Book Review: Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass

Happily Ever After – Kiera Cass

*Warning – may contain spoilers*

Author: Kiera Cass

Publisher: HarperCollins

First published: 2015

Cover: Paperback

Pages: 387

Blurb:   America’s story wasn’t the only one with a happy ending…

               Before Amberly came to the palace… She was a Four in love with a One.

               Before Maxon met the girl of his dreams… He was the boy of someone else’s.

   Before Aspen opened his heart to someone new… He was determined to fight for his    first love.

               And before Marlee could fall for a prince… She was swept off her feet by a guard.

               Four stories to fall in love with!

History of my copy: At the beginning of May, I treated myself to a spot of book shopping.     (You can find my book haul post here.) Although I had been considering buying The Heir, when I had to choose between the two, I ended up choosing Happily Ever After as I wanted to finish America’s story.

I’m not really a short stories fan, but I read this selection pretty quickly and rather enjoyed some of them. I finished it around 3 weeks ago so I’m just going to give a brief review of each story.

Something that makes this book extra special is the illustrations. They are simplistic yet capture the characters wonderfully.

The Queen: I love Queen Amberly and only wished that she appeared in The Selection series more. She adored her son, Maxon, and was especially kind to all the girls. Because of this, I was super excited to read this story in an effort to find out why this wonderful woman ended up married to the monster that King Clarkson is. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. Whilst I still dislike the couple, the story itself was rather sweet and it was nice to see how the Selection was for these two. One thing I would’ve preferred though was if there was a bit more history to the story. As the story was set probably at least a couple decades before The Selection, I felt as if things should’ve changed a bit within those 20 years. On the other hand, perhaps that’s just part of Illéa – that it never changes (until America became Queen of course).

The Prince: Whilst this story was okay, I didn’t really feel much for it. I guess it was nice for Cass to give us a background as to why Maxon is so terrible around girls at first, but aside from that it didn’t really add anything to the series.

The Guard: Aspen. Ugh. Hated him from the start and still hate him now. Honestly, his whole character felt like an excuse to make Maxon jealous, to let America cheat and just to have a love triangle. Yawn. Most of the story focussed on his feelings for America and I really couldn’t care less about that, so I very nearly didn’t finish it. I did power through, however, and whilst his relationship with Lucy was a little better, it still didn’t do anything for me.

The Favourite: Marlee! I don’t have much to say about this one, apart from the fact I loved it! The whole scenario between Marlee and Carter was one of my favourite in The Selection series as it showed how Maxon was ready to defy the set rules to protect not only America, but to do what is right.

Scenes From Celeste: Throughout The Selection series, I really loved Celeste. That is, until she was ruined by making her good underneath it all. She was the only girl besides America and Marlee that actually stood out and was different. These scenes from her point of view were quite refreshing, and did make her change of character feel a little more realistic. They were a nice addition to the collection but still, I’d rather Celeste stayed a cow right up to the end.

The Maid: Just like The Guard, I wasn’t a fan of this story. Lucy and Aspen, America’s closest maid and her ex, as if that hasn’t been seen before. I will, however, admit that I did prefer this to The Guard as I liked hearing Lucy’s views, and there was a lot less of Aspen pining over America.

After The One: If you read my review of The One, you’ll know that I was highly disappointed by the ending to America’s Selection. This scene though was the ending I wanted. It was perfect. It was set long enough after The One that everything had died down, it was sweet, and it gave it that final conclusion. In my opinion, this one part was written better than the entire final book and should be included in it. I loved it!

Where Are They Now?: This is a short update on what 3 of the girls, Kriss, Natalie and Elise, did after The Selection. This did nothing for me, mainly because all but America, Celeste and Marlee felt like the exact same person so by the time I read these, I had no idea who Kriss, Natalie and Elise were and so didn’t care what they were up to. I guess this was a really nice addition for anyone who connected with any of these girls, but to me it seemed really pointless.

To read or not to read: Don’t read. For those of you who absolutely adored the series, I totally recommend this collection. For me, Happily Ever After contained two good stories (The Queen and The Favourite) along with the notable After The One and Scenes From Celeste, which leaves 3 stories I didn’t particularly like, along with the pointless Where Are They Now?. With more bad than good, Happily Ever After kind of left me a little disappointed. 

| The Selection | The Elite | The One |

My Latest Book Haul! (07/05/16)

As I'm sure many of you are aware, I'm coming up to a rather stressful time in my schooling right now. The dreaded A-levels. As I'm taking 6 subjects (well 5 if you don't count General Studies, which most people don't), you can probably imagine that I have paper coming out of my ears and I'm reciting chemical equations in my sleep. Well, not literally. (Not yet anyway!)

Yesterday I had a half-day as my double biology lesson was cancelled. Because of that, I had originally planned to pop into town (Plymouth) and go book shopping to kill some time before catching the bus home with my brother's girlfriend. Unsurprisingly where my brother is involved, there was a change of plan so I could go straight home from school. However, as I'd sort of built myself up for a good spot of book shopping, I decided to go ahead and treat myself anyway. The only problem was money.

Although I will actually get a pretty big student loan next year, especially for staying at home, this summer I intend to learn to drive and therefore a lot of my loan (if not all of it!) will be spent on car insurance. So I decided to to limit myself to only the money I had on me. If I used my card, I think I would have made myself bankrupt!

£34 later I had a nice collection of 6 books, although a little sad as I had to put a few back.

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses; Sarah J. Maas

2. A Court of Mist and Fury; Sarah J. Maas. I took their last copy and it was signed! I didn't even realise they were selling signed ones!

3. The Force Awakens; Alan Dean Foster. I've been considering buying this for a while as Star Wars is my absolute favourite series of all time and, as it was part of 'buy one get one halfprice' I went for it.

4. Trouble Twisters; Garth Nix and Sean Williams. I had never even heard of this book, but a copy signed by Nix was in the reduced section for only £1 so I went for it!

5. Rebel of the Sands; Alwyn Hamilton. Although on my tbr, there were many books I wanted instead. In fact, I nearly chose The Heir by Kiera Cass over it but as it was 'buy one get one halfprice' with Star Wars, I ended up buying it.

6. Happily Ever After; Kiera Cass. A toss up between this one and The Heir, I decided I'd finish off America's story first. The reviews of The Selection, The Elite and The One are all on this blog. Although not too impressed by The One, I just knew I had to read Happily Ever After sometime. 

#SundaySeven (17/04/16)

I know it's very late this week, but better late than never right?
There have been some really amazing photos this week, which is partially why it took me so long to get this post up. I've also been doing a lot more school work, which is also why it took so long.
But before I go and watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I better get this post up!

1. 

@mylibrary__

First place this week goes to one of my favourite accounts and someone who tags me in loads of photos, which is brilliant because I love book tags! This photo is quite a simple one, but simple can often mean absolutely stunning. I love the page background, which I'm sure I've mentioned before, but I also love the colour of the photo and that book cover is gorgeous!

2. 

@book_lovers_15

This account hasn't been featured since the first week, but has made a comeback with this lovely photo of The One, a review of which can be found on this blog. I love the setting of this one, with the trees reflected beautifully on the lake. Plus the covers of Cass' books are so pretty too!

3. 

@ash.reads

Ever since starting #SundaySeven, I have been waiting for Ashley to make the top seven. Not only is her account one of my absolute favourites, she is one of the nicest people I have met since joining bookstagram! A review of Throne of Glass is also up on this blog and, although the book disappointed me, this photo certainly doesn't! I just love the colours and that necklace is so pretty. 
4. 

@demmi_writist

Unsurprisingly, here we have Demmi's third feature and many of her other photos made it to this week's shortlist too. All of her photos are just so colourful and eye-catching! Two things really made this one for me. One is the bookmark. I love adult colouring, and I love the idea of colouring bookmarks! The colours chosen are so bright and could lighten up even the most fullest of days. The other thing I love are the book covers; I need to buy those books!

5. 

@thehufflepuffle

I clearly cannot get enough of Lindsay's account. Third week in a row, and she featured last week twice! Her photos are always so beautifully cluttered and so stylishly done. Zodiac has totally made its way onto my TBR now just because of this photo. I really wish I could take photos as amazing as this!

6. 

@sobookinggood

This photo is Tracey's fourth feature, wow! That's more than half the posts! Whenever I even try to go outside, I never get gorgeous photos like this. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but Tracey clearly isn't! I love the way the glare of the sun is in the top of the photo, and I just love the tree that the book is nestled in. It's such a lovely photo; it really makes me want it to be Summer!

7. 

@conireads

What's this? A week without Harry Potter? Wow! Instead I have this lovely photo from one of my new found accounts. I'm such a dog person and, although not a really planned out photo like those above, I will stop and always love any photos featuring your reading buddies! Plus the book cover is pretty intriguing too!

Thankyou for reading, and thanks to all the bookstagram accounts (both those featured, and the countless others I poured through in order to decide on my seven). 

None of these photos are mine, and I have credited the account and notified them that I am using their image. Occasionally, it is known for accounts to repost photos without crediting the original owner. I do not support this. All photos are, to my knowledge, original to the accounts credited. If not, I will happily amend and assist in reporting accounts that are stealing photos. (To the accounts featured: I am not suggesting this applies to you, I am merely covering myself. This paragraph shall feature on all #SundaySeven posts in the rare and unfortunate case problems may occur.)

Book Review: The One by Kiera Cass

The One – Kiera Cass

*Warning – may contain spoilers*

Previous reviews: TheSelection; The Elite

Author: Kiera Cass

Publisher: HarperCollins

First published: 2014

Cover: Paperback

Pages: 323

Blurb:    When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown – or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realises just how much she stands to lose – and how hard she’ll have to fight for the future she wants.

History of my copy: I bought The One, along with Lady Midnight (review here) and Winter to make the most of the postage I paid to receive Lady Midnight on release day and, after loving The Selection and The Elite so much, The One leapt to the top of my TBR list.

I have just realised that the covers of The Selection series are blue, red and white, coincidentally the colours of the American flag, and I can’t help but wonder whether this was done on purpose or not, especially as the main character is called America.

Plot: I can’t help but feel highly disappointed in the final instalment of Maxon’s Selection. The story itself had so many little twists that had the potential to become something fantastic, but were wrapped up much too soon. The alliance with the Northern rebels could have been developed so much more, giving an interesting side plot to the story as Maxon and America worked against the King for a different Illéa. Furthermore, the attack when the pair sneak out of the Palace also could have been a bit more dramatic and a lot less confusing, with perhaps one of them getting kidnapped. And what even happened to Paige after that?

         In terms of The Selection process itself, the book focusses on the remaining four girls: America, Celeste, Kriss and Elise. However, they don’t seem to do much. In fact, most of the book is Clarkson being harsh on America. The only vaguely interesting development was the Convicting.

         And then there is the ending itself, and the events leading up to it. C’mon, if you’re going to have a massive attack, make it interesting! Make it good! It seemed much too rushed, much too sudden and much too quickly brushed away and replaced by the wedding.

         Then there’s the matter of character development and the way Cass used the characters for different things, which I shall delve into later.

         I also feel as if having both the King and Queen dying in the attacks was a bit too strong. Yes, she died for him, but it just seemed a bit too sudden and a bit too much. Plus, Maxon didn’t even seem too bothered about it. I know he was a jerk, but he was your Father and your Mother was nothing but an angel. Show some respect.

Setting: Admittedly, Cass kept the setting up. I still want to go to the Palace and see how beautiful it is for myself. Maxon’s room sounds amazing. I also enjoyed how, when America went home, there was that contrast between her old home and her new one.

Characters: My first problem regarding the characters is the way Celeste entirely changed. For some reason, Cass decided to show a ‘nice’ side to the girl who had been a right bitch throughout, and the other girls seemed to forgive her? Why? Oh yes, just so that when she gets shot the reader is supposed to feel something for her. Sorry, didn’t happen. Celeste was more interesting as a mean girl, and the change in her character did nothing for me.

                Then there is America’s father’s death. Not sure why that happened either, maybe just to send America away from the Palace over Christmas, despite how beautiful any festive scenes between Maxon and America would have been? Oh and yes, of course, Aspen had to give America away at the wedding, a little symbol of their relationship between them. Didn’t like that at all, it felt like his death was just to show that, and to show that he was a Northern rebel. But it was nice to see why America had that name.

                And now to Maxon, who I did love but now I hate. His reaction to Aspen and America was ridiculous. At least give the girl a chance to explain! Jheez, grow up, don’t act all petty just because she had a previous romance and you didn’t.

To read or not to read: Don’t read. I know, if you’ve reached this far you just want to get to the end of Maxon and America’s story, but this book is such a disappointment compared to the other two. Sure, read it to finish this part of the series, but don’t go expecting much. I almost wish I’d finished The Elite and decided that I could imagine them ending up together and how it happened without picking up The One.

Book Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite – Kiera Cass

*Warning – may contain spoilers*

Author: Kiera Cass

Publisher: HarperCollins

First published: 2013

Cover: Paperback

Pages: 323

Blurb:    America Singer is one of The Elite and Prince Maxon only has eyes for her.

If she wins the competition for his heart, she will leave her pre-destined life for a world of luxury. But the outcome is less than certain; the threat of rebel violence just beyond the palace walls is escalating into war and bitter rivals are ready to take her down.

And as America’s feelings for Maxon grow stronger, ex-lover Aspen waits for her in the shadows. Where do her loyalties truly lie?

History of my copy: I bought this book only 2 days ago after a day at Plymouth university. Having read The Selection (review here) only a month ago, I was dying to get my hands on The Elite.

Anyone who knows me will know that 2 days is a very short time for me to read a book. I’d say I’m an average speed reader, but I like to have many books on the go at once. For me to leave a book for months is certainly not a bad sign, but rarely am I in the right mood to read a book in only a few days.

Plot: The Elite continues on from The Selection, with only a few girls left. In terms of diminishing the competition, this book sort of fails as only two girls sent home. However, this book delves into the caste system, and each of the remaining girl’s personalities more. With only a small number left, it’s much easier to set them tasks, such as the project towards the end of the book. The Elite also allows us, the reader, to explore Maxon’s relationships with the other girls more too. Understandably, America is upset by his closeness with Kriss and Celeste, despite it being expected. I also side with Maxon in all this – he has given America everything, yet she has done little but throw it back in his face and instantly think the worse of him.

Setting: The Elite continues to be set in the palace, but Cass’ description of the different settings, especially the receptions and the devastation after the rebel attacks, still keeps you immersed in the world.

Characters: Many people dislike America, and I am starting to see why. Whilst I adored her in The Selection, I feel that in The Elite she lost her five-ness, and became a bit more of a spoilt brat. Whilst she has other fantastic qualities, I will admit that there were a few occasions when I wanted to slap her for how hypocritical she can be. She complains at Maxon dating the other girls, something that, although horrible, is part of the competition and something he is allowed to do. Whilst he’s doing this, she is seeing Aspen behind Maxon’s back, which, as we see with Marlee, is treason!

                Maxon, on the other hand, I am starting to fall in love with as a character. The Elite explores him more, and we get to see the man behind the impassive Prince face. He tries so hard to please America and to be honest with her, whilst still partaking in The Selection. He also has compassion, something his Father really lacks. Although I feel that the whole abuse thing is a little cliché, it just makes me ache for Maxon more.

To read or not to read: Read. This book isn’t really my usual style, but it’s light reading and ridiculously addictive. I would recommend The Elite and the rest of the series to anyone, especially those wanting something more than a typical YA love triangle. Whilst The Elite does contain one, the extra complication of all the other girls makes it so much different!

A Day in the Life of a Medical Student

Well, sort of.

As any of you who regularly reads my blog may know, I am an aspiring doctor. As I am now in Year 13, this year I had the exciting (yet daunting, I won't lie) task of choosing which medical schools to apply. I narrowed it down to Cambridge, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Plymouth. I've had interviews at all (apart from Edinburgh, which doesn't interview anyway), and with an unsurprising rejection from Cambridge, I am glad I have a back up now that I have an offer from Plymouth, which I received in December. And I only have to get AAA!! (Let me clarify, AAA is the lowest a medical school will ever offer.)

Today, I was lucky enough to be able to partake in a medicine offer-holder day at Plymouth, along with 19 others who will hopefully become my course-mates next year. Unlike the majority of the group, I only live a little distance away from Plymouth, and actually go to school in the city, so there was no long car or train journeys for me. Although, I think going to Edinburgh will make up for that. With this blog post, I want to explain the sorts of things medical students, especially those that go to Plymouth, get up to, something I hope will both be interesting to anyone, and perhaps a helpful insight to anyone hoping to pursue a career in medicine.

In the first part of the morning, we got to have a look at Clinical Skills, a vital part of training that ranges from communication and teamwork, to actual procedures. Plymouth's Peninsula medical school has fantastic facilities for this, including a range of dummy patients and even a simulated ward, where you work with actors who pretend to be a wide range of different patients you may encounter. Fortunately for me, I was quite familiar with the facilities as I did my Year 10 work experience with the medical school.

Aside from a tour of the facilities, we got to perform a couple practical tasks. First of all, we got to intubate dummy patients, which is when you push a pipe down their trachea so that they can breathe. It's surprisingly difficult, and I think we all instantly appreciated why we don't try this on real people first, as most of us managed to inflate the stomach rather than the lungs, and no-one did it particular fast, so I'm sure our whole room of patients would have died if they were real. But don't worry, I'm sure that in 5 years time we'll be able to do it with our eyes closed! (Not literally, that could be a little dangerous...)

Another exciting thing we did, was learn how to perform intramuscular injections. Perhaps not as exciting to write about, but learning how to keep things uncontaminated, and how to correctly draw up a solution and inject it into (once again a dummy) patient was fun, and surprisingly complicated!

The day also consisted of a tour of the university and Student Union, a free lunch, and an overview of the course and how Plymouth, as a modern uni, is different to those that try the traditional approach to medicine.

In the afternoon, we got to watch an hour of a PBL session. PBL, problem based learning, is when students work in small groups to focus on a case, where they apply previous knowledge, and go away to research new topics, to understand the situations, how things can be done differently, and perhaps even form a diagnosis or solution. It's a very modern way of learning, and different to the traditional lecture-based method. At first, I wasn't too keen on the idea, but now it has been broken down a little, and now I've had a chance to watch a session, it seems like a really interactive way to learn.

After I had finished at the university, I popped into the city centre to do a spot of book shopping. I ended up buying The Elite by Kiera Cass, and Cress by Marissa Meyer (the previous books of both series have been reviewed, so go check them out from the Review page!). I also had a discussion with a man who worked in Waterstones about Red Queen and it's sequel. He, like me, wasn't that sold with Red Queen, although found the ending good. He has, however, convinced me to consider continuing with the series. (Red Queen has also been reviewed).

If anyone has any questions about Plymouth uni, medicine/medical school, applying to uni, etc, please feel free to comment! Also, if any of you reading this are medical students, I'd love to hear about where you study and what you think of it.

Book Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection – Kiera Cass

*Warning – may contain spoilers*

Author: Kiera Cass

Publisher: Harper Collins

First published: 2012

Cover: Paperback (and I must add, the cover is stunning!)

Pages: 327

Blurb: In a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels, The Selection is the chance of a lifetime: to compete for the gorgeous Prince Maxon’s heart. But for America Singer, it means turning her back on her secret love, and leaving home for a prize she doesn’t want.

Then America meets Maxon and all her plans start to crumble. Can the life she’s always dreamed of compare to a future she never imagined?

History of my copy: Along with Reasonsto Stay Alive, The Selection was one of the three books I bought with my Waterstones gift card, and a little of my own money.

To all my friends, this book is the kind of book I should hate. Honestly, I told one of my best friends about it, and he actually laughed (well, it was through text but judging by his words, he was totally laughing. Although it wasn’t as great as his reaction to The Lunar Chronicles…) But, contrary to popular belief, despite everything, I am still a teenage girl, and we all need a soppy, love triangle from time to time, right?

Plot: Seriously though, this is the kind of book even I think I should hate, but I actually loved it! I’m not a fan of reality TV shows at all, but something about this book made it all okay. It follows America Singer as she leaves her family and home behind to enter a competition to become Princess of Illéa, along with 35 other girls. She becomes a friend to the Prince and thus he keeps her in the competition for her companionship, and as a favour so that she can continue to be away from her previous love, Aspen. However, unsurprisingly, Prince Maxon ends up developing feelings for her, and she for him, so America makes it down to The Elite for reasons that are no longer to do with friendship.

         Along with the inevitable competition between the girls and dates between them and Maxon, there are also rebel attacks on the palace, which gives rise to a reason for some of the girls to not be his wife. It’s an interesting twist, and shows that not every fairy-tale is happy and safe.

Setting: One thing I loved about this book in particular was its setting. As a dystopian novel, it can be hard to create a unique world. This one involves castes, which dictate your jobs, and therefore income. America is a five and therefore belongs to the artists of the country. I found this world immersive and it had just enough similarities to make it comfortable and not forced. It also made it more believable.

Characters: First to the main character, America Singer. A lot of people complain about her name, along with many others in this book, but I see no problem with it. She’s named after the country Illéa used to be, there’s no issue with that. There is also the issue that America Singer is a singer. However, surnames used to come from the jobs and personality of the people, or they certainly did in Britain, so it only makes sense that a family of artists would have the surname Singer.

                I liked America a lot. Her character was developed, she was funny and she was brave. Unlike most YA romance books, she didn’t spend 90% of the book whining over her oh so difficult love life, which is a huge bonus!

                I also liked Prince Maxon. It was nice to see a Prince that wasn’t perfect, and had clearly never been allowed to date girls before, or had the time. He had his flaws, and it was entirely realistic that he had no idea how to deal with crying girls!

                As for a character I disliked, unlike many I’m not going to put Celeste. At least she was different! There were many girls in the book that seemed identical, and were only there to make up the numbers. They were all pretty, polite and lady-like *yawn*. I understand that they’re there just to make the competition bigger, but a little more individuality would have been nice.

To read or not to read: Read. I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and quite funny. I am really looking forward to reading The Elite, and I do hope we get to learn more about the Queen in it! If you’re looking for a romantic, easy-to-read book, go for this one. You won’t be disappointed!