The Crown

I loved this.

The perfect swan song to the ridiculous frothy series that I have adored against all sense or reason for the past several years. At this point, do we even need to get into the "dystopian" world politics that resemble nothing so much as the kingdom of Sofia the First? Despite being dropped into a world of scattershot and randomly applied dramatic tension, Eadlyn continues her character journey from book one - from spoiled, self-centred, Type A princess to a more rounded person in touch with her emotions. As per ever, Eadlyn is faced with a series of "hard" "decisions" where she's not sure how they'll go over, but in every case she's shocked to find her choices supported by everyone around her.

Maybe it's this relentlessly show more nice world where the villains are both obviously villainous and simultaneously not that scary or threatening and Eadlyn and her family 100% of the time don't get in trouble for anything, ever. Oh and also her parents, who are likely in their mid-to-late-30s, are suddenly acting like people of retirement age with little resemblance to their teen selves from the first books in the series.

A fun exercise could be reading this as a story of a clueless, despotic monarchy so out of touch with reality that they're able to joke about dating literally minutes after nearly going to war, which was only derailed due to basically, the power of the belief in love. The ending of the book takes on a dark resonance if you think about how Eadlyn's final decisions could potentially bring the country to the brink of rebellion but who cares? Love conquers all! Pretty dresses!

I legit love this series and hope there are more ridiculous, fun to read installments in future. show less

My rating is in between four and five stars, but that is not a choice on Goodreads.

This is by far the best book in the selection series (even if the cover is the ugliest.) Eadlyn may have been more unpleasant than America at the beginning of the series, but unlike America, Eadlyn actually had character growth. She eventually became someone who I can actually care about, which is a first for Kiera Cass’s main characters. I did actually care about most of the main love interests as well. I was very happy for the way that the love story worked itself out in the end. (and with the guy I most wanted Eadlyn to be with. I was worried about how that would happen without hurting my second choice, Henri, but it worked out wonderfully.) Well show more almost wonderfully. I got the impression in the first three books that Maxon's selection lasted for almost a year (at least,) whereas Eadlyn's only lasted four months and, forgive me, but is that really enough time to be in love? Especially is Eikko wasn't someone she considered until toward the end? I can't really think of a way the plot could have been filled out or extended enough to show us a little bit more clearly that Eadlyn and Eikko were in love and not just infatuated, but it would have been nice if we'd been convinced of that before the end. Don't get me wrong, in the last book I thought that they had the kind of relationship that could very easily develop into love, but it hadn't quite gotten there at the end of this book. I felt that other parts of the end could have been a bit smoother. I am still somewhat confused by the shift of the Illéa family into antagonists. I mean, I understand if a family has one rotten egg, but it was implied that the entire family had been trying to grab the throne for years, which is not what was implied in the other books of the series.

Admittedly I did think that the implementation of a democracy was a cliché. It’s not the first time I’ve seen authors do that. I’m not saying that I’d want to live under a monarchy (and Illéa’s was practically a dictatorship,) but because I’ve seen that storyline before, I almost thought that it seemed like a copout. Almost, but not quite. It really illustrated Eadlyn’s character growth, that she was able to give up her power, which at the beginning of her series, was what she cared about most. It was also a quick and effective way to fix all of the problems she and her country had been suffering from, so though it was almost a copout, the fact that it really did work out with the storyline makes me not mind at all.

My other complaint was that the book wrapped up way too fast. After learning about Lady Brice, and Eadlyn getting engaged, I really, really wanted to see a little bit longer into her life after. I also felt sort of cheated because I had been looking at the book in the bookstore and I thought I saw something talking about Eadlyn and her husband’s children, but if I did see that, it must have been in a bonus scene that was not included in the audiobook. Maybe I can read it some other time. show less

*Spoiler alert*

In the fifth Selection novel - the second to feature Eadlyn - the field of Selected is narrowed, and Eadlyn herself becomes more likable as she becomes more sensitive to those around her, and aware that there are pieces of family and palace history that she doesn't know. Seeing the difference that rest has made for her mother and father, she offers to ascend the throne sooner than planned, so that they can step back, and Maxon and America agree. The timeline is accelerated by Marid Illea, who seemed to be an ally but is angling to marry Eadlyn for power. Eadlyn quashes any possible swell of public opinion in favor of their union by announcing her engagement. After sending Hale, Fox, and Ean home, she has it narrowed down show more to Kile and Henri..but there is a quick, last-minute change, and Eadlyn's announcement on the Report is doubly surprising: she is marrying not Henri, but his translator, Erik; and she is transforming Illea to a constitutional monarchy.

The first four books (Selection, Elite, One) made no mention of same-sex couples, except when some speculate that the reason Eadlyn sent home so many Selected was that she was a lesbian; here, it's revealed that Hale and Ean have fallen for each other, and that same-sex marriages aren't warmly welcomed in society (not an attitude Eadlyn holds). All characters in all books default to white, except one of the Selected in Heir/Crown.

Quotes

I had power and no idea how to use it. (31)

"There were things I was always sure of, and almost all of that has fallen apart in the last few weeks." (Eadlyn to Kile, 46)

"Your impression of everyone is probably wrong in some way." (Erik to Eadlyn, 64)

"Focus less on what people say and more on what you can accomplish." (Lady Brice to Eadlyn, 97)

"There is no shame in loving who you love, and there is great honor is doing what is right." (Erik to Eadlyn, 196-197)

"So many people are in charge of keeping me in line, but no one seems to make me feel quite so normal as you." (Eadlyn to Erik, 211) show less

I found this a very enjoyable end to a fantastic series. Typically, you either hate the Selection series or love it... and I'm of the later category. Sure, it has its faults, but I can't help but fall for the wonderful universe that Kiera Cass created. While some fans criticize the addition of these final two books surrounding Eadlyn and deem them un-necessary to the series, I think they contributed a new perspective. In my opinion, the first three books of the Selection series were very much like a romantic fairytale. Though plot reaches into different places, the main plot surrounded the love story. However, I feel like the final two books did the complete opposite. Yes, there is a love story, but these final two books are more about show more Eadlyn stepping up to do her duty more than marry a boy. I can understand why some people weren't interested in the additions to the original trilogy, but I myself found them absolutely wonderful and look forward to the next universe Kiera Cass dives into! show less

Well how about that! Eadlyn has finally grown up. In fact, her turnaround is so abrupt that I almost didn't recognize her. It felt like we left one version of Eadlyn in the last book and started off with a Mini-America in this one. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I liked the switch to the responsible and compassionate princess! As I read through the pages, I constantly sighed in relief, saying to myself, "Finally!"

Eadlyn blooms like a spring flower in every sense, making this book one of my favorites of the series! I liked that she gave herself permission to make her own decisions, tough decisions, and I especially enjoyed how kind she was to The Elite. It was a bit distracting at times since it was such a dramatic change, but I show more just went with the flow.

Overall a nice book and a nice choice for Eadlyn. I do hope we hear more from her. If this is it for the series, it's a little on the weak side for an ending. Hopefully we will be treated to another book from this world that deals with all the political changes and unrest. show less

A good finish to the series. Following Eadlyn as she takes the crown and finishes off the selection brought this series to a close wonderfully. I grew to like her much more and loved the twists and turns.

Eady was so much better this time around. The political issues she had to face as new and very young Queen along with the health scares about her mother had me really feeling bad for her. She seemed to constantly get put down and her hopes squashed by everyone around her, but that made the ending so much sweeter for me.

As far as the other characters go, I am so glad that Josie finally got her head on straight and learned that being royal isn't all about money and parties and looking beautiful. I hated her throughout the last book and for most of this one, but towards the end, I grew to like her a little and am happy that she got what she wanted in the end.

As for the boys in the Selection, I managed to correctly choose who would be the show more final 3 contenders and the person who Eady chose was one of my top two, and let's be honest, made more sense on a practical level than who she chose the first time.

Since I got this book from B&N, I got a bonus chapter that took place 6years later. I loved getting this brief glimpse into the lives of the characters. It was sweet to the point where I almost ended up with the 'beetus. show less