The Elite by Kiera Cass
Genre: Romance, Dystopian
Published by: HarperTeen
Pages: 311
Format: ebook
Rating: ★★★.5
Series: The Selection (#1) | The One (#3)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I was pleasantly surprised by The Selection and I was pleasantly surprised by The Elite! Who knows what’s going to happen in The One but I am so excited to read it!

I’d heard plenty of bad things about America as a character, normally in reviews you never see America without ‘was really annoying’ straight after, and yes, I thought she was a little whinge-y at times, but she was far less annoying than I thought she’d be. Good. Now that’s out the way, onto the review.

My biggest issue was the double standards. America wasn’t okay with Maxon kissing, or just being with, other girls, and yet she felt very little guilt about running off to be with Aspen every time Maxon did something to upset her. However, what I liked was that Maxon called her out on it! He said that she reacted too harshly which lead to mistakes. Also, what America failed to grasp was that no matter what Maxon will always love her best, and he made her a promise to not kick her out of the Selection until the very end – unless of course, America could say she loved him. The pair had some pretty serious trust issues, that I seriously hope are resolved in The One, because I’m not sure how much of America’s “but he doesn’t love me” I can take.

I really like where this series is heading. I thought that the rebels that were mentioned in The Selection where only a minor plot point, but the threat of rebellion was much stronger in this sequel, although it still didn’t seem violent enough for me to really believe there was a threat. Apart for the rebels, there were many twists and turns in the story that I really didn’t see coming! With the competition getting closer and closer to the final, I expected there to be more drama and thankfully there was! We got to see another side of Maxon’s personality, and got an even closer look into the royal family. Not only that, but we also got to learn more about the final girls in the process, and the secret as to why these six girls were the chosen ones.

The Elite was just as engaging as The Selection, which seems to be a rare quality in trilogies. I’m hoping that the final book will be a step up, because so far I’ve really enjoyed the characters and the setting. I love how America is developing as a character, I honestly forgot that she was only 17. I’m still not Aspen’s biggest fan, but at least he wasn’t as possessive as I thought he was going to be. The characters in the love triangle are all very accommodating for one another, and understand ‘I need time’. Thank goodness.

I really enjoyed The Elite, and although part of me says it was only because I went in with such low expectations – probably true to a certain extent – as sequels go, in actuality, it was a good one! I’m going to give this book 3.5 stars, because I enjoyed it, but I don’t think I was as engrossed in the story as the first book in the series.