The Heir (The Selection #4)

The Heir by Kiera Cass
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

No, no no no no. Just, no.

The Heir is the start to a spin-off series following The Selection, which is a trilogy: The Selection, The Elite and The One. The trilogy details a process by which a wife is found for the prince elect of a dystopian USA ruled by a monarchy. In it several girls vie for the attention of Prince Maxon and one finally wins his heart.

Fast forward 20 years and Maxon and America, his queen, are the parents of four children: 18-year old twins Eadlyn and Ahren and two younger sons. Eadlyn is seven minutes older than her brother Ahren and the laws have been changed, so she is the Queen Elect. The country is in turmoil since the caste system has been thrown out. So the royals decide that they need to distract the people with another Selection - this time finding a husband for Eadlyn. Eadlyn is reluctant but deigns to suffer the process because she feels it's her duty.

This story was done relatively well in the previous trilogy. Although America was frustrating at times, she had some sense of her own faults. In this case, Cass is working with a storyline that's already been done once. She could have changed it up dramatically with the idea that it's guys trying to win the princess's hand, but unfortunately it missed the mark. Not only that but she's created a main character here that is simply insufferable.

In fact, my primary problem with this book was the main character. I don't like shallow, self-absorbed, selfish, arrogant people in real life, so it stands to reason that I certainly wouldn't want to read about one. This girl had so few redeeming qualities that I was shouting at my iPod as I listened. She was such a martyr! For someone who was supposedly so devoted to her people she was completely clueless. Her cries of failure as she attempted to fix the country's problems with this selection process was indicative of the type of leader she was: out of touch with her kingdom, insensitive and even cruel at times. When people told her the truth she either fell into a pity party or she got angry. The times she was civil to those around her were so colored by her selfishness that I never had one ounce of sympathy for her.

The problems didn't stop there. With the Selection trilogy we had not just character development but we got a feel for the state of the country. Clear examples of the archaic legal system helped create a world that we could at least imagine. In this case, we have no idea what's going on in the country at large. There are numerous references to "unrest in the provinces" but where was the action? Where was the threat? There are rumors that an uprising is brewing to overthrow the monarchy, but they were vague and only referenced via the nightly news and daily papers. We never got a character to connect us to this potential uprising.

Even the character development fell short. There are several endearing characters, guys involved in the Selection. Distinct personalities emerge. But while Cass gave us strong, confident leaders in Maxon and America in The Selection, now they have apparently devolved into old and tired romantics who both refuse to inform their daughter about their experiences and indulge her in every way possible. They are terrible parents. Prince Maxon was strong and decisive. King Maxon is just stressed out and weak. America had a heart for her people and a respect for Prince Maxon - Queen America is removed and too busy with royal affairs to be much of a mom.

The plot seemed to drag along with endless instances of Eadlyn either demeaning those around her or foolishly thinking that her life was hard and everyone was against her. The side characters made it interesting as they had glancing influences on the Princess. It wasn't uninteresting, it was just frustrating. I nearly DNF'd this book just out of disgust for such a self-involved brat. That said, there are a couple of instances where side characters call Eadlyn to account - especially her brother - and my sense of justice was appeased. It was enough to keep reading, at least. There is a climax at the end of the book which rang hollow; honestly, I didn't even care and I felt as if I should have cared a lot.

The book is narrated on audio by Brittany Pressley, who does a great job of voicing each character. She was able to distinguish the male voices well. They sounded similar but were each distinct in very slight ways. And her accents were spot on.

There is always the possibility that Keira Cass has written this main character and the book simply to set up a redemption story in the next one. It's always interesting to see who she'll choose - but I'll be checking reviews before I pick up the sequel. Even a cliffhanger didn't make me want the next book.



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