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Book Summary
Love is a risk worth taking.

Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again.

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude…until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. And though she can’t talk to him, they soon forge a connection neither of them can deny…and Kahlen doesn’t want to.

Falling in love with a human breaks all the Ocean’s rules, and if the Ocean discovers Kahlen’s feelings, she’ll be forced to leave Akinli for good. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart. 

Flo's Review
Okay, let's start with Cover Love! Look at this beauty! The back cover and the flaps continue with the beautiful blue-green ocean waves. I only actually read the last 50 or so pages, and I kept turning the book over to look at it. 

So, let's throwback. I would say maybe a year ago I was in Barnes and Noble (aka my second home) and what do I see in the clearance bin?


I grabbed it, of course, as soon as I realized what it was -- a pre-Selection Kiera Cass book! It's been sitting on my shelf since then, and I finally pulled it down when I started listening to the audiobook. Fun fact: changes were made! I thought I would be able to match the audio of the edited Harper version with this earlier version of the book, but that's not the case. The writer in me is curious and may go back and read this other version just to see what was changed. I only read the first few pages, skimmed the middle a bit, and read the last few pages and those were different in the new version.

But back to The Siren 2016! I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did. Sure, I always enjoy Kiera's stories. They are cute and they make me smile. But this one had a depth that, to me, the Selection series didn't quite have. It was beautiful and intense and my heart ached for all of these characters. I'll start backwards and talk about the sisterhood of sirens. Kahlen talks a lot about the myths and stories that we (humans) believe of sirens. This shows the kind of research that Kiera did into the topic for the book and was fascinating. I loved how she took the general idea that sirens were soulless and completely turned it around to these beautiful and fun girls who are every bit as "human" as your best friend. They go out, they shop, they dance, they travel, they dream, and they are dedicated to each other. But they must also find a way to live with the fact that they kill people. Elizabeth shops. Miaka paints. Kahlen researches. I love how each girl dealt with what they did in such a unique way.

Akinli, of course, is adorable. What I love most about his and Kahlen's relationship is how it shows that we can connect with others through more than our words. Kind of a deeper Little Mermaid type scenario. Deeper because Akinli wanted to learn more about the person Kahlen was, and he told her about the person who he was.

The Ocean...I don't know how to feel about her. I understand where she's coming from, but I also don't. I can see how she loves, but she is not good at showing love. She is a complex character who plays both the hero and the villain, who gives life but also takes it away, who has deep emotions but comes off cold. She's full of contradictions, and like I said, by the end I came to understand (I guess...) her, but I don't think I really came to like her.

And finally Kahlen. She is so complex. It's just interesting to me to compare her to American and Eadlyn. Not that the two royal ladies didn't have some things they were going through, but Kahlen to me had so much more soul and emotion. She hating taking lives and could never let that go. She carried all the lives with her, through her scrapbooks. She carried her dreams of falling in love and having a beautiful wedding. She carried her sisters by taking care of them. She carried the Ocean, as she was the favored siren. And as the book progressed she carried even more -- heartache for Akinli, pain for her sister Padma, secrets of Aisling's. She was seen as the best siren because she was the most obedient, but I think of them all she wanted the most to experience the depth of humanity.

The Siren had a lovely, beautiful ending. I closed the book with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face.

I'd definitely recommend this one! Just don't go into it expecting it to be like the Selection series, because it is most definitely not.

Book Summary
When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.

Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.

Flo's Review
Aww, I'm going to miss the world of The Selection! As you may recall, The Heir might be my favorite book of the series. Perhaps rivaling with the first book, The Selection. I just really enjoyed reading about Eadlyn and her boys. So the day this book came out, I had it in my hands. My heart is so happy with this! I closed the book with a smile on my face and complete contentment with how I was leaving the characters. I am so proud of Eadlyn and how she has grown up, and I can also say the same thing for other characters, such as Josie. As with the other Selection books, this one was a quick read that I was able to complete in a 3 hour flight to Chicago for BEA. If you haven't read any of The Selection series and are looking for something light and fun, I'm definitely recommend them. Here are our reviews:

The Elite: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2014/01/the-elite-by-kiera-cass.html
The Queen: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2015/01/the-queen-by-kiera-cass.html
Happily Ever After: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2016/02/happily-ever-after-by-kiera-cass.html
The Heir: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2015/05/the-heir-by-kiera-cass.html

Flo's Review
Happily Ever After is a collection of novellas from the Selection world, as follows. (The hyperlinked ones will take you to our published reviews):

-The Prince (with the two bonus chapters), Maxon’s novella
-The Guard, Aspen’s novella
-The Queen, Amberly’s novella
-The Favorite, Marlee’s novella
-Three scenes from Celeste’s POV
-Lucy’s scene (bonus scene from The One)
-The bonus epilogue
-Where are they now?
-A map
-Various illustrations

My favorite part of Happily Ever After was definitely the illustrations! This is such a pretty book! I checked it out from the library, but I think I will need to buy it to add to my collection -- especially if I can get Kiera to sign it. As far as the stories (lol, of yes -- those too!), I definitely loved reading the Epilogue and I really enjoyed The Favorite, which I hadn't read before now. I also enjoyed the Departure scene from Celeste's POV.

Happily Ever After is a good little dip for fans of the Selection who want to lose themselves in the world again. And, true to the title, it is the perfect completion and goodbye. If you're a fan of the series, I think you will enjoy this collection and should definitely pick it up.

Book Summary
Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible.
But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.
Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought.

Flo's Review
Ahh! So much love for this book. I read the majority of this in one sitting. I couldn't put it down! I kept wanting to know how the next Report was going to turn out or what Eadlyn was going to do next. I loved that we got to see so much of Maxon and America and how their life turned out. The ending wasn't a cliffhanger, but left us on a good place for Book 5 to start. If you read and enjoyed the first 3 books in the series, then definitely pick this one up. In fact...

I think The Heir is currently my favorite in The Selection Series and I think it's because of the following reasons:

WARNING: These will be spoilers for this book and the other books in the series from here on out, so proceed with caution after the page break.

Book Summary

Flo's Review

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. (Goodreads Summary)

Me and author Kiera Cass at the RT Convention

I have been lusting after this book for awhile. I heard about it several months ago when I found out that it's going to be a TV show on the CW. Since then, I'd been really wanting to read it. I even joined a Goodreads group looking specifically for this ARC (Advanced Reader Copy). So I was super excited when, while at the RT Conference in Chicago a few weekends ago, I was talking to Kimberly Derting and she introduced me to the author, Kiera Cass, who was sitting right next to her. "YOU are The Selection?!?!" I exclaimed excitedly. Like she IS her book. Lol. Then I hopped on over and immediately launched into my tale of trying to get ahold of the ARC. She didn't have any at her table and I was sad about that, but she signed some pretty, pretty bookmarks for me*. Then later that night I gasped when I saw that fellow BookNerd Jacque had scored a copy! I offered to trade her basically any book I had for it, and seeing my enthusiam, she agreed.

First: Cover Love! This is in all the reviews for a reason -- it really is a gorgeous cover! Look at it: