The Crown (The Selection, 5)

I love this series! It’s perfect for any young girl looking to get in to reading! I quite literally recommend it to everyone!

From reading a lot of the reviews here so far, it seems like many people are disappointed because a) Eadlyn didn't choose the guy they were shipping, or b) because so much of the book focused on Eadlyn's ascension to the throne and not the romance that Selection readers have come to expect. Personally, I thought Kiera Cass did a good job with The Crown (it wasn't perfect, but certainly a lot better than The Heir), and for me it was incredibly romantic as well as an excellent ending to the series. My reasons are below. For people who haven't yet read the book, stay away--this review will contain spoilers. Lots of them :)Regarding who Eadlyn chose...It was always going to be him. ALWAYS. It wasn't just insta-love 40 pages from the ending like some reviewers are claiming, and here are some quotes from The Heir to prove it:- "Eadlyn?" Daddy called, but Erik kept me moving, somehow knowing that I couldn't bear to stay there. (p. 233)- "I tilted my head, really looking at him. It felt like something had just happened, but I didn't know what it was. Erik, without knowing me, had done so much right. He pulled me away before I made the situation worse, got me to solitude before I lost control of my emotions, and stayed with me, listening to my worries and making everything better with his words. There were scores of people on call, ready to do whatever I asked. It was so funny to me that with him I didn't even have to ask." (pp. 236-7)- "I remembered the feeling of my first date with Hale, how I felt when I was sure he'd peeled everything back and had seen the real me. This time, I felt like I was on the other side of that, looking past duty and worry and rank, seeing the true heart of a person. And his was so beautiful." (p. 237)- "He walked away quickly and Neena came over, handing me a cup of tea. The strange thing was, my hands were already so warm." (p. 238)- "Next to Henri, just offstage in the dark, I saw a waving hand. It was Erik, standing on the sideline... he gave me a thumbs-up, but the expression on my face let me know it was a question. I shrugged. He pressed his lips together, then mouthed the word 'sorry.' I gave him a tight smile... Erik shook his head at me, and I was strangely comforted. At least someone seemed to understand how I was feeling." (pp. 258-9)- His offer of friendship after Baden leaves (mirroring Maxon and America's friendship-first story) (pp. 291-4)- "Erik came down the hall in the smartest suit I'd seen him in to date. His hair was neater than usual, slightly slicked back. He looked taller, prouder. My jaw fell open at the change. He looked positively gorgeous." (p. 310)- "But why would you try to be her when Eadlyn is more than enough?" Erik's words nearly brought tears to my eyes, and I reached down to take his hand as I'd done in my bedroom not that long ago... I think I meant to shake his hand, but we ended up standing there, connected in silence for a while. (p. 311)- "I know Eikko as well as he knows Eadlyn. And I can tell you, you are enough as well." He rubbed his thumb against the back of my hand, the tiniest movement. And I could sense we were both wondering what would have happened if his name had been in one of those baskets. (p. 312)- "Measure?" Camille sounded sad. "There is no measure. Isn't there one person who fills your heart and takes up all your thoughts?" As she said it, a name popped into my head. And I was so surprised that anyone came to mind at all that I didn't have time to absorb exactly who it was. (p. 316) (We find out in The Crown that the name was Erik's)- Also the fact that he put Josie in her place at the tea party and made her genuinely smile (pp. 104-5)- Also the fact that he was closest friends with the Selected whom Eadlyn held in highest esteem.- Also when she's dancing with Henri and spots Erik over his shoulder and "his shy smile looked a little sad" (p. 313)Based on what we know of Eadlyn, and how she wants someone who makes life more normal for her and just gets what's in her head, Erik was absolutely a strong contender from The Heir, and their relationship definitely didn't just develop in The Crown. Although when it did, it was amaaazing. Some of the things he says to her are crazy-swoonworthy :)But let's be honest, there was another contender for her heart, and that was obviously Kile. (None of the others even came close; I'll get to that later.) Kile is absolutely an incredible character and a very very good friend and match for Eadlyn, but he had been established from the start as someone who was chafing to leave the palace. He didn't want to be there, not even at his mother's request. He wanted to live his life and be an architect, at least for a little bit. So that precluded him from being Eadlyn's choice almost immediately. That's not to say they didn't have lots of chemistry (they did) and a solid friendship (they did) and a wonderful grounding for a relationship, had that been their choice. But Kiera Cass writes characters like this. The second option is always an amazing one. He's just not THE one. He was the Aspen of this book.None of the other choices were honestly real options. People really thought Hale would be picked? She never even kissed him. They didn't have one romantic moment. He's a sweetheart of a character, obviously, but he was always going to be the gay best friend that Eadlyn can gossip with about shoes and fashion. His gay revelation actually didn't come as that much of a shock to me based on this. (Ean, on the other hand, totally floored me. Didn't see THAT coming, and it was kind of annoying that three guys essentially took themselves out of the Elite, even though it allowed us to find out a little bit more about the world of Illea and how homosexuality was treated in that society). Henri was also a sweetheart, but it was so obvious that their communication barriers were insurmountable even in The Heir. And Fox had no romantic moments ever. It was always going to be down to Kile and Erik, and based on the clues given in The Heir, Kiera went with the right choice. Anything else would have been contrary to Kile's and Eadlyn's character. So everyone please chill and just enjoy the sweet moments of the relationship she did choose, because it's adorable when you're not mad about her not picking Kile :)Regarding the emphasis on the politics...Let's be honest, this was SO needed after all the loose ends that were left hanging at the end of The One and even The Heir. We needed to know how everything would come together so that we didn't leave the series thinking Maxon was just an idiot king who had no idea how to handle a country politically. This book tied everything up for us and answered all the questions. We found out not just what happened politically but also what happened to other characters like Kota, Gerad, Georgia, and August. I'd much rather Kiera have answered those questions than focused more on romance (which honestly I didn't believe Eadlyn was capable of before this book!).Regarding the rest of the book...It definitely wasn't perfect. My biggest gripe is with Georgia and August's fates, along with the whole "bad guy"... it was so sad to find out what had become of some characters that I'd liked in The Selection. I did find it irritating that so many of the Selected boys eliminated themselves, rather than Eadlyn having to do it. The pacing at the end was crazy-fast, I'll agree with that. And Kiera's writing often drives me crazy, like when she's trying to prove how Eadlyn puts a room at ease... she'll say a mildly entertaining comment and suddenly we're expected to believe that grown men are rolling around laughing uproariously? No thanks... but for the most part, The Crown was, for me, a return to the old Selection after the travesty that was The Heir. It was surprising, it took my breath away with some of its romantic moments (I'm an Erik fan for sure), and it resolved many of the questions I'd had about the world of Illea that I wasn't expecting to be answered. All in all, an excellent finale for the series.

SPOILERS AHOY!Princess Kuzco continues to search for Mr. Right Bachelorette-style while ascending to the throne and warding off not-so-threatening threats in the marshmallow dystopia of Illogica. Hilarity continues.Everybody says Eadlyn has changed in this book, but frankly, she’s still the clueless jerk I know and love. And why should she apologize for that? America and Maxi-Pad haven’t apologized for making her that way. BUT Eadlyn’s foot in mouth disease is the worst thing that can ever happen. Remember that.America’s Heart Attack Sneaked Up On Them!America had two first degree relatives die of sudden heart attacks, but they never saw it coming! I, myself, am going to have a heart attack and die of that surprise!We Interrupt This Broadcast“My brother ran off with a French princess, because God knows French peasants have never gotten restless like the Illogica plebs do around here. My mother just had a heart attack, and my dad is going to quit running the country because he just can’t take the pressure. So, in the meantime, while the stock market tanks and the rioting starts, if you have any questions, you can come to MEEEEEEE because daddy left MEEEEEEE in charge! TOODLES!”These people need a palace press secretary and a PR person SO CHUFFING BAD. Obviously they couldn’t sit on the news about the elopement, but the stuff about America’s heart attack and Maxi-Pad’s absorbency problem could have been kept quiet for a while. You can’t drop things like that all at once on the general population. THEY PANIC. The economy takes a hit. People do stupid things. Others try to take advantage of the situation by doing everything from petty theft to staging a coup. OTHER GOVERNMENTS will try to take advantage. This is RECKLESS.This idea of updating people on the government via a reality show every week just seems so tacky and ill-advised in general. It’s like the world runs on tabloid journalism and there’s nothing like conservative or liberal news outlets that focus on real news. (Hmm. Sounds familiar.) At that level of government I would have expected to hear far more serious discussions. I know it’s a YA novel, but would it kill them to have ONE realistic issue per book? *Slaps self* Remember the genre you’re in, Self: Young Adult Romance Faux Dystopian Lite with Retsyn™!!!Worst Advisers EVER, Worst Policy EVERBoy you thought Trump’s cabinet picks were bad. One of the panel guys (probably the one who was never in combat) wants to go to war with France over Ahren eloping with the French Princess. He wants to get a bunch of their young men KILLED over this. Later it turns out that this really is considered an act of war. Usually you have to at least kidnap the emperor’s nephew to provoke a response like that. It’s no wonder there were two more world wars and all that trouble with China. People are just too sensitive.Maxi-Pad Has Wings to FlyWhat kind of summer’s eve canoe abdicates and dumps everything on an 18 year old girl? Maxi-Pad is only slightly less despicable than the Duke of Windsor. The only thing I can say in Maxi-Pad’s favor is that he hasn’t sent telegrams to the Germans begging them to bomb the hell out of his own country. Where I come from, we get older, we get tired, but WE DO NOT place our burdens or responsibilities on the children until we drop dead, EVER. What a disgrace.What’s The Best Nation in The World? Coro-Nation!It’s a stretch for Ahren and Camille to be there, but since they’re not technically heads of state I guess it wouldn’t be a faux pas. What IS a disaster is a coronation planned in a week. That’s not how it works. THAT’S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS.Not That There's Anything Wrong With ThatI pictured Hale as Chris Hemsworth and Ean as Liam Hemsworth. Then it turned out they were doing the horizontal mambo, and… Well, earlier this year, I had surgery for a hiatal hernia that made it physically impossible for me to throw up, so I kind of dry heaved. Brothers! Sick! And that’s all I have to say about that. As for how it relates to the story, I felt like it was an easy way to eliminate two suitors so that Eadlyn wouldn’t have to hurt anyone’s fee-fees so that she could continue on the path of righteousness. In case you haven’t noticed, I kinda prefer the path that rocks.Raise Your Hand if You Trusted MadridNow slap yourself with it.Clarkson Schreave: Saddle TrampI did not see that bit about Lady Brice coming. When I mentioned Grandpa Clarkson might be cheating in my review of The Elite, I was joking. I had no idea it might be true, but it figures. A control freak who beats his kid WOULD be out getting it on with some random chick and then trying to have the resulting child killed.Fridge Horror: How many others were there that Maxi-Pad didn’t know about who DID get 86ed?Even If It Fits, It Doesn’t Always ShipSo your ship didn’t sail. I saw Erik/Eikko coming from a mile away. He probably didn’t have a lot of preconceived notions about Eadlyn, and he wasn’t part of The Selection. There was no pressure on either of them, so they acted normally around each other and could be comfortable being themselves. I didn’t see it as a sudden thing, either. At least, not as sudden as that ending.YOU Get Power, and YOU Get Power—EVERYBODY GETS POWER!The queen voluntarily gives up absolute power to switch the country to a constitutional monarchy. That’s adorable. You keep going down that path of righteousness, Eadlyn. Just don’t forget how to be a jerk. When Madrid gets himself elected Prime Minister, you can’t afford to be nice anymore.The other thing is, people never value things they don’t earn. The people of Illogica didn’t earn the dissolution of the castes for themselves, and look at what a mess that turned out to be. Now they’ve been handed a constitution. They’ll never be able to keep it.The Barnes and Noble Edition has a bonus chapter that you will probably want to read. You can easily find out what happens online, but if you haven’t bought this one yet, consider getting it from B&N if that’s important to you. I didn’t, and I don’t exactly feel unfulfilled.This book was short, and came to an abrupt end. You don’t wait until you get right up on the stop sign to slam on the brakes. Ideally, you apply pressure from a distance, and slowly come to a complete stop. When ending a series like this, you take your time and wrap up loose ends one at a time, not all at once in the last couple of chapters. Consequently, it didn’t have enough time or space to be as much of an Inglourious Crackfic as its predecessors. It’s more of a 3.75, but I’m going to give it four stars for a relatively satisfying conclusion to the best crackfic fest I’ve enjoyed since Bella jumped off that cliff in New Moon. But even that’s not the end. Join me for the supplemental material in Happily Ever After, Buttercup, because it’s not over until it’s over, or until the publisher decides to try to milk it baby one more time.

I ordered this for my daughter and she was very pleased. This was a gift for her birthday and very thankful I found what she wanted

We all know that in life, we all struggle with ourselves. And we grow into the people that were supposed to be. In this story, a woman became a queen, and she also became herself. It is one of the most beautiful things one can see. I haven't really done any reviews for the selected, but I felt this one was worthy of a statement.

The crown was better then the heir in my opinion but overall great book

This series had me crying hanging on for dear life and happy all in one pageThis author has had me reading day and night and I could never be more gratefulI stopped reading recently and this series had finally got me back to my self something I thought would take me longer arhat imaginableI highly recommend this seriesI am literally in tears as I have to say goodbye to theses characters as there were like like best friends.I am going to continue looking out for this author in the future as I think I will never forget theses books. Thank you so muchI have Missed reading for years and you have helped me find that piece of me that I thought was gone forever.Thank youI love you and I love this seriesOh and long live IleaGrace x

In the beginning i got some tears about the America's health situation but then when i reached the half about novel . I was so surprised when i got to know she was in love with Erik (hales' translator)Ohh man amazing this twist was really amazing❤❤💯💯

I was so dissapointed.Spoilers below,There was so much potential in this book. I feel like every choice was so rushed, and the MC showed no sexual tension between any of the boys (except for Kile), there was Very little real romance between her and any of them. I wished the few existing romance scenes were Just MORE, more exciting, tension.And in the end, she chooses the only boy that NO ONE was rooting for because there was hardly any development in their love! It was Just thrown on us out of knowhere.