Duo Discussion: The Selection Series

I'm super excited today because I'm going to be introducing a new feature that's going to be on the blog!

My blogging bestie, Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books and I have decided to start a monthly 'Duo Discussion' blog post! How it will work is that each month, we will choose a bookish topic to discuss about. Feel free to join in by discussing in the comments below!

For our first Duo Discussion post, we'll be talking about The Selection series by Kiera Cass!

Olivia: Hey Rach! I'm so excited to do this chat with you today and start this feature! I hope this will be fun! And we're doing it on THE SELECTION series by Kiera Cass, one of the best light, fun, and cute romance series I've ever read! This series got be hooked and I just can't stop fangirling over Maxamer! Let's start with what you think about this series!

Rachel: I fell in love with this series right from the beginning. It's definitely flawed, but I was so invested in America and Maxon's relationship that I stuck through the awkward writing, the dull plots, and annoying protagonist. I was rooting for them the whole time. 

Olivia: I know! I should hate this series but really it's Maxon and America who kept this series enjoyable and super ADORABLE! There's only one word to describe this series. Can you guess what it is?

Rachel: Adorable? ;)

Olivia: Yes! That and CUTE! The story gets better over the next few books. The writing improves, and it's a lot more enjoyable by the second. 

Rachel: I definitely agree. Kiera Cass's writing has greatly improved over the books, and she has added more action and mystery to the series to keep readers glued to the pages. The romance throughout the series was so amazing. America and Maxon complement each other so well. Maxon is there to check America's rashness. America is there to assuage his temper and give him the love and care he was deprived of as a child.

Olivia: *swoons* Sometimes though, a question kind of pulls at me. "What if Maxon wasn't a prince? Would America still like him?"

Rachel: America would still like him I think... But having money doesn't hurt. I think it would be easier for her to fall in love with him if he weren't the prince because she wouldn't be scared by the thought of the crown. And she wouldn't be competing for his love against 34 other girls. What do you think?

Olivia: I agree. Having money doesn't hurt. You know, I just finished reading The One today, and I wish there was a fourth book! I need more #maxamer

Rachel: Same! I wish there were a fourth book. The One ended so abruptly. Let's talk about those last couple of chapters... 

Olivia: I hate to say this but the last couple of chapters were a bit of a catastrophe being a bit too rushed. It started with the rebel attack, then Maxon getting injured, and then everything was a mess at that point. BUT the END END did make up for it! I just wish we could have had more of them!

Rachel: I agree. The ending was way too rushed. It all seemed a bit thrown together. The ending was so sweet and perfect though that I kind of forgave Cass for the mess earlier on. The end was so so adorable. I was grinning for a good half an hour after finishing the book. It was just so perfect. I'm glad they got their happily ever after. 

Olivia: Yeah! Those two are just SO amusing! Its like how American just FITS with Maxon. And I was really happy when Lucy and Aspen were put together! It was such a great ending to the series! I actually have read the entire series in 4 days because it was so entertaining and just plain ADORABLE, and I couldn't wait to see what happened next! I know a lot of people may think that The Selection is stupid because its a book full of “cliché-ness”, but for me, it was the romance that made up for all of the stupid things! Just like you, I was smiling for more than half the book! The story is predictable, but it was still really good ;)

Rachel: Wow that's pretty fast Liv! Yeah Maxamer is just so perfect, I mean look, even their ship name works perfectly! Same, I see the Selection as a purely enjoyment romantic book. Just brush aside the flaws and enjoy the adorable romantic gestures. 

Olivia: *sighs* I just really really wish there'd be like a Maxamer short story or more books in the series! I can't believe that this series has ended :( The Selection was definitely an enjoyable romantic book. It was a quick, light, and fun romantic read! I keep on saying this, but it was absolutely just CUTE! <3 Now. Shall we talk about the flaws in the series? 

Rachel: I do see why some people have problems with this series though. The quality of the writing was really poor in the beginning. It improved over the series, but it's still not very good. I hate how basically nothing happened in the second book. The love triangle is so weak and unnecessary.

Olivia: Here's the overview of the entire series:

Book One: Maxon meets America. Falls in love with her. 
Book Two: Maxon and America are falling apart. 
Book Three: Maxon and America fall in love again. DONE. 

The writing of the book was not the best in the first book, but it did greatly improve over the series. I thought that the first and last book was alright and I just HATED the second book. Seriously, how many times do you think America cried in The Elite? Jesus. Also, if this was a true love story, America would marry Aspen instead of Maxon, the prince. But of course we all know that many Maxon fans would hate the series if that happened ;) and I am definitely on team Maxon! What about you Rach? Aspen or Maxon?

Rachel: That basically sums up the whole series. I hated the second book too. Only two girls got eliminated. I felt that the book should have ended with Maxon proposing to America. *end of book two* But no, we need to suffer through 3/4 of The One until he finally proposes. I felt that The One was good, but they didn't help the people as much as I hoped they would. They talked about changes for society near the end, but it was pretty much just brushed over. I don't know how I feel about Aspen and America's relationship. I don't think it was true love, but if not for the Selection I think they would have gotten married. Maxon of course!! Which brings me to another thing. There is no Team Aspen. You're either Team Maxon or Team NOT Maxon. No one actually loves Aspen... I still can't believe how many people died in The One. Do you think those deaths were necessary? Did they help or hurt the series? 

Olivia: Exactly. That and because only two girls got eliminated and that wasn't even Maxon's own choosing! WHY COULDN'T THEY JUST SAY:

But no, we have to suffer through another 200 pages of Maxon and America fighting and waiting for the other one to say it....I also think that the thing with the rebels and society was really boring...Gah. Why is that even included? Like what's the point? The entire point of the series is to talk about Maxamer, not rebels and society! 

The ending and the deaths were very unexpected. I felt happy for one of the deaths (won't say who here), had no emotion for the other two, and cried for the last one. Why did Kiera have to do that? ;( I guess the deaths did create some feels in the book and so I wouldn't say that they were completely unnecessary. Great authors create many feels but I wouldn't say that I like having them kill off people ;) it's just kind of a necessity...

What I mean't by 'if it was a true love story, America would marry Aspen' is that during romance books, they almost ALWAYS have the Bella marry the Edward. Maxon is like the Jacob because he's the second guy Mer met. But I guess I'm really really glad that Maxon and America DID end up together, because the ship between Aspen and America was just really...I want to say unbelievable, but that doesn't make sense, so unrealistic? No, weak, like you said. And there ARE team 'Aspeners'...but honestly, WHO LIKES ASPERICA? (lol, it sounds like asparagus! Even their names don't go together at all!) And America even ADMITTED that she wanted Aspen as a 'safety net' in case Maxon didn't choose her. REALLY AMERICA? REALLY? *rolls eyes* Lol, I'm ranting here now. Back to you Rach. 

Rachel: I think the rebels were added just to create action? Although the rebel attacks in The Elite were really weak and practically pointless. Furniture gets trashed and walls get written on. Oooh, scary. The deaths were so unexpected. Her series has been so light so far and then BAM she hits us with this. Yeah I see what you mean. Mostly the first guy wins, but on occasion, I've seen the second end of the triangle win. It was so cruel that America said she'd use Aspen as a safety net. That's totally not fair to him. 

Olivia: Lol, exactly Rach! Well this was a super fun thing to do and I can't wait to do it again next time! 

Any ideas on what we should talk about or want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment below! We'd love to hear your thoughts! :)