The Prince & The Guard: The Selection Novellas

Several reviewers have already commented on both of the two stories in here. I will still discuss them briefly, but mainly I will focus on how this version differs from the e-books, since I have both e-books as well and was wondering if the extra features in this paperback were worth getting.

The Prince is from Maxon's perspective, and the original e-book version begins with Maxon's birthday, which is shortly before the start of the selection (I believe that from the way it's written, this would actually be sometime after the paperwork process started for the selected girls but clearly before they arrive at the palace), and goes until Maxon initially meets all of the selected girls for the first time (and America for the second). The extended version continues from this point, showing Maxon making the first eliminations and continuing until his first date with America. It was interesting to see a little bit more of a scene that occurred "off-camera" in the books and to see a little more of Maxon's perspective of America, and how their first date affected his feelings.

The Guard is from Aspen's perspective, and apparently is exactly the same as the e-book version of the story. It goes from the day after the Halloween party in The Elite, when Marlee and Carter are caned, until shortly after Aspen finds America in the woods following the rebel attack that occurred while the girls were outside preparing for the foreign visitors. Personally, I still prefer Maxon, but I do like Aspen a little more after reading The Guard. The highlights for me, besides the insight into Aspen's character, are seeing a bit of the relationship between Maxon and his father through Aspen's observations, and getting to know a little more about America's maids (including some additional bits of Aspen/Lucy interaction, although it's not like The Elite didn't have any hints of a possible Aspen/Lucy pairing).

The sneak peek of The One is 3 chapters long in this paperback- you only get 2 chapters with The Guard e-book (although if you don't get either of these, you can go to the author's website and see a video of her reading part of Chapter 1). Basically, in the first two chapters, America devises a scheme to get Maxon's attention that has entertaining results. In the third chapter, another political development occurs, showing the tension between Maxon and his father, and Maxon tells America his plan to try and gain his father's approval.

The other special features in this book include a Q and A with Kiera Cass; a list of the Selected; a list of the professions in each caste; family trees for America, Aspen, and Maxon; and playlists for The Selection and The Elite. The Q and A appears to be a mix of questions that are answered on her website and questions that do not appear there. The lists of the Selected and the castes can be found on her website, as well as the playlists, but the family trees are new information as well. They include the former family names for the ancestors of America and Aspen, the castes to which the ancestors were assigned and the castes of the descendants leading to the current generation, and brief narratives discussing each of the three families. This feature was really interesting to me, as it gives a bit more insight into the society that Gregory Illea started and how the people were affected by it, as well as into the character of King Clarkson (which you might be able to guess to some extent).

Just to recap, the extras that are in this book and not available elsewhere or in the e-books or the author's website include the extended chapters of The Prince, the third chapter sneak peek of The One, some of the questions in the Q and A with the author, and the family trees for America, Aspen, and Maxon. Personally, I really enjoyed the extra material and don't regret purchasing this paperback even though I had the e-books of both stories, but not everyone may feel that these make the book worth purchasing if they already have one or both of the e-books. Hopefully this information will be helpful if you do own one or both of the e-books and are trying to decide if you want to have the paperback.

In all honesty, I didn’t love The Selection series, it wasn’t my favorite book and I disliked Keria Cass’s writing style. Something in me just decided to pick up The Selection Stories, I had heard they were good and reading from the point of view of Maxon and Aspen sounded intriguing, so I read it. I was expecting a new take on a story, and that is what she did exactly. Maxon’s story made me understand him a little better as did Aspens, but in my opinion both weren’t very interesting. Sure we got to read from the Prince and the Guards view on things, but I still didn’t find anything really worth reading in it, the stories were just flat. I did find myself liking Aspen a bit more in his story, but still not worth reading. To me, both seemed to fall short of what I expected, nothing new really happened and we didn’t find ourselves knowing much more about the two boys in America’s life. When I read the Selection books, I will admit I wasn’t very impressed until the last story, The One. This is because of the style the book was written in, I found the character America to be a typical young adult heroine, an over confident sassy girl who needs to think before she acts a little more. Another thing I disliked is that fact that there is a love triangle of sorts…. Maxon has 35 girls competing for him, but America is torn between only two people both Maxon and Aspen the leading problem for me. Why do young adults need love triangles? Really I mean come on, can’t she make up her mind? I’ve never been in love for one, but I still find the way she leads both boys on a little misleading to me. She should make up her mind…. Anyways, The Selection Stories weren’t what I was expecting, and both fell short of what I wanted, a good, new interesting take on the old story. Neither had anything in it that I liked really… Both were very short, and if you did enjoy the Selection series I would recommend it.

The Guard:
Basically this book is scenes from The Elite but from Aspen’s point of view, which if I’m honest I don’t really care about and didn’t see much point in reading because it would only get me more pissed off with Aspen. His love for America is painfully obvious but since he is the one who broke her heart in the process of pushing her away, I have no respect or love for his character.

That was until I read The Guard.

The Author Kiera Cass wrote this short story so beautifully that you saw a whole new side to Aspen. It was clear from the start that he thought the world of America and that she deserved the best, but you see how deep his un-dying love goes through the writing. What people don’t realise reading The Elite is that his over-bearing jealousy is the only way he can truly show how much he cares, because otherwise there’s not much else he can do. I thought he was a simple character before but I realise now he isn’t, and that’s all you really need to know to pick up this book.

I loved reading from Aspen’s point of view more than I thought I would, and I love his character now more than I thought I would. But don’t get me wrong, he still doesn’t deserve America.

This short story should not be read based upon whether or not you like Aspen. It instead adds depth to his character as well as the series as a whole. You never know, Kiera Cass might change your mind about him to...

The Prince:
This short story is written from Maxon’s view and is set shortly before the selection to the first meetings with all 35 Selected girls.

In this short story Maxon is so damn cute! *Heartfelt sigh* It gives you an insight to his life and his position in The Selection. It also explains his feelings towards it, including his anxiety towards all the girls, (the girl mentioned in the synopsis is partly to blame).

But bless him, he doesn’t understand anything about girls in general which adds a touch of humour to this short story and makes you love him that much more. It was also really interesting to see the start of America’s and Maxon’s “friendship” in his eyes, because with the other books in The Selection series written in America’s view, you see more of her doubts and questioning than truth when it comes to Maxon.

The one great disappointment was how short it is. 64 pages fly by in one sitting and just as it’s getting good it’s over, quick as a flash.

Anyone who loves Maxon The Selection series must read this, and it doesn’t even matter the order you read it with the others. I read it after The Onewhich is the second book and it didn’t degrade from it one bit.

Posted on: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk

**spoiler alert** These two novellas made me think of what Stephenie Meyer was considering doing with Midnight Sun, or what I felt like Midnight Sun might have been like. So basically in the THE PRINCE, scenes from the THE SELECTION are written from Maxon's point of view. There are complete sections of dialogue that were copies from THE SELECTION and then his thoughts and POV are given in place of America's. The same for THE GUARD. Same exact scenes from THE ELITE, only from Aspen's POV. There are some new scenes thrown in that are new, but not really that many, in my opinion. Still a good read, but not really necessary to the story. I think more could have been done with THE PRINCE by revealing what more of his "dates" with the selected girls were like. I would have liked to have seen more of what he felt emotionally as he got to know the girls, especially with how much we see America struggle with her feelings for both Maxon and Aspen. Did Maxon struggle? With what and whom? We already know that in THE ELITE he makes out with Celeste, does he make out with anyone else and how does he go from that to putting pressure on America to make a choice? Is he really interested and in love with America? Or is she just an intriguing toy and something new and different to amuse him. And what of Maxon's politics. What small, quiet ways is he affecting his country? What does he want for the country?

I think THE GUARD pretty much reassures the reader that Aspen is 100% for America. He is committed to her and will love her, regardless of what she chooses. He has finally found his place, he enjoys being a guard, and serving the monarchy, even if he doesn't agree with the politics.

The Selection Stories contains the novellas The Prince and The Guard, as well as the first three chapters of The One and some extras such as a Q&A with the author and some family trees.

The Prince tells the start of the Selection process and the time leading up to its beginning from Prince Maxon's point of view. I found this to be mostly just a rehash of what we already knew from The Selection. We didn't learn much new about the Prince, the King and Queen or Maxon's responsibilities to Illea.

The Guard is Aspen's point of view of the fateful Halloween night where Marlee gets caught with Woodwork and the aftermath of that including the rocky relationship between America and Maxon at that point in time. This novella I found a bit more interesting, the reader gets a glimpse into Aspen's day to day life at the palace. The parts where he was thinking about America were weird and don't really seem like thoughts from a true male perspective, but it did add a bit more to the story, including King Clarkson's methods of ruling and an insider's look into his office.

Recommended if you're a die hard fan of the series, but otherwise doesn't add much we don't already know.

The Prince and The Guard are novellas in author Kiera Cass's The Selection series. In this series, the female lead is America Singer who is torn between two loves in her life, Maxon and Aspen. Maxon's perspective is shared in the novella The Prince, and Aspen's perspective is shared in The Guard. I have enjoyed the series overall and although I thought The Prince novella was unnecessary, it was interesting being inside Maxon's head. I liked that it showed the stressors Maxon has to deal with, his relationship with his parents, and his personal thoughts about the selection process and the girls. However, after reading The Guard, I almost wish I wasn't exposed to Aspen's point-of-view. There's a difference between a man being in love and a boy being in love and Aspen appears to be the latter. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this. Actually, there's a certain type of sweetness to being oblivious to everything except your heart's desire. But America is no longer a girl who has this luxury. She has grown and has been exposed to the complexities in her world and her eyes are now on more pressing matters. I've been Team Maxon since book one and that hasn't changed for me, especially after reading this book. I gave 4 stars to The Prince and 3 stars to The Guard.

The Selection series includes the following installments (as of March 2014):
#0.5:The Prince (novella)
#1:The Selection
#2:The Elite
#2.5:The Guard (novella)
#3:The One (not yet released)

I love The Selection series and really enjoyed getting into the heads of these two awesome men. I had no idea what Maxon was really thinking and feeling throughout this process. I can't imagine being "forced" to choose a bride from a handful of women that he's never met before. What if he loves another? Does that even matter? The first novella, The Prince, is about Maxon's life just before the competition and during the first days. I loved getting his perspective. Maxon comes off as kind of cocky, but he's got reasons for protecting himself.

The Guard shows us things from Aspen's view and it takes place more towards the middle of the series. I believe it's a #2.5 story. I really like and admire Aspen. He's so loyal and sweet. I love the way he interacted with the servants and how thoroughly he did his job.

Content: a few mild expletives; some violence (being attacked by rebels, beatings, etc); mild romance.

Oh my gosh- the reader for this is just terrible. When he does a female voice, it sounds like Fred Armisen from SNL when he plays a female. Also, the speed and the way he reads is totally different than the female voice for the actual books, including the pronounciation of the country. I also don't feel you gain any insight into either character, everything revealed is already a given if you read the first 2 in the Selection Series. I wouldn't waste my time.

The first 62 pages is The Prince, which I already read a year ago when it was released. The next 18 pages is an extended ending to The Prince. The next 90 pages is The Guard, which is events in the past happening through Aspen's POV. It was OK but not as revealing as reading The Prince and seeing things through Maxon's eyes. The next 15 pages is a small sneak peek at The One. The final 30 pages is a Q & A with Kiera Cass, a list of the chosen girls, some family trees and playlists. I'm glad I checked it out from the library. It's not worth owning for me and spending money but it was fun reading for some of it. Now The One is fresh on my brain and ready to read when it's released May 6, 2014.

Selection stories: The Prince and The Guard is by Kiera Cass. The book is designed to give insight into what is going on from the boys’ points of view. It is an OK book.
The Prince really doesn’t tell much more than you get in the books. It does give some insight into Maxon but not a lot.
The Guard does give more simply because Aspen is not around America most of the time. You get more of his story in this book.

Oh my gosh- the reader for this is just terrible. When he does a female voice, it sounds like Fred Armisen from SNL when he plays a female. Also, the speed and the way he reads is totally different than the female voice for the actual books, including the pronounciation of the country. I also don't feel you gain any insight into either character, everything revealed is already a given if you read the first 2 in the Selection Series. I wouldn't waste my time.

The first 62 pages is The Prince, which I already read a year ago when it was released. The next 18 pages is an extended ending to The Prince. The next 90 pages is The Guard, which is events in the past happening through Aspen's POV. It was OK but not as revealing as reading The Prince and seeing things through Maxon's eyes. The next 15 pages is a small sneak peek at The One. The final 30 pages is a Q & A with Kiera Cass, a list of the chosen girls, some family trees and playlists. I'm glad I checked it out from the library. It's not worth owning for me and spending money but it was fun reading for some of it. Now The One is fresh on my brain and ready to read when it's released May 6, 2014.

Selection stories: The Prince and The Guard is by Kiera Cass. The book is designed to give insight into what is going on from the boys’ points of view. It is an OK book.
The Prince really doesn’t tell much more than you get in the books. It does give some insight into Maxon but not a lot.
The Guard does give more simply because Aspen is not around America most of the time. You get more of his story in this book.

They are very good stories of maxons and aspens point of view. But i wouldnt but this book. I stead, buy the Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass becasie it not only in cludes various pictures and little snipets of other charactors lives, but also has the prince and the guard. Getting Happily Ever After is a better deal.