Book Review: The Prince (The Selection #0.5)

The Prince (The Selection #0.5)
by  Kiera Cass
Date Read:  4/25/2013
Rating:  ★ ★ ★  ★ 

I really enjoyed this novella.  It was from Maxon’s POV which was nice.  It starts with his anxiety over the Selection.  I love seeing the side of Maxon that is more real – not smooth, and regal.  This let us see that he really is just like any regular guy.

The first half is about how he had a friend Daphne who was in love with him.  She said some awful stuff to him when he told her he didn’t love her too.  So Maxon is dealing with trying to figure out if what she said was true, or whether she just said it in the heat of the moment.  But he’s having to deal with that along with his anxiety about the Selection.

But what I really loved was that this started paralleling The Selection about half way through.  Basically we get to see some of the events from his perspective.  It reminded me of Midnight Sun, which Stephenie Meyer never completed.  I always love seeing both sides of the story.  And it’s sweet how smitten Maxon is with America right off the bat.

We get a better picture of Maxon’s parents too.  The queen, Amberly, is just as sweet as she came across in The Selection.  Of course she would be, she’s going to be humble because she was a four.  But his dad came across rougher, meaner.  He seems like he’s trying to control all of Maxon’s life and he’s not exactly nice about it – not exactly mean – but not the type of father anyone really wants.

This was short – only like 120 pages or something.  But it reads really quickly – especially once you get to the parts you already read in The Selection – you can basically skim the dialogue in those parts.  I think anyone who’s read The Selection should read this book because it adds something to Maxon’s character.