The One - The Selection Series Box Set - The Selection

I am addicted to these books! I was given the first one by a friend, read it within the first 24 hours. I promptly ordered my own box series so that I could keep them and re-read them. I'm already on the third book and just got the box yesterday! They are seriously SO good and SO entertaining to read! Love the author's style of writing and love the story-line of the books :)

So far I have only read the first book and started the second one. They are cute! A good read for a teenaged girl. Pretty much a royal version of The Bachelor. I'm sure they'll be making movies out of this series some time in the future.

(This review is a synopsis of the 3 book series, but doesn't contain major spoilers.)

First of all — how beautiful are these covers? Honestly, they are breathtaking.

In Illéa’s caste system, America Singer is a 5. That means that she, and her family, must find a career in the arts (regardless of the demand for their craft). America is lucky enough to have a beautiful singing voice and she loves to play instruments, so she doesn’t seem to mind too much. Illéa is a newly formed country set in the future consisting of North America and Latin America. The country is ruled by King Clarkson and Queen Amberly. They have a single heir, Maxon, and he has finally come of age. Unlike princesses, who are married off into other royal families, princes get to participate in the “Selection.” (Think The Bachelor, but with citizens of Illéa.)

America doesn’t want to sign up because she has a secret love — Aspen. But the Selection will pay her poor family for participating, and Aspen insists that she try to have a chance at a better life. Marrying Aspen would downgrade her to a 6, only two steps away from homelessness and poverty. On the other hand, marrying Prince Maxon would make her a One, the highest caste in Illéa. When America is chosen to participate out of thousands of eligible young women, her family is ecstatic — the complete opposite of her feelings.

America enters the glamorous, regal life of the royal family, and must compete with 34 other daughters of Illéa for the heart of Prince Maxon. At first, she isn’t interested. Why would she want some stuck-up prince when she has someone waiting for her at home? But Maxon isn’t what he seems, and it changes America’s plans…

The first three books, The Selection, The Elite, and The One, embody the entirety of Prince Maxon’s Selection (the Elite are the top six, the One is the one he chooses). The books are filled with butterfly-in-stomach romance, catty girlfights, love triangles, and surprisingly some political strife. America grows with each book, becoming more and more of what Illéa needs in a Princess — but will she be the One Prince Maxon chooses?

I purchased this in a beautiful 3-book box set that included a bonus from the novellas that Kiera Cass wrote from different characters’ points of view. I read these three books in record time — they were day-dreamy guilty pleasure reads, and I found myself continuously lost in world of Illéa.

I recently tweeted this:

I binge book series like I binge TV.

I struggle to find my way back to reality until I've completed the series.

Well, that tweet was because of a book series in particular. The Selection by Kiera Cass. In the case of this review, I’m going to give a review on books 1-3 in the series as a whole, because I read them all within five days. Honestly, it was probably four, but I’ll pretend I still managed to work and live a life somewhere in there.

I’ve seen this series on the shelves of bookstores so many times. Every Sunday I attend a critique group in Barnes and Noble and the YA section is on the way to the restroom, so at least almost every Sunday for the past two years I’ve passed that book or similar ones. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that it takes 7 times of seeing something before you consider buying it. It’s not that I didn’t want to read it the 100 other times I saw the book. But there are other factors, like my growing list of pending book reviews for my blog, and all the other YA books I should read, and work, and etc. etc. Also, maybe the fact that I know when I like a book, I don’t come up for air until I’ve finished it.

Okay, and if we want to be perfectly honest with each other, the only reason it didn’t take me three days to read the three Selection books (like it did one summer reading the first three Harry Potter’s) is because I had to wait a day for the store to ship the final book. Dreadful, right?

I’ve read all the available books in The Selection series, and I am hooked. I loved them. They were fast paced, well-written, and engaging reads.

There are a few reasons for this:

The main character, America. And the other characters, especially the girls in the Selection.
America is a strong narrator to tell this story. The writing is so much of this story, but that’s also because Kiera Cass wrote a strong first person POV for America. America was well-defined; she was stubborn and independent, she knew what she wanted (until she was conflicted which made for a good story), she was flawed, impulsive, and she grew over time.

Also, the other characters were fun as well. Each character in this story had a defined goal and we could see them trying to obtain it, and we saw if they failed or succeeded. The other girls who were in The Selection, trying to win the prince’s heart, were all a joy to watch. The interactions felt real, catty, friendly, and ridiculous. It was a royal version of bachelor, with an entire country and a prince at stake.

The setting.
First, this is set in the future, in a sort of dystopia similar to The Hunger Games in which our protagonist lives in a “caste system” meaning that people are categorized at birth of which caste they will be. 1-8. 8 is the lowest. 8 means homeless. 1 means life is made. This system also means that your occupation is decided by which caste you are in. So America is a 5 and these are people who are entertainers – painters, singers, musicians. The King and Queen, for example, are a 1. Obviously.

Second, we get to see the life of a 5, like we see Katniss in district 12, and then soon the story moves to the Palace in Angeles (I have to assume this is old world Los Angeles, which I love because I automatically love all stories that take place in LA). And the palace is gorgeous and it’s like when Katniss experiences life in the Capitol. It’s full of color and gems.

Love triangles.
I realize some folks are not a fan of love triangles. But I love them. The Vampire Diaries is my favorite TV show, so… I love reading about being torn between not just one guy or the other, but the LIFE with one guy versus the other. Love triangles are not about who is good for her or who the reader likes more. It’s about the guy that supports the heroine, but also challenges her. He is the one that pushes her to be the best version of herself. And he believes in her. And he doesn’t stand in the way of her ‘shine’. They shine together. Although both guys can be good choices, one is always more right than the other, but it can take a long time and a lot of personal growth to find out.

And finally, the other reason I love this series: It’s like a dystopian Bachelor where the contestants have real reasons for being there and real feelings are involved. And they are competing to be the future Queen. And it’s all with the weight of the country involved as well. And it’s dangerous sometimes too.

The caveats:

Although I really enjoyed this series and I am so glad I found a new author I like, I did feel that there were times the readers were cut short of experiencing something great. There was danger and threat in this series, but there were enough times that something really intense could have happened and I was excited to take that turn with the character, but then it was all cleaned up and we were moving on. I was still happy to roll with the story, but it would have brought new depths to the book and character(s) had the author explored some more difficult choices.

There were also many times I predicted what was going to happen in the story. I predicted practically everything, but maybe that’s the editor in me knowing when one minor detail comes up it MUST be used later. And, the author DID use it, so major props to her for following through. However, because I quickly learned this author was talented and knew to never insert a detail that isn’t used, I was able to guess things that would happen because I knew it HAD to come up again. I also read a lot of romance and YA, so there’s that too. The thing is, even though I predicted a lot, I never tired of the story. I was happy to follow the heroine as she went through it. I was happy to read the parts I predicted because it was engaging and well-written.

In conclusion, I recommend this series to YA lovers, dystopian lovers, romance lovers, people who enjoy reading about gorgeous dresses and clothes, fans of The Hunger Games, and fans of The Bachelor

This is one of the best book series I have ever read. I recommend this series to everyone who loves fiction. The book series reminds me a mixture of a futuristic society like the Hunger Games or Divergent series and the Bachelor/Bachelorette. I read the last two, the Elite and the One in one day, and I was wanting more.

Stumbled upon this series by accident. So glad that I did!! Its one of those where you sit down to read and when you look up, hours have past and the book is finished!! Beautiful story, gripping, and well written. I'm also very fond of authors who thank God in their acknowledgements. Makes me feel like buying more of her books!!

I devoured these books. I finished all three in a matter of days. Though I utterly despise love triangles, this was, surprisingly, one I could tolerate; perhaps because it felt believable. While America's indecision was frustrating at times, it also felt real, not forced. I also easily connected with her tendency to second-guess, overthink, and read too much into things, as that is something I am prone to do myself. The books also contain some beautifully written lines and I felt the author was able to paint very clear pictures of the characters using very few words. In the end, these books told a wonderful story, and I most surely plan on flipping through their pages again and reliving it.

Ok, I am a huge bookworm. I am an adult but still love reading young adult. This series had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I'm pretty sure I read the entire series in about 2 days. I didn't want to put it down. I loved how as soon as you finished one book, I was on to the next. I just couldn't get enough. Definitely recommend to any one that likes romance. Such a sweet series.

I passed over this book so many times until I finally caved.
So, first off, the main characters name is America Singer...I'll just give you some time to absorb that.
The names and some of the cheesy dialogue sounded like a giddy celebrity-gushing 11-year-old wrote it. The love triangle is so old and retired, I literally rolled my eyes when it was introduced.
The second book was almost like every second book in a series I've ever read, rather dull and more like a filler. I honestly think I could have skipped that book and not have missed hardly anything.
I'm over half way through the third book and oddly enough, I can't put it down.

I really enjoyed these romances. A great story with real conflict of heart - a conflict the reader can both feel and relate to. Characters are well developed, with complex personalities that make them seem incredibly real. Interesting set up, pushing us into the future, while bring with it elements of a fairy tale past, and the break down of a society all at once. I love the spunk and intelligence of the America.

Great book and a fun read from the Selection Series. We love Kiera Cass. If you like this one also look into the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer.Marissa Meyer

I can honestly say that these are the best books I have ever read. They are SO captivating. I couldn't stop turning the pages. These books along with the Heir took me 4 days to read. I think that I have never loved a series more. I think that these books are perfect because they are VERY appropriate and perfect for anyone from ages 1- 100! I think that I will never read a book as good as these:)

The covers are beautiful, I will give it that.
I started out with the Selection. I love YA books and found myself picking up the first book in the series due to the fact that the cover pulled me in. I put it down after reading the back. I adore heavy romance in books, but this still didn't feel like something that would keep my interest. Throughout the months I repeatedly saw it recommended for me. After some deliberation, I decided I wasn't giving this a fair chance, so I bought the entire series, skipping out on the little side books, (thankfully).
The first book was actually decent. It held my interest, and the characters were people I wanted to get to know. I truly thought that my initially reaction before reading these books had been fully wrong, but as I moved to book two, I realized that I should have probably continued to look over the series. Nothing of great importance happens in the second book. Honestly, it could have been cut out entirely in my opinion. I understand, and like love triangles. I understand why she had been confused, but it was too rapidly done. One second she's completely sure about Max, in the same day she gets mad at him and then turns her emotions around and runs straight for Aspen. Constantly. In the same day. That was the yielding point for me.
Of course I had bought the series, and I wanted to finish it, though I wasn't too enthused about the second book. It almost felt thrown in there for profit (along with all the side books) when more time should have been spent on a better plot in the second.
The third book was horrible. I grew to strongly dislike the main character. She had increasingly became whiny since the first book, by the third I was over her. I felt the books could have been done a lot better with more plot and action. It was lacking for my interest to keep hold, and I'm quite forgiving when it comes to books. Even if there are huge plot holes, I can overlook it if I find the story entertaining enough.
I truly wanted to like this series. I thought after the first book that I could, but it was a waste of money and time. I even let my friend borrow it since we both read like crazy and pass books to each other. She couldn't make it through the first one, already being annoyed at the main character.
This is only my opinion. I understand that many people will not feel as I do, and that's fine. I hope if you do buy this series, you fall in love with it. But, if you're like me, picking it up just to put it back on the shelf, only to pick it up again, you might want to rethink. If you like strong plot driven stories with more than just talking, this book is not a fit for you.

This is one of the best book series I have ever read. I recommend this series to everyone who loves fiction. The book series reminds me a mixture of a futuristic society like the Hunger Games or Divergent series and the Bachelor/Bachelorette. I read the last two, the Elite and the One in one day, and I was wanting more.

This books are really amazing and addicting. Omg I couldn't stop reading. I just don't like giving spoilers. You just have to read it. If you like princesses, rebellion, love and all those kind of stuff, I promise you WILL like these books.

My little cousin actually got me started on this series this summer. I'm not a big reader and I read this entire series in less than a weekend. I loved it. I am now buying again so I can read it while I have time off of work for surgery.

As I read these books, I found myself becoming annoyed. I was annoyed with the main character, who quite frankly is a thot, and overall the books. They're a mix of the Bachelor and the Dusk Gate Chronicles. Completely unoriginal, predictable, and chaotic. The book events change almost as frequently as the main character's preference of the two men. I personally think, you should not read these books and instead just see the movie when it comes out.