The Heir by Kiera Cass (The Selection #4)

It's been twenty years since America Singer won the Selection and was crowned queen. King Maxon has eliminated the caste system, but the country's troubles are far from over. The people are still angry. Even though there is no law regarding the castes, that doesn't stop people from discriminating against those who were their inferiors in the past, and no longer having a number won't magically make anyone rich or provide better housing. The frustrated country is boiling over, and the monarchy badly needs a distraction to keep the people happy while they scramble to sort out their problems. Princess Eadlyn is eighteen and poised to be the next ruler of her country, the poster child of the young and powerful. To keep the peace, her parents propose another Selection so the public will have something to be happy about. Eady doesn't expect to find love, but she's willing to try if it means keeping her family safe.

I liked the idea of seeing America's kids, and I thought it would be interesting to see a Selection from the point of view of the heir. I was eager to see what the old characters were like so many years later, and I was excited to see how the country might have changed. After saying goodbye to such a kind, warm girl as America and those close to her, I was hoping that I could expect a similar experience with her daughter. To be honest, The Heir was sort of a letdown.

The biggest disappointment was the characters. First impressions are important, and I didn't get good ones with all but a few of the boys. Eadlyn isn't like her parents at all. She's a little bit arrogant, expressing more than once that she seems to think she's better than everybody else. She's disciplined and has high standards, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it becomes a problem when it leads to her being disrespectful to others around her. In the end, she comes across as cold and unsympathetic, lacking empathy. I can identify with how clueless she is about going on dates with boys and being in a relationship, but her few relatable insecurities are overshadowed by her more unpleasant traits.

I also wasn't that impressed with the Selected boys. If you remember the previous trilogy, you might recall that this is the first Selection with a female heir. I was interested in how a Selection with male suitors might be different than with girls. Again, I didn't get great first impressions. Ean is a loner and hard to read, but even though Eadlyn respects his intelligence, I don't see much real chemistry. Hale is kind and friendly enough, but he's sort of 2D (Sadly, most of the boys were.) and I wished he had developed more. The guy that I really liked was Henri. He doesn't speak much English, but he has a translator to combat the problem and doesn't let it get in his way. He's kind and insightful, always has a positive attitude, and is patient with Eady when she butchers his language (Finnish). Hopefully, the boys develop more.

Thankfully, there were some old characters in the story as well. I had to get used to calling America and Maxon "Mom" and "Dad"! Aspen is a general and is now married to Lucy, and Marlee no longer has to hide. Even May is in the story, older but just as sunny. The Women's Room has been renamed the Newsome Library in honor of Celeste, and a picture of Queen Amberly hangs in the palace as tribute to the late ruler. However, theses returning cast members didn't offer any relief or many warm memories, and even Marlee has two children now that are kind of awful. I understand that this isn't their story anymore and that they should be more in the backround now, but they didn't contribute much to the story while just hanging around, making me wish even more that this was still the original three books.

I was hoping for more of a challenge. I could see where the plot was going, and I can already guess which guys are going to get pretty far and how the relationships are going to work out. There is one surprise boy that I can guess already, too. It's not that subtle.

I hope that the angry people of Illéa play a bigger role in these two follow-up books. In the original trilogy. It would make for a exciting subplot that, to be honest, the story needs at this point. Between the unlikable characters and predictable future, I wasn't that impressed.

I was a little crushed after finishing The Heir. I felt like this had so much potential, but without generous, sweet characters like Marlee and America, and genuine budding relationships like what the girls have had with Maxon, the series has lost some of its magic. The Heir also lacked the suspense, humor, and romance of the original three books. It was, sadly, predictable with few good jokes, and while there was a possibility for love, I didn't see much at all. Instead, Eadlyn is cold and a bit stony. It's true that she's trying to hone her empathy and is working to become a better princess, so I will admit that part of the problem is that the characters just haven't developed enough. In the end, I nevertheless found that The Heir fell flat. 3/5 stars.

#royalty #romance #thefuture