Book Review: The Elite; Kiera Cass.

October seemed like a great month to read this book because of the red-orange cover. So autumnal! Sadly the book didn't really grab me in any way, shape, or form and I came out of it feeling very disappointed.

SOURCE: Netgalley
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: The Elite
AUTHOR: Kiera Cass
SERIES: The Selection (#2)
PUBLISHER: HarperTeen
PAGES: 337
GENRE: Young Adult, Romance, Dystopian

RATING: 2.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
America Singer will leave her pre-destined life for a world of glamour and luxury, if she wins…

But surviving The Selection is tough. Rivals are battling to become Prince Maxon’s bride as the threat of rebel violence just beyond the palace walls escalates into war.

Only six girls are left and sworn friendships are tested to breaking point. America’s feelings for Maxon grow stronger, but she suspects darker mysteries in his royal past. With ex-lover Aspen waiting for her in the shadows, where do her loyalties truly lie?

What I Liked:

• Filling in this section is going to be tough. I guess the fact that I do still want to read book three must count for something, right? There was a glimmer of plot during the scene with the rebels and reading the diary and I really wish Cass had explored that story more thoroughly rather than America's book-long inability to choose between two men. Ugh.

What I Disliked:

• Where to begin? Let's start with the whining shall we? Everyone knows that love triangles are something that more often than not, I can't get on board with. That's because they often consume the whole plot and this is a prime example of that. This whole book was about America Singer, torn between Prince Maxon and her ex-turned-guard Aspen, and unable to choose. She complains about how difficult it all is, begs them both for more decision making time (which they are pathetically willing to provide) and talks about virtually nothing else for the entire book. She doesn't even feel that guilty about it, nor does she worry about being caught. It's awful.
• Thanks to the reason above, there is no plot or character development in this book. Just some minor sub-plots to make it look like something is happening, but this is just filler material. I wanted to read more about the world-building but sadly, no. I wanted to see America become a kick-ass contender, but again, no. Does anything really happen? No. Could you skip this book and go straight to the finale? I'm 99% sure that yes, you could.

Overall Conclusion:

Sigh. I wanted to like this, but I've been putting it off because I had a premonition that this was the reading experience I would have. I was right. The love triangle took over, and even that wasn't resolved by the end of this book. So I'm going into book three in the same position as book two, minus like one contestant. I liked that the tension between the girls was taken up a notch, but that was about it. Tell me about the rebels! Or about how Ilea came to be! Also, I like Maxon but I would really like it if he stopped calling everyone 'dear' and 'darling' like a middle-aged pervert, and the way that he described his relationship with Celeste as 'relieving tension' and America was all 'I get that' literally made me sick.