Review: The Crown

Title: The Crown
Author: Kiera Cass
Released: May 3, 2015

Synopsis:

When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.
Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.

My Review:

The Crown was so good! This book made me laugh, smile, cry, scream, and so many other emotions that I cannot name or remember. The Crown was ten times better than The Heir and it was definitely worth the read.

It is time for Eadlyn to pick her partner in life, a life that has been thrown into chaos.

If you have not read The Heir, do not continue. 

Her twin left her, her mother had a heart attack, and she has to pick a partner that will rule by her side. She doesn’t know how to deal with all of this. Plus, she was named regent in her dad’s stead since he was too distraught over America’s heart attack.

Eadlyn grew up so much in this book. She was no longer the bratty child that thought she knew everything. She was now an adult who understood the world better and what her people needed. Her dad had sheltered her so much and now that shelter is gone and she has to step up to the challenges, and boy does she step up.

If I know one thing for sure, Eadlyn has a good head on her shoulders. She followed her gut and did what was best for her country. Her motivations were no longer selfish, all she wanted was the best for her family and her country. She takes a role that she is not sure she is ready for, but does so anyway. Eady knew what needed to be done and she was also the one who got it done. She learned to stand and fight for herself and her country and she turned out so much better because of it.

I am proud of the character that Eadlyn became by the end of the book. She was able to find love in a competition that she thought was stupid and pointless. She was able to find herself and grow into a beautiful person. She also grew into the ruler her country needed. She made decisions that would benefit her people and not just further her control. She really ended up impressing me.

That being said, America and Maxon needed to stop keeping so many things from her. I guess Maxon didn’t want to burden his daughter with their past, but it would’ve helped her so much! They meant everything to Eadlyn and she was upset with all the secrets they kept. Thankfully, they learned from their mistakes and told her more, but still. Don’t keep secrets from your family guys, it’s not nice.

This was the perfect conclusion to The Selection series. Hopefully, Cass doesn’t do another spin off, I don’t think I could take that. In the end, I got the happily ever after that I wanted and I finished a really good book!

Review: The Heir

Title: The Heir

Author: Kiera Cass

Released: May 5, 2015

Synopsis:

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 story 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:

Kiera Cass conquered The Bachelor now she must conquer The Bachelorette and I think she did that pretty dang well in her book, The Heir. I didn’t really know what to expect when I first picked this up. I was hoping for some cameos from my favorite characters from The Selection and Cass did not disappoint.

The world is the same as it was in The Selection. Only now, the castes are gone and the country seems fine, except some people are not quite so happy with the caste system being gone. There is unrest in the country that Maxon is trying so hard to keep calm, and what is his latest idea to do just that? Distract the country with his first born and heir to his throne, Eadlyn.

First off, Eadlyn is a brat. I absolutely hated her character in this book. She is snobbish and rude to people and she is kept in a bubble. She thinks she knows what is going on with her people and that she is a beloved princess, but she really isn’t. Her people don’t know her, and I wouldn’t want to know her either. She acts so entitled that I actually wanted to reach into the book and smack some sense into this girl.

Now, that being said, she does change. Once The Selection starts, she sees the world with whole new eyes. Her mind is opened to her people and what conditions are really like out there. BUT SHE IS STILL SO RUDE TO THESE BOYS. I am all for powerful females, but you need to balance the harsh with the kind. You can’t be cold and distant all the time, you really need to try and let yourself live a little. Eadlyn was barely living, though. She was closed off to the boys and the possibilities that they brought to the table. She did start to grow into a better person by the end of the book, but not by much…

I LOVED SEEING AMERICA AND MAXON. Gosh, I loved them in the first part of the series, and I still love them. They have their family and friends are close to them and ugh, it just makes me so happy. They still seemed so in love, even after twenty years of ruling a country together. Seeing them made the book so much better for me. I wouldn’t have minded hearing Maxon or America’s POV again. I miss them.

If you really enjoyed the first few books in The Selection series, pick up The Heir to continue your love for the royal family. Though, there were times when I didn’t understand why Cass was writing a continuation, but then I actually read it and I loved seeing the old and the new characters so much. It is a cute and fun read to pick up and finish in a few hours! 

WOW: 5/18/16

 

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine! It showcases books that we can't wait on to come out!

And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga #1)
By: Kiersten White
Released: June 28, 2016

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL.

And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.
But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.

I have been waiting for a new Kiersten White book since the end of her last series. As a big Game of Thrones fan, this book just sounds amazing!