The One (The Selection, #3)

by Kiera Cass

THE SELECTION changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. Now, only one will claim Prince Maxon’s heart…

It’s swoon meets the Hunger Games in the third instalment of THE SELECTION series!

For the four girls who remain at the palace, the friendships they’ve formed, rivalries they’ve struggled with and dangers they’ve faced have bound them to each other for the rest of their lives.

Now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.

America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown – or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the competition approaches its end 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.

The breathtaking third title in THE SELECTION series will make you swoon!

• ISBN13: 9780007466719
• Publish Date: 5 June 2014 (first published 6 May 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Harper Fire
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[nora]

At least this one had more of a plot, but I still hate the way these characters interact with each other

[kymmiejournals]

Oh wow. A whole new America is shown and what an action-packed story. Great way to end the series!



Oh wait...


This isn't over yet? I thought it's trilogy only?


What's next? The Heir and The Crown?


Well, I think I'll pass. I've been attached to Maxon and America that I don't want another character's POV.


In the meantime, I'll read The Epilogue and The Prince novellas!

[puchunga]

Bien intenso, me encantó!

[Katie King]

**1.5 Stars**

If you've ever continued to try something despite several unsuccessful attempts, you'll know how I felt coming into The One. Yet despite several issues apparent in the first two books, I decided I had to read this. I could reasonably guess how the series would end (or not), but I couldn't let go. If books were people, The Selection series would be that one former friend that you still stalk on Facebook, several years later.

Let's rewind to the first two books...

The characters were one-dimensional

* Queen Amberly was so *perf*
* King Clarkson was an asshole
* America was obsessed with Aspen
* Celeste was a psycho slut-bitch
* Maxon was condescending

The relationships were one-dimensional

* Why do American/Aspen like each other?
* Why does Maxon like America?
* "Out of sight, out of mind."

The writing was awful

* Irrelevant political filler
* Maxon hates America cause he doesn't have time for her shit 24/7
* America is super desperate/dense/dramatic

The One

The One HAD to be better right? RIGHT??

NOPE. The same exact issues are still present in this book, with some ridiculous plot twists to top it all off. The entire series, Maxon is going to choose America until the last 20 pages when he finds out Aspen is the guy she used to love. Then Maxon gets downright abusive and kicks America out and is going to choose Kriss until basically every second-tier character gets killed. I mean everybody like King Clarkson (convenient), Queen Amberly (sad), and Celeste (random). After that, Maxon realizes his TWU WUV for America, immediately forgives her with no discussion of Aspen, and chooses to marry her. Gotcha, Kriss!

Then there's the whole subplot with the rebels. This has been bothering me throughout the series, but it was seriously hard to ignore in The One! First of all, there is a vague distinction made between the rebels, which is basically the "good" ones saying, "No, no, we're the GOOD rebels, we like, volunteer on Saturdays." There are full-on chapters dedicated to this rebel bullshit - America and Maxon making rebel friends and hanging out with them - so it's like Cass took criticism of that subplot and decided to actually TRY HARDER. NO. Honestly what is the point of it? To give conflict to the story? Because after everybody is killed, we never hear anything else about that. Nothing was resolved! Did they arrest anyone? Did they find their hideout? Did they figure out why they were attacking? NOPE, JUST LET IT GO! JUST FORGET IT EVER HAPPENED: The motto of The Selection series.

The worst part is, let's be honest, if I can score a copy of The Heir from a friend, I'll read it. See you guys then! ;)

[cornerfolds]

The final chapter of The Selection was a wonderful wrap-up to the series! The marathon continued with book three and I could barely put it down until it was over. That's saying a lot considering I was on vacation and I usually put everything else aside while I'm at Disney World. This series had me hooked from start to finish and I am SO glad book four is coming out soon!

The political themes continued to overshadow much of the final book, but tied in nicely to the story. I loved getting to know the new characters and learning what made the different rebel groups tick. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually can't wait to see how this part of the story plays out in the next installment.

America and Maxon continued to keep me intrigued, but I'll admit to getting a little fed up with their repetition this go round. It seemed like they were constantly having communication issues - America doing something dumb, Maxon overreacting and acting like a brat, them thinking it was over forever, and then making up. I'm really glad it finally all worked out (as if there was ever any doubt), but I wish they could've gotten there with a little more originality.

I love the way this book ended and I was sad to see the last page, but I'm super excited that there are at least two more books scheduled! I guess this wasn't a thing from the beginning... Seriously, go out and get this series ASAP if you haven't already! The romance is so good and I don't even care that it's like The Bachelor (I like that show!).

[Sam@WLABB]

I. Love. This. Series. The day I heard there would be two more Selection books, was a banner day for me, I cannot lie. We get so many sweet and tender America and Maxon moments in this book, as well as a lot more info on the rebel movement. They are small victories and large tragedies. I laughed, I gasped, I held my breath, I cried....a lot, especially towards the end of the book. America grows so much during this book. She fully realizes her feelings and purpose and inner strength, she grew into the heroine we always knew she was. She makes a lot of bold moves inside and outside the romantic realm, and surprised me more than one time during this book. --sigh-- Now I must wait for the next book.

[stefu1]

I really really liked this book. The only reason that I did not give it 5 stars was bs use of their annoying "does she/he love me" thin they got and the "you have to tell me I love you first". Anyway I could put this book down, especially at the last 100 pages. This book was a 100% success.

[tweetybugshouse]

I really enjoyed this story it became so much more about the people trying to survive then about who Maxian will choose at the end of the Selection. You will cry, you will cheer and then you find out their more to the story yes people this is not the last book more is to come.

[Angie]

Somebody pass me a tissue! That ending killed me! The One was a nearly perfect ending to this series, but it kicked me in the emotions so I don't even care about its flaws. Those last few pages were awful! My eyes were full of tears and burning and my glasses were fogging up and WHY?! Why her! My heart! Maxon is down to this final four girls, and while it's completely obvious who he's going to choose, I didn't expect such a bumpy ride to get there!

The first thing I loved about The One was the relationship between the final girls. Of course, there's mega tension since they all want to "win" and can't help but compare their relationship with Maxon to everyone else. Needless to say, there is plenty of jealousy and insecurity once the truth comes out! But then slowly, they grow closer and realize this is about him, not them, and they shouldn't throw away possible life long friendships for a man who probably doesn't love them. I actually grew to like Celeste! Elise was just kind of there, but we do finally get to know her better too. And Kriss...well, she had me worried for a second because Maxon does have feelings for her.

Maxon and America drove me nuts in The One! I wanted to lock them in a safe room until they worked out their problems! America is so stubborn and strong willed, yet super insecure and that infuriates Maxon. But then Maxon refuses to stand up for himself to his father, and doesn't communicate fully with America and that causes issues. Then there's the whole Aspen mess, and OMG, I nearly had a heart attack!

I'm just going to stop talking now. The One was amazing. It started off all fun and awesome again, and then it turned super intense and emotional. And Christmas! And my feelings! And I'm so happy but I'm so sad at the same time!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Berls]

This review appeared first at Fantasy is More Fun."

4.5 Stars

Note: This review will have some spoilers for those who haven't read the first two books in the series.

I'm sitting here trying to live up to my promise to myself that I would write reviews as soon as I finish a book, but I'm struggling to piece all my thoughts about The One together into something coherent that doesn't flat out spoil it for you if you haven't read it.

The thing is - I DEVOURED this series. Within one week I read all three books (and would have read more if they were published). I found myself lying in bed after my BF had come to bed and shut of the light staring at the book on my nightstand, thinking about the characters and trying to force myself to go to sleep. And then I'd think, "Wait 30 minutes, until he falls asleep. Then you can get out of bed without waking him, slip out to the living room and read." And I did just that. Twice. I had it bad.

If you know anything about this series, you know there's a love triangle. Hell, there's a couple of them. The love triangles practically have love triangles! And I really don't care - because I LOVED what they did for The One.

There! Fine! I admit it! I loved The One and it wasn't DESPITE the live triangles. It was, in part, BECAUSE OF the love triangles.

But they were really well executed love triangles. They were a means for letting us - and the characters stuck in them - understand their feelings. And as The One begins, America (the main character) has already decided who she REALLY wants. She's kinda known since The Selection, and she flat out makes the decision as The Elite ends. But making a decision and taking the scary steps to follow through with it are two different things. Especially when you've got a King who hates you and wants you out of the running, other people competing for Maxon's affections, Maxon's own confusion, excruciating public tests to navigate, and your ex-boyfriend showing up around every corner. I think watching America try to figure her way through that mess was a big part if what made the love triangles work.

The other great aspects in The One, for me, were the friendships and the surprises. In The Elite we saw the remaining girls start to grow close and in The One we see them as friends. The competition still gets to them, but deep down they're starting to realize that no one will ever understand this part of their life like the other elite. It forms a bond between them and brings down barriers. Some of the changes between the girls shocked me, but in comparison to the rest of The One, they were nothing.

Because The One was chock full of shocking moments. I gasped more times than I can count - for happy and sad moments alike. The situation with the rebels massively escalates and that puts a lot of pressure on the elite girls left in the selection. It led to some moments of some action - though America is very much a damsel needing rescue, not surprising, but a but disappointing - and some fierce moments with the King - where America remains bold and not at all disappointing.

There were some moments that resolved a bit too easily for me, but there was plenty of not-so-easy resolution to make up for it. As The One ends, we're at the end of America's story, but I feel the bigger story - with the world, rebels, castes, etc - is just getting started. So I'm really excited more books are forthcoming, but I'm also happy I choose this moment to get into the series. I can pause here satisfied, in a way I couldn't after finishing The Selection or The Elite. So now's a good time, if you were waiting :)