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The Selection #3
The One
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2014)The captivating third book in Kiera Cass’s #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series
America Singer searches for her happily ever after in this swoon-worthy YA dystopian romance, perfect for readers who loved Veronica Roth’s Divergent, Lauren Oliver’s Delirium, or Renée Ahdieh’s The Wrath & the Dawn.
Entering the Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she arrived at the palace, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen—and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice . . . and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.
Don’t miss The Betrothed, a glittering royal romance sure to captivate Kiera Cass’s legion of loyal readers and lovers of courtly intrigue alike!
America Singer searches for her happily ever after in this swoon-worthy YA dystopian romance, perfect for readers who loved Veronica Roth’s Divergent, Lauren Oliver’s Delirium, or Renée Ahdieh’s The Wrath & the Dawn.
Entering the Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she arrived at the palace, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen—and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice . . . and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.
Don’t miss The Betrothed, a glittering royal romance sure to captivate Kiera Cass’s legion of loyal readers and lovers of courtly intrigue alike!
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2014
About the author
Kiera Cass
52 books63.6k followers100 Things I Love:
Being married. Cake. The smell of Autumn. Motherhood. Books. Elephants. Back rubs. On demand movies. Actually going out to movies. Faith. Cinnamon rolls. My family. Butterflies. When my kitchen is clean. Crayons. Pink. Tote bags. Dancing. Organizing via color coordination. That my wedding dress was tea length, not floor. Baking. My house. Writing utensils. Paper. India. The sound of water. Making videos. Buttons. The word Episcopalian. Making people laugh. Layering clothes. British accents. Pinterest. Animation. Fireworks. The smell of the Ocean. My wedding rings. Aprons. Reasons to get dressed up. Sex. Pop music. Stars. Taking walks. Daydreaming. Stickers. School Spirit. My friends. Living in a small town. Japan. Singing. Painting my toenails. Pranks/ practical jokes. Painting. Stretch canvas. Costumes. Dipping my fingers in melted wax. Style. Soda. Spending an hour typing at a coffee shop. Musicals. Back to school season. Mopeds. Good hair days. Naps. Not walking up but looking at a beautiful staircase. Driving alone. My ankles. Playlists. Spending entire days in pajamas. Holidays. Telling stories. Spontaneity. Theme parks. Bookshelves. The word copacetic. Boxes. Empty journals. Surprises. Doing things in groups. Doing things alone. Getting real mail. Decorating. Small forks. A good hug. Gift cards. New Years Goals. Going out to dinner. When someone else remembers some great story about me/us that I’ve forgotten. Toy stores. Fireplaces. Breakfast foods. Journaling. Crying for a good reason. Doorbells. Pointless adventures. Voting. My birthday. Reasons to make wishes. Recycling.
Being married. Cake. The smell of Autumn. Motherhood. Books. Elephants. Back rubs. On demand movies. Actually going out to movies. Faith. Cinnamon rolls. My family. Butterflies. When my kitchen is clean. Crayons. Pink. Tote bags. Dancing. Organizing via color coordination. That my wedding dress was tea length, not floor. Baking. My house. Writing utensils. Paper. India. The sound of water. Making videos. Buttons. The word Episcopalian. Making people laugh. Layering clothes. British accents. Pinterest. Animation. Fireworks. The smell of the Ocean. My wedding rings. Aprons. Reasons to get dressed up. Sex. Pop music. Stars. Taking walks. Daydreaming. Stickers. School Spirit. My friends. Living in a small town. Japan. Singing. Painting my toenails. Pranks/ practical jokes. Painting. Stretch canvas. Costumes. Dipping my fingers in melted wax. Style. Soda. Spending an hour typing at a coffee shop. Musicals. Back to school season. Mopeds. Good hair days. Naps. Not walking up but looking at a beautiful staircase. Driving alone. My ankles. Playlists. Spending entire days in pajamas. Holidays. Telling stories. Spontaneity. Theme parks. Bookshelves. The word copacetic. Boxes. Empty journals. Surprises. Doing things in groups. Doing things alone. Getting real mail. Decorating. Small forks. A good hug. Gift cards. New Years Goals. Going out to dinner. When someone else remembers some great story about me/us that I’ve forgotten. Toy stores. Fireplaces. Breakfast foods. Journaling. Crying for a good reason. Doorbells. Pointless adventures. Voting. My birthday. Reasons to make wishes. Recycling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45,532 reviews
December 22, 2014
Originally posted at Writer of Wrongs
Gillian: Hey, Gillian. How are you doing today? You look nice.
Gillian: You don't.
Gillian: We're the same person, so you kind of just insulted yourself.
Gillian: I need to talk to you about The One. You're the only one who understands me.
Gillian: Well, yeah, that's because I am y--
Gillian: I REALLY NEED TO TALK TO YOU CAN YOU PLEASE JUST FOCUS.
Gillian: Sorry. Proceed.
Gillian: So, that was a book. A book that happened.
Gillian: Was it? Was it, though? Or did you hallucinate ninety percent of what occurred? You did read it really late at night.
Gillian: This is a distinct possibility. Though even my fever dreams tie up loose plot threads better than... that.
Gillian: But you liked it! You laughed! I heard you!
Gillian: I laughed when a major character died.
Gillian: Okay, but you laughed.
Gillian: A major character's death that has nothing to do with the plot, is not born of the plot even though it so easily could have been, does not change the plot that follows or the main character in any way, and is executed SO POORLY that I could only guffaw in sadistic glee.
Gillian: I think you might be a very evil person.
Gillian: It was basically a sadness intermission. WE INTERRUPT THIS CORNY ROMANTIC SMOOCHERY TO BRING YOU SOME BREAKING SADNESS. America hardly felt sad at all, and I got the feeling this part of the book was meant to be seeeeped in grieeeeef, and yet there was no grief to be found. None. And heart trouble? HEART TROUBLE?! You kill off a major character in a series ender not through rebel shenanigans or anything, but HEART TROUBLE?!?!?!?!
Gillian: Don't even pretend you weren't devastated when SPOILER died at the end.
Gillian: Okay. That actually got me. FINALLY Kiera Cass writes an interesting character, and then she has to go and ruin everything with a COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS ENDING THAT COMES OUT OF NOWHERE WHEN THOSE STUPID REBELS DO THEIR STUPID REBEL THINGS AND IT MAKES NO DAMN SENSE AND OH MY GOD. I'm telling you. This wasn't real.
Gillian: But what about the ship! You like shipping.
Gillian: I do like shipping. I don't like when characters change their minds and hearts abruptly from one book to the next. I don't like it when a book has like fifteen cheesy declarations. I like where Cass meant to take her characters in terms of growth and epiphanies, but I cannot believe the way she took her characters there. One of the characters maintained a VERY STEADY position throughout both books, and poof! Book three, totes changes their mind. Because that happens.
Gillian: But you didn't want to stab America in this one. Or even Asspen! That's progress!
Gillian: Wow, you're right. I feel like I've grown as a human being. I no longer feel like committing fictional murder. America is no longer a waffling, waifish wattle-brain, and Asspen is less of a grunt grunt caveman, even though all of this growth occurs spontaneously in like the first chapter. BUT. THE. PLOT.
Gillian: Oh, the plot wasn't that bad...
Gillian: *stares*
Gillian: Okay. It was that bad.
Gillian: Hot. Freaking. Mess. There are two rebel groups: Northerners, who are Capital G Good, because they'e all YAY MONARCHY, and Southerners, who are Capital B BAD, because they want to shoot everybody and don't think the sun shines out of Maxon and America's royal behinds. Maxon and America are like, "Oh no! We can't let the bad rebels win!" And then things happen that have nothing to do with their actions. Asspen is somewhere in the background, being a noble ass. Marlee pops in for ONE SCENE and then pops right back out. Like um, thanks for visiting this supposedly epic series ender. Thanks for participating. Celeste the Bitch is abruptly and suddenly is humanized (which, actually, yay). The King continues to twirl his mustache, and the Queen continues to be the brainwashed victim of an abusive relationship who is canonized by every other character in the book.
Gillian: Okay, but that's not a plot.
Gillian: Don't be silly. Of course it is! There are romantical misunderstandings, pretty dresses, AMERICA IS A NOBLE HEEEEERO, Maxon what the fuck, ugh Asspen are you still here?, REBELS REBELS THE REBELSSSS!!!!, did that really happen how did that happen, the endddd.
Gillian: That... wait, is that a plot?
Gillian: No. It's not. And those god damn sketchily-assembled rebels and their stupid conflict. I don't want to talk about it.
Gillian: Do you want to talk about how accidentally sexist this is? And how SPOILER needs a girl he can protect and SPOILER needs a man to shield her and guide her? And how these are held to be very, very good things?
Gillian: No.
Gillian: Fair enough. Do you want to talk about how stereotypically "Asian" Elise was made out to be, and that her life philosophy is apparently "Honor to Us All", and how offensive it was when Kriss pitied her for it?
Gillian: No.
Gillian: Should we bring up how the Palace security must be run by blind gerbils because that's the only way those fucking rebels could manage to get inside the fucking buildings six times a chapter?
Gillian: No.
Gillian: Do you want to talk about how pointless (and predictable) it was that SPOILER and SPOILER were secretly Good Rebels even though nothing came of that information.
Gillian: No.
Gillian: Well, we have to talk about something.
Gillian: No. I don't want to. You can't make me.
Gillian: It was your idea to talk in the first place!
Gillian: I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS ANYMORE.
Gillian: Should we talk about that cheesy ass epilogue?
Gillian: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA oh my god was that a glorious thing. A comedic masterpiece, that was.
Gillian: You don't have to be mean about it.
Gillian: I EARNED THE MEANNESS, BUDDY. I bought this with my MONEY.
Gillian: As opposed to buying it with your couch?
Gillian: Shut up. I have no brains left after that. This book did not fit with the rest. This book did not feel like the continuation of the "plot" set up in anemic book one and frustrating book two. I couldn't even get mad at this book because I didn't believe this book. Not one freaking word of it.
Gillian: Look, no one forced you to read this series.
Gillian: MAXON DID. STUPID MAXON AND YOUR STUPID ENDEARING LAMENESS. Why do I care so much about you? Why are you doing this to me? Why were you a flip-flopping mess in this book? Why are there plot holes so large you could drop a truck or a 747 or California through them?
Gillian: But Cass kind of did a Red Wedding thing there. That's... um, that's something, right?
Gillian: Fungus is something. Sunburns are something. That ending is something.
Gillian: That was way harsh, Tai.
Gillian: LOOK. Endings, particularly to series, need to COME FROM SOMETHING. They can't just randomly happen and then conveniently the people who need to die for there to be a HEA die and then somehow that magically fixes EVERYTHING and NO. When George R. R. Martin kills people, he does it to complicate the plot. Not to just have it happen. Not to resolve things. NOT AS AN ENDING. And then there's the fact that the action is SO CLUNKY, so unrealistic, so poorly described, that i just laughed laughed because it lasted so long and some people could free and others bled out under tables and America did nothing and oh god horrible action scenes are horrible.
Gillian: You should really breathe between rants.
Gillian: I CAN'T EVEN.
Gillian: Do you want to talk about the cliches?
Gillian: There was a cheesy death fakeout. There was a cheesy "Save yourself! Live and be happy!" scene. There was a cheesy letter written from beyond the grave full of wisdom and truth. It was an endless avalanche of cliche. America and Maxon are the only non-cardboard characters. The worldbuilding is nonsense. The writing is clunky, amateurish, and obvious. I need a drink. I need several drinks.
Gillian: Yes, but that's been true since the beginning, and yet you still read them all. Even those novellas.
Gillian: I once described this series as being like a deep-fried Oreo, and it's mostly still good. It sounds like a better idea than it is, it has this weirdly addicting, saccharine-sweet junk food quality, and it has zero nutritional value. But then this third book happens and it's... it's
just... it's so bad I can't even find an accurate food metaphor. A tomato and marshmallow smoothie.
Gillian: I just vomited.
Gillian: An appropriate way to end this.
May 11, 2014
After reading..
I'm just sooo emotional over this,, the sweet sweet sweetness, adorable emotional angsty love .. i love love love love this, i love it...
fangirling.. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My Maxon ♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥
“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.”
"Shhh," I urged.
“I'll love you until my very last breath. Every beat of my heart is yours. I don't want to die without you knowing that.”
"Please don't," I choked.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
“America, my love, you are sunlight falling through trees. You are laughter that breaks through sadness. You are the breeze on a too-war day. You are clarity in the midst of confusion.
You are not the world, but you are everything that makes the world good. Without you, my life would still exist, but that's all it would manage to do.
You said that to get things right one of us would have to take a leap of faith. I think I've discovered the canyon that must be leaped, and I hope to find you waiting for me on the other side.
I love you, America.
Yours forever,
Maxon”
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
“I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy season and lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingertips on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you.”
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
“In those seconds, I was mourning everything I'd lost. How I'd never get to see you walk down an aisle toward me, how I'd never get to see your face in our children, how I'd never get to see streaks of silver in your hair. But, at the same time, I couldn't be bothered. If me dying meant you living, how could that be anything but good?”
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
“I was nearly attacked. All because I missed your smell."
sorry for this fangirl bomb !! but it was so sweet ♥ ♥ ♥
..........
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMGGGGGGGGGGG ... WAAAAAAAA333
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT IS SOO BEAUTIFULLLLL!!!!!!
..........
IWANTYOU!!!! MAXON!!!!
September 23, 2014
For me there is no other way to express how I feel but through GIFS so...
I had just recently finished The Elite and was more anxious than ever to find out about the next one.
Then I see it, on Goodreads, The One...
So I do my Happy Dance
Then something catches my eye, and it takes me a while to absorb this information
MAY 6TH 2014!!!!!!!!!
And naturally I flip a table...
"
After my freakout I decide that as long as America doesn't end up with Aspen, I'll be ok.
So I'll wait...
And take action if necessary,
All in all I really do like this series, and I would love it even more if America and Maxon ended up together, so have a good day, and enjoy life.
I had just recently finished The Elite and was more anxious than ever to find out about the next one.
Then I see it, on Goodreads, The One...
So I do my Happy Dance
Then something catches my eye, and it takes me a while to absorb this information
MAY 6TH 2014!!!!!!!!!
And naturally I flip a table...
"
After my freakout I decide that as long as America doesn't end up with Aspen, I'll be ok.
So I'll wait...
And take action if necessary,
All in all I really do like this series, and I would love it even more if America and Maxon ended up together, so have a good day, and enjoy life.
Shelved as 'never-ever-read'
June 26, 2013Wouldn't it be awesome if Maxon turned out to be gay? And then he ends up with Aspen!
November 7, 2023
I hate to say it, but...it appears humanity peaked in 2014.
Sure, it was before a lot of important things happened (like me being active on Goodreads, or me trying Kraft Mac and Cheese Spirals for the first time, or other historic me-centered events), but consider also: in 2014 we were allowed to leave our houses.
Bliss.
Also, books like this were the peak of literature.
On the one hand, bummer, because this is not a very good read, but on the other hand, don’t you wish you could go back to a time when all you needed was a love triangle and a vaguely dystopian narrative to have a good time?
I want to go back to when this book would have been fun for me. Instead of feeling like a low-level punishment in a post-apocalyptic society where the only literature is 78% girl hate and 22% half-hearted character development to try to make up for it.
Sigh.
But I mean...who among us can’t relate to the universal experiences of being a teen relayed in this book?
Like when you have four girlfriends whose entire life purpose is being constantly available to you until you fall in love with them and/or decide they’re the best strategic choice for a life partner.
Or when you’re not like other girls because all the cool girls think petty theft deserves public humiliation followed by lifetime imprisonment, but YOU’RE like um maybe just an exorbitantly long time in jail?? #quirky
Or when you have a secret second boyfriend but get mad because your other boyfriend had a crush in childhood he didn’t tell you about.
Or when you decide to spend a summer afternoon doing some light diplomacy at a tea party. Just for sh*ts and giggles.
We’ve all been there, you know?
While this book is very dumb (and that’s basically a fact at this point), it’s not horrible or grueling to read or anything.
But sometimes it is SO FRUSTRATING.
Like. 46% of America’s personality is that she’s poorer and less privileged than everyone else, but girl that does not come up when she can’t be “bothered” to talk to her maids or orders them around. It’s really gross to read imo.
Also, the previous books in this series are legitimately TEEMING, swamplike, with more girl hate than you can possibly imagine, and when there’s finally one (1) moment where all the girls are hangin’ out and getting along...Maxon interrupts.
Which, gag me with a spoon.
But then when he apologizes for interrupting (good, it’s a bad thing you’re here, Maxon, with all the charisma of the end piece of a loaf of bread), the girls say...wait for it...that his presence actually is what made it amaaaaazing.
Excuse me, I have to cringe for a month and a half.
Bottom line: Why did I reread this series? I don’t know! See you when I reread and rant about the spinoffs.
------------
pre-review
sweet relief
review to come / 2 stars
------------
currently-reading updates
starting where i left off in this book when i last picked it up 2 years ago just to feel alive
------------
reread updates
3 years ago, i began a reread of this series that promptly went so terribly i stopped, presumably forever.
but i'm a glutton for punishment and having this high rating on my shelves is bugging me so. let's finish what we started.
Sure, it was before a lot of important things happened (like me being active on Goodreads, or me trying Kraft Mac and Cheese Spirals for the first time, or other historic me-centered events), but consider also: in 2014 we were allowed to leave our houses.
Bliss.
Also, books like this were the peak of literature.
On the one hand, bummer, because this is not a very good read, but on the other hand, don’t you wish you could go back to a time when all you needed was a love triangle and a vaguely dystopian narrative to have a good time?
I want to go back to when this book would have been fun for me. Instead of feeling like a low-level punishment in a post-apocalyptic society where the only literature is 78% girl hate and 22% half-hearted character development to try to make up for it.
Sigh.
But I mean...who among us can’t relate to the universal experiences of being a teen relayed in this book?
Like when you have four girlfriends whose entire life purpose is being constantly available to you until you fall in love with them and/or decide they’re the best strategic choice for a life partner.
Or when you’re not like other girls because all the cool girls think petty theft deserves public humiliation followed by lifetime imprisonment, but YOU’RE like um maybe just an exorbitantly long time in jail?? #quirky
Or when you have a secret second boyfriend but get mad because your other boyfriend had a crush in childhood he didn’t tell you about.
Or when you decide to spend a summer afternoon doing some light diplomacy at a tea party. Just for sh*ts and giggles.
We’ve all been there, you know?
While this book is very dumb (and that’s basically a fact at this point), it’s not horrible or grueling to read or anything.
But sometimes it is SO FRUSTRATING.
Like. 46% of America’s personality is that she’s poorer and less privileged than everyone else, but girl that does not come up when she can’t be “bothered” to talk to her maids or orders them around. It’s really gross to read imo.
Also, the previous books in this series are legitimately TEEMING, swamplike, with more girl hate than you can possibly imagine, and when there’s finally one (1) moment where all the girls are hangin’ out and getting along...Maxon interrupts.
Which, gag me with a spoon.
But then when he apologizes for interrupting (good, it’s a bad thing you’re here, Maxon, with all the charisma of the end piece of a loaf of bread), the girls say...wait for it...that his presence actually is what made it amaaaaazing.
Excuse me, I have to cringe for a month and a half.
Bottom line: Why did I reread this series? I don’t know! See you when I reread and rant about the spinoffs.
------------
pre-review
sweet relief
review to come / 2 stars
------------
currently-reading updates
starting where i left off in this book when i last picked it up 2 years ago just to feel alive
------------
reread updates
3 years ago, i began a reread of this series that promptly went so terribly i stopped, presumably forever.
but i'm a glutton for punishment and having this high rating on my shelves is bugging me so. let's finish what we started.
March 25, 2019
3.8/5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I had the lowest of the low expectations for this book. I wanted to throw The Elite out of the window. I wanted to throw this one out of the window too. But I was less inclined to. I still firmly believe this trilogy could have been a duology, even one book without all the redundant political situations that weren't even portatryed right! I was satisfied with the ending, it was predictable, cheesy, far-fetched, too neat, but solid.
The time has come for one winner to be crowned.
When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, 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.
America. Oh gurl, you're still annoying as balls. But you know. YOU'RE LESS ANNOYING HERE. BECAUSE YOU FINALLY MADE A DECISION WITHOUT PROCRASTINATING. I was truly annoyed by how fast her decision was made. Like they got into the roof, it was raining, romantic chick flick shit, rainbows and cupcakes and then she's like "MAXON I LOVE MAXON ASPEN IS NOTHING TO ME" Like??? The previous book was 325 of your fucking conflict and here we are, in the first 50 pages, you decide which one you want out of the blue. This shit was not gradual and believable at all. And she didn't even explain to Aspen that she didn't choose him! She kept him by because she didn't want to get "nothing" out of this experience. I ain't lying. She said so herself!
WTF WAS THIS LINE? THIS WAS THE WORST, MOST SELFISH LINE IN THE ENTIRE BOOK. After everything her and Aspen went through, she owed him an explanation. She basically manipulated both boys, and she kept thinking she had them in her grasp. She was the one doing the choosing, of course. The boys were just her meals. When Maxon started showing interest in Kriss, she started losing her shit. Aspen kept being loyal to her, waiting for her stupid ass to make a decision and she kept him at bay if she needed a boy after all this. SHE IS SO SELFISH I WANT TO PUNCH HER TO DEATH.
The politics . What in the fuck of fuckity fuck. Nothing made sense! Apparently, in this world there are "good" rebels and "bad" rebels. The "good" rebels just infiltrate the fucking castle, break shit, and are considered good. No biggie. Then they infiltrate the same castle, again, this time ready to talk, and the fucking heir to the throne just lets them there. To talk, in peace. Like??? IN WHICH UNIVERSE WOULD THAT HAPPEN??? Also, America making kingly related deals with the princess of Italy, in the presence of a "good" rebel, about passing actual WEAPONS WHICH CAN KILL PEOPLE to the "good" rebels? What authority does America have with this situation??? With what jurisdiction does she demand the Italian government to give off WEAPONS WHICH CAN KILL PEOPLE to a group of "good" rebels, which of course, have good intentions but still infiltrate the castle like it's no biggie. I'm so confused guys. I know nothing about politics but this shit is crystal clear how ridiculous it is. MOREOVER. America, so graciously decided to sneak out of the castle, with the crown prince of the kingdom, with the assistance of her ex boyfriend, to go and meet the "good" rebels, risking their lives. When they could have sent them a message, easily done. THIS WAS THE MOST STUPID PLOT ARC OF THE BOOK. BECAUSE OF ALL THE BOOKS THAT EXIST. And then she got shot. Typical. And then Aspen had the amazing idea to take them all into his room, with love letters from America floating around. Typical. When Maxon saw the note, I was 48758437859048390% certain this was the way he would find out. It was more believable than the way it actually happened, but also stupid af.
The whole "I will wear the sluttiest dress in the universe and seduce Maxon the way Celeste does" WAS SO STUDID. My little dear friend America, Maxon is head over heels for you, you already know that, so why would you try to become a different person to seduce him? If you would just EXPRESS YOUR REAL FEELINGS TO HIM, he would do anything you wanted. You have just admitted to yourself that you love him in the rooftop scene, and you decide to procrastinate telling him for what??? Aren't you sure you're in love with him??? Are you indecisive again? In this book, you had a certain target, which was Maxon, and you withheld the information from him that you love him? For what? DRAMA??? I guess this book wouldn't exist if they were honest with their feelings. But the romance aspect in this book is done so poorly, I'm so frustrated. At least, in the final book, she picked. Hallelujah.
Celeste's redemption arc, was totally unexpected and totally fake. Yes, I was certain there was a person underneath all that bitchiness BUT HOW CAN A SINGLE CONVERSATION CHANGE ONE PERSON'S ENTIRE PERSONALITY? America found her crying because her reputation in the contest was tarnished compared to hers, then America has a talk with her about some feminist shit, and here we go Celeste is an entire different person with an entirely different personality. THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN. She might have started to treat America and the girls better and she became a goody good character! She lost everything that made her Celeste! And then she killed her off. Typical. Ugh, why can't this writer handle character development well? Everything is a mess.
I don't get how everything went so smoothly with Aspen. He has been in love with America for years, actively fighting for her for two books, and in this book, just because America chose who she wants to be with (without even informing him) he backs away and doesn't fight for her? ??? Wtf is going on? And when did he and Lucy become a thing? They are at the point of saying "I love you" to each other? We saw nothing of that! When did they have the time for this to happen? I don't understand anything. Also, Maxon realises, just by America being close to Aspen for God's sake, that he was her previous love. Ok. Understandable. But his reaction was so unMaxonlike. Again, Cass's problem with characters. He was so cold, a man who has declared his true devotion and love to America, in person and in writing, would just marry someone else without letting America explain the situation? THIS WHOLE SITUATION IS JUST DUMP AND I'M SO CONFUSED 🤷♀️ AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND JACK SHIT AND KIERA CASS DOESN'T KNOW JACK SHIT ABOUT PERSONAlItIES AND RELATIONSHIPS AND HERE'S THE TEA. These two people are supposed to run an entire country now. Good luck with that.
The "bad" rebels are actually a threat now. They have infiltrated the castle a gazillion times before, killing some guards only, and now because it's the ending and it's convenient, they are deadlier and they kill off like 5 of the main characters. Wow. I don't know what else to say. I said I wouldn't judge this series harshly, but I can't stand these situations now. They are ridiculous. The first book was very light hearted, reminded me of The Bachelor, cute characters, cute plot, but then it introduced all the politics which made no sense and tried to be a serious series. That's what bothered me. If it stayed a lovey-dovey dystopian series, I wouldn't make this kind of review now, ranting about everything. But now I have to, cause it's pretending to be a serious series. No no no.
Before the conclusion of this marvelous review, I need to discuss the ending. Maxon had a cold and over the top reaction to America's past with Aspen and then... when he gets hurt he has a warm af over the top reaction as well. Ugh. So unrealistic. Two minutes ago you were like "I hate you America, I don't want to speak to you again, I will marry Kriss and live happily ever after, basically fuck off" and after the invasion he's like" Oh America, my sweet love, I love you more than anything in the world, love love love, lovey eyes, heart emoji, love love". U G H. And then we got Aspen walking America down the aisle. A S P E N. Not her mum, not her sisters, ASPEN. After this whole misunderstand, Maxon easily accepted his new queen's ex boyfriend to walk her down the aisle. And Aspen of course didn't have any hard feelings. Feelings linger guys, they don't just automatically go, just as this book suggests. Or appear, for that matter. I wanted to see a conversation between the three of them. We never got this. The ending was so neat and hasty and sloppy. The love triangle was so prominent in the first two books, and we didn't get a conclusion. I'm so mad.
To sum it all up, you see I gave this book almost 4 stars and I wrecked it in this review. I will tell you why. I STARTED READING THIS BOOK AT 2AM AND I FINISHED IT AT 7AM. Ok??? These books are like junk food. They're bad for you but they taste so good. These books are like Glee. You love to rant about them. You love to scream about them, about how frustrated and annoyed they make you feel, about how ridiculous everything that's happening is. My order for these books is:
1. The Selection
2. The One
3. The Elite
The Elite was redundant and it contained no plot, The Selection was the introduction, it was cute and America wasn't annoying and The One entailed plot, bad plot, but plot nonetheless and it gave me butterfly 🦋 feels because my ship happened! I will read the next book, you should expect a ranty review again, because I'm sure this one will be bad too. I know it's about their daughter and her own Selection and I've heard she's insufferable. I'm sure you all are right, but, come on, we have suffered America, how bad can she be? So, till the next one, K BYE!
“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.”
I had the lowest of the low expectations for this book. I wanted to throw The Elite out of the window. I wanted to throw this one out of the window too. But I was less inclined to. I still firmly believe this trilogy could have been a duology, even one book without all the redundant political situations that weren't even portatryed right! I was satisfied with the ending, it was predictable, cheesy, far-fetched, too neat, but solid.
The time has come for one winner to be crowned.
When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, 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.
America. Oh gurl, you're still annoying as balls. But you know. YOU'RE LESS ANNOYING HERE. BECAUSE YOU FINALLY MADE A DECISION WITHOUT PROCRASTINATING. I was truly annoyed by how fast her decision was made. Like they got into the roof, it was raining, romantic chick flick shit, rainbows and cupcakes and then she's like "MAXON I LOVE MAXON ASPEN IS NOTHING TO ME" Like??? The previous book was 325 of your fucking conflict and here we are, in the first 50 pages, you decide which one you want out of the blue. This shit was not gradual and believable at all. And she didn't even explain to Aspen that she didn't choose him! She kept him by because she didn't want to get "nothing" out of this experience. I ain't lying. She said so herself!
“What if Maxon picks someone else? I can’t walk away from this with nothing. At least if Aspen still thinks there’s a chance, maybe we could try again when everything’s over.”
WTF WAS THIS LINE? THIS WAS THE WORST, MOST SELFISH LINE IN THE ENTIRE BOOK. After everything her and Aspen went through, she owed him an explanation. She basically manipulated both boys, and she kept thinking she had them in her grasp. She was the one doing the choosing, of course. The boys were just her meals. When Maxon started showing interest in Kriss, she started losing her shit. Aspen kept being loyal to her, waiting for her stupid ass to make a decision and she kept him at bay if she needed a boy after all this. SHE IS SO SELFISH I WANT TO PUNCH HER TO DEATH.
The politics . What in the fuck of fuckity fuck. Nothing made sense! Apparently, in this world there are "good" rebels and "bad" rebels. The "good" rebels just infiltrate the fucking castle, break shit, and are considered good. No biggie. Then they infiltrate the same castle, again, this time ready to talk, and the fucking heir to the throne just lets them there. To talk, in peace. Like??? IN WHICH UNIVERSE WOULD THAT HAPPEN??? Also, America making kingly related deals with the princess of Italy, in the presence of a "good" rebel, about passing actual WEAPONS WHICH CAN KILL PEOPLE to the "good" rebels? What authority does America have with this situation??? With what jurisdiction does she demand the Italian government to give off WEAPONS WHICH CAN KILL PEOPLE to a group of "good" rebels, which of course, have good intentions but still infiltrate the castle like it's no biggie. I'm so confused guys. I know nothing about politics but this shit is crystal clear how ridiculous it is. MOREOVER. America, so graciously decided to sneak out of the castle, with the crown prince of the kingdom, with the assistance of her ex boyfriend, to go and meet the "good" rebels, risking their lives. When they could have sent them a message, easily done. THIS WAS THE MOST STUPID PLOT ARC OF THE BOOK. BECAUSE OF ALL THE BOOKS THAT EXIST. And then she got shot. Typical. And then Aspen had the amazing idea to take them all into his room, with love letters from America floating around. Typical. When Maxon saw the note, I was 48758437859048390% certain this was the way he would find out. It was more believable than the way it actually happened, but also stupid af.
The whole "I will wear the sluttiest dress in the universe and seduce Maxon the way Celeste does" WAS SO STUDID. My little dear friend America, Maxon is head over heels for you, you already know that, so why would you try to become a different person to seduce him? If you would just EXPRESS YOUR REAL FEELINGS TO HIM, he would do anything you wanted. You have just admitted to yourself that you love him in the rooftop scene, and you decide to procrastinate telling him for what??? Aren't you sure you're in love with him??? Are you indecisive again? In this book, you had a certain target, which was Maxon, and you withheld the information from him that you love him? For what? DRAMA??? I guess this book wouldn't exist if they were honest with their feelings. But the romance aspect in this book is done so poorly, I'm so frustrated. At least, in the final book, she picked. Hallelujah.
Celeste's redemption arc, was totally unexpected and totally fake. Yes, I was certain there was a person underneath all that bitchiness BUT HOW CAN A SINGLE CONVERSATION CHANGE ONE PERSON'S ENTIRE PERSONALITY? America found her crying because her reputation in the contest was tarnished compared to hers, then America has a talk with her about some feminist shit, and here we go Celeste is an entire different person with an entirely different personality. THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN. She might have started to treat America and the girls better and she became a goody good character! She lost everything that made her Celeste! And then she killed her off. Typical. Ugh, why can't this writer handle character development well? Everything is a mess.
I don't get how everything went so smoothly with Aspen. He has been in love with America for years, actively fighting for her for two books, and in this book, just because America chose who she wants to be with (without even informing him) he backs away and doesn't fight for her? ??? Wtf is going on? And when did he and Lucy become a thing? They are at the point of saying "I love you" to each other? We saw nothing of that! When did they have the time for this to happen? I don't understand anything. Also, Maxon realises, just by America being close to Aspen for God's sake, that he was her previous love. Ok. Understandable. But his reaction was so unMaxonlike. Again, Cass's problem with characters. He was so cold, a man who has declared his true devotion and love to America, in person and in writing, would just marry someone else without letting America explain the situation? THIS WHOLE SITUATION IS JUST DUMP AND I'M SO CONFUSED 🤷♀️ AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND JACK SHIT AND KIERA CASS DOESN'T KNOW JACK SHIT ABOUT PERSONAlItIES AND RELATIONSHIPS AND HERE'S THE TEA. These two people are supposed to run an entire country now. Good luck with that.
The "bad" rebels are actually a threat now. They have infiltrated the castle a gazillion times before, killing some guards only, and now because it's the ending and it's convenient, they are deadlier and they kill off like 5 of the main characters. Wow. I don't know what else to say. I said I wouldn't judge this series harshly, but I can't stand these situations now. They are ridiculous. The first book was very light hearted, reminded me of The Bachelor, cute characters, cute plot, but then it introduced all the politics which made no sense and tried to be a serious series. That's what bothered me. If it stayed a lovey-dovey dystopian series, I wouldn't make this kind of review now, ranting about everything. But now I have to, cause it's pretending to be a serious series. No no no.
Before the conclusion of this marvelous review, I need to discuss the ending. Maxon had a cold and over the top reaction to America's past with Aspen and then... when he gets hurt he has a warm af over the top reaction as well. Ugh. So unrealistic. Two minutes ago you were like "I hate you America, I don't want to speak to you again, I will marry Kriss and live happily ever after, basically fuck off" and after the invasion he's like" Oh America, my sweet love, I love you more than anything in the world, love love love, lovey eyes, heart emoji, love love". U G H. And then we got Aspen walking America down the aisle. A S P E N. Not her mum, not her sisters, ASPEN. After this whole misunderstand, Maxon easily accepted his new queen's ex boyfriend to walk her down the aisle. And Aspen of course didn't have any hard feelings. Feelings linger guys, they don't just automatically go, just as this book suggests. Or appear, for that matter. I wanted to see a conversation between the three of them. We never got this. The ending was so neat and hasty and sloppy. The love triangle was so prominent in the first two books, and we didn't get a conclusion. I'm so mad.
To sum it all up, you see I gave this book almost 4 stars and I wrecked it in this review. I will tell you why. I STARTED READING THIS BOOK AT 2AM AND I FINISHED IT AT 7AM. Ok??? These books are like junk food. They're bad for you but they taste so good. These books are like Glee. You love to rant about them. You love to scream about them, about how frustrated and annoyed they make you feel, about how ridiculous everything that's happening is. My order for these books is:
1. The Selection
2. The One
3. The Elite
The Elite was redundant and it contained no plot, The Selection was the introduction, it was cute and America wasn't annoying and The One entailed plot, bad plot, but plot nonetheless and it gave me butterfly 🦋 feels because my ship happened! I will read the next book, you should expect a ranty review again, because I'm sure this one will be bad too. I know it's about their daughter and her own Selection and I've heard she's insufferable. I'm sure you all are right, but, come on, we have suffered America, how bad can she be? So, till the next one, K BYE!
May 27, 2021
The Written Review
New week, New BookTube Video - all about the best (and worst) literary couples
Cue the eye roll, this is definitely going to be one of those kind of books.
America, my love, you are sunlight falling through trees. You are laughter that breaks through sadness. You are the breeze on a too-warm day.
Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.Picking up where we left off, Maxon Schreave (points for having the world's worst last name) has to make a crazy-hard decision.
And there we were, in the background of it all, holding on to one another. The Perfectionist, the Sweetheart, the Diva . . . and me.He has four choices left and only one will remain. And that One will marry him and become the queen.
America is still in the competition, but as the crown draws ever nearer, she will have to come to the ultimate decision - face her own demons and become queen or run away from it all forever.
This one was definitely better than the last (honestly, Cass could've cut the entirety of book 2 and nothing would've been missed.) but I still think it was missing far too much.
The world building didn't feel nearly as fleshed out as I would've hoped.
There's Southern Rebels and Northern Rebels but no one in the kingdom really knows what they want.
If they were truly a threat, wouldn't they be called terrorists? "Terrorist" contains the connotation that the country is being attacked while "rebel" invokes feelings of freedom.
Also - did the king give the rebels a spare key? How do they break into the palace every other week? How?
The queen competition just didn't feel realistic to me - you would think that every girl chosen for this competition would've been an excellent choice for queen (after all, why risk anything?) but all the girls seem so flawed and ill-suited to the task.
America, you are full of nothing but bad ideas. Great intentions but awful ideas.America doesn't know anything about foreign policy, internal politics or even basic palace manners and yet she was chosen! This girl doesn't even like to study - is this really the girl you want in charge of the country?
I did like the ending - it is very sweet and charming...it just took too far long to happen. There was too much filler drama inserted just to keep the plot going.
Audiobook Comments
Read by Amy Rubinate - who did a wonderful job with narrating this one. Truly an excellent book to listen to.
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
February 1, 2016
These books are such easy reads, though dealing with America's... America-ness was not so easy.
I liked that she stood by her beliefs and values, but it drove me nuts how she flip-flopped all over the place with her feelings. Especially since it was very obvious how she felt, a lot of her indecision didn't have much justification.
Throughout the series, I never felt like the rebels were truly threats, they never seemed very dangerous. Things changed towards the last half of The One, which I appreciated.
I don't know how I feel about the ending. Things wrap up a little too nicely, and I feel like there were some things that needed to be properly sorted out between our characters. More of the flip-flopping feelings, where the past just seems to have been unrealistically forgotten. *pulls hair*
I think that so much frustration could have been avoided if the characters had just thought things through and weren't so selfish. Then that would have meant there was more room for rebel-tension-goodness.
I liked that she stood by her beliefs and values, but it drove me nuts how she flip-flopped all over the place with her feelings. Especially since it was very obvious how she felt, a lot of her indecision didn't have much justification.
Throughout the series, I never felt like the rebels were truly threats, they never seemed very dangerous. Things changed towards the last half of The One, which I appreciated.
I don't know how I feel about the ending. Things wrap up a little too nicely, and I feel like there were some things that needed to be properly sorted out between our characters. More of the flip-flopping feelings, where the past just seems to have been unrealistically forgotten. *pulls hair*
I think that so much frustration could have been avoided if the characters had just thought things through and weren't so selfish. Then that would have meant there was more room for rebel-tension-goodness.
February 21, 2022
Dang honestly props for killing off main characters that was wild
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2014
I was immensely proud of America by the end of the Elite, and couldn't have been more happy with the end of the trilogy! We all knew who she would end up with! I was crying the "I'm so lonely!" tears all through the last chapter before returning to my single life. Haha
November 1, 2016
EDIT 21/04/2014
The wait is almost over! Soon we'll find out - Maxon or Aspen, Aspen or Maxon? Maxon, Maxon, Maxon,Max.....
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT 27/09/2013
Well, looks like I was right! The cover is gorgeous!
Two more assumptions to go...
Fingers crossed!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maxon and America will be together. Aspen and Lucy will fall in love with each other....And the cover will be with a girl in a white gown on it:)
But the question is - Can we wait till 2014??? I'm not sure :( I want it now!
The wait is almost over! Soon we'll find out - Maxon or Aspen, Aspen or Maxon? Maxon, Maxon, Maxon,Max.....
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT 27/09/2013
Well, looks like I was right! The cover is gorgeous!
Two more assumptions to go...
Fingers crossed!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maxon and America will be together. Aspen and Lucy will fall in love with each other....And the cover will be with a girl in a white gown on it:)
But the question is - Can we wait till 2014??? I'm not sure :( I want it now!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2014
**UPDATED JANUARY 19, 2014**
AMERICA!!!???
*
Maxon & America
<3
For America, I expect her to be plain. Many times in the book, she is not viewed as the prettiest and continuously refuses to wear too much makeup or dress too fancy. Maybe in "The One", she will change her mind in order for the public to view her as the gorgeous girl her family, Aspen, Maxon, and many people see. I hope not. I like her stubborn ways! :)
Extremely excited about "The One" but having to wait one year ?
UGH.
I AM SO READY FOR THE COVER!
OMG
I AM EXPECTING TO SEE A WEDDING DRESS FOR THIS COVER;)
So I can NOT wait for 2014!
AMERICA!!!???
*
Maxon & America
<3
For America, I expect her to be plain. Many times in the book, she is not viewed as the prettiest and continuously refuses to wear too much makeup or dress too fancy. Maybe in "The One", she will change her mind in order for the public to view her as the gorgeous girl her family, Aspen, Maxon, and many people see. I hope not. I like her stubborn ways! :)
Extremely excited about "The One" but having to wait one year ?
UGH.
I AM SO READY FOR THE COVER!
I AM EXPECTING TO SEE A WEDDING DRESS FOR THIS COVER;)
So I can NOT wait for 2014!
June 14, 2014
Rating: 1.5 Stars
SPOILERS. Please read on if you
1. Have no intention of ever reading this book (good for you)
2. Have read the book (my condolences)
3. Just want to see me rant about sleazy men and brainless women (isn't that why we're all here?)
The One. This title can mean so many things, but let me tell you what it means to me. It is the one book in this series that got a higher rating than a 1 from me, mostly because of an ending that completely surpassed my expectations of wtfery. It is a story about one prince who is a huge dick, one annoying main character who makes observations that make me want to throttle her, and one kingdom whose existence is baseless and ridiculous. But it doesn't stop at just one! This book does not have just one, but many stupid characters and plot holes large enough for me to fall into.
There are so many problems that I want to address with this review that I don't even know where to start. First of all, there's Maxon. From the first two books, I already knew that he knew jack shit about the kingdom that he was about to rule. In the second book, I could see his idiocy in the way he handled his situation with America. But in this book, boy did he outdo himself.
Newsflash, Maxy-boy. You already did that when you agreed to the Selection. And throwing a temper tantrum like a little boy is not the way to solve your problems. Throughout the story, Maxon does not act like a king or a prince or anything close to royalty. He cannot make adult decisions, he foolishly argues with America over situations that he doesn't understand (and she doesn't understand either), and I honestly cannot understand how anyone would trust this kid to rule over an entire kingdom. Quite frankly, Maxon is useless, and he actually says so himself. His life is spent either getting whipped by his father (in the literal sense), getting whipped by America (in the figurative sense), or hanging out with "his girls." Really, the fact that he always referred to the Elite as "my girls" just made me uncomfortable. His treatment of America and Aspen when he catches them together and tells Aspen to get out of his face or die reinforced my lack of faith. Maxon would probably do a better job as a pimp than a king. And that is the gospel truth.
Then, there's America:
Don't know about the first part, but the second is definitely true. America... How do I even describe her? She's so flat and uninteresting that I don't even have any colorful adjectives. I hated Maxon more than I hated her, but that was how little of an impression she made. I don't know if it's Cass's writing style or the characterization, but she will forever sound like a child to me. A spoiled, self-obsessed child who thinks she understands the world, mostly because the idiots around her inflate her already balloonish head. Yes, she's a total Mary Sue with her crying and fainting, but she's also kind of an ignorant bitch.
Basically, she purposely leads on her ex-boyfriend and stereotypes all the girls that she's supposedly friends with. And her observations are so painfully immature that I want to shake her. Tell me why someone like her should ever be trusted to ascend a throne?
Maxon and America deserve each other, and I pray for all the people in their kingdom who were unfortunate enough to be ruled by two peanuts such as they.
Anyway, enough about them. What about the plot? I must say, there was more of a plot in this book than there was in the other two, and towards the end, I actually got pulled in a little, which is the reason for the .5 star. Why did I get pulled in? Because finally, after all the glitz and glamor and fancy dresses, there was blood, and also a semblance of a climax instead of the watered down drivel of books 1 and 2. But... why, Cass? Why did you have to kill off Celeste, who was one of my favorite characters? Cass attempted a version of the Red Wedding (Game of Thrones fans, you get me), but it was basically an opportunity for her to wrap up the story by killing off any of the characters that caused a problem. King Clarkson, who was the only thing stopping America and Maxon from marrying? Dead. Anne, who liked Aspen, but couldn't have him since he loves Lucy? Dead. Cass took the cheapest way out possible, and I am disgusted. There is no thought, no tact put into this book, its characters, its structures, or its plot. These are merely somebody's fanciful notions transcribed and marked as some sort of literature. Some of the names in this book made me want to retch. There is a place called "Honduragua," for goodness sakes! Then, when America's father dies, the part where Maxon tells her is so stilted that I stared at the page for a couple minutes before realizing that someone had died and this was supposed to be a big deal. And then there are things that America says, like "he breathed into me" and "his eyes were fixed on my curves" that also make me die a little inside.
Nothing that the characters in this book do would ever be something that we would do. The plot is too far-fetched to be remotely believable. And the ending was just a massive copout that shows how Cass lacks the dexterity and mindset to finish what she started. Think about what all the little girls who read this are going to think! The universal solution is mass murder! I'm not proud of reading all the books in this series, but I do admit I had some fun flaming them. Now that it's over, hopefully Cass will take some time to polish her writing, and the next book she publishes will be marginally more readable.
--
This title. Why.
(Assuming the cover is pretty... Otherwise this book will have nothing going for it.)
SPOILERS. Please read on if you
1. Have no intention of ever reading this book (good for you)
2. Have read the book (my condolences)
3. Just want to see me rant about sleazy men and brainless women (isn't that why we're all here?)
The One. This title can mean so many things, but let me tell you what it means to me. It is the one book in this series that got a higher rating than a 1 from me, mostly because of an ending that completely surpassed my expectations of wtfery. It is a story about one prince who is a huge dick, one annoying main character who makes observations that make me want to throttle her, and one kingdom whose existence is baseless and ridiculous. But it doesn't stop at just one! This book does not have just one, but many stupid characters and plot holes large enough for me to fall into.
There are so many problems that I want to address with this review that I don't even know where to start. First of all, there's Maxon. From the first two books, I already knew that he knew jack shit about the kingdom that he was about to rule. In the second book, I could see his idiocy in the way he handled his situation with America. But in this book, boy did he outdo himself.
“There was a long moment of silence before he lost his temper. “I will not have anyone else telling me who I can and cannot marry! This is my life you’re playing games with!”
Newsflash, Maxy-boy. You already did that when you agreed to the Selection. And throwing a temper tantrum like a little boy is not the way to solve your problems. Throughout the story, Maxon does not act like a king or a prince or anything close to royalty. He cannot make adult decisions, he foolishly argues with America over situations that he doesn't understand (and she doesn't understand either), and I honestly cannot understand how anyone would trust this kid to rule over an entire kingdom. Quite frankly, Maxon is useless, and he actually says so himself. His life is spent either getting whipped by his father (in the literal sense), getting whipped by America (in the figurative sense), or hanging out with "his girls." Really, the fact that he always referred to the Elite as "my girls" just made me uncomfortable. His treatment of America and Aspen when he catches them together and tells Aspen to get out of his face or die reinforced my lack of faith. Maxon would probably do a better job as a pimp than a king. And that is the gospel truth.
Then, there's America:
I could handle my dad telling me I was a beautiful singer or Aspen saying I was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen . . . but this? It was almost overwhelming.
“America, you are full of nothing but bad ideas. Great intentions but awful ideas.”
Don't know about the first part, but the second is definitely true. America... How do I even describe her? She's so flat and uninteresting that I don't even have any colorful adjectives. I hated Maxon more than I hated her, but that was how little of an impression she made. I don't know if it's Cass's writing style or the characterization, but she will forever sound like a child to me. A spoiled, self-obsessed child who thinks she understands the world, mostly because the idiots around her inflate her already balloonish head. Yes, she's a total Mary Sue with her crying and fainting, but she's also kind of an ignorant bitch.
“What if Maxon picks someone else? I can’t walk away from this with nothing. At least if Aspen still thinks there’s a chance, maybe we could try again when everything’s over.”
And there we were, in the background of it all, holding on to one another. The Perfectionist, the Sweetheart, the Diva . . . and me.
“He was on one knee, taking aim, firing deliberately into the crowd. He must have been very sure of his target to do that.”
Basically, she purposely leads on her ex-boyfriend and stereotypes all the girls that she's supposedly friends with. And her observations are so painfully immature that I want to shake her. Tell me why someone like her should ever be trusted to ascend a throne?
Maxon and America deserve each other, and I pray for all the people in their kingdom who were unfortunate enough to be ruled by two peanuts such as they.
Anyway, enough about them. What about the plot? I must say, there was more of a plot in this book than there was in the other two, and towards the end, I actually got pulled in a little, which is the reason for the .5 star. Why did I get pulled in? Because finally, after all the glitz and glamor and fancy dresses, there was blood, and also a semblance of a climax instead of the watered down drivel of books 1 and 2. But... why, Cass? Why did you have to kill off Celeste, who was one of my favorite characters? Cass attempted a version of the Red Wedding (Game of Thrones fans, you get me), but it was basically an opportunity for her to wrap up the story by killing off any of the characters that caused a problem. King Clarkson, who was the only thing stopping America and Maxon from marrying? Dead. Anne, who liked Aspen, but couldn't have him since he loves Lucy? Dead. Cass took the cheapest way out possible, and I am disgusted. There is no thought, no tact put into this book, its characters, its structures, or its plot. These are merely somebody's fanciful notions transcribed and marked as some sort of literature. Some of the names in this book made me want to retch. There is a place called "Honduragua," for goodness sakes! Then, when America's father dies, the part where Maxon tells her is so stilted that I stared at the page for a couple minutes before realizing that someone had died and this was supposed to be a big deal. And then there are things that America says, like "he breathed into me" and "his eyes were fixed on my curves" that also make me die a little inside.
Nothing that the characters in this book do would ever be something that we would do. The plot is too far-fetched to be remotely believable. And the ending was just a massive copout that shows how Cass lacks the dexterity and mindset to finish what she started. Think about what all the little girls who read this are going to think! The universal solution is mass murder! I'm not proud of reading all the books in this series, but I do admit I had some fun flaming them. Now that it's over, hopefully Cass will take some time to polish her writing, and the next book she publishes will be marginally more readable.
--
This title. Why.
(Assuming the cover is pretty... Otherwise this book will have nothing going for it.)
December 28, 2019
why i read this series:
↠ 3.5 stars
-and this conclusion does not disappoint. although the ending is totally rushed, these books are the equivalent to a bad habit that you put in zero effort to quit. but it sure is peak entertainment and thats all i need.the writing
-the complex characters
-the social themes
- THE DRAMA
↠ 3.5 stars
September 24, 2014
Update: 25/9/14 I am officially changing my rating from 2 stars to 3 stars!
Why, you may ask?
The answer: http://unlocktheselection.com/
And with that lovely webpage comes an exclusive bonus epilogue for The One which made me a very, very happy fangirl!
There's even some irony in there:
From a selection of girls to a selection of food, huh?!
There's also an excerpt from the upcoming book The Queen on that page as well, so check it out it get the chance :)
With more books in this series to come, it seems like The One - despite its flaws - doesn't have to carry the weight of being the final book and summing everything up nicely, any longer.
Looking forward to seeing what this series brings us readers soon :)
Review:
Hmm. How to feel, how to feel, how to feel...
It's hard to know exactly how I'm meant to feel about this book.
On one hand, I'm kinda happy that the series managed to close in such a way (unlike some series' *cough* Divergent *cough*). On the other hand...I'm not totally convinced The One was well thought out.
Why, you may ask?
Simple. Because nothing is actually simple. Nothing! I mean, we've spent two whole books emphasising the fact that nothing about this world, or its characters, is simple. And yet here we are, simplifying things in the final book.
Exhibit A: the over-simplification of emotions
One word: Maxon.
For those who have read The One, only that word is needed to convey my feelings on the issue.
For those who haven't read The One, I'll put it a different way. Needless to say, even now, I'm still totally Team Maxon. But I'm Team Maxon 'Who Actually Has A Detailed & Varying Range of Emotions'.
Not Team Maxon 'My Anger Brings All The Available Girls To The Yard'.
Maxon's anger is often justified (seeing that America has not yet ceased to be an annoyingly predictable mess of a heroine). But it's so...2D. He has tantrums. Yes, you read that right - Maxon has tantrums. And not grown-up ones either.
As Sophie's review of The One put it: 'Newsflash, Maxy-boy. You already did that when you agreed to the Selection. And throwing a temper tantrum like a little boy is not the way to solve your problems.'
I couldn't agree more, Sophie!
As for Aspen...let's not even go there.
I have zero cares to give about Aspen at the moment. End of story!
Welcome to an ending that will make you weep.
True, it isn't Veronica Roth's. But at least Veronica Roth had the decency to write Allegiant's ending properly. She didn't go on a killing spree. She didn't include some major character reversals. She finished things off in the same style she began them...even though she broke all of our hearts in the process!
Basically, nothing about The One flowed.
Flow is so important in books. Stories shouldn't be put together like leftover puzzle pieces. Dialogue shouldn't be stilted, or robotic & forced. The easy way out of the situation shouldn't be just to kill as many characters as possible.
Spoiler alert: lots of characters die.
And most of their deaths can be described in the same way The One's plot can be: pointless. Totally, facepalm-inducingly, pointless.
But, that said, it's still the end of a good series.
This series started off with some amazing concepts and potentially great characters. And although The One didn't manage to reach the same level of awesomeness the previous books did, it's still part of a reasonably good YA series.
So, my rant aside, if you want to find out how it all ends feel free to pick up The One for yourself.
Or...go read some fanfiction. Or write your own ;)
Pre-read review:
The cover. Is. So. PRETTY!
And I'm just like:
Because you all know what this book is going to give us, right? Right?! MORE MAXON TIME!!
This book cannot come soon enough!
Why, you may ask?
The answer: http://unlocktheselection.com/
And with that lovely webpage comes an exclusive bonus epilogue for The One which made me a very, very happy fangirl!
There's even some irony in there:
'I made my way across the floor, sampling some hors d’oeuvres on my way. None of the food seemed terribly appealing, though. Maxon’s favorites weren’t necessarily mine, I just had to trust that everyone else would enjoy the selection.'
From a selection of girls to a selection of food, huh?!
There's also an excerpt from the upcoming book The Queen on that page as well, so check it out it get the chance :)
With more books in this series to come, it seems like The One - despite its flaws - doesn't have to carry the weight of being the final book and summing everything up nicely, any longer.
Looking forward to seeing what this series brings us readers soon :)
Review:
Hmm. How to feel, how to feel, how to feel...
It's hard to know exactly how I'm meant to feel about this book.
On one hand, I'm kinda happy that the series managed to close in such a way (unlike some series' *cough* Divergent *cough*). On the other hand...I'm not totally convinced The One was well thought out.
Why, you may ask?
Simple. Because nothing is actually simple. Nothing! I mean, we've spent two whole books emphasising the fact that nothing about this world, or its characters, is simple. And yet here we are, simplifying things in the final book.
Exhibit A: the over-simplification of emotions
One word: Maxon.
For those who have read The One, only that word is needed to convey my feelings on the issue.
For those who haven't read The One, I'll put it a different way. Needless to say, even now, I'm still totally Team Maxon. But I'm Team Maxon 'Who Actually Has A Detailed & Varying Range of Emotions'.
Not Team Maxon 'My Anger Brings All The Available Girls To The Yard'.
Maxon's anger is often justified (seeing that America has not yet ceased to be an annoyingly predictable mess of a heroine). But it's so...2D. He has tantrums. Yes, you read that right - Maxon has tantrums. And not grown-up ones either.
As Sophie's review of The One put it: 'Newsflash, Maxy-boy. You already did that when you agreed to the Selection. And throwing a temper tantrum like a little boy is not the way to solve your problems.'
I couldn't agree more, Sophie!
As for Aspen...let's not even go there.
I have zero cares to give about Aspen at the moment. End of story!
Welcome to an ending that will make you weep.
True, it isn't Veronica Roth's. But at least Veronica Roth had the decency to write Allegiant's ending properly. She didn't go on a killing spree. She didn't include some major character reversals. She finished things off in the same style she began them...even though she broke all of our hearts in the process!
Basically, nothing about The One flowed.
Flow is so important in books. Stories shouldn't be put together like leftover puzzle pieces. Dialogue shouldn't be stilted, or robotic & forced. The easy way out of the situation shouldn't be just to kill as many characters as possible.
Spoiler alert: lots of characters die.
And most of their deaths can be described in the same way The One's plot can be: pointless. Totally, facepalm-inducingly, pointless.
But, that said, it's still the end of a good series.
This series started off with some amazing concepts and potentially great characters. And although The One didn't manage to reach the same level of awesomeness the previous books did, it's still part of a reasonably good YA series.
So, my rant aside, if you want to find out how it all ends feel free to pick up The One for yourself.
Or...go read some fanfiction. Or write your own ;)
Pre-read review:
The cover. Is. So. PRETTY!
And I'm just like:
Because you all know what this book is going to give us, right? Right?! MORE MAXON TIME!!
This book cannot come soon enough!
July 1, 2017
I CAN'T EVEN---!!!
ALL THE FEELS. I'm crying with JOY!!!
I can't give this book less than 5 stars because I got what I wanted. Sure, the world building is as poor as it has always been in this series, but GOD, the romance was so BEAUTIFUL.
I finished this book in less than one day because it was so easy and fast to read! It has a huge amount of drama and it had me hooked till the very end!
I think I liked America better in this book than in the other books. She was more decided and she made choices and stood for them! Bravo! And Maxon was as charming as ever, I really really love that prince <3.
I don't know what else to say, for me, this book was the perfect ending to the series. The way it ended was all I ever wanted. So yes, I'm really happy right now!
ALL THE FEELS. I'm crying with JOY!!!
I can't give this book less than 5 stars because I got what I wanted. Sure, the world building is as poor as it has always been in this series, but GOD, the romance was so BEAUTIFUL.
I finished this book in less than one day because it was so easy and fast to read! It has a huge amount of drama and it had me hooked till the very end!
I think I liked America better in this book than in the other books. She was more decided and she made choices and stood for them! Bravo! And Maxon was as charming as ever, I really really love that prince <3.
I don't know what else to say, for me, this book was the perfect ending to the series. The way it ended was all I ever wanted. So yes, I'm really happy right now!
May 26, 2017
Let's pretend this never happened...
Can't believe I read the whole series but I can now move on with my life.
I couldn't stand the main character nor the love triangle. At least in this book, there was less girl-hate. The whole series could have been one book!
Still... I did read them all....
Can't believe I read the whole series but I can now move on with my life.
I couldn't stand the main character nor the love triangle. At least in this book, there was less girl-hate. The whole series could have been one book!
Still... I did read them all....
May 8, 2014
Team MAXON!!!!!!!!!!! Omg the name is out and it is awesome. The c-c-c-c-COVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it.... is..... AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *super happy dance*
Update in the middle of book:
The feeelllllsss and OMG
Just finished the book, good ending but the feels, this book made me cry so much. It's killing me!
Update in the middle of book:
The feeelllllsss and OMG
Just finished the book, good ending but the feels, this book made me cry so much. It's killing me!
March 25, 2019
10-2-12; 10:47pm : Team Maxon! :)
9-26-13: W o w. Look at this BEAUTIFUL cover. In my review of The Elite I said I wanted the book green, but I'm COMPLETELY won over by the white. It's gorgeous. I can't wait!
03-12-15
Hey guys! So, I FINALLY got back into reading/reviewing and I'm happy to say that THE ONE is gonna be my first review back!
I read THE ONE when it first came out and I've been DYING to do a review on it because I've been a fan since like... day two of THE SELECTION release. Ha!
Anyway, I know we all talked about the covers being red, white and blue because of her name and the fact that the colors were statement dresses in the books but MAN, I STILL wish for a green one. I don't hate the white, I just like green better.
I haven't read/looked into Kiera Cass too too much, but I believe she's written other books and I have to say- I wonder if she's ever written any ACTION scenes. Don't get me wrong- I know the series was meant to be romance, but the idea of "rebel attacks" seemed so so great until... I actually read the scenes and there wasn't REALLY any action packed into them.
I mean that in the best way I can think of. It was like "okay here's a problem, let me solve it in two to three pages and everything will just be all fine."
I'm glad the king got what he deserved. I wish things could have ended differently for some of the girls, though. And honestly, I'm kind of weirded out by America's maids crush on Aspen.
I pictures the maids older like the fairies in Sleeping Beauty, so it was kinda weird.
BUT LETS JUST GET TO THE CHASE.
TEAM MAXON! TEAM MAXON! TEAM MAXON!
Honestly, for a minute there, I thought America was going to choose Aspen- which I would have respected, but not like. I'm happy with the end results and can't WAIT to read THE HEIR, to see of their are any hints of their life together (secretly hoping Cass will do something with that).
Overall, the romance side of the story was great. The action?- not the action pack that I was hoping for.
Can't wait for THE HEIR.
October 4, 2022
I LOVE THIS SERIES SM. Team Maxon for lifeee. The ending to this book was especially wild. I mean Chapter 30😳 did. not. see. it. coming. Overall I've loved reading America's story and I can't wait to read the epilogue book.
July 21, 2015
Siendo honesto, no ha sido el mejor libro de la saga, que es algo que todo el mundo me decía. Es bueno, sí, y tiene muchísimas cosas que podrían hacerlo el mejor, pero le ha faltado algo que tenía The Selection y que este no tiene... ¿Quizá esa magia propia de la saga? No sé. En cualquier caso, eso no quita que tenga las cinco estrellas porque me esperaba un final superhappy. Y no ha sido para nada así.
PARA NADA.
Me han gustado muchísimas cosas, desde la evolución de America hasta los increíbles giros que da la trama. Creo que toda la trama política tiene una madurez y está tratada de una manera que muchas otras novelas juveniles querrían. Que la trama de los rebeldes tuviese tanta importancia me ha encantado, porque era una de mis partes favoritas de la saga. El balance romance/acción está muy bien equilibrado, y ninguna de las dos partes resulta sobrante ni sobrecargada.
En general todos los personajes me han conquistado, desde las criadas de America hasta Celeste, Kriss y Elise. Maxon, Aspen... Dios, es que podría enumerar tantos. Y encima con ese final que te destroza la vida y te deja MUERTO. Es que no puedo. Maldita Kiera Cass...
No sé qué decir, o cómo resumir lo que he sentido, porque es el final temporal de una de mis sagas favoritas. Sí, que está The Heir pero es distinto. TENÉIS QUE LEER ESTA SAGA Y PUNTO, JODER. LA MANERA EN LA QUE LA TRAMA TE SUMERGE, EL CÓMO TE SIENTES IDENTIFICADO CON AMERICA Y CÓMO NO PUEDES DEJAR DE LEER HASTA SABER TODO LO QUE PASA EN PALACIO. ES LA PUTA SAGA MARAVILLOSA Y YA ESTÁ.
PARA NADA.
Me han gustado muchísimas cosas, desde la evolución de America hasta los increíbles giros que da la trama. Creo que toda la trama política tiene una madurez y está tratada de una manera que muchas otras novelas juveniles querrían. Que la trama de los rebeldes tuviese tanta importancia me ha encantado, porque era una de mis partes favoritas de la saga. El balance romance/acción está muy bien equilibrado, y ninguna de las dos partes resulta sobrante ni sobrecargada.
En general todos los personajes me han conquistado, desde las criadas de America hasta Celeste, Kriss y Elise. Maxon, Aspen... Dios, es que podría enumerar tantos. Y encima con ese final que te destroza la vida y te deja MUERTO. Es que no puedo. Maldita Kiera Cass...
No sé qué decir, o cómo resumir lo que he sentido, porque es el final temporal de una de mis sagas favoritas. Sí, que está The Heir pero es distinto. TENÉIS QUE LEER ESTA SAGA Y PUNTO, JODER. LA MANERA EN LA QUE LA TRAMA TE SUMERGE, EL CÓMO TE SIENTES IDENTIFICADO CON AMERICA Y CÓMO NO PUEDES DEJAR DE LEER HASTA SABER TODO LO QUE PASA EN PALACIO. ES LA PUTA SAGA MARAVILLOSA Y YA ESTÁ.
Want to read
September 6, 2016EDIT: May 6th, 2014
Well, The One is finally out today and I'm not sure when I'm going to get to read it, but hopefully it will be very soon! However, I did get a chance read the first 10 chapters at unlocktheone.com and it has made me even more skeptical than I already was, but I guess I'll have to wait see! Also, I would be really grateful if you guys wouldn't post any spoilers for The One in the comments of this review, or if you do at least tag them as such, because I do read all of them and have had books ruined on me this way before. Happy reading!
THOUGHTS ON THE ELITE:
.......................I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit upset with The Elite. And that makes me sad because I loved the selection and I love Kiera Cass because she's hilarious, but... Maxon. I don't want to spoil this on anybody who has not read it, but as a warning... YOU ARE GOING TO WANT TO RIP HIS HEAD OFF. Not in the first 50 pages of course, because the first 50 pages rock. Even up until about half way through The Elite you say, "Nothing to worry about this can be fixed!" Then as you go on you realize it can't. I still don't really like Aspen so I don't want her to end up with him, but Maxon was acting like America wasn't the only girl for him any more and I can't accept that. If this is what it is going to take to make the series interesting then maybe it should have been only two books instead of three. I still gave this book three stars because It was interesting and I still love Marlee and the maids. Even Kriss was fun when I didn't wanna rip her head off too. Over all I just felt betrayed by Maxon. Not in a fun, "This is going to be so cool to see the outcome," way. It was in an, "I will never forgive you," way. I do HOPE that I can forgive him in the next book, but I am not very sure if that is going to happen. I also would have liked to see the queen more (on a side note) and also the maids, they are just too funny. I hope you don't fail me Kiera Cass, but we shall see.
Also, is it seriously called "The One" ...
UPDATE 9/26/13:
As much as I wish the cover was purple I do actually like the white. Before the reveal I was dreading the wedding dress color because it just seemed so typical. I think purple would have really looked nice with the other covers, but this one turned out better than I expected. And am I the only one that thinks her dress looks super edible?
Update 10/27/13:
A lot of the people in the comments seem to think that America's actions in The Elite were worse than Maxon's. I understand why you're angry with her because I was too. But the difference here is that Maxon knew that America was conflicted about their relationship before. So why would Maxon be surprised that she didn't want to talk to him when he acted like a jerk.
In The Selection book Maxon told America that it was fine if she had doubts, and I understand that she also told him that she was over it in The Elite, but he completely ditched her when she needed comforting and then hung out with Kriss. So, knowing that even though America had chosen him, Maxon should have known she still wasn't in a stable state of mind and could decide she wanted to leave just by even the smallest of actions. Maxon had made it seem like he was so ready for his relationship with America and that he was 100% loyal to her. And he does all of this, knowing very well how she feels? And even worse, we find out that he was seeing Celest before the whole thing with Marlee even happened. So, yes I understand America was wrong for sneaking around to see Aspen, but I think Maxon was far more at fault than America here.
P.S. Did anyone else get super uncomfortable when her and Aspen would meet in secret. Every time I was just waiting for them to get caught because they were being so careless. It made me so nervous. Not like I'm justifying what they did because it was wrong, but sheesh please don't make me so uneasy!
Well, The One is finally out today and I'm not sure when I'm going to get to read it, but hopefully it will be very soon! However, I did get a chance read the first 10 chapters at unlocktheone.com and it has made me even more skeptical than I already was, but I guess I'll have to wait see! Also, I would be really grateful if you guys wouldn't post any spoilers for The One in the comments of this review, or if you do at least tag them as such, because I do read all of them and have had books ruined on me this way before. Happy reading!
THOUGHTS ON THE ELITE:
.......................I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit upset with The Elite. And that makes me sad because I loved the selection and I love Kiera Cass because she's hilarious, but... Maxon. I don't want to spoil this on anybody who has not read it, but as a warning... YOU ARE GOING TO WANT TO RIP HIS HEAD OFF. Not in the first 50 pages of course, because the first 50 pages rock. Even up until about half way through The Elite you say, "Nothing to worry about this can be fixed!" Then as you go on you realize it can't. I still don't really like Aspen so I don't want her to end up with him, but Maxon was acting like America wasn't the only girl for him any more and I can't accept that. If this is what it is going to take to make the series interesting then maybe it should have been only two books instead of three. I still gave this book three stars because It was interesting and I still love Marlee and the maids. Even Kriss was fun when I didn't wanna rip her head off too. Over all I just felt betrayed by Maxon. Not in a fun, "This is going to be so cool to see the outcome," way. It was in an, "I will never forgive you," way. I do HOPE that I can forgive him in the next book, but I am not very sure if that is going to happen. I also would have liked to see the queen more (on a side note) and also the maids, they are just too funny. I hope you don't fail me Kiera Cass, but we shall see.
Also, is it seriously called "The One" ...
UPDATE 9/26/13:
As much as I wish the cover was purple I do actually like the white. Before the reveal I was dreading the wedding dress color because it just seemed so typical. I think purple would have really looked nice with the other covers, but this one turned out better than I expected. And am I the only one that thinks her dress looks super edible?
Update 10/27/13:
A lot of the people in the comments seem to think that America's actions in The Elite were worse than Maxon's. I understand why you're angry with her because I was too. But the difference here is that Maxon knew that America was conflicted about their relationship before. So why would Maxon be surprised that she didn't want to talk to him when he acted like a jerk.
In The Selection book Maxon told America that it was fine if she had doubts, and I understand that she also told him that she was over it in The Elite, but he completely ditched her when she needed comforting and then hung out with Kriss. So, knowing that even though America had chosen him, Maxon should have known she still wasn't in a stable state of mind and could decide she wanted to leave just by even the smallest of actions. Maxon had made it seem like he was so ready for his relationship with America and that he was 100% loyal to her. And he does all of this, knowing very well how she feels? And even worse, we find out that he was seeing Celest before the whole thing with Marlee even happened. So, yes I understand America was wrong for sneaking around to see Aspen, but I think Maxon was far more at fault than America here.
P.S. Did anyone else get super uncomfortable when her and Aspen would meet in secret. Every time I was just waiting for them to get caught because they were being so careless. It made me so nervous. Not like I'm justifying what they did because it was wrong, but sheesh please don't make me so uneasy!
March 31, 2020
I'd give this book a few more stars if I didn't find the main character and most of her decisions and actions extremely annoying and stupid.
Seriously, who even thought writing a heroine like America Dumbhead Singer was a good idea?
The only thing I like about her, is her boyfriend (singular, not plural *cough cough*).
Actually, just pretend this one solitary and miserable star is all for Maxon because he deserves the world.
*mouths desperately* protect him.
Seriously, who even thought writing a heroine like America Dumbhead Singer was a good idea?
The only thing I like about her, is her boyfriend (singular, not plural *cough cough*).
Actually, just pretend this one solitary and miserable star is all for Maxon because he deserves the world.
*mouths desperately* protect him.
June 10, 2015
Read my full review @A Perfection Called Books It's non-spoilery and gif-filled!
All right. Enough is enough. I need to stop putting off writing this review. Maybe I feel that writing this review will truly mark the end of this series. And you know what? I don't want it to be over. This book gets a five star rating for so so many reasons. Ok so this book was not flawless. There were so many things that totally made up for it though: the plot, the romance, the characters, and the ending. Here are my thoughts on this book accompanied with gifs that embody my thoughts quite well.
The Plot:
The story flowed much better in this book than the others; our questions were answered. The One was fast-paced, action-packed, aww-inducing, and heart-wrenching. There was the perfect blend of everything.
The Characters:
America - American Singer is rash, stubborn, feisty, a rule-breaker, indecisive, annoying, daft, brave, and many more things... I am glad that her character and personality has greatly improved. In this book she's learned to hold her tongue and just deal with things. She doesn't whine and complain and cry and pout anymore. Nope. She's fierce. She's gonna suck it up and be a big girl! (about time). And she's learned to speak up for herself. She's not gonna cower and babble and wrack her brain for a comeback that never surfaces. Nope. She's gotten more assertive and direct. She knows what she wants, and she's going to fight for it.
"'I can't believe you're going through with this' he shot back... I whipped my arm from his, hissing my words at him. 'You've been here almost as long as I have. In all that time, did you ever not deliver one of the sentences you were ordered to?' He considered. 'No, but-' 'Then don't judge me'... Aspen's eyes were pleading. 'Mer, I know it's scary, but you've-' I put up my hand. 'Do your job. Take me downstairs.'" -YAY she finally told Aspen to can it!
"'Then tell me how did a girl of no means, no connections, and no power manage to get this country within the reach of something it's been trying to achieve for years?'... 'Maybe if you were simply more welcoming, you'd have had your alliance with Italy years ago.'" -YAY she stands up to the king :)
Maxon - Oh sweet Maxon <3 He learns to trust in this book. He learns to open up and actually share his thoughts and feelings. He becomes more confident. He's going to be a great leader.
Maxamer - The one thing that made me so mad and angry was both Maxon's and America's refusals to just come out and admit their feelings for one another. I wanted to rip my hair out. They both were like "Why should I say it first? Why won't he say it? If he's not gonna say it, I'm not gonna say it." Come on. Are you freaking kidding me. I was literally shaking my iPad during these moments of character stupidity.
I was thinking:
Why couldn't they just say:
"'I'm always interested in hearing how you feel.' Oh, no. Nope. I was not putting it out there first." -*glares at words*
"You are denying me your love. It's the only thing I've wanted in this entire competition, and you still hold back. I keep waiting for you to say it, and you won't. If you couldn't say it out loud in front of him, fine. But if you had simply agreed, that would have been good enough for me.'" -AMERICA, JUST FREAKING SAY "I LOVE YOU" *boom* The Selection is over. But nooooo, America needs to be classic stubborn America. *eye rolls*
or my favorite *sarcasm*
"Maybe Maxon did love me, but if he wasn't man enough to say it out loud..."-Well obviously you're too chicken to say it out loud so ditto Ms. Singer.
And to both Maxon and America I just wanted to say:
The Elite - The Elite (Elise, Celeste, Kriss, and America) bonded in this book. Their scenes together in this book were great and so much fun. Elise isn't actually a robot. Celeste had a 180 personality change. I actually like her now! I will never like Kriss though :P
The Romance:
Despite the trouble my OTP had with saying "I love you," the romance was still amazing. It was perfect. It was so adorable and sweet and steamy. I swooned and awwwwed so much in this book. I had a goofy grin on my face basically the whole book. I could gush and fangirl about it forever but I think these quotes sum it up quite nicely:
"I spent my life waiting for you, for all of you."
"'I want you, America,' he murmured into my ear. 'I want you to be mine alone. And I want to give you everything.' His lips kissed their way across my cheek, stopping at the corner of my mouth. 'I want to give you things you didn't know you wanted.'"
"I'm going to love you more than any man has ever loved a woman, more than you ever dreamed you could be loved. I promise you that."
"I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy seasons and the lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingerprints on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you."
When I read those lines I just went:
To get you excited for The One:
- You learn shocking & unexpected things
- Maxon and America have a huge blowout fight
- People die
-That's all I'm saying ;)
The Ending:
It was a bit rushed. It seems as though Cass ran out of steam near the end and just tried ending it as quickly as possible. I'm happy with the ending, but wish she'd slowed it down a bit. That big thing that happened near the end (you know those TWO THINGS that happened to those TWO people) seemed like an easy way out. It didn't resolve the conflict the way it needed to be solved. It just ended the conflict... (That won't make sense to those who haven't read the book yet.)
The Epilogue:
PERFECTION. I would have liked a bit more though...
Overall:
I laughed. I cried. I awwed. I gasped. I swooned. I celebrated.
I can't believe this series is over. A great ending to a great series.
PRE READING
UPDATE 5/6
Oh my god. Just finished this. Oh my god. PERFECT. Oh my god. HEA. Oh my god. I'm speechless and in tears. Review to come.
UPDATE 5/5
OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK COMES OUT IN LESS THAN 9 HOURS!! *FANGIRLING X 100,000,000,000*
So my dearest copy of "The One" in a few short hours
UPDATE 5/4
THE ONE COMES OUT IN TWO DAYS. I AM SO EXCITED!! Read the first TEN chapters of "The One." TEN CHAPTERS, and I'm already mad at the characters and infuriated with this book. And I wouldn't have it any other way ;) XD
Isn't it so pretty?! ^^
When I saw the cover:
When I saw the publication date:
America and Maxon:
Or else:
Please make me happy with this ending Kiera Cass. My heart can only take so much.
All right. Enough is enough. I need to stop putting off writing this review. Maybe I feel that writing this review will truly mark the end of this series. And you know what? I don't want it to be over. This book gets a five star rating for so so many reasons. Ok so this book was not flawless. There were so many things that totally made up for it though: the plot, the romance, the characters, and the ending. Here are my thoughts on this book accompanied with gifs that embody my thoughts quite well.
The Plot:
The story flowed much better in this book than the others; our questions were answered. The One was fast-paced, action-packed, aww-inducing, and heart-wrenching. There was the perfect blend of everything.
The Characters:
America - American Singer is rash, stubborn, feisty, a rule-breaker, indecisive, annoying, daft, brave, and many more things... I am glad that her character and personality has greatly improved. In this book she's learned to hold her tongue and just deal with things. She doesn't whine and complain and cry and pout anymore. Nope. She's fierce. She's gonna suck it up and be a big girl! (about time). And she's learned to speak up for herself. She's not gonna cower and babble and wrack her brain for a comeback that never surfaces. Nope. She's gotten more assertive and direct. She knows what she wants, and she's going to fight for it.
"'I can't believe you're going through with this' he shot back... I whipped my arm from his, hissing my words at him. 'You've been here almost as long as I have. In all that time, did you ever not deliver one of the sentences you were ordered to?' He considered. 'No, but-' 'Then don't judge me'... Aspen's eyes were pleading. 'Mer, I know it's scary, but you've-' I put up my hand. 'Do your job. Take me downstairs.'" -YAY she finally told Aspen to can it!
"'Then tell me how did a girl of no means, no connections, and no power manage to get this country within the reach of something it's been trying to achieve for years?'... 'Maybe if you were simply more welcoming, you'd have had your alliance with Italy years ago.'" -YAY she stands up to the king :)
Maxon - Oh sweet Maxon <3 He learns to trust in this book. He learns to open up and actually share his thoughts and feelings. He becomes more confident. He's going to be a great leader.
Maxamer - The one thing that made me so mad and angry was both Maxon's and America's refusals to just come out and admit their feelings for one another. I wanted to rip my hair out. They both were like "Why should I say it first? Why won't he say it? If he's not gonna say it, I'm not gonna say it." Come on. Are you freaking kidding me. I was literally shaking my iPad during these moments of character stupidity.
I was thinking:
Why couldn't they just say:
"'I'm always interested in hearing how you feel.' Oh, no. Nope. I was not putting it out there first." -*glares at words*
"You are denying me your love. It's the only thing I've wanted in this entire competition, and you still hold back. I keep waiting for you to say it, and you won't. If you couldn't say it out loud in front of him, fine. But if you had simply agreed, that would have been good enough for me.'" -AMERICA, JUST FREAKING SAY "I LOVE YOU" *boom* The Selection is over. But nooooo, America needs to be classic stubborn America. *eye rolls*
or my favorite *sarcasm*
"Maybe Maxon did love me, but if he wasn't man enough to say it out loud..."-Well obviously you're too chicken to say it out loud so ditto Ms. Singer.
And to both Maxon and America I just wanted to say:
The Elite - The Elite (Elise, Celeste, Kriss, and America) bonded in this book. Their scenes together in this book were great and so much fun. Elise isn't actually a robot. Celeste had a 180 personality change. I actually like her now! I will never like Kriss though :P
The Romance:
Despite the trouble my OTP had with saying "I love you," the romance was still amazing. It was perfect. It was so adorable and sweet and steamy. I swooned and awwwwed so much in this book. I had a goofy grin on my face basically the whole book. I could gush and fangirl about it forever but I think these quotes sum it up quite nicely:
"I spent my life waiting for you, for all of you."
"'I want you, America,' he murmured into my ear. 'I want you to be mine alone. And I want to give you everything.' His lips kissed their way across my cheek, stopping at the corner of my mouth. 'I want to give you things you didn't know you wanted.'"
"I'm going to love you more than any man has ever loved a woman, more than you ever dreamed you could be loved. I promise you that."
"I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy seasons and the lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingerprints on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you."
When I read those lines I just went:
To get you excited for The One:
- You learn shocking & unexpected things
- Maxon and America have a huge blowout fight
- People die
-That's all I'm saying ;)
The Ending:
It was a bit rushed. It seems as though Cass ran out of steam near the end and just tried ending it as quickly as possible. I'm happy with the ending, but wish she'd slowed it down a bit. That big thing that happened near the end (you know those TWO THINGS that happened to those TWO people) seemed like an easy way out. It didn't resolve the conflict the way it needed to be solved. It just ended the conflict... (That won't make sense to those who haven't read the book yet.)
The Epilogue:
PERFECTION. I would have liked a bit more though...
Overall:
I laughed. I cried. I awwed. I gasped. I swooned. I celebrated.
I can't believe this series is over. A great ending to a great series.
PRE READING
UPDATE 5/6
Oh my god. Just finished this. Oh my god. PERFECT. Oh my god. HEA. Oh my god. I'm speechless and in tears. Review to come.
UPDATE 5/5
OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK COMES OUT IN LESS THAN 9 HOURS!! *FANGIRLING X 100,000,000,000*
So my dearest copy of "The One" in a few short hours
UPDATE 5/4
THE ONE COMES OUT IN TWO DAYS. I AM SO EXCITED!! Read the first TEN chapters of "The One." TEN CHAPTERS, and I'm already mad at the characters and infuriated with this book. And I wouldn't have it any other way ;) XD
Isn't it so pretty?! ^^
When I saw the cover:
When I saw the publication date:
America and Maxon:
Or else:
Please make me happy with this ending Kiera Cass. My heart can only take so much.
May 17, 2021
~ 1 star ~
This book was pure trash. It's just. . . NO. I don't know who thought some of the stuff in this book was a good idea. It's arguably just as bad as The Elite, maybe even worse depending on what angle you look at it from. I was going to read the novellas for the sake of it and maybe even the two other books following their demon spawn child, but I'm done with this series. It was an experience, and I don't regret it, but I have so many books I want to read, and I would rather spend it on books I think are good.
This book did that one thing where it just kills everyone for no reason in the finale, which I hated. It didn't properly talk about or address the fact that the King pysically abuses and harms Maxon just as I predicted. It was just used as a plot device, which is not great.
America was annoying as ever, same with Aspen. The drama was pitiful and tiering. The writing and dialogue was cheesy and cringey. The plot and world-building is yet again not satisfying, and close to non-existent.
The way it dealt with the rebels was unsatisfactory and abrupt, and way too easy. Maybe this books should have just stuck to the romance and "The Bachelor" aspect of this instead of trying to do something it couldn't achieve.
I was promised character development for Celeste, but that is not what development entails. It was so lame, she's still shallow and her motives do not make her any more lovable or better. It just confirms what America has been complaining about the past 2 books.
The love triangle will be the death of me, but I guess I have that in common with the all the characters that simply died for no reason. This book basically says that cheating on your significant other is fine, because love can overcome even that. And then the book ended, everyone is happy, Maxon and America are married, yay, end of story. Thanks for the torture.
I want to pay homage to the best part of this experience, which is all the nicknames for Aspen:
Aspirin
Aspen tree
Asparagus
Asteroid
Astrology
Astronomy
Asphalt(Credit)
Ashtray(Credit)
Ashcan(Credit)
Asthma(Credit)
Asphyxia(Credit)
Appendix(Credit)
Aspen Dental(Credit)
Asphodel(Credit)
Aspertame(Credit)
Asshat(Credit)
Honestly, I'm just done with these wannabe-dystopian books. I've even made a shelf dedicated to just that. This series wasn't my taste, and I think it just made me dumber than I already am.
Audiobook Review:
I chose this mindlessly because I needed an audiobook for the ride to the beach. It wasn't my favorite. Everything was said seductively and with a bit of a sigh, plus it made the cheesy writing shine. Turns out having it read to me, gives me more second hand embarrassment than reading with my eyes. But otherwise I think it is okay. Not much to say here.
This book was pure trash. It's just. . . NO. I don't know who thought some of the stuff in this book was a good idea. It's arguably just as bad as The Elite, maybe even worse depending on what angle you look at it from. I was going to read the novellas for the sake of it and maybe even the two other books following their demon spawn child, but I'm done with this series. It was an experience, and I don't regret it, but I have so many books I want to read, and I would rather spend it on books I think are good.
This book did that one thing where it just kills everyone for no reason in the finale, which I hated. It didn't properly talk about or address the fact that the King pysically abuses and harms Maxon just as I predicted. It was just used as a plot device, which is not great.
America was annoying as ever, same with Aspen. The drama was pitiful and tiering. The writing and dialogue was cheesy and cringey. The plot and world-building is yet again not satisfying, and close to non-existent.
The way it dealt with the rebels was unsatisfactory and abrupt, and way too easy. Maybe this books should have just stuck to the romance and "The Bachelor" aspect of this instead of trying to do something it couldn't achieve.
I was promised character development for Celeste, but that is not what development entails. It was so lame, she's still shallow and her motives do not make her any more lovable or better. It just confirms what America has been complaining about the past 2 books.
The love triangle will be the death of me, but I guess I have that in common with the all the characters that simply died for no reason. This book basically says that cheating on your significant other is fine, because love can overcome even that. And then the book ended, everyone is happy, Maxon and America are married, yay, end of story. Thanks for the torture.
I want to pay homage to the best part of this experience, which is all the nicknames for Aspen:
Aspirin
Aspen tree
Asparagus
Asteroid
Astrology
Astronomy
Asphalt(Credit)
Ashtray(Credit)
Ashcan(Credit)
Asthma(Credit)
Asphyxia(Credit)
Appendix(Credit)
Aspen Dental(Credit)
Asphodel(Credit)
Aspertame(Credit)
Asshat(Credit)
Honestly, I'm just done with these wannabe-dystopian books. I've even made a shelf dedicated to just that. This series wasn't my taste, and I think it just made me dumber than I already am.
Audiobook Review:
I chose this mindlessly because I needed an audiobook for the ride to the beach. It wasn't my favorite. Everything was said seductively and with a bit of a sigh, plus it made the cheesy writing shine. Turns out having it read to me, gives me more second hand embarrassment than reading with my eyes. But otherwise I think it is okay. Not much to say here.
September 7, 2015
Goodreads, dear, ¿cuándo vas a habilitar la opción de "este libro es tan genial que no alcanzan cinco estrellas para calificarlo"? ¿Ah? Porque, definitivamente, The One se merece estrellas infinitas por lo bonito que es, por lo bien escrito que está, por tenerte al borde del colapso en cada página, por no ser predecible, por hacerte dudar de absolutamente todo y por subirte a una montaña rusa de emociones tremenda.
The One es, quizá, el mejor libro hasta ahora. La historia de las chicas de la Élite se va desarrollando más y llegamos a conocerlas muchísimo mejor que en los demás libros. Ahora ya no son sólo nombres, no son sólo "las que no son America", sino que son Kriss, Celeste y Elise. La manera en la que se crean y deshacen tensiones entre ellas le da a la historia picos dramáticos que no dejan que te aburras o que sueltes el libro un solo segundo.
¡Y qué decir de Maxon y America! He aquí mis adjetivos para describirlos a ellos y su relación: frustrante, entretenida, tierna, desesperante, ideal, preciosa, frustrante, romántica... ¿ya dije frustrante? Creo que hay pocas parejas literarias con las que haya sufrido tanto como con estos dos. Es decir, desde el primer libro sientes que deben acabar juntos, que pelean, pero que están hechos el uno para el otro. La cosa con ellos es que son terriblemente orgullosos y muy inseguros de lo que siente el uno por el otro, y eso es algo que Kiera Cass sabe explotar al máximo. Tanto así que, incluso cuando faltan 30 páginas para acabar el libro, sigues dudando de si Maxon escogerá a America como ganadora de la Selección.
Y sí, digo que eso es uno de los elementos más valiosos no sólo del libro, sino de la trilogía entera, porque si Kiera Cass no crea misterio e incertidumbre alrededor de la relación de Maxon y America, los libros serían aburridísimos y muy predecibles... cosa que, por supuesto, no son. De verdad, hay momentos en los que dices "vale, ya está, Maxon va a terminar todo, va a enviar a las otras chicas a casa, va a plantarle cara a su padre y va a decirle al mundo entero que ama a America", pero hay otros momentos en los que no puedes más que cerrar el libro y mirarlo con rencor como pensando "Maxon, eres idiota, ¡deja de estar con Kriss, capullo!".
Otra de las cosas que más me gustaron de este libro (y que espero se exploten muchísimo más en los siguientes) es la situación política de Illéa, pues nos la explican muchísimo mejor. Ya identificamos a los dos grupos de rebeldes, los del Norte y los del Sur, sabemos qué quiere cada uno y empezamos a identificar a más rebeldes infiltrados tanto en el palacio como entre familias que conocemos muy bien de diferentes castas. ¡Ay! Y es que hay escenas relacionadas con esto que son increíbles, te quitan el aliento y te hacen temer por la vida de los personajes. ¡Es que incluso le disparan a alguien muy importante! ¡Ahhhhh!
¿Recuerdan cómo dije en la reseña de The Elite que America me desesperaba? Pues en este libro también, pero igual la adoro como protagonista. En The One nos demuestra que, a pesar de que la asustan muchas cosas, ella puede tomar el control de las situaciones sin temer las consecuencias, que puede ser fuerte y que, así ella no lo crea, tiene madera de princesa, ¡de reina! Lo más bonito de todo es ver cómo Maxon la acompaña en todo el proceso, lo que no quiere decir que él sea la razón de que America se vuelva más fuerte, sino que simplemente es uno de los factores, es alguien que la apoya con sus decisiones e incluso la defiende de las consecuencias (léase por consecuencias la furia del Rey Clarkson).
En fin, para acabar esta sección sin spoilers, sólo voy a decir que The One es un libro magnífico y que lo tiene todo: romance, acción, drama, giros inesperados... Además, siento que es una manera genial de cerrar un ciclo de esta historia y empezar el siguiente.
Ahora, los SPOILERS.
Cuidado.
Estás avisado.
No bajes más.
Si bajas y no has leído el libro, luego no te quejes.
Stop it!
No seas curioso.
Spoilers en 3...
2...
1...
[EMPIEZA SECCIÓN DE SPOILERS]
.
.
.
1. Adoré la parte en la que America, sin querer, les dice a las otras chicas que ya ha visto a Maxon sin camiseta y se ponen como locas imaginándose de todo, jajajaja.
2. Esos momentos en los que tanto Maxon como America estaban solos y se notaba que tenían los "Te Amo" en la punta de la lengua y no lo decían por puro mied y/u orgullo me frustraban DEMASIADO.
3. Pero luego llegaban esos momentos de besos robados y románticos en los que no había mundo sino sólo ellos dos y lo perdonaba todo.
4. Aunque me cabreó un montón que, justo en uno de esos momentos cuando se estaban reconciliando y estaban en el cuarto de Maxon y ejem, ejem!... En fin, se me cayó el alma a los pies cuando los interrumpieron para decirles que el padre de America había muerto :'(
5. Kota, el hermano mayor de America, puede irse al infierno. Fin del comunicado.
6. ¡¡¡LO QUE YO SENTÍ CUANDO AMERICA Y MAXON ESTABAN BIEN Y DE PRONTO SALE A LA LUZ TODO LO QUE ELLA TUVO CON ASPEN NO SE PUEDE DESCRIBIR EN PALABRAS!!! CASI.ME.MUERO. No saben cuántas veces deseé que Aspen se ahogara o que lo enviaran al frente de batalla en New Asia para que lo despellejaran vivo. Joder, lo odiaba tanto.
7. Y es que, joder, justo eso pasa cuando America ha vuelto de su casa tras el entierro de su padre y Maxon le ha dicho que no puede vivir sin ella, que la escoge, que se case con él, que sean felices... ES QUE LA BOMBA CAE JUSTO DESPUÉS DE QUE HAN PASADO LA NOCHE JUNTOS Y SEAN LAS ESCENAS MÁS LINDAS DE LA HISTORIA, POR LOS DIOSES. ¡Es que no era justo!
8. Y claro, luego todo se derrumba y Maxon se pone súper frío con ella, le dice que no va más y que va a escoger a Kriss... pero ¡BOOM! En la ceremonia de elección los rebeldes sureños atacan, se desata el caos y todo el mundo se olvida de todo por un momento. Ahora que lo pienso bien, creo que debo agradecerles a los sureños por eso, de lo contrario Maxon habría cometido el error de su vida.
9. PERO LUEGO LE DISPARAN EN EL PECHO A MAXON POR TRATAR DE SALVAR A AMERICA Y DESPUÉS ASPEN SE LA LLEVA PARA PONERLA A SALVO EN UN REFUGIO Y ELLA NO SABE SI MAXON ESTÁ VIVO O SI HA MUERTO. ¡Y son las malditas páginas más tortuosas de leer de la vida!
10. Las palabras de despedida de Maxon no sólo retumban en la cabeza de Mer, sino que se van a quedar grabadas por siempre en la mía. Algo como "rompe mi corazón. Rómpelo mil veces si quieres. De todas maneras sólo era tuyo para romper". LLORO.
11. Y hablando de lloro, antes de que se revelara todo lo de Aspen, LLORÉ COMO LOCA CUANDO MAXON SE LE PROPUSO A AMERICA, LE DIJO QUE LA AMABA Y DLFJKDLFHLADSJSALFNAS *fangirlea*
12. Al final resulta que Maxon está vivo, ¡gracias a todos los dioses del Olimpo!, y que es rey porque su padre (menos mal) y la reina Amberly (¡NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) han muerto en el ataque. Esa revelación es tremenda, pero luego llega America y vuelve a los brazos de Maxon y se reconfortan juntos y se dicen muchas cosas bonitas y me hacen tan feliz que mi corazón se derrite :3
13. ¡LA BODA, OMG! +.+
14. LAS CARTAS QUE LE ESCRIBE MAXON A AMERICA MIENTRAS ELLA ESTÁ VISITANDO A SU FAMILIA POR EL FUNERAL DE SU PADRE SON LO MÁS BONITO QUE HE LEÍDO EN MI VIDA. Y sí, por tener expectativas tan altas es que moriré soltera. Bye.
15. La muerte de Celeste fue muy... wow. Yo estaba en shock, tuve que releer las líneas unas quince veces para procesarlo :O
16. ¡Y que el padre de America e incluso Gavril fueran parte de los rebeldes del Norte me tomó por sorpresa!
17. WTF a Aspen terminando de novio con Lucy xD
The One es, quizá, el mejor libro hasta ahora. La historia de las chicas de la Élite se va desarrollando más y llegamos a conocerlas muchísimo mejor que en los demás libros. Ahora ya no son sólo nombres, no son sólo "las que no son America", sino que son Kriss, Celeste y Elise. La manera en la que se crean y deshacen tensiones entre ellas le da a la historia picos dramáticos que no dejan que te aburras o que sueltes el libro un solo segundo.
¡Y qué decir de Maxon y America! He aquí mis adjetivos para describirlos a ellos y su relación: frustrante, entretenida, tierna, desesperante, ideal, preciosa, frustrante, romántica... ¿ya dije frustrante? Creo que hay pocas parejas literarias con las que haya sufrido tanto como con estos dos. Es decir, desde el primer libro sientes que deben acabar juntos, que pelean, pero que están hechos el uno para el otro. La cosa con ellos es que son terriblemente orgullosos y muy inseguros de lo que siente el uno por el otro, y eso es algo que Kiera Cass sabe explotar al máximo. Tanto así que, incluso cuando faltan 30 páginas para acabar el libro, sigues dudando de si Maxon escogerá a America como ganadora de la Selección.
Y sí, digo que eso es uno de los elementos más valiosos no sólo del libro, sino de la trilogía entera, porque si Kiera Cass no crea misterio e incertidumbre alrededor de la relación de Maxon y America, los libros serían aburridísimos y muy predecibles... cosa que, por supuesto, no son. De verdad, hay momentos en los que dices "vale, ya está, Maxon va a terminar todo, va a enviar a las otras chicas a casa, va a plantarle cara a su padre y va a decirle al mundo entero que ama a America", pero hay otros momentos en los que no puedes más que cerrar el libro y mirarlo con rencor como pensando "Maxon, eres idiota, ¡deja de estar con Kriss, capullo!".
Otra de las cosas que más me gustaron de este libro (y que espero se exploten muchísimo más en los siguientes) es la situación política de Illéa, pues nos la explican muchísimo mejor. Ya identificamos a los dos grupos de rebeldes, los del Norte y los del Sur, sabemos qué quiere cada uno y empezamos a identificar a más rebeldes infiltrados tanto en el palacio como entre familias que conocemos muy bien de diferentes castas. ¡Ay! Y es que hay escenas relacionadas con esto que son increíbles, te quitan el aliento y te hacen temer por la vida de los personajes. ¡Es que incluso le disparan a alguien muy importante! ¡Ahhhhh!
¿Recuerdan cómo dije en la reseña de The Elite que America me desesperaba? Pues en este libro también, pero igual la adoro como protagonista. En The One nos demuestra que, a pesar de que la asustan muchas cosas, ella puede tomar el control de las situaciones sin temer las consecuencias, que puede ser fuerte y que, así ella no lo crea, tiene madera de princesa, ¡de reina! Lo más bonito de todo es ver cómo Maxon la acompaña en todo el proceso, lo que no quiere decir que él sea la razón de que America se vuelva más fuerte, sino que simplemente es uno de los factores, es alguien que la apoya con sus decisiones e incluso la defiende de las consecuencias (léase por consecuencias la furia del Rey Clarkson).
En fin, para acabar esta sección sin spoilers, sólo voy a decir que The One es un libro magnífico y que lo tiene todo: romance, acción, drama, giros inesperados... Además, siento que es una manera genial de cerrar un ciclo de esta historia y empezar el siguiente.
Ahora, los SPOILERS.
Cuidado.
Estás avisado.
No bajes más.
Si bajas y no has leído el libro, luego no te quejes.
Stop it!
No seas curioso.
Spoilers en 3...
2...
1...
[EMPIEZA SECCIÓN DE SPOILERS]
.
.
.
1. Adoré la parte en la que America, sin querer, les dice a las otras chicas que ya ha visto a Maxon sin camiseta y se ponen como locas imaginándose de todo, jajajaja.
2. Esos momentos en los que tanto Maxon como America estaban solos y se notaba que tenían los "Te Amo" en la punta de la lengua y no lo decían por puro mied y/u orgullo me frustraban DEMASIADO.
3. Pero luego llegaban esos momentos de besos robados y románticos en los que no había mundo sino sólo ellos dos y lo perdonaba todo.
4. Aunque me cabreó un montón que, justo en uno de esos momentos cuando se estaban reconciliando y estaban en el cuarto de Maxon y ejem, ejem!... En fin, se me cayó el alma a los pies cuando los interrumpieron para decirles que el padre de America había muerto :'(
5. Kota, el hermano mayor de America, puede irse al infierno. Fin del comunicado.
6. ¡¡¡LO QUE YO SENTÍ CUANDO AMERICA Y MAXON ESTABAN BIEN Y DE PRONTO SALE A LA LUZ TODO LO QUE ELLA TUVO CON ASPEN NO SE PUEDE DESCRIBIR EN PALABRAS!!! CASI.ME.MUERO. No saben cuántas veces deseé que Aspen se ahogara o que lo enviaran al frente de batalla en New Asia para que lo despellejaran vivo. Joder, lo odiaba tanto.
7. Y es que, joder, justo eso pasa cuando America ha vuelto de su casa tras el entierro de su padre y Maxon le ha dicho que no puede vivir sin ella, que la escoge, que se case con él, que sean felices... ES QUE LA BOMBA CAE JUSTO DESPUÉS DE QUE HAN PASADO LA NOCHE JUNTOS Y SEAN LAS ESCENAS MÁS LINDAS DE LA HISTORIA, POR LOS DIOSES. ¡Es que no era justo!
8. Y claro, luego todo se derrumba y Maxon se pone súper frío con ella, le dice que no va más y que va a escoger a Kriss... pero ¡BOOM! En la ceremonia de elección los rebeldes sureños atacan, se desata el caos y todo el mundo se olvida de todo por un momento. Ahora que lo pienso bien, creo que debo agradecerles a los sureños por eso, de lo contrario Maxon habría cometido el error de su vida.
9. PERO LUEGO LE DISPARAN EN EL PECHO A MAXON POR TRATAR DE SALVAR A AMERICA Y DESPUÉS ASPEN SE LA LLEVA PARA PONERLA A SALVO EN UN REFUGIO Y ELLA NO SABE SI MAXON ESTÁ VIVO O SI HA MUERTO. ¡Y son las malditas páginas más tortuosas de leer de la vida!
10. Las palabras de despedida de Maxon no sólo retumban en la cabeza de Mer, sino que se van a quedar grabadas por siempre en la mía. Algo como "rompe mi corazón. Rómpelo mil veces si quieres. De todas maneras sólo era tuyo para romper". LLORO.
11. Y hablando de lloro, antes de que se revelara todo lo de Aspen, LLORÉ COMO LOCA CUANDO MAXON SE LE PROPUSO A AMERICA, LE DIJO QUE LA AMABA Y DLFJKDLFHLADSJSALFNAS *fangirlea*
12. Al final resulta que Maxon está vivo, ¡gracias a todos los dioses del Olimpo!, y que es rey porque su padre (menos mal) y la reina Amberly (¡NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) han muerto en el ataque. Esa revelación es tremenda, pero luego llega America y vuelve a los brazos de Maxon y se reconfortan juntos y se dicen muchas cosas bonitas y me hacen tan feliz que mi corazón se derrite :3
13. ¡LA BODA, OMG! +.+
14. LAS CARTAS QUE LE ESCRIBE MAXON A AMERICA MIENTRAS ELLA ESTÁ VISITANDO A SU FAMILIA POR EL FUNERAL DE SU PADRE SON LO MÁS BONITO QUE HE LEÍDO EN MI VIDA. Y sí, por tener expectativas tan altas es que moriré soltera. Bye.
15. La muerte de Celeste fue muy... wow. Yo estaba en shock, tuve que releer las líneas unas quince veces para procesarlo :O
16. ¡Y que el padre de America e incluso Gavril fueran parte de los rebeldes del Norte me tomó por sorpresa!
17. WTF a Aspen terminando de novio con Lucy xD
April 3, 2021
So very meh.
I must have been high when I read the first book, you guys. Because these last two books have felt like a completely different series with completely different characters.
The only highlight of this book for me was Celeste's character development. Only to have to her unceremoniously with nary a mention.
The fun depth of the first book was totally lacking in the subsequent books.
Bummer.
I must have been high when I read the first book, you guys. Because these last two books have felt like a completely different series with completely different characters.
The only highlight of this book for me was Celeste's character development. Only to have to her unceremoniously with nary a mention.
The fun depth of the first book was totally lacking in the subsequent books.
Bummer.
January 16, 2019
5 Absolutely Awestruck ★'s
“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.”
“The best people all have some kind of scar.”
Buddy read with my, girl Desireé :)
Reread
This. Was. Absofreakinlutely. Amazing! This was one hell of a rollercoaster ride. I am so happy that I decided to reread The Selection series and it will always be dear to me :) I love this book so much! The One was insanely good and it turned me into an emotional mess. In all seriousness, this book really did break my heart over and over 😭 and actually brought tears to my eyes towards the end. I mean that ending was just wow! The ending though predictable was perfect. It took my breath away. It's everything I hoped and expected it to be. It was fast-paced, enthralling, intense, emotional and very addictive. Although I love them all this was probably my favorite. Like the first two books this one made me smile a lot and within the first couple of chapters, I actually laughed out loud 😂😂😂. Dear gods, it was freaking hilarious! Everyone around me looked at me as if I was a crazy person haha. I couldn't contain it!! My love for this series has been renewed and will forever be one of my most favorites.
As for the characters they are all wonderful! I can say without a doubt that I have and always will adore both Maxon and Aspen. Both of them are incredibly sweet and charming. But I must say I have always been particularly fond of Maxon, I love the prince so much and I have also always loved America too. (America & Maxon Forever)!! America made a LOT of bad decisions. She was young yes so, of course, she made mistakes. She was very indecisive when it came to Aspen and Maxon and she was very confused by her ever-changing and involving feelings. But let's face it America never wanted to enter The Selection let alone being at the palace and she definitely didn't want a prince or the crown. She was torn between her first love and the life she thought she wanted and a Prince that was nothing she could have ever expected and was afraid of the unknown. That alone would be complicated and confusing for any young girl. Then throw in everything else... It's a lot to take in for any normal girl.
“The perfectionist, the Sweetheart, the Diva . . . and me.”
I also really like all the side characters. I love how I went from hating Celeste to loving her. I love when that happens in books. Celeste was a horrible person who did some of the most despicable things to the other girls throughout the competition. Who then finally comes to her senses once it's down to just America, Kriss, Elise and herself. She does a 180 and you finally get to see who she really is and deep down shes actually really great! The ending devastated me and I was also so broken up about Queen Amberly. I really like all the other girls too though I really wanted to hate Kriss for America's sake I just couldn't. She was such a sweetheart and I couldn't help but feel sad for her as well because her feelings for Maxon were genuine. I also really liked Georgia and August I just wish they were both in the story more, same goes for Princess Nicoletta.
Another thing I was so happy and excited about was the fact that it expanded outside of the Palace. TWICE! Some pretty crazy, scary, exciting and downright devastatingly sad stuff happens during these times. Hands down this is the most exciting book out of the three. I can't wait to move on to The Heir :)
*I love these audiobooks and this series so much! It's AMAZING!!! Amy Rubinate (the Narrator) did a spectacular job yet again. If you're an audiobook lover you MUST get this one :D Also, the cover/covers are so pretty. I recommend this series to anyone who loves a good cheesy romance!*
“You are not the world, but you are everything that makes the world good. Without you, my life would still exist, but that's all it would manage to do.”
“I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy season and lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingertips on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you.”
I took his face in both of my hands. “Maxon Schreave, I love you. I love you.”
“And I love you, America Singer. With all that I am, I love you.”
“This isn’t happily ever after.
It’s so much more than that.”
“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.”
“The best people all have some kind of scar.”
Buddy read with my, girl Desireé :)
Reread
This. Was. Absofreakinlutely. Amazing! This was one hell of a rollercoaster ride. I am so happy that I decided to reread The Selection series and it will always be dear to me :) I love this book so much! The One was insanely good and it turned me into an emotional mess. In all seriousness, this book really did break my heart over and over 😭 and actually brought tears to my eyes towards the end. I mean that ending was just wow! The ending though predictable was perfect. It took my breath away. It's everything I hoped and expected it to be. It was fast-paced, enthralling, intense, emotional and very addictive. Although I love them all this was probably my favorite. Like the first two books this one made me smile a lot and within the first couple of chapters, I actually laughed out loud 😂😂😂. Dear gods, it was freaking hilarious! Everyone around me looked at me as if I was a crazy person haha. I couldn't contain it!! My love for this series has been renewed and will forever be one of my most favorites.
As for the characters they are all wonderful! I can say without a doubt that I have and always will adore both Maxon and Aspen. Both of them are incredibly sweet and charming. But I must say I have always been particularly fond of Maxon, I love the prince so much and I have also always loved America too. (America & Maxon Forever)!! America made a LOT of bad decisions. She was young yes so, of course, she made mistakes. She was very indecisive when it came to Aspen and Maxon and she was very confused by her ever-changing and involving feelings. But let's face it America never wanted to enter The Selection let alone being at the palace and she definitely didn't want a prince or the crown. She was torn between her first love and the life she thought she wanted and a Prince that was nothing she could have ever expected and was afraid of the unknown. That alone would be complicated and confusing for any young girl. Then throw in everything else... It's a lot to take in for any normal girl.
“The perfectionist, the Sweetheart, the Diva . . . and me.”
I also really like all the side characters. I love how I went from hating Celeste to loving her. I love when that happens in books. Celeste was a horrible person who did some of the most despicable things to the other girls throughout the competition. Who then finally comes to her senses once it's down to just America, Kriss, Elise and herself. She does a 180 and you finally get to see who she really is and deep down shes actually really great! The ending devastated me and I was also so broken up about Queen Amberly. I really like all the other girls too though I really wanted to hate Kriss for America's sake I just couldn't. She was such a sweetheart and I couldn't help but feel sad for her as well because her feelings for Maxon were genuine. I also really liked Georgia and August I just wish they were both in the story more, same goes for Princess Nicoletta.
Another thing I was so happy and excited about was the fact that it expanded outside of the Palace. TWICE! Some pretty crazy, scary, exciting and downright devastatingly sad stuff happens during these times. Hands down this is the most exciting book out of the three. I can't wait to move on to The Heir :)
*I love these audiobooks and this series so much! It's AMAZING!!! Amy Rubinate (the Narrator) did a spectacular job yet again. If you're an audiobook lover you MUST get this one :D Also, the cover/covers are so pretty. I recommend this series to anyone who loves a good cheesy romance!*
“You are not the world, but you are everything that makes the world good. Without you, my life would still exist, but that's all it would manage to do.”
“I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy season and lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingertips on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you.”
I took his face in both of my hands. “Maxon Schreave, I love you. I love you.”
“And I love you, America Singer. With all that I am, I love you.”
“This isn’t happily ever after.
It’s so much more than that.”
July 10, 2021
The work of art I most enjoyed consuming used to be The Beatles's number 1s. That reality has been replaced by another one, namely The One. I really think so, I believe so. It was a wrench to delete the copy of this One without rereading it immediately.
Reread it I must. It's always unwelcome to see the memories of your favorite books fade away. But on a lighter side, it's great to see the remaining memories become rich like fine wine in the reader's mind.
Whenever people talk, as I've witnessed, of romance books, emphasis is rarely laid on the twists. But here it was an exception. At the same time, the author masked its used tropes to great effect, making the story seamless in its transition from the start. The One is the best romance I've ever read. It has gained my respect quietly. The best magic is not flash and thunder, but it's the germinating of growing, happy, and breathing reading experiences.
Reread it I must. It's always unwelcome to see the memories of your favorite books fade away. But on a lighter side, it's great to see the remaining memories become rich like fine wine in the reader's mind.
Whenever people talk, as I've witnessed, of romance books, emphasis is rarely laid on the twists. But here it was an exception. At the same time, the author masked its used tropes to great effect, making the story seamless in its transition from the start. The One is the best romance I've ever read. It has gained my respect quietly. The best magic is not flash and thunder, but it's the germinating of growing, happy, and breathing reading experiences.
June 8, 2015
THIS SERIES GOT ME RIGHT IN THE FEELS... PARTICULARLY THIS BOOK
I went into the series not expecting much just because it seemed very girly and just not my kind of book.. But wow. Was I ever surprised.
Such a fun cool concept.. I just fell in love
Though America was frustrating at times, as well as the love triangle, it all made sense in the end.
A beautiful conclusion to an awesome trilogy.. Sad it's over but so glad I picked it up.
PS THIS WAS DEFINITELY MY FAV BOOK OF THEM ALL
I went into the series not expecting much just because it seemed very girly and just not my kind of book.. But wow. Was I ever surprised.
Such a fun cool concept.. I just fell in love
Though America was frustrating at times, as well as the love triangle, it all made sense in the end.
A beautiful conclusion to an awesome trilogy.. Sad it's over but so glad I picked it up.
PS THIS WAS DEFINITELY MY FAV BOOK OF THEM ALL
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