The Betrothed by Kiera Cass

E-Audio, 08:18:30
Narrated by: Jasika Nicole 
Release Date: May 5, 2020
Published by: HarperTeen
Read from: June 10-12, 2020
The Betrothed, #1
Source: Library (Overdrive)
TW: Death, All consuming fires
For fans of: Royals, Princesses, The Selection, Romance, Love Triangles, YA 

      When King Jameson declares his love for Lady Hollis Brite, Hollis is shocked—and thrilled. After all, she’s grown up at Keresken Castle, vying for the king’s attention alongside other daughters of the nobility. Capturing his heart is a dream come true.

     But Hollis soon realizes that falling in love with a king and being crowned queen may not be the happily ever after she thought it would be. And when she meets a commoner with the mysterious power to see right into her heart, she finds that the future she really wants is one that she never thought to imagine.

*MY THOUGHTS*

Small spoiler for The Selection and a Large One for this one in the first paragraph

When I saw Kiera Cass had another book coming out and it was about another royal family, I was super excited! I thought it was part of the Selection series. But, I feel like it was The Selection if she ended up with the other guy.

Lady Hollis is shocked when she finds out the King fancies her. Every young woman in the land has been trying to catch his attention. But Lady Hollis soon realizes that things aren’t as great as she thought they might be. She soon meets someone who makes her feel things she never thought she’d be able to have. Which makes her dare to think….. Can she?

As some of you may know, I’m not a fan of books that tell you the whole story in the synopsis. There’s some other things that happen (I mean obvs) but for the most part, the complete story is there. And on top of that, it basically tells the main plot of the story, the romance. Like after reading this I immediately knew who she would choose. I know everyone’s not like me, so I didn’t judge for that, but that was kinda when I knew it was going to be downhill for me personally.

The main reason I didn’t care for this was because it felt too much like her other series but with a different person. After having read them both, I didn’t feel like this was exceptional or anything. It was entertaining, but it just didn’t really work for me anymore. I guess it bothered me because there was no plot besides the love triangle. It made a nice setup for how the rest of the series will go (I’m interested in seeing how she will fare) but not if there will be more of this.

As for the world, I did like the world building. There’s so many opulent details that I’m glad Cass included. Not like the outside world, but the palace and dress details. I haven’t wanted to feel like a princess in a long time, but this book really made me wish I had somewhere to wear a ball gown and get a glam squad together. (Stupid Rona!)

I realize I’m not the target for this age group, so I didn’t rate this as low as I wanted. I know it will make a hit with my teens at work, which is why I read it. But I will say this…. If someone asks me for books with royals, I will more than likely recommend others.

Overall, I give this

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