shelovestoread81's review
4.0
So this book was very hunger games-ish. I liked the premise but why would Maya even think anyone wants to help her. I would only trust Orion and Toric.
mswarning's review
2.0
Too derative of other YA dypstopian fiction, mostly obviously Kiera Cass' Selection series + Hunger Games.
ctorretta's review
5.0
I am so upset right now! Why did this have to end?!
This is like a mix of The Hunger Games meets Midnight City. Both of which I absolutely loved!
This starts out and we meet Maya. A sweet girl who cares greatly about her family. She is having a really bad day and finds out that her boyfriend is cheating AND she is going to be part of the Obligates since the original Obligate died. The original girl had two years of training behind her and Maya is now going to have to go in blind.
THAT is just the very beginning of the book. Like she didn’t have enough to deal with, she is very worried for her family but has to focus on her the tournament.
The obligates do get an assistant that has been through the tournament before and Maya’s assistant tells her, in so many words, that whomever does not win, may die. Maya and most on Earthenfell were under the impression that if you did not win you were given some other kind of job.
Weirdly, the job for the winner is to become part of Lord Toric’s harem. Not totally something I would be excited about. Maya is also not really excited but Lord Toric has an appeal about him and Maya is drawn to him so she is trying not to think too deeply about what will happen next.
I love their relationship so far. IF you can call it a relationship since they have had little time together during the tournament. He is drawn to her just as much, so it is interesting to watch. The problem with his attentions being on her is that he has many enemies! His enemies will become her enemies which makes the tournament even more difficult.
Lady Akantha is a mess but I love her. She is not even the main villain but she adds enough villainy, and is in the book more than the main villain, to keep things quite interesting. She also has the power to hurt the tournament players being Mistress of the Game! She is also not a fan of Lord Toric’s making his attraction to Maya even more difficult for him.
There is so much in this, but it is done so well. I was so sad when I checked my percentage when I got to a character arc and saw that I was already at 91%!! NO!!!
Sadly, and I figured this would be the case, nothing is brought to conclusion by the end, there are a few answers (sort of) but not many! Definitely a cliff hanger. But the part where it left off made a lot of sense. I still do not like it and cannot wait for book two!
Christine and Jayne… my birthday is in Jan, just so you know!
This is like a mix of The Hunger Games meets Midnight City. Both of which I absolutely loved!
This starts out and we meet Maya. A sweet girl who cares greatly about her family. She is having a really bad day and finds out that her boyfriend is cheating AND she is going to be part of the Obligates since the original Obligate died. The original girl had two years of training behind her and Maya is now going to have to go in blind.
THAT is just the very beginning of the book. Like she didn’t have enough to deal with, she is very worried for her family but has to focus on her the tournament.
The obligates do get an assistant that has been through the tournament before and Maya’s assistant tells her, in so many words, that whomever does not win, may die. Maya and most on Earthenfell were under the impression that if you did not win you were given some other kind of job.
Weirdly, the job for the winner is to become part of Lord Toric’s harem. Not totally something I would be excited about. Maya is also not really excited but Lord Toric has an appeal about him and Maya is drawn to him so she is trying not to think too deeply about what will happen next.
I love their relationship so far. IF you can call it a relationship since they have had little time together during the tournament. He is drawn to her just as much, so it is interesting to watch. The problem with his attentions being on her is that he has many enemies! His enemies will become her enemies which makes the tournament even more difficult.
Lady Akantha is a mess but I love her. She is not even the main villain but she adds enough villainy, and is in the book more than the main villain, to keep things quite interesting. She also has the power to hurt the tournament players being Mistress of the Game! She is also not a fan of Lord Toric’s making his attraction to Maya even more difficult for him.
There is so much in this, but it is done so well. I was so sad when I checked my percentage when I got to a character arc and saw that I was already at 91%!! NO!!!
Sadly, and I figured this would be the case, nothing is brought to conclusion by the end, there are a few answers (sort of) but not many! Definitely a cliff hanger. But the part where it left off made a lot of sense. I still do not like it and cannot wait for book two!
Christine and Jayne… my birthday is in Jan, just so you know!
megmeg123's review
3.0
I had higher expectations. This one just kind of felt like blah. I might continue the series to see what will happen. I did enjoy Maya's character and personality. I felt like the book just cut off, so the ending kind of leaves you hanging. It was enjoyable, but definitely a let down.
readingqueen's review
3.0
I’m giving this book three stars solely because the writing style was engaging. As other reviewers have pointed out, this story has similar themes to Kiera Cass’s The Selection series but with an added mix of The Hunger Games. It made for an addictive page turning experience—though one I didn’t necessarily love.
My main issues with Jayne Faith’s The Selection was that Lord Toric’s “feelings” for Maya was too unbelievable for me. They talked one on one maybe two or three times?
Boy, you don’t know her.
The instalove was intense and I don’t understand his whole sensing thing (iffy on reader interpretation). Lord Toric does tell readers straight up about his feelings and at one scene pretended a harem woman was Maya and satisfied his lust with her.
And secondly, I found Lord Toric to be so creepy. His flippant disregard for his harem women wasn’t that great either. I don’t see why he needs a harem if their real purpose isn’t going to be fulfilled until after the destruction of their enemies. Maybe I would have liked the story better if not for the harem being a thing.
I read the synopses of the other books (and reviews) in this series and I really don’t like the direction this series is going, so I won’t be continuing.
My main issues with Jayne Faith’s The Selection was that Lord Toric’s “feelings” for Maya was too unbelievable for me. They talked one on one maybe two or three times?
Boy, you don’t know her.
The instalove was intense and I don’t understand his whole sensing thing (iffy on reader interpretation). Lord Toric does tell readers straight up about his feelings and at one scene pretended a harem woman was Maya and satisfied his lust with her.
And secondly, I found Lord Toric to be so creepy. His flippant disregard for his harem women wasn’t that great either. I don’t see why he needs a harem if their real purpose isn’t going to be fulfilled until after the destruction of their enemies. Maybe I would have liked the story better if not for the harem being a thing.
I read the synopses of the other books (and reviews) in this series and I really don’t like the direction this series is going, so I won’t be continuing.
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