Review: The Heir (The Selection #4)

Reviewer: Kristen
Author: Kiera Cass
Pages: 342
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 6 out of 10

** SPOILER ALERT: This is the fourth in the series, and definitely will contain spoilers if you haven't read the first three**

Summary (Thank you dearly, Goodreads): Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible.

But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.

Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought.
My Thoughts: I had read The One right when it came out, and I was so excited to see where the series was going to end and if the characters were going to get a satisfying ending. Apparently I didn't have to worry about it though, because shortly after (if I'm remembering correctly) the rest of the series was announced. And while I thought The One was almost unnecessary and that the series could have easily been a duology instead of a trilogy, this one definitely crossed into unnecessary and "I thought this story was over why am I still reading it" category. Which isn't to say it didn't entertain me, because it did. It was just not at all necessary to the story of America and Maxon. I think it would have been better as a spin-off and not a "continuation" (though, I use that term lightly). 

I hated Eadlyn. I thought she was completely awful to most of the people around her. I could not reconcile the America we got to know in the first three novels with the America that is presented in this book. (I don't think she'd ever force Eadlyn to go through with her own Selection, even if it would relieve stress off her father. Ugh.) The new characters that were introduced all felt like they were the male versions of the female characters in the first selection. I saw the plot twist coming from a mile away, even though that plot twist is the only reason I will finish the series. I was just disappointed, I guess. It felt like the same story, with the same political issues that Maxon was supposed to fix. 

That review seriously made it sound like I hated it. I didn't. It was entertaining enough, and the story was interesting enough for me to finish in one sitting. The writing was great again, I don't know how Kiera Cass does it, but she is a wonderful story teller. I'll finish off the series, I just don't know who I'm rooting for at this point. 

I have some serious cover lust, though.

Final Thoughts: While it was entertaining, it definitely didn't feel like it was necessary. If you liked the rest of the series, though, I would definitely suggest continuing on! 

Reviewer: Kelsey
Rating: 5 out of 10

My Thoughts: Mwahaha, I'm hijacking Kristen's post.
Anyway, I didn't really like this book. I hated Eadlyn. She was a whiney baby and a generally horrible person that was spoiled and didn't care about anyone but herself. I wanted to punch her in the face. I didn't find that she had any redeemable features. She was the stereotypical rich kid and I absolutely hated it.

I also was mad at her parents. This novel is practically the exact same as the rest of the series. The same problems are happening and the parents are making the same mistakes that they hated. That shouldn't have happened. They should not have made the choices they did. 

I also didn't like that the foreshadowing shoved us in one direction and the author chose the exact opposite. It was obviously done that way on purpose. There was no subtly at all. It was stupid.

The novel wasn't as bad as I made it sound. It wasn't too much of a time commitment. It did, however, make me exceedingly angry so that was a problem. If you really, really, really loved this series you might enjoy this novel.