Review: The Elite (The Selection #2)

The Elite by Kiera Cass

Book: The Elite by Kiera Cass (The Selection #2)

Published: April 23rd 2013 by Harper Teen

My rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: YA Dystopian Romance

*DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVE NOT COMPLETED THE FIRST BOOK, THE SELECTION* If you would like to read my review for The Selection here.

Goodreads Summary:

"Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending"

So just after finishing this book, I looked at the publication date... I am so sad this book just came out because that means I have to wait a really long time for the last one in this trilogy, The One. I had a few small issues with this book, but all in all the story was great so I did my best to ignore my annoyance for the greater good of the story :) Here are the more specific reasons I enjoyed/got annoyed with this book:

Reasons I enjoyed it:

-I really enjoy the overall concept for this series. If you read my review of The Selection, then you know I fell in love with it. It is a dystopian romance, with more emphasis on the romance than the government. Usually in dystopians the main focus is the government, so I was really excited about this. The second book, The Elite has more about the government in it, but not to the point where I feel like we lost the original story. 

-We got to know a lot of the characters better in this book. In the first one, there were 35 girls, the maids, the royal family, and a bunch of other random people like Aspen and America's family. Too many people! In this book there were only 6 girls and we really got to know the main characters more than before. After reading this book I feel like I know the king and queen so much better. I know which girls I like and who I want to see fall in a puddle of mud on national television. *cough* Celeste *cough*. 

-The other thing I am really happy the author did when writing this, is she didn't leave some crazy huge cliff-hanger that leaves me feeling lost at the end of the book. There is enough suspense that I will definitely buy the last book because I really need to know what happens next, and waiting will be torture, but I don't feel so distressed about not having the book I can't function. I HATE that feeling. 

-There's more action in this book! This is what I felt the first book was lacking. And even though some of it is about the government, not all of it is so I really like it! I definitely feel like the first book was setting up this series, but it was really enjoyable so I am okay with it. And now that its picking up more, I love it even more!

Things that annoyed me:

-The characters. I know, I know.. above I mentioned how happy was I was that I got to get to know them all better. And in doing this, it kind of made me dislike some of them. It also made me love some of them, but this is not the point. I kept having to remind myself that most of them are 17 year olds who have no experience with relationships. (Which is totally cool, I didn't have my first boyfriend until I was 19). But now that I am in my mid-twenties, I think a little differently than them and I had to constantly remind myself. So back to the annoying characters.. I just want to smack them! 

--First, America. Make up your mind! You don't get to choose who you want forever, and you don't get both Aspen and Maxon so pick one! One moment she wants to marry him and the next she wants to go home with Aspen. Get you s*** together and decide already. I was constantly confused on who she loved. Indecisive temper-mental girl. 

--Maxon. If you say you want to marry a girl, don't go slut around with all the others. I understand spending time with them, and trying to pick a back up because America can't make up her mind. But if you already know who you want to marry, theres no reason to make out with all of them. Man whore. I get that the rules are a little different when you are basically dating 6 different girls, but still. UGH. 

--Aspen. GO AWAY. I still can't stand Aspen. He makes America join the Selection "for him," then breaks up with her, then tries to get her back and gets upset when she has a hard time choosing. YOU. BROKE. HER. HEART. Don't try to force her to be with you. And definitely don't do it by talking crap about the other guy. At least play fair. 

Overall: I really did enjoy this book and I can't wait for the final book, The One, to come out! Although I really can't stand the characters sometimes, the story is so great that I can overlook it. I just want America and Maxon to end up together!! :)

Did you read this book? What were your thoughts??

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new top ten list is posted for us bloggers to share the books we love and discuss anything book related! To see more details about Top Ten Tuesday click HERE. 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book. This was actually a pretty hard topic for me but here is what I came up with:

1) ROMANCE. I love anything with romance. It's my weakness, I am a stereotypical girly girl when it comes to this. I get all fan-girly and gush over it. It's just so great :)

Some examples:

-Walking Disaster by Jaime McGuire

-Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

-The Selection by Kiera Cass

2) Mystery. I'm not really into the dark scary mysteries, although I'm sure they are great, but the goofy comedies or pretty much anything with romance (get used to it, it will probably be mentioned in every topic).


Some examples:
-The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich  
-The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter know, I know, not actually a mystery but the whole book I was trying to figure out who was killing everyone!)



3) Angels. This seems so cheesy when I write it down, I don't know why. Maybe I am still coming to terms with how much I like certain paranormal topics, but this is one of them. I don't have a whole lot of books on this subject yet, but I am always on the look out for a good series about angels.

Some examples:
-Hush, Hush Series by Becca Fitzpatrick
- Fallen Series by Lauren Kate





4) Princesses. Seriously guys, I really want to be a princess. Not an actual princess, with responsibilities and junk but a real life version of a Disney Princess. Like Jasmine or Mia from The Princess Diaries. How cool would that be?

Some Examples:
-The Selection by Kiera Cass (this one might pop up a few times, because its my current series and I'M LOVING IT!)
-The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot - I actually only read the first 5 of these but they were great, as was the movie!



5) Dystopian. The Hunger Games was probably my first dystopian book and I loved it! Great way to get introduced into the genre :) I love the futuristic, anything can happen feeling you get from them.

Some examples:
-The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - obviously
-The Selection by Kiera Cass - lets see how many times I can mention this book in this post ;)
-Divergent by Veronica Roth



6) Magic. I have not read too many books that just have straight up magic in them, but the ones I have read I always love. This is another topic (like Angels) that I am always looking for another good book from.

Some examples:
-HARRY POTTER by J.K. Rowling- am I the only one who reads this is an accent? ...maybe some of you naturally talk with this accent?? Consider yourselves luck, I'm from Texas. I don't have a heavy country accent, but its nothing to be excited about
-The Gemma Doyle Series by Libba Bray (A Great & Terrible Beauty, etc.) - I read these a while back, but I LOVED them!

7) Bad Boys/Forbidden Love. Yes, I get that this falls under the romance category.. but I had to get more specific. I really enjoy reading about a bad boy. I don't know what it is, it just gets me. Probably half the books I read these days have a bad boy or forbidden love in them. Ugh... so good.

Some examples:
-Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
-Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
-Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James




8) College. Since I am a college student I find I am able to relate to characters in college and really enjoy those books. I feel like these books are rather few and far between, or maybe I just have not found them yet, so I always get crazy excited when I find one.

Some examples:
 -Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James- Yes this book is on here a ton. It's one of my favorites. When I first read about this book, I honestly just thought it would be a slightly steamy romance about a girl graduating college. I had already convinced myself I had to read it before I knew what it was about. And boy am I glad
-A Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

9) Comedies.  The other topic that is right up there with romance is comedy. I love a good laugh. And reading a book and busting out laughing? The best.

Some examples:
-Wallbanger by Alice Clayton- Even though the end of this book really let me down, the first half of this book had me laughing so loudly at completely inappropriate times. Like in class... I should probably rethink reading in class.
-The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich


10) Vampires. Im pretty picky about vampire books, but there are so many to chose from that you can always find a great one out there!

Some examples:-House of Night Series
-Twilight *not series, only the first book... the rest were crap*
-The Morganville Vampire Series - I have not actually read these, so I probably shouldn't even mention them. But they are on my list and I am soooo looking forward to reading them, I just had to include them!

What are some topics or words that make you pick up a book??

Review: The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Book: The Selection by Kiera Cass (The Selection #1)

Published: April 24th 2012 by HarperTeen

My rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: YA Dystopian Romance

Goodreads Summary:

"For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined"

The Selecton by Kiera Cass is the first book in The Selection Trilogy. This book, to me, is a cross between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor. I actually saw this on goodreads and really agree with it. I know some readers do not like comparing this book to The Hunger Games, so let me explain...

Why I feel it is similar:

-It is a dystopian YA in a setting that was once the US
-The people are divided into different groups (known as castes in this series) based on wealth

-Each cast has a different job they are in charge of, for example: America, out leading lady, is a 5. They are the artists. 

-There is a group of young women drawn at random to represent different areas in the country

-Their competition is broadcast live for the country to watch 

How it is different:

-They are not physically fighting, so nobody dies

-They are competing to be the Princess, not for their lives (big difference)

-One based on romance, on has a romance story intertwined into the big story

-Entering the selection is an option, it's required in The Hunger Games

All in all they have similar basic qualities but the overall plot line is very different. These girls are not fighting for their lives, they are fighting for love. This is what really makes these too books different. 

Things I enjoyed about this book:

-Maxon. I just want to hug this kid! Well, most of the time. He does have one line in here that makes me want to punch him. I don't remember exactly what it was, and I didn't mark it so I cant find it, but It was something along the lines of "Did you forget you are talking to a prince?" Like bro, she's your friend, she can talk to you how ever she wants without you throwing your title in her face. But for real guys, he is one of my (many) book boyfriends... in my mind hes totally my age :)

-Princesses, hello! I am that girl, who always dressed up as a princess for halloween when I was younger. I love The Princess Diaries (the movie, I surprisingly never read the books... I should fix that), I love Disney princess movies, I want to be a princess. In the girly dress up and live in a castle kid of way. I get there is more to the job, but thats not really what I'm in love with here. And I know I'm not alone... How many of y'all wanted to be a princess??

-It's different, I like it. While there are lot of TV shows like this, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, etc. there really aren't a lot of books with this basic plot line where the girls are competing for the love of one guy. I enjoyed the different topic. It was nice and refreshing, and really enjoyable!

-Unlike other dystopian books, the Selection is actually the main plot of the book. In other dystopian novels that is only the first book. Then the main character realizes how wrong the government and proceed to overthrow it. When I first started reading dystopian nobels, I would go into so many books, such as The Hunger Games, expecting them to be based on the initial thing that brought them in, such as the games in The Hunger Games, or becoming a part of their faction in Divergent. Those books turned out to be so much more, and as much as I loved them, I am really enjoying just reading about the selection. I'm sure somewhere down the way, either in The Elite (The Selection #2) or in The One (The Selection #3), there will be something more to the plot but for now I am really enjoying this :) 

Things I didn't enjoy about the book:

-Aspen. I get that he is important to the story, and without him there would be nothing. But I am NOT a fan. All I can say, is what a d-bag. He makes America join enter The Selection for their future and then breaks up with her. So she does what she has to do to start getting over him. GO AWAY ASPEN. NOBODY LIKES YOU. 

-Other than that I didn't really have anything I didn't like. It ended sooner than I thought it would, but thats because I was expecting to read about the entire Selection. But now the title The Elite makes a lot of sense. (For those of you who have not read the book yet, once the prince narrows down the 35 girls to 10 they are called the Elite). But as mentioned above, I am really enjoying reading about the Selection and not some crazy need to overthrow the government. 

Did you read this book? What did you think about it??

Divergent Book #3 by Veronica Roth HAS A TITLE

Allegiant. 
by Veronica Roth

I am so excited. I just heard the news from The Book Basement and I could not be more excited! Like, for real, guys..

This was me:

And then...

Here is the video for you guys to watch for yourselves :)

I don't even know what else to say, I'm just so happy!

What did you think??

Waiting on Wednesday (#1)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. Each wednesday, this meme highlights upcoming books that we are excited about!

Here are the books I can't wait for:

Untitled (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth


"What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent."

Why I am excited: Come on guys, it't the final divergent book!! After finishing Insurgent, I just sat and stared into space for a good 15 min trying to decide what to do next. Ugh, waiting is killing me. And this is all the information they are giving me?? I can't even get a title?? LAME.

Expected Release Date: October 22, 2013

The Heist (O'Hare and Fox #1) by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg


"FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare is known for her fierce dedication and discipline on the job, chasing down the world’s most wanted criminals and putting them behind bars. Her boss thinks she is tenacious and ambitious; her friends think she is tough, stubborn, and maybe even a bit obsessed. And while Kate has made quite a name for herself for the past five years, the only name she’s cared about is Nicolas Fox—an international crook she wants in more ways than one.

Audacious, handsome, and dangerously charming, Nicolas Fox is a natural con man, notorious for running elaborate scams on very high-profile people. At first he did it for the money. Now he does it for the thrill. He knows that the FBI has been hot on his trail—particularly Kate O’Hare, who has been watching his every move. For Nick, there’s no greater rush than being pursued by a beautiful woman . . . even one who aims to lock him up. But just when it seems that Nicolas Fox has been captured for good, he pulls off his greatest con of all: he convinces the FBI to offer him a job, working side by side with Special Agent Kate O’Hare.

Problem is, teaming up to stop a corrupt investment banker who’s hiding on a private island in Indonesia is going to test O’Hare’s patience and Fox’s skill. Not to mention the skills of their ragtag team made up of flamboyant actors, wanted wheelmen, and Kate’s dad. High-speed chases, pirates, and Toblerone bars are all in a day’s work . . . if O’Hare and Fox don’t kill each other first."

Why I Am Excited: I just found this searching through some upcoming releases, and I can't express how excited I am for this series! I LOVE the Stephanie Plum series by Evanovich, and this sounds awesome! I can't wait to read this new series from her!

Expected Release Date: June 18, 2013

Hotshot by Julie Garwood


"Peyton Lockhart and her sisters have inherited Bishop’s Cove, a small, luxurious oceanfront resort, but it comes with a condition: The girls must run the resort for one year and show a profit—only then will they own it.

A graduate of a prestigious French culinary school, Peyton has just lost her job as a food critic. Out of work and in a bad place personally, a year doing something completely different sounds wonderful.

There are countless challenges and too many people who want to stop the sisters from succeeding. Among them are Peyton’s contentious cousins, who are outraged that they didn’t inherit the resort, as well as a powerful group of land developers who have been eyeing the coveted beachfront property.

It’s soon apparent to Peyton that their efforts are being sabotaged, but she refuses to let the threats scare her—until she’s nearly killed. She calls on her childhood friend and protector, Finn MacBain, now with the FBI, and asks for his help. He saved her life once; he can do it again."

Why I Am Excited: Why not be excited about this? Its got a beach resort, a hot FBI agent, a mystery, and romance! This is for sure my kind of book. I will definitely be reading this when it comes out. This sounds like a perfect summer read :)

Expected Release Date: August 6, 2013

What upcoming books are you guys excited for?