The Crown by Kiera Cass {Yomna's Review}

Twenty years have passed since the events of The One, and America and Maxon’s daughter is the first princess to hold a Selection of her own. Princess Eadlyn didn’t think she would find a real partner among the Selection’s thirty-five suitors, let alone true love. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you... and now Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more difficult—and more important—than she ever expected.

The Selection series has sold more than 3 million copies and captured the hearts of fans around the world. This swoon-worthy final installment is the happily ever after they’ve all been waiting for.

The Crown By Kiera Cass

My rating: 3/5

Spoiler Free Section

ONE WORD: Disappointment

I'm crying because it's so deeply saddening the high expectations I had for this book. And now I feel like I've been cheated out of something. 

Eadlyn Shreave is a character I admired. As a feminist, the ideals she embodies are perfectly aligned and are something I relate to. 

She's a great queen. But. She's kinda crazy. 

Like really crazy. Like everything she does doesn't even make sense crazy. Like what the hell are you doing Eadlyn crazy. 

I LOVED America. I know a lot of people thought she was annoying but she was such a great character to read about. And reading about her in The Heir and The Crown has been absolutely wonderful. 

Relationships: absolutely unsatisfying and rushed. Not only does Eadlyn not end up with the person I was rooting for at the beginning of this book, her relationship with the person who she does end up was endlessly rushed. It was weird. It was like she fell in love in two seconds. The other suitors' characters were not properly developed and their role in the story was over exaggerated. Meaning, you could've removed all but two and saved yourself a HUGE load of crap. 

While the first three selection books were original and enchanting, this one seemed repetitive. 

Politically: although there are countless things this book did wrong, there is one thing that I liked. The representation of the media and the stress they can have on other people. Everything else was weird, messed up, twisted, not making sense and largely unsatisfying. 

This is my second favorite series of all time, and I'm so so disappointed because I had so much faith in Kiera Cass and she let me down. Honestly if you are hesitating before reading The Heir, don't bother. The Heir is a GREAT book but in this book you can tell Kiera Cass just wanted to get it done. 

OKAY THAT'S IT FOR THE SPOILER FREE SECTION.

I have a lot of stuff to talk about and let's hope I remember all of them and write them down. 

Madrid Illéa: unnecessary problematic plot filler. I hated him. From the beginning I knew that his intentions weren't exactly selfless but the way he went about it, attempting to force Eadlyn to marry him, was so cruel. Also it was so annoying because it cut the book so much shorter. 

Ean and Hale: I'm all for gay rights, but this relationship was kind of a plot device. Plus I think the LGBTQ issue of people getting shamed for liking their own sex should have been addressed better. You can't be political and choose to abandon that kind of thing. 

Erik: this relationship was so rushed. They just touched and then she was immediately in love with him. It was ridiculous. Plus the fact that the only thing we know about him is that he's a translator and some stuff about how his parents got together. Remember America and Maxon's relationship? They knew a lot of stuff about each other before they got married. Erik doesn't even know Eadlyn likes to draw dresses. Also, I kind of knew she was going to marry Erik because Erik AND Eikko literally mean 'king' and 'peaceful rule'. Subtle Kiera, real subtle. I don't really mind that she married Erik, it's just I thought if she didn't end up with who I wanted (we'll talk about that in a second), Kiera Cass would at least convince me to root for Erik, but that simply never happened. Also, Eadlyn and Erik didn't even argue once. How do we know then that this couple will not turn away from each other at the first fight? 

Kile Woodwork: the whole of the heir and the whole of this book I was absolutely a devotee to Kile. And a lot of other characters in the story like Eadlyn's maid were too. First of all, she broke his heart. You may be able to do a lot of stuff, Eadlyn, but you can't break Kile's heart. And then she kind of acted like she was doing him a favour. Sure, Kile had dreams of becoming an architect, but people change and compromise for love. Plus it was weird how it was like IMPOSSIBLE that he could do architecture and still marry Eadlyn. He's not King, for goodness sake, he's just a prince consort, he could go on trips and design things in his home. Plus, his dreams really did change by the end of the book, he wanted to draw stuff for HER. It was so sweet. Personally, I think in the future Erik and Eadlyn got divorced and she married Kile. Also, when she was with Erik it just seemed like mutual attraction instead of true feelings being felt. For example, I think he only made her laugh once or twice. Her moments with Kile were filled with laughter. Whatever, Eadlyn was idiot enough to not see what she had RIGHT in front of her, so the world deserves Kile more than she does. 

Constitutional monarchy crap: look, I'm all for a constitutional monarchy, it's a great idea for the people of Illéa. But Kiera Cass forgets that even though this story is set in a dystopian future, it is essentially a romance. And what happened here is the romance, (which was already rushed) came before the politics so the ending was unresolved politically. It was annoying. If you thought the ending to The One was unresolved, take this one, right in your face. 

Aspen Leger: one of the only things this book did well was the supporting characters and Aspen was such a great character in this story. He was one of the few who supported her. I really was saddened that he and Lucy couldn't have a baby they wanted because they deserve it so much. And yet he was so supportive of Eadlyn and his unwavering support of her was incredible. 

Lady Brice: I really don't want to believe that she is Maxon's half-sister. Not because she isn't a great character, because she is, but because I can't believe Clarkson was so cruel as to do that to Amberly. I honestly can't believe it. Amberly is the sweetest most loving character ever and it's a huge pity that he did that to her. 

Lady Brice was a great addition to the story but in a way the explanation on who she was was a bit ridiculous. I don't know what I expected but it definitely wasn't this. 

Unrealistic love: I admired Kiera Cass because when she wrote the first three selection books, she showed us two flawed characters with a flawed relationship who managed to come together regardless of the never-ending obstacles. However in this book, Erik and Eadlyn don't even fight with eachother once. Their relationship was ridiculous and they went into it barely aware of eachother's flaws. This story ended in a happily ever after. Period. Not much more than that. Which for me seems to deeply contradict the ideals Kiera Cass established in the first three selection books. 

Camille and Eadlyn: Okay guys, do you remember that part in The Heir where Camille asked Eadlyn if there was one person who was filling her thoughts? That person was most definitely not Erik, they hadn't even recognized each other yet and she didn't talk about her moment with him except barely. Who did pop into her mind then? Kile. Eadlyn said herself in The Heir that Kile kept popping into her mind. 

Maxerica: The sweetest and best thing about this book is getting to see Maxerica because they are such a beautiful couple and you can tell from everything in this book the extent of their love for each other.

Ending: Even though it went about it in all the wrong ways, the book does end at a hopeful note. I just wish all the actual events were different. Is Kiera Cass an author to look out for? Yes. Even I did not enjoy this book, one must admit that all her other books are absolutely wonderful. 
So many things have ended or are ending for me this year, and I am so regretful that one of my favorite series of all time had to end in such a way. I so hope that one day I will be able to reread this book and make peace with Eadlyn's decisions and the story in general. But right now I just want to go to my room and have a good cry. 

"Finding a prince might mean kissing a lot of frogs. Or kicking a lot of frogs out of your house. Falling might mean running headfirst into something you always wanted. Or dipping your toe into something you've been scared of your whole life. Happily ever after could be waiting in a field a mile wide. Or a window as narrow as seven minutes." 

Yours endlessly,

Yomna