The Heir, from Kiera Cass (The Selection #4)

Hello! Here we have another late book review from a very dear author: The Heir, fourth book on The Selection series, by Kiera Cass. I have this book since June, when it was released here on Brazil, but only in September I found an English edition. I’m spoiled with books: if I start reading the series in one language, I don’t like switching (I don’t speak many languages; I’m fluent on Brazilian Portuguese and English and can read Spanish and French, but that’s all, haha!). So I bought the Brazilian hardcover edition of The Heir but only read it when I bought my mass-market paperback edition. So spoiled.

from my Instagram 🙂

The Story

Eadlyn was born with her destiny planned for her: she would be the first queen of Iléa. She was born to be great, to carry the world on her shoulders. She was the daughter of beloved America and Maxton. And it sucked. Eadlyn never could be a normal girl, being trained since birth to one single purpose in life and her destiny frightened her: why nobody thought of asking her what she wanted?

As if her daily life wasn’t hard enough, she finds herself trapped into her own Selection with 35 boys very excited to win her hand and the crown, running around her home and invading her privacy. Could things get worse?

Turns out that they can.

The analysis

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion while reading the book 🙂

I loved The Selection series. Really, madly. I read the three main books plus The Guard and The Prince in 5 studying/working days, in the time that I still did both – now I only study. I felt the series was very well completed when I finished The One, so you can imagine my surprise when I read that Kiera was working on a new book for it. I didn’t knew what to expect, honestly. The reviews were bipolar, the cover featured a different girl, I was so confused. Then I read it and it had a funny effect on me. I loved it at first, like I was enchanted while reading. I hated Eadlyn and still do, she’s just a bratty ungrateful and immature girl. But, as soon as I finished it, I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads, I was biting my nails to see what would happen on the “final” book for the series – after my experience with The One, I don’t believe in Cass anymore, haha! And, honestly? If she keeps releasing stuff from The Selection, I will keep reading it because I’m that delusional. Anyway, back to the point: now I think the book is worth 3 stars for a lot of reasons and I will tell the non-spoiler ones now.

I like Cass narratives. After 4 books and two short stories, I’m pretty sure of that. In The Selection, it is always in first person and with Eadlyn’s not different. As I have already commented before, this can be good and bad. I personally am not a fan of first person’s narratives because there’s always little holes on the plot. Of course I’m not holding this aspect against The Heir because there will be another book in the series, but it is frustrating. And you can’t have a break from the main character, so if you hate the person, too bad for you. It was the case with Eadlyn. I HATE HER. HATE. HATE. HATE. I wish I could make my typing even larger for this announcement, haha! But all in due time.

I loved the plot. A Selection with 35 boys?! COUNT. ME. IN. I liked the idea, it was nice to see America, Maxton, Maureen and Lucy again. A future queen with id problems at the age of 18 with a twin brother and other small ones? Come on, it’s interesting. And I was dying to know how Iléa fared without the castes. Oh, well. I still love the plot, Eadlyn was the problem. Yes, I will complain through the whole review and I regret nothing 🙂 But I have to say that the end was SO HUSHED. WHY?! Having another book following this on the series is not a good excuse and I hated what happened to America. One star was lost here.

Characters: EADLYN. EADLYN. EADLYN. That’s how the book goes. She is so selfish, self-centered, immature, bratty, spoiled and bossy that her thoughts are all about her. Seriously. I won’t deny that she grows up during the book, but oh, the road is very long for her. And the worst part is that she thinks herself perfect. No comments. But calm down, I can say things that I like about her as well. She saw the selection as an experiment with boys and I thought this was amazing, haha! She is not easily impressed and this helps to put some of the men on their places. She has awesome quotes when she’s being human. She fails and I love to see her failing. Failure is the most productive way of learning and Eadlyn needs it.

Now, the other characters: I blame America and Maxton for Eadlyn’s shitty personality. I still love them as a couple (I was never a big fan of Max’s, but I LOVE AMERICA), but they never put any limit to her and always bowed to her wills. There you go. I fell in love with half of the Selection boys and can’t remember their names anymore, haha! I hated Josie because I once had this friend when I was a child that copied EVERYTHING that I wore. And it wasn’t inspiration, it was COPY and I stopped talking to her when she started to tell people that her name was the same as mine *eye rolls* So, I understand Eadlyn’s irritation. Kile was brilliant and I hope he can do better than Eadlyn.

A pause for a cover appreciation. I love The Selection covers and Eadlyn is perfect on this one.

❤

This book for sure was made for the fans of the series, as it wouldn’t convince anyone from outside of the fandom to picking it up. Cass could and already did better. I hope the next book leaves me breathless again and not for a limited time only, like happened with The Eadlyn Heir. That should have been the title, haha!

That’s it! Thanks for reading 🙂 Are you pro or con The Heir??

Ps: I wrote the word Eadlyn 16 times during this review lol Will she think it is enough?