Book Review: Happily Ever After

Happily Ever After:
Companion to the Selection Series
by Kiera Cass
Rating: ★★★1/2

Meet Prince Maxon before he fell in love with America, and a girl named Amberly before she became queen. See the Selection through the eyes of a guard who watched his first love drift away and a girl who fell for a boy who wasn’t the prince. This gorgeous collection features four novellas from the captivating world of Kiera Cass’s #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series—two of which appear in print for the first time—as well as exclusive, never-before-seen bonus content.

I started the Selection series months after being recommended to read it from a friend and I then read the three books back-to-back in a whirl of silly dramas, ridiculous concepts and underneath it all, a story about a girl from some of the lowest class rising to become a leader and partner to a man she helps become a king. These books are what I assume The Bachelor and other shows like that are like but with a prince choosing his bride and future queen from a group of thirty-five girls from varying class and backgrounds.

Even though these books were such fluff and not inspiring any females anywhere it was still a cute series so I wanted to follow through and read these short stories about the other characters in these books. Some of them were really entertaining and sweet but there were a few dull ones that brought the total rating of the book down. I think the best part of this book are the illustrations throughout because it gives you a much better idea as to what the characters look like and all the drawings are so pretty as well. So I’ve put some thoughts about each short story below…

The Queen 

I feel terrible for Amberley since she wants this life so badly and to be with the Prince she’s loved and watched her whole life but her sickness and health issues are thwarting her and the Prince saw her at her worse. Although, it’s really off-putting that the third time he really talks to her he says her hair is too long and she should cut it while making it seem like her own suggestion which is a classic abusive move but the author wrote in the note before the story that she wasn’t condoning abusive relationships at all so I guess this story was her way of explaining how they could come together and how she could fall for him.

I guess it’s the other side of the story because America and her daughter were very much against the selection or not interested but Amberley wants this so much. Then poor Amberley finds out that her health issues could mean she might not be able to have children and if she did they might not be healthy enough to be the Prince or Princess the kingdom needs. It’s screwed up that he tested all the girls on how compliant they would be and she was the winner so she became queen but I can’t say I didn’t expect that.

The Prince

It’s nice to go from Amberley in the selection to Maxon right before his selection starts. Amberley is such a supportive and caring mother and it’s a huge contrast to the Queen before her. On Maxon’s birthday, one of the guests is the princess from France, Daphne. They grew up together and stayed friends even with the distance between their kingdoms. But on his birthday and before his selection she asks him to marry her instead.

Honestly, she seemed really ridiculous to me. She started off fine and questioning why they should marry strangers instead of each other but then she just became really upset and kept carrying on about how they’re meant to be together but really it doesn’t seem like they were more than children placed in the same room to play by their parents. Even if his heart can’t return her feelings her words stick to his mind in the days after that. Now Maxon fears the selection deeply and isn’t sure if he can love any of them.

The Guard

Zzzzzz. Aspen was a pretty interesting character in the book as the initial love interest for America and then her past when she was falling for Maxon. He follows her to the castle and becomes a guard and has every intention of winning her back but they both end up finding new love. I loved the sweet interactions between Aspen and Lucy because you can tell that she’s totally in love with him already and really admires him but it’s also clear that he doesn’t have much of a clue yet because he hasn’t let go of America yet!

The other stuff was very interesting for me because it was about his life as a guard. There was a lot of interaction between Aspen and America but I wasn’t glued to that because I didn’t love him in the series as it went on and it seems pointless to me to get excited about that stuff since they didn’t end up together!

The Favourite

Marlee and Carter were infamous for shaming they got during America’s Selection when their love was outed to the world and they were publicly punished for all to see. But before that, they met when she took a tumble and he carried her to the nurse to make sure she was alright. From there the attraction was instant when she found herself drawn to him and comfortable with talking to him when she was usually quiet.

I was really surprised to read the part about Marlee and Maxon because it was lovely of Maxon to understand that they didn’t mean to fall in love and admire how much they care for each other. I think he also took special care for them because she was America’s best friend but he still came a long way from his story at the start of the selection when he was blind to women and love. They had one of the happiest endings of them all since they stayed together, married and were given positions in the castle to serve the people they care for and that saved them from death.

Scenes from Celeste

The first scene reminds me of how rude Celeste was in the first meeting with the girls! She’s the typical higher up girl with beautiful looks and adoring fans. She even ticks the box of having no friends because of her position and her personality. Yes, you could feel bad for her but it’s such a typical sort of character that I can’t even be phased by that line! At least she makes for an awesome semi-villain in the plot as she constantly tries to belittle the other girls and get them out of the competition.

It was very interesting to read about her thoughts when she was kissing Maxon. She’s still hoping for the crown but she knows she doesn’t feel anything for him even if he is the prince and handsome. She has the craziest idea to sleep with him and get herself pregnant to end the selection and force his hand but then he sees America and leaves. In the last scene, the few girls left with Celeste are opening presents and having a little bonding moment. It’s so sweet that Celeste is excited about having Christmas cards from them the next year and she really accepts that America will be the next queen and looks forward to seeing her. It’s an uplifting moment when she sees how happy she can be but that’s all dampened when you remember what happens to her.

The Maid

This was a tiny little snippet into Lucy’s inner turmoil when she finds out that Aspen was still in love with someone else and worse, it was America, the woman she was working for and a lady she admired. I feel sorry for Lucy because it would’ve been so horrible to know that Aspen and America were once together but I’m glad they looked past it and realised they were crazy for each other even if their future isn’t perfect.

After The One

Then there was another snippet set two years in Maxon and America’s marriage. They blissfully in love and still enjoying every moment together. Maxon has a nice moment with Aspen at his birthday party, Marlee updates American on how her young son is doing and America gives Maxon the best present ever with news that their first child is on the way! It’s exciting because we know all about that child due to the two books after but it’s also such a sweet moment for them.

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– Kirra