2 stars
"The Heir" by Kiera Cass is the fourth book in Kiera Cass’s popular The Selection series, which followed a young musician named America, selected to fight for Prince Maxon’s heart in a Bachelorette-type competition held by the monarchy.
"The Heir" follows the daughter of the king and queen, Eadlyn, as she holds her very own selection as a way to distract Illea’s citizens, who are still adjusting to a new caste-free country. Oy.
I have quite a few problems with this book. So many that I need a numbered list.
1. Eadlyn is awful.
She’s no America. She’s spoiled, rude and entitled. She has a favorite tiara. She feels completely burdened by the responsibility to be queen, and not in a way that I actually empathize with. Though she knows her people are struggling to adjust, she doesn’t make a single action throughout the entire book to rectify even one of their problems. And to be fair, neither do her parents, the king and queen. She pushes the men aside and sends them home without concern.
And somehow, even though everyone continues to tell her how awful she is, she has no idea how awful she is.
2. The potential suitors are generic.
The whole point of a selection is to bring in dozens of men (well, up until Eadlyn, women) and have them fight for the crown. Basically. And that stays true here. But the men are generic, and I can’t keep up with them. The names are even worse. It feels like Cass thought of every name she wanted to give a male character but didn’t and turned them all into potential suitors for Eadlyn.
The men aren’t different. Kile Woodwork, who grew up in the castle, has potential to be a standout. He isn’t. Henri, a man who speaks very little English, could be quite the comedic relief. He really isn’t.
Eadlyn goes on and on about how she doesn’t intend to choose any of the men in the selection and just go on with her life after it’s over, and I wouldn’t blame her. These characters are dull.
3. Where did America and Maxon go?
These characters were great in The Selection triology. America was flawed, completely dimensional and irrational in a way that makes sense when you consider what kind of world she was living in. And Maxon was just as flawed and just as complicated. They were fiery and real and stood out despite the weird situations Cass liked to put them in.
They were gone here. America pressured her daughter to have a selection, but if someone had tried that with her, she would’ve promptly kicked them in the shins and headed out. Maxon was trying to distract his people from problems in Illea, but the young Maxon would’ve found a solution, any solution.
It’s like they were completely different characters.
4. This book should have never been written.
The buck should’ve stopped with "The One." And if Cass didn’t, I should’ve stopped myself. The Selection should’ve been a trilogy. It had everything: a love triangle, dystopia, a stubborn main character.
The first book, "The Selection," was great. Loved it. Second book, "The Elite"? Meh. It was fine. What I thought was a trilogy ended with the very emotional "The One," which I admittedly sobbed through and loved. But Cass’ books have a theme that tie them together — awkward dialogue, random plot twists that make no sense, and the overall sense that Cass was writing in a hurry.
5. Cass uses generic ends to move the plot along
A cooking date where Eadlyn and four of the men cook together? OK. Fine. But then also a baseball game with all the men and the royal family? Could we stop?
“Cute” events, but nothing more. They weren’t real, they weren’t substantial and they weren’t impressive.
There’s one shining star in "The Heir": Eadlyn makes readers hate her, and when the book comes to an end, she doesn’t get a happy ending. (For now, anyway, because I would imagine that there’s two more books on the way.)
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