Book Review: the Selection series

Happy Thursday, y'all!  How's everyone's week going?  Mine has been great, minus finding out that Starbucks won't be sending out the garnish for my favorite fall drink, the Salted Caramel Mocha.

Why aren't they sending the sea salt anymore?  I'm very disappointed.  I feel cheated since I'm not a PSL lover.  Hey, at least I still get the caramel mocha flavor :)

Anyway, off to the purpose of today's post.  One thing I've been doing lately is actually reading a fair amount!  Between a few days off over the summer, some traveling, and free time over the weekends, I've had a lot of time to get in to some good books.  Some of those books made up a series of young adult novels that I loved and wanted to review for y'all.

The best way to describe The Selection series by Kiera Cass is dystopia-meets-The-Bachelor.  Two things I love merged into one?  I knew I'd love it.

Here's a synopsis of the first book, The Selection, from Amazon.com:
'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 a palace and compete for the heart of 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."

The next two books in the series, The Elite and The One,  I don't want to spoil anything for y'all, so here are some of my general thoughts of the series:

• The characters are very interesting and relatable.  I found myself reading chapter after chapter because I couldn't wait to find out what decisions they were making and what would happen next.
• The series was a little predictable, but how it got there involved lots of twists and turns.  I did NOT see some of the things that happened coming!
• I experienced such a range of emotions reading this series.  I laughed, I was stunned, I cried, and I cheered.  I'm not even kidding--I'm one of those people that actually reacts to books out loud (much to the annoyance of my husband when we're in the same room).
• Even though this was a young adult novel, it wasn't crazy simple.  Some of it was, but there were also some deep things that were brought up in the books.  For example: the deep roots of the caste system in the society of the kingdom made me think about our society and how our economic status can take root and determine the way people are treated in the US!
• The series was lots of fun!

As if I didn't already love this series, when I read about the author, I fell even more in love!  Kiera Cass went to Radford, a small university just 30 minutes south of Virginia Tech.  She also currently lives in Blacksburg, VA, where Virginia Tech is!  Gotta love Virginia gals that live in my college town :)

These books are quick, fun reads, and I highly recommend the series to you!!  There are also two short stories/novellas that go along with the series, but I didn't read those yet.  If you do, let me know how they are :)

Question for you: What good books have you read lately?  If you've read The Selection series, what did you think about the books?