The Guard (The Selection #2.5) - Paul's Review

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Title:  The Guard (The Selection #2.5)
Author: Kiera Cass
Year Published: 2014

My The Elite (#2) Review
My The Selection (#1) Review
My The Prince (#0.5) Review

Ashley's The Guard (#2.5) ReviewAshley's The Elite (#2) Review
Ashley's The Selection (#1) Review
Ashley's The Prince (#0.5) Review


Synopsis: Before America Singer met Prince Maxon . . . 
Before she entered the Selection . . . 
She was in love with a boy named Aspen Leger.

Don't miss this digital original novella set in the captivating world of Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection trilogy. This brand new 64-page story begins just after the group of Selected girls is narrowed down to the Elite and is told from Aspen's point of view. The Guard also features a teaser to The One, the thrilling conclusion to The Selection trilogy

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Review: This novella follows Aspen's POV for many memorable events of the series so far, similar to how the end of The Prince did with Prince Maxon. It is nice to see a different perspective, especially when a character's thoughts are different than his actions. I preferred the completely new scenes to the ones from the previous books. 

I think I prefer Prince Maxon for America between the two of them, but it was nice to see why Aspen did some of the things I didn't understand in The Elite. 

If you are a fan of the series, you will probably enjoy this novella. I do not think it is necessary though. I give this novella a 4/5. 

--Paul

The Guard (The Selection #2.5) by Kiera Cass - Ashley's Review

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title:  The Guard (The Selection #2.5)
Author: Kiera Cass
Year Published: 2014

My The Elite (#2) Review
My The Elite (#2) Pre-Reading
My The Selection (#1) Review
My The Selection (#1) Pre-Reading
My The Prince (#0.5) Review

Paul's The Elite (#2) Review
Paul's The Elite (#2) Pre-Reading
Paul's The Selection (#1) Review
Paul's The Prince (#0.5) Review

Synopsis: Before America Singer met Prince Maxon . . . 
Before she entered the Selection . . . 
She was in love with a boy named Aspen Leger.

Don't miss this digital original novella set in the captivating world of Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection trilogy. This brand new 64-page story begins just after the group of Selected girls is narrowed down to the Elite and is told from Aspen's point of view. The Guard also features a teaser to The One, the thrilling conclusion to The Selection trilogy

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Review: So, if I'm being totally honest... Aspen Leger is not who I think America should end up with. He broke her heart, and then he decides that was a mistake and now he's at the palace and hes probably going to get America into trouble by sneaking around with her. Sure, he says it's because he loves her... but he's been kind of a real jerk and I wouldn't be as quick to forgive as America.

Now that that's out of the way, I actually did enjoy this story. I liked being able to get into Aspen's head and to see what he thinks of this whole Selection thing. Also, to see his thoughts about America and how he really does love her. He's really an interesting character and probably has a lot more going on for him than I want to give him credit for. He also cares about his friends and family, and often goes out of the way to make sure everyone is taken care of. 

Maybe because I'm disinclined to be Team Aspen, but one thing that still really bothers me about his character is how he's so concerned with how the Selection might change America. I mean, I can totally understand that he doesn't want her to become some snotty brat like Celeste, but I wish he would understand that maybe change isn't a bad thing. She's never going to be the same girl from the treehouse. And also, she might fall in love with someone else. I know that he keeps telling her that he'll only ever love her... which I guess is sweet if you're Team Aspen, but it just annoys me now.

I digress. Seeing some of the events from The Elite from the perspective of one of the guards adds a whole new depth to the story that wasn't there before. If you've read the rest of the series, and The Prince, I definitely recommend giving this story a read! Even if, like me, you're 100% Team Maxon (even though he has his flaws too). I don't think Aspen gets enough screen time in the main series (although I'm glad he doesn't take away from Maxon Time), and I'm glad we got to see more of him and how caring he really is. 4/5!

--Ashley

The Prince (The Selection #0.5) by Kiera Cass - Paul's REVIEW

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Title: The Prince (The Selection #0.5)
Authors:  Kiera Cass
Year Published: 2013

Ashley's THE PRINCE Review
My THE SELECTION Review
Ashley's THE SELECTION Review

Synopsis: Before thirty-five girls were chosen to compete in the Selection . . .

Before Aspen broke America’s heart . . .

There was another girl in Prince Maxon’s life. . . .

Don’t miss this thrilling 64-page digital original novella set in the world of the New York Times bestselling novel The Selection. Also features a teaser to The Elite, Kiera Cass’s hotly anticipated sequel to The Selection.

Review: I am really growing to love novellas from different characters' perspectives. All the great YA out there has such interesting worlds and this way you get to experience the world through another set of eyes. In this novella, we get Maxon's perspective. 

This novella shows Maxon right before the Selection takes place and during the first few days of the girls moving in. I enjoyed the first chapters more than the later ones because it was completely new and not just a different angle of a scene I was familiar with. 

I thought it was nice to get to see how Maxon feels about his parents and their relationship. We also got to see more of the politics of the world. I want to know more about this world, so I really devoured every little detail. 

I read this before The Elite and I feel like it was refreshed the world and the story. I'm excited to read The Elite. I give this novella a 3/5 because I liked the first few chapters a lot more than the last, which just seemed like copies of scenes I already saw. 

-PAUL

The Prince (Selection #0.5) by Kiera Cass - Ashley's Review

Title: The Prince
Author: Kiera Cass 
Year Published: 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Synopsis: Before thirty-five girls were chosen to compete in the Selection...

Before Aspen broke America's heart...

There was another girl in Prince Maxon's life...

Don't miss this thrilling 128-page original novella set in the world of the New York Times bestselling novel The Selection. Also features a teaser to The Elite, Kiera Cass's hotly anticipated sequel to The Selection.

Review: I totally expected this to be a romance story between Maxon and some other girl. What I got was a retelling of The Selection (and a few events leading up to it) told from Maxon's perspective. Which was totally fine with me, don't get me wrong. But don't go into this thinking you're going to learn about a completely hidden side of Maxon.

Although this wasn't what I expected, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked that we finally got to see things from Maxon's point of view, and that we got to find out what he really thought of America and her yelling at him on the first night she was in the palace. And I think it just made me like him even more, if that's even possible. Still 100% Team Maxon. 

I read this before I devoured The Elite, and I think that really helped. Not that there's anything that's super important that you HAVE to know before reading The Elite, but it just helped refresh my memory since I read The Selection so long ago. I would recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed the other two books in Kiera Cass' series, or to anyone who would be interested in reading them. And especially if you like kings, queens, princes, princesses, and things like "The Bachelor." I don't like "The Bachelor," but the rest of the story is enough to make it feel so much different from that awful TV show. 

I would give this story a 3/5, and I hope we get more stories from Maxon in the future!


--Ashley