syapotter's review against another edition
4.0
Judging from everyone's reaction towards Eadlyn, I had expected to hate her so much but fortunately that did not happen. Yes, she seems stubborn (and so many other things) but I accepted that is the flaw with her character, as nobody is perfect. I also did not expect to love the book as much as I did but I did, and I thought Eadlyn is a much better character than America. I can't help kinda falling for Kile too, and wished we could have known more about him.
meagan_kay's review against another edition
4.0
This book was definitely good; however, it, in my opinion, was not as good as the original Selection Trilogy
milkshakevoid's review against another edition
1.0
To be fair, I did not finish this book. In fact, I couldn't make myself get past the first 25 pages...
I could bitch about the main character, Eadlyn, or her brother, or just well, everything. But as I said I DNF/DNR this book. So I'm going to leave you with the specific moments that caused me to roll my eyes and some thoughts.
"Alas, Mom and Dad couldn't stand to watch their firstborn be stripped of a title by an unfortunate but rather lovely set of breasts." This is in the fourth paragraph of page one so honestly it's a miracle I made it to page 25. Aside from being offended that this made it past an editor, what woman in her right mind sees herself as a pair of breasts, let alone a freaking queen.
On page 9 "Math wasn't a skill that came to me naturally, so I had to work twice as hard on any proposals for budget cuts or financial plans. But I absolutely refused to have one of Dad's advisers come behind me with a calculator to clean up my mess. Even if I had to stay up all night, I always made sure my work was accurate." Then on the next page... "After working on the budget report for a few hours, I decided I needed a break and retreated to my room to get a hand massage from Neena. I loved those little bits of luxury in my day. Dresses made to my exact measurements, exotic desserts flown in simply because it was Thursday, and an endless supply of beautiful things were all perks; and they were easily my favorite part of the job." Okay... aside from the fact that you just claimed to actually take your job as the next ruler of the country seriously, you're getting a massage and telling us that your favorite part about being a future monarch is not the power you'll have to make a change in the world, or for the citizens who are currently organizing riots in the streets because they are subject to caste discrimination and violence, but dessert and dresses.
"Vain as it was, I worried I would go gray prematurely."
"Didn't they know who I was, what they'd trained me for? I was Eadlyn Shreave. No one was more powerful than me." Which you wouldn't know since she says how powerful and awesome she is at every opportunity.
Then there was this gem. For context, princess Eadlyn is talking to her twin brother who also lives in the palace, with her father but I guess prince Ahren has never picked up a newspaper (like the one Eadlyn read this morning), or spoken to his father about their country at all. He's also probably never seen a news report, or had any kind of education outside of the palace, because otherwise why the fuck would his sister have to explain this...
"It's getting really bad, Ahren. People are destroying homes and businesses. Some have died. Dad isn't completely sure where it's coming from, but he thinks it's people our age, the generation that grew up with the castes, causing most of it."
He made a face. "That doesn't make any sense. How could growing up without those restrictions make you upset?"
I paused, thinking. How could I explain what we could only really guess at? "Well, I grew up being told I was going to be queen one day. That was it. No choice. You grew up knowing you had options. You could go into the military, you could become an ambassador, you could do plrenty of things. But what if that wasn't really happening? What if you didn't have all the opportunities you thought you would?"
"Huh," He said, following. "So they're being denied jobs?"
"Jobs, education, money. I've heard of people refusing to let their kids get married because of old castes. Nothing is happening the way dad thought it would, and it's nearly impossible to control. Can we force people to be fair?"
Okay, deep breath.
My favorite line comes at the end of a spectacular conversation when a boy name Kile is mowed down by bitchy Eadlyn.
"And what would make such a lady run like that in the first place?"
"Matters you are far to dim to comprehend."
He laughed. "Right, because I'm such a simpleton. It's a miracle I manage to bathe myself."
I was about to ask if he did bathe, because he looked like he'd been running away from anything that resembled a bar of soap.
"I hope one of those books is a primer on etiquette. You seriously need a refresher."
"You're not queen yet, Eadlyn. Take it down a notch."
Not gonna lie, I completely agree. And just going on the opposite gender is dropped into the scene and the characters reveal their absolute hatred of each other for no reason trope, (though I can totally see why everyone would hate Eadlyn) I'm willing to bet that he's a love interest. Googled, he's a part of the selection, big surprise. Ugh. Eadlyn is just a miserable twit who is not worthy of any title let alone queen, and the idea that Maxon and America would be capable of raising a daughter this obnoxious is almost as laughable as the above quotes.
Also can we just talk about the ridiculous nature of character naming in this series. I mean it was pretty bad with America and Maxon... But Ahren, Osten, Kile, Eadlyn, Neena, Kaden... Really?
So this wasn't an eloquent or particularly kind review, but having read and enjoyed the previous books in the series despite their fluffy, predictable but humorous nature this was scraping the bottom of the barrel. I can't believe there is supposed to be another book out of this. The original trilogy could have been trimmed and written more carefully and made a single novel. And this nonsense is ridiculous. I can't imagine who would buy book five.
>_< DNR
Edit: This summed up my thoughts exactly and everything I learned about the rest of the book makes me so freaking happy that I didn't waste my time on this book. Damn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgHSKHqGVkE
I could bitch about the main character, Eadlyn, or her brother, or just well, everything. But as I said I DNF/DNR this book. So I'm going to leave you with the specific moments that caused me to roll my eyes and some thoughts.
"Alas, Mom and Dad couldn't stand to watch their firstborn be stripped of a title by an unfortunate but rather lovely set of breasts." This is in the fourth paragraph of page one so honestly it's a miracle I made it to page 25. Aside from being offended that this made it past an editor, what woman in her right mind sees herself as a pair of breasts, let alone a freaking queen.
On page 9 "Math wasn't a skill that came to me naturally, so I had to work twice as hard on any proposals for budget cuts or financial plans. But I absolutely refused to have one of Dad's advisers come behind me with a calculator to clean up my mess. Even if I had to stay up all night, I always made sure my work was accurate." Then on the next page... "After working on the budget report for a few hours, I decided I needed a break and retreated to my room to get a hand massage from Neena. I loved those little bits of luxury in my day. Dresses made to my exact measurements, exotic desserts flown in simply because it was Thursday, and an endless supply of beautiful things were all perks; and they were easily my favorite part of the job." Okay... aside from the fact that you just claimed to actually take your job as the next ruler of the country seriously, you're getting a massage and telling us that your favorite part about being a future monarch is not the power you'll have to make a change in the world, or for the citizens who are currently organizing riots in the streets because they are subject to caste discrimination and violence, but dessert and dresses.
"Vain as it was, I worried I would go gray prematurely."
"Didn't they know who I was, what they'd trained me for? I was Eadlyn Shreave. No one was more powerful than me." Which you wouldn't know since she says how powerful and awesome she is at every opportunity.
Then there was this gem. For context, princess Eadlyn is talking to her twin brother who also lives in the palace, with her father but I guess prince Ahren has never picked up a newspaper (like the one Eadlyn read this morning), or spoken to his father about their country at all. He's also probably never seen a news report, or had any kind of education outside of the palace, because otherwise why the fuck would his sister have to explain this...
"It's getting really bad, Ahren. People are destroying homes and businesses. Some have died. Dad isn't completely sure where it's coming from, but he thinks it's people our age, the generation that grew up with the castes, causing most of it."
He made a face. "That doesn't make any sense. How could growing up without those restrictions make you upset?"
I paused, thinking. How could I explain what we could only really guess at? "Well, I grew up being told I was going to be queen one day. That was it. No choice. You grew up knowing you had options. You could go into the military, you could become an ambassador, you could do plrenty of things. But what if that wasn't really happening? What if you didn't have all the opportunities you thought you would?"
"Huh," He said, following. "So they're being denied jobs?"
"Jobs, education, money. I've heard of people refusing to let their kids get married because of old castes. Nothing is happening the way dad thought it would, and it's nearly impossible to control. Can we force people to be fair?"
Okay, deep breath.
My favorite line comes at the end of a spectacular conversation when a boy name Kile is mowed down by bitchy Eadlyn.
"And what would make such a lady run like that in the first place?"
"Matters you are far to dim to comprehend."
He laughed. "Right, because I'm such a simpleton. It's a miracle I manage to bathe myself."
I was about to ask if he did bathe, because he looked like he'd been running away from anything that resembled a bar of soap.
"I hope one of those books is a primer on etiquette. You seriously need a refresher."
"You're not queen yet, Eadlyn. Take it down a notch."
Not gonna lie, I completely agree. And just going on the opposite gender is dropped into the scene and the characters reveal their absolute hatred of each other for no reason trope, (though I can totally see why everyone would hate Eadlyn) I'm willing to bet that he's a love interest. Googled, he's a part of the selection, big surprise. Ugh. Eadlyn is just a miserable twit who is not worthy of any title let alone queen, and the idea that Maxon and America would be capable of raising a daughter this obnoxious is almost as laughable as the above quotes.
Also can we just talk about the ridiculous nature of character naming in this series. I mean it was pretty bad with America and Maxon... But Ahren, Osten, Kile, Eadlyn, Neena, Kaden... Really?
So this wasn't an eloquent or particularly kind review, but having read and enjoyed the previous books in the series despite their fluffy, predictable but humorous nature this was scraping the bottom of the barrel. I can't believe there is supposed to be another book out of this. The original trilogy could have been trimmed and written more carefully and made a single novel. And this nonsense is ridiculous. I can't imagine who would buy book five.
>_< DNR
Edit: This summed up my thoughts exactly and everything I learned about the rest of the book makes me so freaking happy that I didn't waste my time on this book. Damn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgHSKHqGVkE
srkennedy1218's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kimdanya's review against another edition
3.0
When I first started reading this book, I was so confused. What happened to America and Maxon? All of a sudden it is 20 years later, and America and Maxon have minor character roles within this continuous story. I'm not even sure if I could ever relate to Eadlyn in comparison to America. Nonetheless, still a good read.
ams_jenkins's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bonnietherose's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
monty27's review against another edition
3.0
to my great surprise, this book was far better than the books about America.
the author even used adjectives! amazing.
the author even used adjectives! amazing.
dannycakez8808's review against another edition
4.0
Not sure why this book gets so much hate! I felt like the writing and characters were just as great as the original trilogy. I am happy I picked this up!