Review | The One by Kiera Cass

The One by Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection #3
Published On: May 6, 2014
Published By: Harper Teen
Genre: Dystopian
Pages: 323
Format: Paperback
Source: Gift
Rating: ★★★★★

Amazon | Goodreads

The time has come for one winner to be crowned. 

When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown--or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose--and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants.

The One is the third book in The Selection series by Kiera Cass, and follows America Singer as she continues her journey through The Selection. I have a full review of both The Selection and The Elite if you would like to know my thoughts on the previous books in the series.

Having read all three books in the initial trilogy, I can definitely say this is one of my favourite series of all time. I absolutely loved the first two books in the series and, despite hearing comments that the series goes downhill with each book, I loved The One just as much. This series is consistently good and I have liked all three of the initial trilogy equally.

As I had heard negative reviews, I kept waiting for something to make me not like this instalment. I was so sure that if so many people had disliked this book, there had to be something terrible coming to make me feel the same. However, there was nothing that made me dislike this book in any way.

I still love America. I can’t understand why people have such a strong hatred of her. I think she is a great main character and, though she is not the typical kick-ass heroine, she is definitely a strong female character and a very relatable one at that. I have mentioned my love for America in my reviews of both the previous books and my opinion is, as you can see, unchanging.

I very much appreciated the character development of some more minor characters. There were various characters who were revealed in a different light, most in a good way though some not so much, and it was great to see that Kiera Cass made the effort to further develop the more minor characters, rather than main characters.

This could have been quite a predictable instalment in the series, as I was sure I knew where the series was going, but there were some plot twists that I was not expecting. Some of those plot twists were very enjoyable, others were completely heart-breaking, but they definitely added to the overall enjoyment of the book.

Had Kiera Cass left this series as a trilogy, this would have made a great conclusion. Everything was nicely wrapped up, with all questions answered and no frustrating open ending. However, I can also see how it nicely sets up the next book in the series, The Heir, which I am now very excited to read.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book, and am loving this series as a whole. I have very little to say about The One that I haven’t already mentioned in my reviews for The Selection and The Elite, as I have been declaring my love for these books in all three reviews, so I have more coherent thoughts in those reviews, if you would like to know more.