The Crown by Kiera Cass

the crown Synopsis: When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.

Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.

Am I the only person who thought this new series from Kiera Cass was going to be another trilogy a la The Selection series??? Because when I realized this was a duology I was majorly bummed. First off, because Eadlyn really grew on me in this book, which is something I was desperately hoping for after feeling a bit let down by her selfishness in The Heir.

There are a lot of things to love about this book:

  • The whole “America is potentially dying” comes to its conclusion quickly (I won’t tell you whether it ends badly or well) which is good because just the ANXIETY of NOT KNOWING what was going to happen to her was KILLING me after I finished The Heir.
  • Eadlyn really comes into herself in this book. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Eady at first (partly because I don’t like her name and partly because she’s a primped up brat who doesn’t really seem to care about anyone but herself), but I felt like over the course of this story she fell down to earth, which was a welcome change. I loved watching her come to terms with her good and bad qualities, and I think she did a great job learning to navigate life with that fresh perspective.
  • I loved the epilogue. Because I’m a sucker for a happy ending. I also loved who she ended up with (even though I could see it coming a mile away, even in the first book). All of the main suitors get more page time in this book, and I liked how they were developed. There were some genuinely surprising moments.
  • HENRY AND EIKKO’S FRIENDSHIP. HECK YES I love this. I love everything about it. I can’t say anything more right now but YES YES YES YES.

There are a few things I didn’t like about this book:

  • It’s far too short. The development felt rushed and I didn’t really think we got enough time with each of the selection candidates. I think that’s one of the major challenges about making the main POV of this series by the person who is choosing a future spouse, rather than one of the actual selection participants. In The Selection we got plenty of time with America and Maxon, because Cass didn’t have to worry about giving a ton of suitors their own time with Maxon. America was the only one we really cared about. But in The Heir and The Crown we have to meet a ton of men and watch as they get narrowed down over only two short books. It’s not enough time to get to know most of them, which meant Eadlyn was sometimes just rejecting several at once so that she could narrow down her choices (and ours) as quickly as possible and give us more time with the main suitors.
  • There isn’t a lot of real action. It’s hard not to compare Eady’s story to America’s, and when you do, you will quickly realize Eady doesn’t really deal with much beyond the question of “Who should I marry?” Not that that’s a bad thing, as I did like a lot of her candidates, but there isn’t a ton of outside plot. No rebels threatening the state of the nation. I think this story tried to hype up the whole the people don’t like Eady and the caste system really hasn’t dissolved as well as it should have and everything might fall apart soon angle, but there just wasn’t enough build up.
  • The whole book felt rushed. I would have liked one more book so that Cass could have drawn out the tension, and made some of the big surprises at the end seem more grounded. As it was, some of the things she decides at the end felt a bit out there, like she just quickly made those choices without really thinking them through. There’s not enough build-up.

In the end, I really did like this book. I thought it was at least ten times better than The Heir, and the epilogue was a solid ending for The Selection Series as a whole. I’m glad that the series is now over, and I’m excited to see what Kiera Cass attempts next.

Did you hate Eadlyn in The Heir?? If so, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised should you choose to pick up The Crown. I know that I was. Did you love The Selection Series? Then you should read this just to know how it ends. Do you like steamy forbidden romance? This book will leave you oohing and awwing.

Rating: 4.7/5 stars 

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TALK TO ME: Do you like The Selection series? What did you think of Eadlyn’s storyline? 

2 comments
  1. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought that The Crown was too short and that there should have been one more book so there would have been more time for the suitors and for character growth that wasn’t quite so rushed. Still, I really enjoyed the entire Selection series–I completely admit that it is a guilty pleasure read for me.

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