My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I haven’t been this happy since Desiree Hartsock accepted Chris Siegfried’s proposal in the most dramatic season finale of The Bachelorette ever. Just Kidding. But seriously, I don’t mean to be a total fangirl or to sound like I’m 16 years old – but I really can’t imagine a better night than sitting down with some wine to watch The Bachelorette finale or reading Kiera Cass’ The Selection series. Okay, hopefully the wine graduated me to at least 21. Right?
So if it isn’t clear, I LOVED every flipping second of THE ELITE. From the first chapter I was captivated and couldn’t put it down until the very last page. And now I’m staring at the expected publication for book #3 in a stupor – May 2014?!?!? I didn’t even know there was a 3rd book until I read this one, now I find out I have to wait almost an entire year???
URGH! Okay so other than my frustration that I have to wait until 2014 to get my happily ever after with what I anticipate to be a TON of frustration along the way, I cannot say enough amazing things about this book. Actually, this is going to be the strangest series of compliments ever – in that they sound like I’m complaining about everything when really Kiera Cass knows exactly what she’s doing.
America is enfuriating – but perfect in her own obnoxiously stubborn, blinders up, nearsighted way! She gets so caught up in every little thing that Maxon says or does and blows it completely out of proportion, but you know what??? She also CARES! Like, a lot. About Illea, the caste system, the monarchy’s role, the responsibility she’s undertaking if she marries Maxon, everything. I finally opened my eyes and realized that while I might not agree with the way America approaches things or how stressfully long it takes her to give Maxon an answer, at least she doesn’t just get caught up in the “winning” aspect of the selection process and blindly barrel forward without considering what she’s saying yes to.
Aspen. I kept waiting for him to do something that would allow me to say, SEE AMERICA??? He’s not the one! Let him get caught kissing a maid or be oblivious to the importance of America’s potential role in the country’s future, something! But Kiera Cass wouldn’t listen! She just kept writing this great guy that was supportive and understanding, patient and good. And finally, finally, I got it. Because it’s not that big a deal if America picks Maxon over Aspen if he’s really a jerk. It’s only a sign of how true her feelings are if she has two great options and picks Maxon. So yah, I was wrong about that too.
And Maxon? He’s not perfect and he’s sometimes just a guy needing to be loved or cared for or paid attention to, but he’s also endearing and sweet and he has greatness inside of him and he’s just smart and quiet enough to know he has to be patient and calculating about how he approaches it. And I fell more in love with him by the minute. (Even the novella #0.5 that I complained about because I thought it added nothing to the overall story and if anything just made America look worse in her selfishness, I now realize had its own purpose in allowing the reader to see who Maxon is and why, just in case we were as blind as America at the beginning of this book.)
I had missed these kisses, so quiet, so sure. I knew that, in my whole life, if I married Aspen or someone else, no one would ever make me feel this way. It wasn’t like I made his world better. It was like I was his world. It wasn’t some explosion; it wasn’t fireworks. It was a fire, burning slowly from the inside out.
We really didn’t see that much of Aspen or Maxon in THE ELITE; a lot of the book was America’s struggles, but honestly, I didn’t feel like I was lacking for anything! Kiera Cass is building something epic and she’s doing it one book at a time. I loved the world, the depth of the dystopian society Kiera Cass has created, and the seamless way she interweaves the dystopian world with the romantic journey and keeps everything in perfect balance.
I couldn’t be more excited about THE ONE and will most likely be foaming at the mouth by the time it arrives!
**Reviewed by preppea on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews.
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