The Elite

What can I say about The Elite. This is the second installment in Kiera Cass' "Selection" Trilogy. At this point in the story America has made it to the top 6 and she's actually beginning to have strong feelings for Prince Maxon even though Aspen is still in the castle and still fighting for her love as well. It took me a while to actually get into this book.  I started this book and found myself not as interested as I was when I started reading the first book but the story started to get more interesting as the book went on. The thing I'm most interested in is the character of Price Maxon. At first he seemed to good to be true. He liked America so much that he was going to let her stay even though she possibly couldn't love him. That seems like a pretty noble thing to do. At the same time, I forget he is a young man and he is not going to hold out too long for a woman who may or may not love him in the end. He is man who also has needs and it wasn't long before he was looking else where for love and attention. Towards the end of the book he has found that love from a "nice" girl named Kriss and that attention from a "fake" girl named Celeste. Sadly, the Prince and America's relationship starts to dwindle as the book comes to an end and after she pulls the outrageous stunt of suggesting they end the caste system on national television, no one likes her anymore. I personally thought this idea was genius. At the same time America needs a little more restraint. She does everything based on impulse and that doesn't seem to get her far. But just when we thought America was out of the game and about to go home, the Prince comes in and saves the day. In spite of his fathers wishes he allows her to stay. She's gotten pretty far for a girl who was only there to help her family. I just want to see how Aspen is going to react to America still being at the castle even though she already said her goodbyes. There are so many places this series could take us and I can't wait to find out where that is.

S.

The Mystery of Gone Girl

I honestly don't understand why it has taken me so long to blog about this book. I had been wanting to read this book for a long time and then I found out the movie was coming out on October 3rd so I knew I had to read it before then. I was trying my very best to not even watch the trailer until I was able to finish the book but I was unaware that this trailer would be on the playlist for a new movie I watched a couple weeks ago, so I was freaking out the whole time thinking, "oh fuck is this Gone Girl? This is Gone Girl!" I was so upset because I didn't want to have the actors they picked for the movie to ruin the way I imagined the characters while I read the book. Unfortunately, while I was reading, that is exactly what happened. I kept picturing Ben Affleck as Nick but for some reason it didn't fit. As I got further and further into the book I couldn't picture Ben Affleck as Nick at all. I kept thinking of other well-known Hollywood stars that could play an on-screen asshole. People like Brad Pitt or Matt Damon come to mind. Even with the actress they picked to play Amy I was unable to view her as this evil mastermind plotter. I guess Ill just have to wait until October 3rd to get my "Gone Girl" fix and see if Ben Affleck can really pull this off.
Anyways, back to the book itself. Out of my whole reading career, I've only read a couple psychological/murder mystery/thriller type books so I really didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book. I must say that I was completely taken with this book from start to finish. The book is split up into three sections, and each section is told from the alternating point of views of Nick Dunne and his wife Amy. The first section includes Nick's POV from the day Amy goes missing and Amy's diaries from the past couple of years. Amy's diaries tell the story of their first meeting to when they get married, to the bitter trap their marriage had become. We also find out that Nick has been having an affair. Yeah, Nick isn't portrayed as the best man or husband. After the first section you're left with so many questions about where Amy could've gone and what could've happened to her. Of course from the way the diary entries are written, we automatically think that Nick is the 1st suspect and so does the rest of the world. At the beginning of the second section a bomb is dropped that I didn't think I would be able to handle, and in this case I don't want to ruin anything for you. This is the kind of bomb that a reader needs to experience while reading. But after the bomb is dropped the story continues in some twisted ways.
I thought this book was simply amazing and pure genius.  The way the author keeps you guessing throughout the whole novel is beyond mind blowing. I wasn't expecting anything that happened in the book. The book was very unpredictable and I liked that. The writing made hate Nick and almost love Amy, which is the goal of a good writer, to make you feel some type of way about the characters and situations you're reading about. I want to read more books by Mr. Flynn. If they are all as good as this I can't wait. I also can't wait to see the movie on October 3rd. I will be the first in line to see the midnight to how all this craziness plays out on screen, and I hope they stay true to every part of the story!

S.

Pretty Little Secrets & The Selection

Pretty Little Secrets
What can I say about Pretty Little Secrets. It took me a very long time to get through this book. I thought it was a cool concept to give each girl their own section and story but I found it hard to become interested in what each girl was going through.  This book made me realize how much I actually like the mystery character of A. The added drama and suspense that A brings to the girls lives is what draws me towards these books. It was like advertising a mystery but with no mystery! A ultimately makes the girls lives interesting.









The Selection

I must say that this book pleasantly surprised me. I had seen a lot of stuff about it on instagram after the last book in the trilogy came out so I decided to give it a chance. This book was a mix between Hunger Games and The Bachelor but more Bachelor then Hunger Games. The crazy thing about this book is that it is set in the future but I guess in the future of the United States we are going to be split into caste systems and have royalty again.
There are 35 girls who get "selected" to participate in what I like to call the Hunger Games of Dating. They get whisked away from their families and taken to a castle to win the heart of the young prince, which is being filmed for the whole world to see. Cue the opening credits of The Bachelor. At least if you get selected your family gets taken care of and if you win you and your family move up in class rank. It seems like a fair deal.
At first I thought this was going to a typical love story but the only problem is that our main character, America (how ironic), is in love with someone else when she gets "selected. Granted her boyfriend is the who pushes her to join. I like the fact that America is only doing this to help her family and decides to strike a deal with the Prince. They can be friends and she can help him find his mate. This poses the question: Can men and women really be "just friends"? As the story continues America and the Prince start to catch feelings for each other and to make matters worse who do you think the new guard is at the castle? That's right, Aspen, America's boyfriend before she left for the selection. Dun Dun Duuuunnn! Just when we thought things would be simple!

I'm currently reading The Elite, the second installment in this trilogy. It's starting off a little slow for me but I've realized that the second book in a trilogy is always my least favorite. Review coming for that soon!

S.

May Wrap-Up