The Heir by Kiera Cass

 

Title: The Heir

Author: Kiera Cass

Genre: Young Adult

Length: 342 pages

Published: 5th May 2015

Series: Fourth book in The Selection series.

 

*This review contains spoilers for The Selection, The Elite and The One*

 



When I found out that Kiera Cass was planning on releasing another two books in addition to the Selection trilogy, I was dreading it. Not to mention when I discovered that the main character of these books was America's daughter. I'm not usually a fan of books like that - I read The Selection because of America and Maxon and if they weren't the main focus of these next books then why would I enjoy them? As it turned out, I really enjoyed The Heir - a lot more than I expected to!

The Heir is set 20 years after The Selection and we are introduced to Eadlyn Schreave - America and Maxon's daughter. Older than her twin brother by a mere 7 minutes, Eadlyn is next in line for the throne and is well on her way to becoming queen. If you've read pretty much any review of The Heir, you'll have probably heard about how whiny, self-centered and generally rude Eadlyn is. And whilst she is all of those things, I don't hate her for it. I hated the moments when was acting like a spoilt brat to her parents, but as for all of the 'I'm going to become queen' talk, I honestly think she's sprouting all of that crap because she's insecure and needs to remind herself of her place in the world. But then I didn't write her so I don't know - maybe she is just a brat. Personally, I perceive her as misunderstood and a little lost and out of her depth. She's a complicated character and I liked reading her. One of my biggest worries was that reading The Heir was going to be just like reading The Selection, but America and Eadlyn have very different minds.

 

In Eadlyn's story, Maxon has completely turned Illea around - the castes are no longer part of the world and the rebels that were such a big influence to the storyline in The Selection have been defeated. However, dissolving the castes hasn't been accepted by everyone in Illea and a new band of rebels are beginning an uprising intending to overthrow the Royal Family. Maxon is desperate to keep this knowledge from the public so decides that in order to distract people from the real issues, Eadlyn is to hold her own Selection.

 

Reading Eadlyn's Selection was a lot more enjoyable that reading America's Selection journey, in one way at least. I think this is because Eadlyn is the one making all of the decisions, where-as America was simply one option of many for Maxon. Her catty attitude towards the participants annoyed me, but I understood why she was behaving the way that she was. It just wasn't that fun to read. As time goes on she begins to loosen up a little, which is something that I'm looking forward to seeing continue in the next book of the series.

 

As for the guys... well I can't say that I'm particularly taken with any of them. This may be due to Eadlyn's refusal to get to know them, but they all seem quite 2d and I found it difficult to remember who was who. Of course there are the main contenders that crop up a lot more often than others, but even then I found them all quite similar. I personally don't have a favourite, which is disappointing because I'd really like someone to root for. I think I can guess at a possible plot-twist, but it's one that I really don't want to happen purely because it's unnecessary and would completely defeat the whole point of the story. But who knows. Hopefully I'm wrong!

 Another round of characters that I disliked being involved in the story were Marlee, Lucy and Aspen. Of course they all found their happily ever afters during the first three books, but I found their inclusion in The Heir a bit too cheesy and smiley. Like, why do they all live at the palace when America's own family don't? I found them all being adults weird to read, too, and I'm including Maxon and America in this. They just feel like completely different characters to me - which in a way they are because they're 20 years older - but I just found I didn't connect to them at all.

 

Despite all of the negativities I just listed, I liked The Heir. It was a very easy read and took me less than 24 hours to get through! The world building was a bit rubbish but it's an interesting addition to the Selection series. I kind of wish I didn't read it so quickly, though, because the next one isn't coming out until May and I'm so impatient. I'd recommend this book (and the whole series, actually) if you like light-hearted dystopians and/or romances. If you'd like to read my thoughts on the previous books in the Selection series check out my review.

I've decided to award The Heir 3.5/5 stars.
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If you liked The Heir, I'd recommend A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas and The Jewel by Amy Ewing.

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