The Crown

The Crown by Keira Cass

When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined. {goodreads summary}

The final novel in the selection series was everything I hoped it would be.

As with the Heir, I really enjoyed seeing the selection process turned on its head. Eadlyn is a great character and the outcome of her selection is exactly what I wanted. I'm really disappointed that this series has come to an end, but I can't wait to see what Cass works on next.

“Maybe it's not the first kisses that are supposed to be special. Maybe it's the last ones.”

The boys in the selection were well developed and even though I had a strong favourite, I still really liked the rest and cared about what happened to them at the end. Probably due to the change in perspective, it felt as though there was less animosity in the group than in America's selection.

“I’m Eadlyn Schreave, and no one in the world is as powerful as me,” I blurted without thought.

He nodded. “Damn right you are.” 

I also enjoyed Eadlyn's character development in this book, although she was still flawed at the end (which is great because perfect YA heroines can get a bit annoying - I like someone I can find fault with).

“It was a delicious feeling, falling in love. I'd had so many luxuries in my life, and I thought I'd had a taste of this before, but I realized now it was merely a cheap imitation of something not meant to be imitated in the first place.” 

The world building and politics is really strong and had me thinking about the way realms are ruled in YA novels for some time after I'd finished reading. I wonder what the obsession with monarchies is? Interestingly, fantasy seems to be the home of kings and queens, while dystopia and sci-fi are normally ruled by dictators. Politics is such an integral part of so many YA novels, which is one of the reasons I love YA books so much, but it would be great to see more democracies represented in YA fiction - especially as they can have just as many flaws as monarchies and dictatorships, and I think discussing these would be of real value to teenage readers; particularly in the current political climate.