This review is spoiler-free!
The Elite by Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection #2
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Dystopia
Release Date: April 23rd 2013 by HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Find it here: Goodreads || Book Depository
I was so torn on the series with this book. I wasn’t blown away by the first book, but I also wasn’t super disappointed in it. Now that I’ve read and finished the second book, I’m even more confused on my stance of the series. I really, really like the world that these books are set in, with the caste systems and the rebellions and the monarchy, along with the traditions and the new countries, and I wish it had been expanded more on in the book. Instead, we got a whole lot of America and her indecisiveness. Which, honestly, drove me up the wall each time it came into play. It also made me question how I felt towards the male characters.
Maxon? Still loved him, he was the cinnamon roll of the book. Aspen, though? I didn’t like him from the get-go, and it only festered as he was thrown into the setting America was now a part of. Despite him being a central key point to the story line, I still kind of wish he just wasn’t there. It makes America’s feelings feel flimsy and insincere.
Which, I guess I should have accepted since this is a romance series, but it honestly just put me down as I was reading it. I didn’t agree with her reasoning, I didn’t like how he was treating both guys, and I liked her better when she was working on acting like a princess and not a love interest. If it weren’t for the dumb decisions and really ridiculous love triangle, this book probably would have gotten four stars from me instead of what is barely three.
However, I’m still going to continue the series, mostly to see not only what happens, but to help my reading goal, since these read like nobody’s business.
Thanks for reading!
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