Books: The Heir and The Crown by Kiera Cass from The Selection Series

"The Heir" and "The Crown". Thirty five suitors, one Princess Eadlyn Schreave.

I am a certified royalty nut and if there's any literature which broaches on that topic I am sure to devour it almost instantly. I was introduced to The Selection Series by non other than my younger sister. It is composed of five books: The Selection, The Elite, The One, The Heir and The Crown. For all I know, I thought it would be just a trilogy but Kiera had some more stuff up her sleeve. The last two books are new additions. I just finished reading the last one over the weekend and well, let's just say I enjoyed the rather tearful ending. 

Photo credits to hyagrace.blogspot.com

*SPOILER ALERT*

So, it's a YA series set in the near future, precisely after the Third World War, in a country called Illea which occupies present day North America and some parts of South America. The ruling class is the monarchy (the Schreave family); the society has a caste system (One to Eight; One being the highest). The story revolves around the Selection process of finding a suitable spouse for the heir to the throne which is done through (gasp!) picking one representative from each province (that makes 35 candidates), inviting them to the palace, and the Prince decides who stays up to the very end. Very Big Brother-ish ha!

The first three books talks about how Prince Maxon Schreave found his perfect match in America Singer, a Five. At the end of the third book, they vowed that when the time comes, they will never subject their own child to such Selection again.

Well, who would have seen this coming. In time, Maxon and America became the rulers of Illea. They successfully eliminated the castes but trouble was brewing everywhere that King Maxon thought a distraction would come handy while we was trying to figure a way to fix things. He thought that having a new Selection to find a spouse for Princess Eadlyn was the perfect way to distract the people of Illea.

The synopsis for "The Heir".

I remember how headstrong and stubborn Queen America was when she entered the Selection twenty years ago. She didn't want to enter in the first place and she was sort of dragged by her own mother to put her name in. I totes understood where Princess Eadlyn's bullheadedness was coming from because she didn't want to be married off to some stranger. She wasn't even thinking about marrying yet. As the thirty five eligible bachelors pour into her home, she was thinking of ways of how to get rid of each one of them.

Thirty five choices it is.

How do I go about this without sounding like a bleary-eyed teenager. Lelz. But here we are. It's an entertaining little piece of a series mixed with some awkwardness. It's awkward isn't it, to have some 35 guys having to compete (literally) for one's love and attention. And truth is, Princess Eadlyn is not just an ordinary girl, she is the future queen. If she has been planning all along to teach the boys (and her parents) some lessons, it is she in the end who learns to open up and knows more about the lives, situations and backgrounds of her future subjects.

She agreed to have a Selection but she was fully decided on not falling in love. Here's a girl, who always felt like she was being watched all her life and that she has some large shoes to fill once she ascends the throne and as such she was always afraid to make mistakes and break the rules. 

In the end, she falls in love with someone but she has to break rules in order to be with him because (gasp!) he wasn't one of the 35 guys but was simply an interpreter of one of the Selected. 

In the end, she finds love in the most unexpected situation.

*Insert bleary-eyed teenager mode again here*

Because that's how love comes, ayt? When you least expect it. Maybe even when you don't want it. Gah! What a cliche. With some very wise words from her Daddy, she decided in the end to stand up for her love and everyone gets a happy ending. And why not.

I also mentioned that my face ended up being tear-stained in the end that's because Kiera packs all of her punches on the last few pages of the book. Trust me.

If anything, reading books such as these keep me young at heart. And I especially love it when the protagonist is beautiful, smart and brave girl.

XO,

Carissa

PS. Here's the hierarchy of the caste system in Illea.

Photo credits to www.emaze.com