Happily Ever After by Keira Cass is a collection of short stories, which link with the Selection series. I would advise reading the first three books in the series before reading this companion novel, but not necessarily The Heir.
The first story is The Queen, which is told from Amberly’s (Maxon’s mother) point of view, about her Selection process to Clarkson and the struggles she goes through in this. I enjoyed this story the most out of all of them, as I loved Amberly’s point of view, and how she viewed Clarkson, a character who I had despised since the start of the series. It showed a side to Clarkson that I had never imagined, and it was interesting too see how Amberly thought about him, and where the source of her never-ending kindness and wisdom came from.
The second story was The Prince. This is from Maxon’s point of view about the beginning of the Selection, including the build up to it, meeting America, and their first date. I enjoyed this one, as I loved seeing how Maxon handled the whole Selection process, and what he thought of America. I also liked seeing what he thought of the other girls, especially Celeste, and how he compared them to America.
The next short story is The Guard, which is from Aspen’s point of view, about his love for America, and Marlee and Carter’s relationship, and what takes place because of this. I did not enjoy this one as much as the others, though this may be because I do not like Aspen. I enjoyed seeing what life was like for him at the palace, and more about how it was run, but I did not care much for the actual story shown, and Aspen’s thoughts and feelings.
The last story was The Favourite, which was from Marlee’s point of view, about her relationship with Carter, and the consequences of this. I enjoyed reading from Marlee’s point of view, as I felt I learnt a lot about her character that I didn’t know before, and it was a whole new story that I didn’t know. It also showed Maxon in a different light, which was interesting to discover as well.
The book the contains three different scenes form Celeste’s point of view. This includes when they first arrive at the palace, when she is on a date with Maxon, and when she is asked to leave the Selection. I enjoyed these as it showed how Celeste grew as a person in the time the Selection took place, and showed more about her character, explaining her reasons for her actions. Then there is a very short story called The Maid, which is from Lucy’s point of view, about her relationship with Aspen and that developed, and also how she developed as a person. Finally, the book concludes with After The One, which is a conclusion to The One and leads on to The Heir.
Overall I enjoyed this book. As always, I found Cass’ writing addictive and exiting, and I really enjoyed learning more about all the characters I have grown to love. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the Selection series, and wants to know more about the world it is set in and the characters who are in it.
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