Book Review: The One

Synopsis:

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.

 
This series has been a bit of a “do I actually like this?” roller coaster. The Selection was interesting, and held lots of promise, while The Elite just kind of irritated me. America and her pathetic “I love Aspen, no Maxon, no Aspen, no Maxon” was exhausting, and not a whole lot else happened.

And then I began reading The One.

The One was exactly what I was hoping for from this whole series. There was far more political business, more conflict and development with the rebels, more romance where it SHOULD BE (AKA NOT with Aspen), more catastrophes, and higher stakes. This is the end of the competition after all, and it should be serious.

I was glad we got to see so much of America and Maxon together doing useful things and not just “dating in the garden”. And there was less of America feeling so guilty about spending time with Maxon because she was thinking about Aspen (thank goodness). America and Maxon had their ridiculous and obnoxious moments, but they were fewer than in The Elite.

I still find it slightly hilarious that the rebels can just storm into the palace all the time. Like, shouldn’t the palace be the most guarded place in the country? Shouldn’t they be able to adapt and fortify the building?

We really saw more of the King’s terrible side, and therefore gained an interesting view of Queen Amberley. I had a lot of sympathy for her, though it was hard to tell if she knew how horrible her husband was. Maxon grew a spine and started standing up to his father’s tyranny, which was a breath of fresh air.

A lot of, unpleasant things happen in this one, compared to the other two. America has to live through quite a bit, and I’m honestly surprised the king doesn’t just throw her in jail. It’s sort of a miracle. He certainly hates her enough. It was nice to see the girls (the Elite) becoming closer and growing as well, rather than just being their stereotype. We got to see them think a little more for themselves and not just about winning The Selection.

I thought The One was a wonderful ending to a series that I enjoyed, though much of it irritated me. This book definitely has more of the dystopian elements that are missing from the first two, although the romance is still center stage.