This series is my guilty pleasure. Honestly, when I pick a book up in this series I literally cannot put it down! They are cute, fast-paced, PG-13, and absolutely adorable!
The One is a continuation of Kiera Cass’s The Selection series. This book feels like an episode rather than a sequel. Especially I’ve always considered The Selection to be a sort of YA Bachelor with a lot more dystopia and a few less roses! So, in this third episode America is one of the final contestants (ahem… I mean Elites?…. Potential Princesses?) in The Selection for Maxon’s heart. Mer and Max seem like they are End Game, but they are constantly fighting over little things. Mer wants Max to say he loves her first, but he’s also still getting handsy with some of the other girls. Max wants Mer to admit her love for him, but he still doesn’t know she used to have feelings for Aspen.
Mer and Max decide that they will split the numbered system up during Max’s reign, so they align with the Northern rebels who aren’t attacking them. Along the way, a major character’s death occurs, the Selection is finally determined (you know, cause the title is “The One”, it’s a spoiler but the book’s title ruined it…) and the series has a somewhat good “finale” despite the series not being over. Honestly, it felt like a good stopping place but THERE IS MORE TO COME!
Anywho, this book is super cheesey and romantic but at the same time utterly frustrating. I get these are teenage characters in YA universe, but sometimes I just wanted to smack these girls. Max is getting handsy with all of the girls and they are all in love with him. This is brought up in the book (America, our smart heroine, asks Max how he can love one of them when his heart is in pieces – one with each girl), but MAN these girls are dense in that regards. That was my biggest irk – I understand this book is a dystopia but come on girls! It was hard for me to grasp that this is “normal” in their world, so that’s all on me.
Another side note: Aspen’s story line just suddenly changes. SO QUICKLY. Again, Kiera! Give me just a few more chapters to follow through with that story line! This book felt just a little rushed. The book could have been 100 more pages and felt just as amazing!
But other than my big irk, I LOVE this series. The romance that does happen is honestly cute, adorable and sweet! The pair escaping to hide in the castle, the epic adventure they go on, and one of Max’s final scenes in the book stand out! Additionally, this book has comedy laced throughout it’s contents and it quite amusing.
Regarding the plot – it moves REALLY fast, which is great because the romance, action and comedy are all evenly balanced. The worst part about the plot is how fast the ending happens. The ending could have happened in a few chapters and felt perfect. But, it was put into one chapter! A lot of major plot points happen (including death) in such a short amount of time! I get that we only really watch America’s point of view, but with Kiera’s amazing writing I would have loved to see her write out exactly what happened in the final moments of the book.
There is a final epilogue. I feel like Kiera didn’t intend for this series to go on but then suddenly had an epic idea or realized the profitability of this series. Either way, the epilogue is super cute and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This trilogy following America and Maxon felt like it ended wonderfully… which is good, because I’m pretty sure this series follows a different character in the next book!
Overall, this book was a wonderful addition to the Selection series and I will definitely be continuing this series when I can find the next books in this series!
Note: This book would have been a 5 because I honestly loved how I just disappeared into this book! Buuuuuut… this book felt way too rushed. The story was so good for the type of book it is, but Kiera could have added a couple of chapters and drawn a few plot points out. She’s a good writer, so none of us readers would have complained! It’s still a marvelous book though!
Four out of five!
Check out this book on:
Goodreads
Amazon.ca
Kobo
Indigo
If you enjoyed this book or review, you might enjoy some other books recently featured on my blog:
#BookReview Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
#BookReview Tiny House, Big Love by Olivia Dade
#BookReview Dance with a Vampire by Ellen Schreiber
Give me a shout out on Twitter if you read this review! #briarsreviews @ReviewAlholic
And like me on Facebook for more urgent updates! @BriarsReviews on Facebook
Or follow my on Goodreads: Briar’s Reviews on Goodreads
Like this:
Like Loading...