The Prince & the Guard (The Selection, #1)

by Kiera Cass

Tristan Morris (Narrator), Nick Podehl (Narrator), and Amy Rubinate (Narrator)

"Sixteen-year-old America Singer is living in the caste-divided nation of Illea, which formed after the war that destroyed the United States. America is chosen to compete in the Selection--a contest to see which girl can win the heart of Illea's prince--but all she really wants is a chance for a future with her secret love, Aspen, who is a caste below her"--

• ISBN10: 148299173X
• ISBN13: 9781482991734
• Publish Date: 4 February 2014 (first published 24 April 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Edition: Library Edition
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 4 hours and 35 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[CrowNoYami]

4.5 Stars

 

I really enjoyed this book, and while I don't want to give too much away, I LOVE the prince choosing their bride from those eligible in the kingdom trope. Kiera has a way of writing that draws you in, and though you know you've read similar stories before, her spin on things makes it unique. 

[Kelsey D]

*Audiobook review*
If you enjoyed the Hunger Games idea, you'll like this. The audiobook version I have changes voices occasionally for random sentences, but I can power through that for the story.

[kymmiejournals]

I just skim-read it. I don’t want to know about Maxon’s other love interest other than America.


In here, the theory of Maxon about America's name enlightened everything. Personally I suggest, this book should be read after The One simply because you’ll get to understand how and why her father named her America. Not so much with the prince and the other French girl.

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: It's no mean feat to avoid spoilers for years. Before finally reading my copy, which after all that time on my shelves has yellowed edges, all I knew was to expect The Bachelor, royalty-style. I've never watched a full episode but I suppose ANTM cuts pretty close too. Contestants are catty, some however do forge friendships and impressing the powers that be is tantamount.

Given how little I care for reality TV, I'm surprised how much I did enjoy The Selection. Perhaps I picked it up at the right time: when I was looking for a light-hearted quick read. Bonus for being amusing. I liked the straight talk and the real self that America sought to display and her vehemence against anything that requires her to put on a front for the sake of appearances.

While this isn't a book I'd re-read or push onto anyone as a must-read, I'm glad I did read it after all. It's a fun one and I'm continuing with The Elite next, if only to reduce the proportion of unread books on my bookshelf. I might even watch it on screen when it comes out. I do believe in the entertainment value, despite the evident regression of humanity. That that should be the future post World War 4 is implausible but that hardly seems to be the intent in the first place.

[Artemis]

Eh this book was okay but it was like every other teen-romance out thee. A girl has two choices, she loves them both, blah blah blah. Still a semi entertaining summer read

[Chelsea]

Reread Jan 2016


Read Sept 2012
This book is basically the bachelor but in the future. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it but it was kind of cool to read. I loved the story because it was actually really fun to read. The caste system in which the characters lived was a pretty cool idea. I liked that it’s a competition between all these girls, it’s a fresh idea. I liked how this book focused on the structure of the royal family instead of the main character trying to break free of the government. There was a lot of romance too but it wasn’t bad. I was kind of waiting for a big event to happen but it never did. It was a little disappointing but I made it through.

I liked the majority of the characters. I like Prince Maxon the best and American wasn’t too bad. America wasn’t the best main character but I didn’t hate her so I was able to read the book happily.

There was a cliff hanger ending but luckily the next book is out. This is definitely a lighter novel which was nice to read for fun. I’m not really serious about this book and I might not recommend it unless you wanted more of a romance dystopia book.

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[readingwithwrin]

“Because I could do this. I could do it well. I had to. I had to prove, finally, that I could lead, make decisions.”


I really wanted to read this book to see the whole first book from Maxon's perspective and to see how he really felt about the whole selection process. While you can tell in the first book that he was overwhelmed and didn't really know how to handle things, you never really got to see what he was feeling.
In this novella you get to see what he really feels about the selection, how he feels about becoming king one day and how his relationship with his father is strained because his father doesn't trust him enough, or think that he will do a good enough job. You also get to see who he started to fall for and what he liked about them.
I really enjoyed seeing it from his perspective and actual getting to see him interact with his mom and how his mom will support him and knows that he can do it. His father seems rather controlling especially when it comes to choosing the girls and who he should choose to make the country appear better.
While I wanted to like his friend that was a girl from before I just couldn't for some reason, I think it was because we really didn't get to know much about her besides the fact that she was his childhood friend who loved him and wanted him to break tradition and try to force his father's hand into doing something that could cause a revolution potentially.
I have the queen which, I am going to read next and then after that, I'm going to read the Elite. This is such a fun and quick series and it's just nice to read in between other books.

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[phyllish]

I absolutely love this series!!

[boghunden]

Okay... So the blurb of this companion novel tells us that there was another girl in Maxon's life. Yeah, no. Wrong. Kind of. I have no idea why the blurb was written like that!

This story was so sweet. Especially when the Selection started. It was so nice to see everything from Maxon's POV. It can't always be easy being the son of a king and this story deals with that. I liked how realistic Maxon's reaction to the Selection was. I'd definitely read a whole book from his POV!

[paperbackjedi]

America doesn’t want what every girl wants. She doesn’t want to be part of an elaborate reality tv contest that will win her the hand of the handsome crown prince. She doesn’t want to be royalty. She just wants to be with the people she loves. And she wants to play her music. That’s it. Unfortunately for her, that’s not going to happen. America and her family are Fives which means that they rank low on the caste system and have to work to stay afloat. And times are getting rough. Pushed by her family to help support them and hurt by her boyfriend’s dismissal, she throws her name into the competition, never dreaming she’d get picked. Only she does. And then everything changes.

I don’t often read books heavy on romance, but a friend recommended it to me and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. America is a pretty strong character and I could relate to her as a reader. I found her honesty and loyalty admirable. Cass does a good job illustrating the struggles a family can face while living in near poverty. I enjoyed the family dynamic a lot and it definitely felt realistic to me, especially with what happens when someone in the family becomes successful (and both directions it can take). America’s relationship with her father and sister was heartwarming and often brought a smile to my face.

The world building is interesting, although a little spotty. The novel takes place in a post apocalyptic world in the future. We get different bits and pieces of history throughout the novel and references to holidays that no longer exist in the future. There’s mention of rebels and war and an insurgence, but it’s not clear how we got to this point. Hopefully, it will be explained in the sequels because I was more than a little confused at the state of things. However, the premise is pretty interesting and I like that there’s a caste system complete with all sorts of people who are assigned professions by their caste. Also interesting is that you can climb the social ladder and enter a caste above you if you’re lucky enough.

This book also features a pretty typical love triangle. Girl is torn between two boys; one of which she grew up with and the other she just met and had figured all wrong. What’s interesting is that her first love is painted as more of the bad boy rebel and the crown prince is the good, kind-natured nice guy. Her love for each boy is vastly different and she encounters issues as those relationships evolve. I felt that both boys could have done with a bit more personality as they seemed very basic and I would have liked more exploration into their characters. All in all, this is a good book to read at the beach or on a rainy day if you want to pass a few hours. I read it in one sitting and it felt like I flew through the pages. If you like romance, reality television, and the movie Miss Congeniality, you’ll probably like this book.