The Heir by Kiera Cass

Title: The Heir

Author: Kiera Cass

Page count: 346 pages

Publishing date: May 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

My rating: 2.5/5 stars!

Blurb: 

Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won Prince Maxon’s heart. Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own. Eadlyn doesn’t expect her Selection to be anything like her parents’ fairy-tale love story. But as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she always thought.

Everyone who knows me can tell you that I love the Selection series by Kiera Cass with all my heart. I fell in love with Prince Maxon, America, Marlee, and so many others years ago when I first picked up The Selection off of a bookshelf. Since then, this series has made it onto my top-favorite-series list. That's definitely saying something because at times I can be super picky. 

When I heard the news that Kiera Cass was going to be creating two more books in the series through the perspective of a new character, I died. I think I went to heaven for a brief moment. Having met Kiera Cass several times and previously talked with her about the series, I just knew that she wasn't ready for this series to be over. I was right. 

I was so excited for this book to come out. I snatched myself up a copy on its release date and had Kiera Cass sign it. My signed copy is below:

PLOT TWIST: Prince Maxon is really in love with me. ;)

Anyways, I immediately started reading The Heir, excited to see the series continue through the perspective and Maxon and America's daughter, Eadlyn. I felt that it would bring something fresh to the series. It was clear that Maxon and America's story was over but that didn't mean that the world of Illea couldn't continue on. 

So I read. And read. And read. Since opening it up and reading the first page, I probably hadn't put the book down for more than an hour. I initially came into this with my expectations so high that I just had to devour this book. When I finished, however, I was left slightly disappointed.

Eadlyn is, respectively, very different than America but also very similar. Eadlyn reminds me so much of a young America in the earlier books, and while I loved the fierceness and impulsiveness about her, I didn't as much care for it with Eadlyn. I wanted something different from her. In all honesty, I felt like this was a re-telling of America's story just with different characters. I expected Eadlyn to be unique. Instead I got a re-made version of her mother. 

In The Heir, Eadlyn must go through her own Selection in hopes that it will help resolve unrest in Illea. Confident that she doesn't want romance, Eadlyn has no desire to take her Selection seriously. Throughout the book, her thoughts are centered around how she can help settle Illea but also keep her feelings and emotions out of the Selection while making it seem like she's taking it seriously. 

There are many young suitors that Eadlyn will come to know. Some have hidden agendas. Some just want to find love. Some may even have old history with Eadlyn. Eadlyn must decide who is worth keeping and who is worth letting go; who she can trust and who she cannot. Like America did during the Selection, Eadlyn will make mistakes. And, boy, she makes quite a few. 

It's clear at the beginning of this book that Eadlyn despises the thought of her own Selection and so she spends most of her time sabotaging all chances of finding love. Eadlyn practically rages on most of the Selection contestants, sending many men away with only a flick of her wrist. She doesn't give them any chances to get to know her -  she makes no effort at getting to know them herself. She just gets rid of them. As if they don't have feelings and emotions. She's not the only person who can have their heart broken.

Eadlyn was so hell-bent on ruining the Selection that I don't think she really saw how amazing some of the contestants were. She treated most of the guys like dirt and yet they still wanted her attention and wanted to impress her. Does she care? Not really. She's too focused on herself that she can't see what's right in front of her face. 

The truth is that Eadlyn is a spoiled brat. She's a big reason why I couldn't give this a higher rating. She's SO difficult to read about. She thinks that just because she's heir to the throne that she can do whatever she wants and it has no consequences... but it does. She's still human. She still has to pay for her mistakes like everyone else. She expects everything to be handed to her on a silver platter but that's not how the world works. She can't just sit there and wait for what she wants to come to her. She has to work for it. Otherwise she's going to be waiting for the rest of her life. 

In short: I don't like Eadlyn. 

I personally feel like Eadlyn is either going to figure a way out of the Selection and help save Illea or marry Kile (or Erik). I like these three options and would be okay with any of them. 

If you've read The Heir, who is your favorite Selection contestant? And what are your thoughts on Eadlyn?

Cass should have stopped at The One and went on to write other things. The story should have stopped with the events of The One and that would have been the end of it. Dragging on the series clearly wasn't what should have happened. It made the series weaker. 

Eh, maybe it's just because I couldn't stand Eadlyn that I can't give this book more credit. I'll read the last book to see what happens and how Cass wraps everything up. While I'm waiting for the book to be released, I'll patiently wait here and hope that Cass gives Eadlyn a major character growth. 

Until next time,