Book Review: The One by Kiera Cass

15844362Genre: 

Young Adult, order Dystopian, cialis 40mg Romance

Pages: 

323

Part of a Series?:

The final book in The Selection Trilogy

Release Date: 

May 6th, 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

The Selection changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. And now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.

America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the competition approaches its end 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.

From the very first page of The Selection, this #1 New York Times bestselling series has captured readers’ hearts and swept them away on a captivating journey… Now, in The One, Kiera Cass delivers a satisfying and unforgettable conclusion that will keep readers sighing over this electrifying fairy-tale long after the final page is turned.

My Review:

Please be aware that while there will be no spoilers in this review for The One, there will be spoilers for The Selection and The Elite. You can read their respective reviews by clicking on their titles. 

Two books came out on May 6th that I needed to read: Morgan Matson’s Since You’ve Been Gone and this novel. I picked them both up that day, but got caught up in going to Jamie Campbell Bower’s acoustic show in Venice Beach and a book event at Barnes and Noble to meet Tammara Webber and Abbi Glines. I wasn’t able to start until the next day.

As soon as I finished Morgan’s book, I immediately had to read The One. What is really powerful about this is that I barely read The Selection back in early January and immediately read The Elite after. The fact that I was dying to dive into this book on release day, merely four months after getting into the series is incredible.

And I definitely think that this book delivered. Finales to a series can be sort of nerve wracking and you want it to end well, but you also know that the right ending might not always be the ending that you want it to be. What is so great about The One, at least in this reader/blogger’s opinion is that it had both. I felt like the ending was incredibly right and it was the ending that I was so hoping for.

What I think really jumped out at me with this book was that it was a love story, more than anything. The book starts with the idea of the prince trying to choose a wife out of a pool of a couple dozen girls. America goes reluctantly, torn between her love for Aspen and her desire to help out her family. Meeting Maxon only makes her that much more confused, and its not too much of a surprise that a love triangle ensues.

BUT this is what makes me love this story so much. Kiera approaches a love triangle in the most real and beautiful way possible. I can’t really say much more than that because its sort of spoiler-ish and I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone who has yet to read it. But I really think that she approaches the idea of loving two people very well and I love the way it turns out.

In the end, Kiera Cass has told a fantastic love story and it made me incredibly happy, the way it ended. There were doubts, times where I wanted to cry and shout and throw my book across the room and there were times where I was jumping up for joy and laughing and loving it all. I’ve been in a very romantic kind of mood and this book was absolutely perfect for that.

Rating:

4.5 out of 5 Stars

January Book Wrap-Up

Books Pledged to Read in 2014: 150 Books

Am I On Track: Nope. I’m 3 books behind. I’m in SUCH a slump this year, story so far.

Books Read So Far: 9

Total Books For January: 

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Review for this book will come on February 20th, buy more about when I am part of the blog tour!

18079719

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

13069935

The Selection by Keira Cass

10507293

The Elite by Kiera Cass

16248068

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

13138635

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Re-Read) 

256683-1

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (Re-Read)

3

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

12283261

Being Friends with Boys by Terra Elan McVoy

12022847

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I super hope February is MUCH better than January. I was in a major book slump, and I hope that I’m now out of it.

How was your January? What did you like? What books didn’t you like? What are you planning to read for February? Share in the comments!

The Elite Book Review

The Elite by Kiera Cass   

16248068

 

 

 

You Can Find the Books At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, check she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

My Review:

Please be aware that while this review will NOT have any spoilers for The Elite, there definitely will be spoilers from the first novel, The Selection. Please read the review for that one at this link

Continuing with the series, I was again impressed with how this story has unfolded. Honestly, I just didn’t know what to expect of this series. I definitely didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. But I have been enjoying it and I am eagerly looking forward to the release of the third book this spring.

What really impressed me with The Elite is that it is completely open to becoming a love triangle, and honestly, I am getting tired of those so much. They are incredibly overplayed. But it doesn’t feel like that to me. I feel like each boy (Maxon and Aspen) represents a different choice. Its not the choice of who to be with but rather the choice of a lifestyle. What world does America want to be a part of: the one that she knows, or the daunting one as a princess, then queen? That seems more of the question. She loves and cares for them both, and I think that its possible for a person to love more than one person. So its not about choosing between them but choosing the life she wants for herself. That is so incredibly important, hugely important, more so than the two boys.

I also just love the world that Kiera Cass builds. She takes this sort of futuristic, dystopian world and makes it so incredibly familiar to us but also makes it very new as well. The problem that can occur with dystopian worlds is that they tend to be much the same. They start to sort of blend together. Kiera takes those sort of expectations of a dystopian world but imagines them so much bigger and I just love that. She takes little bits and pieces from others and creates an amazing world, and I feel like it built even more in this novel. We really begin to learn that there is so much more going on besides just the Selection taking place inside the palace.

I just learned that Kiera is going to be at Wonder Con in April, which is my favorite convention only second to Gallifrey One. So now I’m even more excited about WC, and I’m totally going to attack her and beg her to tell me what happens in The One. The way she left off in this book left me going “SERIOUSLY?” and I can’t wait to see what direction America takes in her life and what the future of the country she lives in is.

My Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

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