The Heir by Kiera Cass

Published by Harper Collins on May 1st 2015
Genres: Dystopian, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought for Myself
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Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series has enchanted readers from the very first page. In this fourth romantic novel, follow Illea's royal family into a whole new Selection-and find out what happens after happily ever after. Eighteen years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won Prince Maxon's heart. Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own. Eadlyn doesn't expect her Selection to be anything like her parents' fairy-tale love story...but as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought. A new generation of swoonworthy characters and captivating romance awaits in the fourth book of the Selection series!

Just when you thought the Selection was over Kiera Cass is back with The Heir, the fourth book in the Selection trilogy. That’s right – the original story of Maxon’s princess may be over but Ms. Cass is back with a brand new story which continues on with the next generation. And whilst The Heir is a continuation of the story told in the first three books, it is not necessary to have read the previous books to completely understand and enjoy this new chapter in the Selection series.

Crown Princess Eadlyn knows her life is planned out for her. Being next in line to the throne is not an easy role and it is only going to get more difficult. To keep up morale in a politically unstable kingdom it has been decided that Eadlyn will have her very own Selection. The story may have ended happily ever after for her royal parents but Eady doesn’t want a husband yet. At only 18 years old the idea of selecting one man out of thirty five to be her spouse is a little insane. But after meeting the suitors competing for her heart, Eady finds the process to be more than she ever expected.

Whilst I find it a little hard to believe Eady’s parents would force her into a Selection just to make the people happy, the circumstances revolving how it came about are almost irrelevant. This is a book about a spoilt princess finding a needle in a haystack – I mean a husband out of thirty five potential suitors.

I personally love the whole dystopian Bachelorette vibe The Heir has. And I enjoy how whereas the first three Selection books followed one of the ladies vying (however reluctantly) for Maxon’s heart, this new installment to the series is all about the person doing the choosing. There is a little dystopian not quite this worldness to keep things interesting but enough dating drama to keep my romance loving heart happy.

Eady was a little hard for me to like at first. She came across as childish and a little naive. But as the book went on I grew to like the crown princess. She steps up to responsibility and her naivety can be attributed to her fairy sheltered upbringing. Her relationships with her brothers (especially trin brother Ahren) are lovely to read about and I liked the rapport she has with her parents. And then there are the thirty five gentlemen suitors! There’s a great variety in the men with a few being clear favourites and a couple of dark horses I would not be surprised to enter the race for Eady’s heart in the next book of the series. It is clear that Eady’s approach to the Selection is very different from her father’s. The Heir is not just a retelling of The Selection from a different point of view.

The Heir is my kind of guilty pleasure book. It’s fun, a little silly perhaps but extremely entertaining. I can’t wait to indulge myself in the fifth book of this series when it’s released – especially after the ending Ms. Cass gave us in the Heir!