I was late on The Selection train. I made a post with reason to read/not read the books, but I never really reviewed them, because everyone had seem to done that already. And then The Heir came out and suddenly I have the opportunity to get down all my thoughts about it. Yes.
Plot
Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible.
But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.
Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought.
Review
The Selection books were always compared to "the bachelor meets the Hunger Games" and clearly this holds up for The Heir too. Instead of following a girl entering the selection, we follow the girl at the head of the game. Is this original? Not really. Does it make things predictable? Yes. Does this mean it is a wonderful book? Yes.
I really didn't like Eadlyn - I thought she was condescending, rude and extremely cocky. She does make some progress throughout the book, but it all felt rather forced. However, when comparing her to America, it was a breath of fresh air (she isn't likeable, but not as annoying as America). I also didn't like how much America and Maxon seemed to have changed. It is 20 years later, but that's no reason for them to have lots all the characteristics they had as teenagers.
The guys who enter the selection are all flat characters that portray just the right characteristics Eadlyn needs to push forward her own character development. I really didn't bond with any one of them and though I can make a pretty good guess about who will win, I don't really care about it. They all seem boring and uninteresting.
However, and this might sound surprising after everything I just said, I really enjoyed The Heir. Just like you sometimes want to watch the bachelor, you also sometimes want to read books like this. From the very first pages, you can already make a pretty good guess who will win the games and that makes the book so wonderful - it's like a hot cup of tea on a rainy day. It just makes you feel warm and fuzzy to be able to predict what will happen and to know that you won't be taken on an emotional rollercoaster. Kiera Cass' writing didn't stick with me, but it does a great job portraying the story in a way that works. Every chapter has a mini cliffhanger at the end so you will keep reading. And reading. I guess guilty-pleasures aren't just limited to movies.