Review - The One by Kiera Cass

Title:  The One
Series: The Selection #3
Author: Kiera Cass

Release Date: May 6, 2014

Pages: 323

Goodreads Rating: 4.27/5 Stars

My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

My Content Rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing)

Summary from Goodreads:  The highly anticipated third book in Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series, The One will captivate readers who love dystopian YA fiction and fairy tales. The One is perfect for the fans who have followed America's whirlwind romance since it began—and a swoon-worthy read for teens who have devoured Veronica Roth's Divergent, Ally Condie's Matched, or Lauren Oliver's Delirium.

The Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she entered the competition to become the next princess of Illéa, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen—and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice . . . and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.

Find out who America will choose in The One, the enchanting, beautifully romantic third book in the Selection series!

I was honestly really nervous to read this book.  I really loved The Selection, despite a few flaws, but was beyond frustrated with America in The Elite.  Her horrible choices and indecision about Maxon vs. Aspen just made me a little crazy.  SO, I wasn't sure what to expect with The One.  

Yay for pleasant surprises!!  I loved this book!!!

What I LOVED:

• The Elite.  We got to know all of the girls in the Elite A LOT better in this book.  We got to know who they really are and why they'd made the choices they made.  We even got to see why each of them wanted to marry Maxon.  I think it made a huge difference to the story to truly see these girls and get to know them!
• The rebellion.  The rebellion was still in full swing when this book began.  The rebels were still repeatedly attacking the palace and, as the book went on, they started to even attack the general population.  But some unexpected things happened with the rebels, and we got to know them a bit more as well - I don't want to spoil anything, but I will just say that the rebellion storyline started to get really interesting to me and I wasn't ever sure how it was all going to end up!  Honestly, often rebellion storylines bore me a bit, but this one didn't at all - I was very invested in what was going to happen and how it would all play out.
• The end of the love triangle.  Let me start by saying that America did not magically turn into the strong and decisive character I really wanted her to be (see negatives below), but I was happy that she didn't spend this entire book wondering if she should be with Aspen or Maxon (thank you!!).  Could she have expressed that decision to both guys a bit earlier in the book?  Well, yes.  But she made a decision - and only waffled a little tiny bit!  Yay for America!!  In the end, the romantic side of this story still had just enough angst to keep it interesting, but not enough that I wanted to strangle the characters involved.  

The negatives:

• The beginning.  At the beginning of this book, I was still a little nervous.  America was still sometimes pushing Maxon away for some crazy reason (and pushing him toward the other girls in the Elite) and she still wasn't always making the most sound of decisions.  I cringed a bit.  Was this book going to be just like book #2?  Luckily, the political side to the story took more center stage and America started acting like she might actually be able to help run a country.  Usually.  Okay, America was still America and she still made some dumb choices based on insecurities, but she did get better as the book went on - and I was able to handle her choices without feeling like I needed to smack her because everything (including her insecurities) felt a bit more grounded in reality in this book.  Yay!

I am SO happy with this conclusion to this series.  I honestly cannot tell you how utterly relieved I am that I loved this book! For me, it was a solid 4.5/5 stars.

***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by Harper Teen in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***

About the Author

Me & Kiera Cass!

100 Things Kiera Cass Loves:

Being married. Cake. The smell of Autumn. Motherhood. Books. Elephants. Back rubs. On demand movies. Actually going out to movies. Faith. Cinnamon rolls. My family. Butterflies. When my kitchen is clean. Crayons. Pink. Tote bags. Dancing. Organizing via color coordination. That my wedding dress was tea length, not floor. Baking. My house. Writing utensils. Paper. India. The sound of water. Making videos. Buttons. The word Episcopalian. Making people laugh. Layering clothes. British accents. Pinterest. Animation. Fireworks. The smell of the Ocean. My wedding rings. Aprons. Reasons to get dressed up. Sex. Pop music. Stars. Taking walks. Daydreaming. Stickers. School Spirit. My friends. Living in a small town. Japan. Singing. Painting my toenails. Pranks/ practical jokes. Painting. Stretch canvas. Costumes. Dipping my fingers in melted wax. Style. Soda. Spending an hour typing at a coffee shop. Musicals. Back to school season. Mopeds. Good hair days. Naps. Not walking up but looking at a beautiful staircase. Driving alone. My ankles. Playlists. Spending entire days in pajamas. Holidays. Telling stories. Spontaneity. Theme parks. Bookshelves. The word copacetic. Boxes. Empty journals. Surprises. Doing things in groups. Doing things alone. Getting real mail. Decorating. Small forks. A good hug. Gift cards. New Years Goals. Going out to dinner. When someone else remembers some great story about me/us that I’ve forgotten. Toy stores. Fireplaces. Breakfast foods. Journaling. Crying for a good reason. Doorbells. Pointless adventures. Voting. My birthday. Reasons to make wishes. Recycling.

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