the Battle of Hogwarts all over again, but confined to one room. And not quite as brilliant. But I was starting to like Celeste...and the Queen! Oh, the Queen. That was so sad. You just tore my heart out, Kiera Cass.

* * * END SPOILERS * * *

Word on the street is that Kiera Cass just announced another prequel: The Queen! I haven't been informed of a release date yet, but we'll get a peek at the previous Selection and how on earth the Queen ended up with a malcontent crab like the King.

Concluding thoughts: Kiera Cass bewitched me with this series. I'm sure later I will hate myself for loving it so much, but I don't doubt that when I need a guilty pleasure to indulge in, this will be in my repertoire. I shall therefore shelve this with my Books I Hate To Love.

Have you read The Selection series? Finished The One yet? Let me know your thoughts!

Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass

Title: The Elite (The Selection #2)
Author: Kiera Cass

Publication Date: April 23rd, 2013

Publisher: Harper Teen

Genre: YA, Chick Lit

Pages: 336

Source: Checked it out the old-fashioned way, my local liburry!

Rating:

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

 

So what had happened was...

I was born and raised in South Carolina, a proud child of the 80's. Also, my dad is Puerto Rican, and my mom is super white. I have neither a Hispanic or Southern accent. No clue why. Growing up, I was awkward. I didn't understand fashion at all (not that I do now) and was never into what was cool while it was actually popular.  But I didn't mind it so much because I had a few really great friends and wonderful outlets. By high school, I was a seasoned dancer, diehard theater buff, and in a chamber choir that at one point was tied for third in the nation competitively.

My great ambition when I graduated high school was theatre. I wanted to be a performer in the WORST WAY! I took a semester off, did a bunch of local shows, taught at a theater camp, and went to Coastal Carolina University in the spring majoring in Musical Theatre.

After making a fantastic mistake and essentially following a boy to a different school (and state) I went to Radford University and switched my major to Music. Then Communication. Then History. Maybe a year into college, I was over theatre (though I still love performing) and decided that what I would really like to do was go on staff with the campus church and just be helpful to students. I settled on History because I could finish it on time after switching so much, and because I liked listening to the stories. 

Then, those plans were thwarted, too. I met a guy who I kept rejecting but whose heart was set on me. He somehow talked me into moving to Blacksburg, marrying him, and having babies together. I'm still not sure how he did this... well played, Mr. Cass. After that, my main hope was to be a good homemaker and stay at home with our kids when we had them.

In 2007, my world was shaken by a local tragedy, and I took it pretty hard. Over the course of the following year, I tried a lot of things to get myself together resulting in me sitting down to write a story where my character had to deal with my problems so I wouldn't have to. The distance from my head to the page helped me step back a bit and cope with all the things I was feeling. I ended up not finishing that story because I woke up from a nap with the idea that would become The Siren and HAD to get that written. After I got into the habit of writing, lots of ideas came, including The Selection and handful of others that are waiting their turn.

Once I started writing, I felt like an idiot. How had I not known I loved this all along? Seriously. Dancing, singing, acting, history... it's all just story telling. And I love it.

I self-published The Siren in 2009 (while I was five months pregnant) after not having a lot of success querying it but aching to give it to the handful of followers I had. Their support was a lot of what made me want to continue to try and share my stories with people.

In early 2010 (when my son was just two months old), I started querying The Selection and was lucky enough to find a wonderful agent in Elana Roth. Sometimes I still can't believe she took a chance on me. After a few months, Erica Sussman at HarperTeen snapped up The Selection, and it came out in the spring of 2012 (while I was six months pregnant with my daughter). Now I'm a #1 New York Times bestselling author, and I'm thrilled to have the chance to share my stories with the world.

I currently live in Christiansburg, VA with my hubby and two kids and spend my free time playing on YouTube and twitter and eating cake. 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Tumblr | Instagram | Vine

        The final book to The Selection is coming out in ONE WEEK, so why not review Elite? Honestly, I hate to love this series (as you may remember from my review of The Selection). I got one of my fellow hairstylists to also read this series, and the hate for our love is mutual. 

If you haven't read any of the books in this series, it goes a little something like this: if The Hunger Games and The Bachelor had a baby, it would be The Selection. And yes, this was entirely intentional on Kiera Cass's part. 

As always, the cover is gorgeous as will be the cover for The One. But why, WHY do they keep putting a redhead in a RED DRESS? Being a redhead (and cosmetologist) myself, this drives me insane. This should be frowned upon in society as whole. Same with red lipstick. Red anything. We already have red undertones in our skin, why the french toast bring it out with more red?

Okay so this book drove me absolutely insane! Team Maxon? Team Aspen? I felt like I had whiplash the whole time and by the end of the book I seriously couldn't decide who I wanted her to be with. Honestly, America is the best nominee for Queen out of everyone. But Maxon was a complete idiot the majority of this book! And there's just something about Aspen...ugh! This is so exhausting!

I don't really have a solid theory, but I have this slight fear that The One is going to come out and America isn't going to choose anyone. Something Kiera Cass posted on her Facebook like a week ago made me wonder. If that happens, I just don't know how I will go on with my life. I am so conflicted!

As for the King and Queen...the King needs to start waking up on the right side of the bed. He's just so stinken' cranky. But I love the Queen to pieces. I think she understands America because she reminds her of herself and I totally wouldn't mind snatching her as an in-law.

I just got The Guard and The Prince to read, so we'll see if that'll sway me in one direction or the other.

Where do you stand? Team Maxon or Team Aspen? One week before we find out who America chooses!!

Preorder The One!

Review: The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection (The Selection #1)

Author: Kiera Cass

Publication Date: April 24, 2012

Publisher: Harper Teen

Genre: YA, Chick Lit

Pages: 327

Source: My local library :)

Rating:

Synopsis (from the Cover): For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

  

Sooooo I noticed this series has become increasingly popular. I received the second book from someone (or at least I thought I did, apparently it is expired and now I'm number 26 on the library's waiting list...good grief!), but I couldn't read that one until I read the first one because I'm all dedicated like that. I was the 16th person on hold for this book, so I had high hopes. And I'll be honest, I like pretty dresses, dangit! Sue me!

How do I begin to sum up this book? Well, if The Hunger Games and The Bachelor had a baby, it would be The Selection. Not that it is anywhere as in depth as The Hunger Games, but same idea: instead of districts you have castes (status), people still go hungry, there's a number of people chosen for this big national event (but instead of fighting for her life physically, the heroin fights for her life metaphorically), she must choose between the old guy and the new guy, and the new guy charms her on national television. We have the literary parallels of Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Effie, and Caesar. She even has a little sister she adores, whom I assume parallels Primrose. 

Then, of course, we have the whole "Team" thing. Team Maxon or Team Aspen? I guess we could throw in a little Twilight in this retrospect. It probably isn't the most impressive thing for an author to be compared to another series, but let's be honest here Miss Cass, you knew exactly what you were doing!

So then we have The Bachelor who has to choose between 35 girls which one will be his wife and the future Queen of Illea (the reformed version of the United States). It was really weird how unlike a Prince he was. I mean...he called her buddy. Seriously? Did that really just happen? I mean, if the United States ever became a monarchy, I can imagine our royalty would be a little less than regal. Look at our current President. I think sarcasm is his primary language. That's an observation, not an insult. He is obviously a lot less conservative than previous Presidents. But anyway, it was really weird. And if this took place after a third World War and survived a reform, then I would expect it to be a little more futuristic than it was within the setting.

Let's talk about the heroin's name. Okay. "America" could be a cool name. I could dig that. But considering her class was artsy, and she was a singer, and her last name was, in fact, "Singer," I really think we could've done a better job with that one. It's like saying "hmm. I'm from what used to be Constantinople and I'm a muggle. Therefore my name will be Constantinople Muggle."

If I hadn't read The Hunger Games, I *probably* could've enjoyed this a lot more. But like I said, you knew what you were doing Kiera Cass!! However, now that I started, I'm going to have to finish. Maybe it will get better. Maybe it won't, and it'll be like Twilight where the majority of the books I don't even remember because they were significantly insignificant. At least there are pretty dresses. Although I do NOT approve of putting a redhead in a RED DRESS. Dear God, she must've looked like a stoplight. Bad move, Cass, bad move. If you need some redhead fashion tips, just shoot me an email. It's okay. I won't tell anyone. Pink would've been better, BTW. Even teal. Or mint green. Just go consult your new BFF4E, The Color Wheel.

I WILL say that what I have seen of the author herself she seems pretty cool. I would still be her friend.

If you're into literary fads, then by all means read this book. If not, well, do not read this book. I guess there's a novella between this and the second one. I'll try to snag myself copies of both and we shall see what happens, but the setting is pretty...set. I guess my 5 star rating streak of the week has officially been set and match. 

Just a side note, I did find the tribute in the beginning to be mildly entertaining:

May the odds be ever in your favor,