America makes some friends, some enemies, and finds a surprising confidant in Prince Maxon. Leaving Aspen is hard, leaving her home and family is difficult, but competing with thirty-four other girls for a crown she doesn’t even want in a castle constantly attacked by rebels is something she isn’t prepared for.

Pushed by both her mother and Aspen, America enters the lottery and surprisingly wins one of the thirty-five coveted positions.

But choosing Aspen means choosing a demotion in status, working harder and earning less benefits. America isn’t interested though she’s in love with Aspen, a servant Six who she’s known for most of her life. Each caste has its own specialty and purpose, and girls frequently marry at or above their station rather than below it.Īmerica Singer is a Five, a musician along with the rest of her family, and her mother is determined that she enter a lottery to win a spot in The Selection, the public ritual of choosing a princess-wife for Prince Maxon. The Ones are the best off and members of royalty, and the Eights are frequently homeless and commit crimes to survive. Illéa, the kingdom formed after the United States was taken over by China and then torn apart by a war with Russia, survives based on an eight tier caste system. It’s technically a dystopian romance, although it reads more like a fantasy novel than apocalypse fodder. The Selection by Kiera Cass is the first in a series of five books and four spin-off novellas. While I was mildly limited with selection back in my day (supernatural romance was pretty much it), teens and YA lovers of today have plenty of choices when it comes to romantic tales. The characters and their relationships, while fairly unrealistic at times to be honest, were gateways into an understanding of what I wanted in a soulmate, a long term relationship, and out of life itself. Teenagers are full of hormones-especially around Valentine’s Day-and I used to find that most of my romantic fantasies were inspired by the books I was reading. With that in mind, I’ve selected a subgenre of books to highlight this month-YA Fantasy/Sci-fi Romance. Daring to tempt a repeat and happy with the moderate success of Octerror, I dedicate Reading Malone to Aphrodite for the month of February and all the romance it stands for. This is back when I blogged every day and didn’t write as many reviews, and by the end of the month I was absolutely sick of romance. Several years ago, I dedicated my blog to love for the month of February.

Kiera cass the selection series