The Elite

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, Children’s for giving me this book to review.

Out of the 35 girls that started out in The Selection only 6 have made it to be in The Elite. America, a former 5 caste, is one of them, competing against higher caste girls for Prince Maxon and the Crown. However, she is not sure who she wants to be with, as when she is with Maxon she wants nothing more than to be with him, even if she is worried about being a princess. But when she sees her guard, and first love, Aspen, she cannot forget her feelings for him and the life they had planned to share. With the competition narrowing, and the elimination of one of the girls changing everything in the palace, will America be able to trust the people closest to her heart?

I was disappointed with The Elite, as whilst it was still enjoyable it was nowhere near as good as The Selection. However, I do like the idea behind the story of a dystopian world with hints of the medieval, but, I do wish there was more about the rebels in this book and I hope there are more of them in the next one. Another annoying thing about this book is about how predictable it is, especially about the first girl in the Elite getting eliminated.

America really got on my nerves in this book as she could not make up her mind about who to be with and treated both Aspen and Maxon quite badly, dropping one, and then the other. Also, Maxon annoyed me because as soon as America got angry at him and needed a break, for a fairly sensible reason, he starts falling for and fooling around with the other girls, even though he says he loves her and will wait for her. Surprisingly, the main character I liked the least in the Selection, Aspen, was the one I tolerated the most in this book. This is because even though he was not perfect and tried to manipulate the situation in his favour, his actions were much more understandable and less infuriating than America’s and Maxon’s.

While I did not enjoy this book as much as the last, I will still read The One but my expectations will not be as high as it was for this book. I would recommend The Elite to fans of the first book The Selection.