Book Review: The Crown by Kiera Cass

* This post contains spoilers *

The Crown (The Selection #5)

Kiera Cass

YA - Romance, Dystopia

288 Pages

(Read: 10/16/16)

     It took me a while to actually sit down and finish this book, I was just ready for it to be over. I seriously thought about dropping it but I would antagonize myself for not finding out what happened in the end.

     The Crown still revolves around Eadlyn and her selection, but the main story of the book is about her becoming regent after America has a heart attack and is bedridden. Though America is the queen and is not the main ruler, Maxon will not leave her side until she is fully healed and able to be by his side continuously again. Eadlyn is named regent because her twin, Ahren, has fled the country to marry the princess of France, Camille. This is technically treason, but we all know that Maxon and America are not going to prosecute their son over falling in love.

     Eadlyn is learning the hardships that come along with becoming queen but with the help of the palace staff and her Selection suitors, she is making it through. Marid Illea threatens that she needs to marry her because he is "the people's choice" and would be the only one to make the country happy. She knows that the country sees her as self-centered and unable to care for her country, let alone a husband. They all think the Selection is a rouse, but Eadlyn is actually in love, in a way, with the last five of her suitors. With Marid's threat, Eadlyn is forced to speed up the Selection and pick a husband. She is able to do this quickly and easily because I believe she was just keeping all of these guys around as company. She already knows who she's going to marry, and has for some time. 

     Hale and Ean turn out to be in love with each other, which is also treason as one cannot be in a relationship with someone other than Eadlyn while in the Selection. And being gay is still kind of taboo in Illea. She and Fox are just not compatible. 

     Growing up, she and Kile didn't get along, but now that she has actually spent time with him adn gotten to know him, she realizes that she does love him. She loves him so much that she would never condemn him to the palace for the rest of his life while he has such big dreams of being an architect. Eadlyn actually banishes him from the palace for a whole year, with the exception of her birthday, Christmas and the royal wedding. 

     Henri is the sweetest, most adorable guy I have actually ever read about. He tries so hard just to learn English to be able to communicate with Eadlyn. Though he has a translator, he is determined to be able to talk to her without one so that there is a chance that he may win this selection. Eadlyn even sets up Finnish lessons for her and the rest of the selected so that they may try just as hard to communicate with Henri as he is trying with them. I loved how Kiera Cass was so realistic in the process of Eadlyn learning Finnish, how she didn't just make it seem like since she was a princess, she could automatically accomplish any task handed to her. 

     All of this being said, Henri was Eadlyn's second choice. She originally thought that she was going to marry Kile, but she wanted him to go out and build homeless shelters and anything else his little heart desired. (Paid for by the palace, of course.) But when it came time to announce the engagement on the Report, Henri drags her over to his translator, Erik (or Eikko, if you prefer his given name), and says in his best try speaking English, something along the lines of "I won't marry you because you are in love with Erik and I want you to marry him." HOW SWEET IS THAT!? All along, this sweet Finnish boy, who could hardly speak any English, was the only one who noticed that Eadlyn and Erik were hopelessly in love. 

     Erik and Eadlyn had had an affair in the last couple months of the Selection, but had come to a mutual conclusion never to speak again after it was over. Let me just say, technically, the whole Shreave family has committed treason and could most likely be overthrown by the Illea family if this were reality. But no, this is fiction and it's going to have a happy ending. Anyway, Eadlyn (quickly, in seven minutes before the report) asks her father's blessing and announces to all of Illea that she will be marrying the translator of one of her suitors, rather than going with tradition and marrying a Selected. All is lived happily ever after (as far as we know) and I am ready for this story to be over. So please, Mrs. Cass, I think this story is finished.