The Favorite

The Selection #2.6

by Kiera Cass

While America Singer's heart was torn between Aspen and Prince Maxon, her friend Marlee knew exactly what she wanted—and paid the price.

Revisit the captivating world of Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series in this digital original novella. Told from Marlee's point of view, this all-new 64-page story returns to the fateful Halloween when Marlee and Carter were discovered, and reveals how that night—and Prince Maxon—changed their lives forever.

The Favorite also features a teaser to The Siren!

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Fiction, Novella, Short Stories

58 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2015

About the author

100 Things I Love:

Being married. Cake. The smell of Autumn. Motherhood. Books. Elephants. Back rubs. On demand movies. Actually going out to movies. Faith. Cinnamon rolls. My family. Butterflies. When my kitchen is clean. Crayons. Pink. Tote bags. Dancing. Organizing via color coordination. That my wedding dress was tea length, not floor. Baking. My house. Writing utensils. Paper. India. The sound of water. Making videos. Buttons. The word Episcopalian. Making people laugh. Layering clothes. British accents. Pinterest. Animation. Fireworks. The smell of the Ocean. My wedding rings. Aprons. Reasons to get dressed up. Sex. Pop music. Stars. Taking walks. Daydreaming. Stickers. School Spirit. My friends. Living in a small town. Japan. Singing. Painting my toenails. Pranks/ practical jokes. Painting. Stretch canvas. Costumes. Dipping my fingers in melted wax. Style. Soda. Spending an hour typing at a coffee shop. Musicals. Back to school season. Mopeds. Good hair days. Naps. Not walking up but looking at a beautiful staircase. Driving alone. My ankles. Playlists. Spending entire days in pajamas. Holidays. Telling stories. Spontaneity. Theme parks. Bookshelves. The word copacetic. Boxes. Empty journals. Surprises. Doing things in groups. Doing things alone. Getting real mail. Decorating. Small forks. A good hug. Gift cards. New Years Goals. Going out to dinner. When someone else remembers some great story about me/us that I’ve forgotten. Toy stores. Fireplaces. Breakfast foods. Journaling. Crying for a good reason. Doorbells. Pointless adventures. Voting. My birthday. Reasons to make wishes. Recycling.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Favorite?

More like The Money Grab.

"Just before the doors closed, he gave me a wink and a crooked smile, and I was left there, grinning like an idiot."

Marlee (along with a gaggle of of other girls) is in a pseudo The Bachelor competition for Prince Maxon. That's right. This kingdom picks its new queen by a televised reality TV show.

Marlee is the people's favorite - which carries a lot of weight. And despite being the favorite, Marlee has a pretty big secret - one that even her best friend and fellow contestant (America) doesn't know. Marlee's got a man on the side

We already know from the main Selection stories that Marlee:

A) Falls in love with a guard
B) Gets caught in compromising situations with the guard
C) Was sentenced to death (but escaped)

And in this side-story, we see A, B and C all over again, only with much more drama and with horribly cheesy lines like this:

"I’d rather have my last memory be of his death than suffer knowing that his last memory was of mine."

Honestly, how did this kingdom last as long as it did? It's just one dumb decision after another:

Marlee

"I had found my soul mate. I knew it. And there was too much love in my heart to leave room for regret."

You are honestly telling me that you were so in love with your soulmate that you absolutely had to sneak around with him even though you knew both of you would die if you got caught.

Are. You. Freaking. Kidding. Me.

Gurl. What is wrong with your hormones? How hard could it have been to wait a couple of months? To bow out of the competition? Anything to ensure that you both wouldn't DIE?

Instead, you just had to risk both of your lives for a little nookie in a castle alcove.

America

So, America sees what happens during Marlee's and What's-His-Face's sentence...and continues her affair with Aspen. What the what?

Did she not just see the beatings? The death sentences? Why? Just why.

The Entire Kingdom

So Marlee and What's-His-Face are publicly beaten in front of the entire nation. And Maxon has this "clever idea" to hide them in plain sight - as servants in the castle under fake names.

The very same castle that housed Marlee for the last six months and televised her rise and downfall. And it works.

This makes no sense.

Marlee's face was so prominent (as the people's favorite) that surely the gossiping servants recognized her. Everyone is so cast-oriented that I cannot believe that they would be fine with two traitor "Eights" in the servants' quarters.

Which leads me to believe that everyone in the castle must be completely dumb.

I am SO done with all the YA books having to write novellas.

Audiobook Comments
Read by Arielle DeLisle - no complaints there!

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Snapchat @miranda.reads

Happy Reading!

[Elena Salvatore · Rating 2 out of 5]

WARNING: You should NOT read this novella before you read The One.
You will be spoiled for the ending.

[♥ℂĦℝΪՖƬΪℕÅ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 This shouldn't HURT this much ★'s

“I’d rather have my last memory be of his death than suffer knowing that his last memory was of mine.”

Buddy read with my, girl Desireé :)

Wow! This was a really fantastic novella and I must say this is my favorite novella in the series! It was such a wonderful and refreshing read, it was fast-passed and it made me smile :) This is in Marlee's POV and we get a look into Marlee and Carter's relationship, how they first met, how they fell in love and what happened to them after the caning. I love all the extra juicy details into there relationship and I really enjoyed seeing a few scenes that happened throughout The Selection series but through Marlee's eyes. I have been dying to see what exactly led up to that intense and heartbreaking moment that tore at my heartstrings in The Elite and it did not disappoint whatsoever!

I have always adored Marlee from day one when America met her on the plane on there way to the palace in The Selection. In which they became fast friends. Marlee is such an amazing character and I absolutely love her!! So to have this book and in her POV I was beyond thrilled. I love Marlee and America's friendship and her relationship with Carter melted my heart. Marlee and Carter's relationship was so beautiful and touching and the love they have for one another was so inspiring. I love that even with EVERYTHING... all that they suffered and endured they still managed to persevere. And that ending was everything I had hoped it would be and it was so so sweet :)

Illustration of Marlee & What I picture she'd look like.

Illustration of Carter & What I picture he'd look like.


“I had found my soul mate. I knew it. And there was too much love in my heart to leave room for regret.”

“I wasn’t alone. We had each other. The pain would last temporarily, but on the other side of it, I had Carter forever. My love, forever.”

[Chelsey with a y · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED The Favourite and I love King Maxon even more now. I love how he went out of his way to care for Carter and Marlee and what America and Maxon did for them at the end, so sweet.

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta historia corta casi me mata de todos los feels que me produjo. Miren, Marlee no era de mis personajes favoritos en The Selection y, a pesar de lo que le sucede llegado cierto punto de la historia, no me importó mucho en su momento.

Sin embargo, leer toda su historia desde sus ojos es una experiencia totalmente diferente. Sobre todo porque no es una historia lineal, sino que va dando saltos del presente/futuro al pasado. Creo que mi problema con Marlee es que no conocí su historia de amor prohibida con Carter de primera mano en los libros de The Selection, así que todo fue muy "se enamoró de un guardia y ahora los tienen que azotar, volver Ochos y echar del Palacio". ¡Pero todo cambia cuando lees The Favorite! Con esta historia corta ya conocemos cómo fue el primer encuentro de Marlee con Carter, cómo coqueteaban a escondidas, cómo se robaban sonrisas, roces, guiños... cómo se enamoraron perdidamente el uno del otro.

Creo que lo que más me llegó de The Favorite fue el amor que se sentía a través de las páginas. A pesar de ser un relato corto, llegamos a percibir los sentimientos de Carter hacia Marlee y el gran lazo que se forma entre ellos. Y, además, gracias a esta historia también vemos la infinita bondad de Maxon al ayudarlos en sus peores momentos... tanto en los inmediatamente posteriores a los azotes, como meses después cuando él ya es el Rey de Illéa.

[She-who-must-not-be-named · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Favourite! King Maxon never ceases to astound me 😍

[Constantine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Young Adult + Dystopia + Novella

The Favorite is novella 2.6 in The Selection series by Kiera Cass, and it is narrated from Marlee's point of view. The Favorite takes place between the events of The Elite and The One, and follows Marlee as she explores and measures the power of her relationship with Carter and the challenges they face as they try to be together. Marlee's participation in the competition and her interactions with the other contestants are also explored, along with the political and social problems that the dystopian society of Illea is dealing with. Marlee must choose what she stands for and what she is ready to fight for as she tries to find her place in the selection and build a life for herself and Carter.

The story was amusing in some way. Nice qualities can be found in both characters. Here, Prince Maxon demonstrates his goodness and the lengths to which he went to help the two lovers. I liked it.

[Kyla Spackman (ourbookworlds) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun read for Saturday! I love the Selection world and it was fun reading this short story. Way cute, as always.

[Yusra ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

listen I stan one selection couple and that couple is MARLEE AND CARTER

so i’ll be honest, I completely forget most things about the “selection” series but the marlee & carter story is one that I still remember. & I saw this novella and just thought okay, yes, I stan, let’s read.

one thing i’ll like to say before my gushing begins is that THE WRITING. omg. THE WRITING. was this how the entire selection series was written? i hope not. the writing was kinda really bad as compared to a lot of the new books i’ve read and that’s my opinion so don’t @ me. but I totally get that this is a novella like 58 pages long so whatever bUT i’m second guessing my ratings for the other three real books because I don’t remember if the writing was this bad.

spoilers ahead for the selection series and basically this novella, but there’s nothing major to be spoiled for the novella imo. but i’ll let you, the reader of the review, decide that for yourself. dun dun dunnnnnn

anywaysssss onto WHY I LOVE MARLEE AND CARTER SO. MUCH.
i am absolute and utter trash for princess/guard stories like these. to be fair i’ve only read like two other stories with this but I LOVE IT. I have no clue why I love princess/guard love stories. but I do.

this novella basically gives a glimpse at the thought process of Marlee through falling in love with Carter, the caning, and life after that (all the way up to after the One). it was really short so not that substantial, but like I said, I was so ready to remember why I was obsessed with this couple.

and here’s why:

I sighed. “I’m scared not to have a home.”
“Don’t be. I might be a little worthless at the moment, but I can take care of us. I even know how to build an igloo if we end up somewhere cold.”
I smiled. “Do you really?”
He nodded. “I’ll build you the prettiest igloo, Marlee. Everyone will be so jealous.”

shssshjxaha carter is so underrated like, maxon who? we only love carter in this house?

and while there are some really cliché dialogues and there were times (yes even in a 58 page book) that I was cringing just a bit, mostly due to Marlee’s way of talking/the words used to describe how she was talking (i don’t even know if I make sense). and also, I so wish that their relationship was fleshed out more in the beginning. I’d gladly read like 100 pgs of them falling in love slowly asjsdshcs anyone know any good fanfics about them??

bUT LOOK AT THIS:

I kept my face turned, trying not to get anxious at the sounds Carter made.

keep in mind he’s just been caned and is bloody and in pain and they’re trying to change his clothes 😭😭😭😭

AND THIS:

“One thing”, Carter said tiredly. “When you get a chance, can you find us a preacher?”

I only love my bed and Carter Woodwork, I’m sorry.

they literally give each other PIECES OF TWINE AS WEDDING BANDS it’s just,,, too much to handle for this romantic over here.

“But I wouldn’t even be able to use my own flour to make you one. It’d be stealing.”
He kissed my cheek. “True. Besides, the last time I stole something, it was pretty big, and I got more than I deserved, and I’m already happy with what I have.”
“You didn’t steal me. I’m not a teapot.”
“Hmm,” he said. “Maybe you stole me. Because I distinctly remember belonging to myself once, but now I’m all yours.”

my hearrrtttttttt

overall this was so good to read for my marlee x carter loving heart, and kiera cass does know how to write her male love interests. i’m going to treasure this novella and read it whenever my ships sink in other books :)

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Favorite is a novella (#2.6) in Kiera Cass's young adult, dystopia series titled The Selection. This short-story was a refreshing addition from Marlee's point of view. The characters in this series are great, but sometimes it's nice to read a new perspective...and see a new love story. If you have read the series then you know that Marlee falls in love with a guard: Carter and when discovered, they are caned as punishment. But Marlee's POV provides insight into a beautiful bond between two people that gets them through the hard times. I found the novella rather choppy and it didn't flow well in my opinion but the content was good. Three stars.

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Marlee and I liked Carter. I was upset what happened to them in the regular series. I'm glad this gives the view from Marlee's side of things. You get to see a few behind-the-scenes that were not in the regular series. I was glad they could be together but never understood the whipping. I would have just fired him and sent them away. They weren't doing anything in front of the cameras so the general public didn't know.

[Trina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in the Happily Ever After bind up. By far, this was my favorite novella of the series. I had wondered what exactly led up to that pivotal scene with Marlee and she's also just a great character to read from. I also enjoyed how we saw a few different scenes throughout the series from her viewpoint.

[Coco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bueno, pedazo spoiler que sueltas amiga Kiera.

[jolie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was cute! carter and marlee aren’t my favorite but i’m glad i got to see more on their story <3 my favorite part about these little novellas is seeing pieces of other characters and how they all play into the main books.

my favorite part in this book was maxon (bc ofc!) bc i got to see how kind he was on another level. i wish I got to read this before the elite bc seeing things from america’s pov was NOT helpful at all in the actual full length novels. and marlee’s inner dialogue provided an actual unbiased view that wasn’t tainted since it wasn’t happening to her.

basically i live for america and maxon. seeing marlee talk in such a sure way ab how they were meant to be together made me love this book more. that one scene where maxon wanted to put his arm around america but hesitated 🥹 my heart is swelling. AND WHEN MARLEE SAID SHE THOUGHT HE WANTED TO PICK HER UP BC OF HOW MUCH HE ADORED HER i’m gonnna start sobbing. if u haven’t read this series, please go do so. it’s so adorable (sometimes unlikable, but still bearable) and i’m in love w america and maxon’s story.

series review! ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆
novellas:
the queen
the prince
the guard
the epilogue
the maid

full length books:
the selection
the elite
the one
the heir
the crown

pre-read review

i’m actually kinda excited for this bc i love my queen marlee!! <3

[Carmen de la Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡¡¡Me encanto esto!!!

Fue increíble ver cosas de la cabeza de Marlee y cuánto está enamorada de Carter.
¡Maxon es increíble! ¿Cómo podría alguien ser tan bueno?

Era exactamente lo que esperaba que fuera; no solo una repetición de lo que ya se dijo en los otros libros, sino realmente la historia desde otra perspectiva con información que no teníamos.

Además ¡Marlee y Carter son tan lindos!

[Ninoska Goris · Rating 2 out of 5]

La Favorita, es la Historia de la Selección mas corta de las que he leído, pero es la que tiene más información adicional. Es la historia de Marlee, la favorita del pueblo en la Selección, pero encontró el amor en otra persona diferente al príncipe y tuvo que pagar por ello. Está ambientada inicialmente en La Elite pero también en La Elegida y mas adelante cuando ya gobierna Maxon.

[ambsreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to see Marlee's perspective of events, add this to the fact she was one of my favourites characters in The Selection and I wasn't mad by this novella at all.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

“They were too good together. He was control to her chaos; she was levity to his seriousness”

The Favorite by Kiera Cass is a novella in the Selection series. This book contains spoilers for the ending of The One, so don’t read this book before that if you don’t want to get spoiled.

*Spoiler alert for The Selection, The Elite and The One*

This book was alright. It’s too short for me to write a proper review.

I liked seeing Marlee’s perspective but I still have issues with everything that happened here.

1. Maxon making Marlee and Carter work as servants
The huge issue with this is the fact that Marlee was ‘the favourite’, the one the whole kingdom loved the most. Maxon tries to hide them in the Palace as servants. Does no one see them? How does no one recognise Marlee?

2. America being annoying
Yes, I’ve ranted about this in my review of The Elite already but America sees the consequences Marlee had to face, yet she still continues her thing with Aspen. I know America is stupid, but how stupid can you be America?

Those were the main issues I had with this. Regardless, I enjoyed the rest of the novella.

DISCLAIMER - All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

My ratings and reviews for other books in the series-

The Selection - 3 stars

The Elite - 2.75 stars

The One - 3 stars

The Heir - 2.75 stars

The Crown - 2.5 stars

Happily Ever After (all the novellas) -3 stars

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favorite

[Fizah(Books tales by me) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why these are even needed just repetition of stories.

[Sofi (sofi.bookshelf) &#x1fa77;✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este relato me gustó mucho, no lo esperaba leer nunca pero me alegro de haberlo hecho.

Si alguna vez sentiste curiosidad por la historia de Marlee con Carter, este es tu relato.

Yo siempre quise saber más de ellos, desde que se conocieron hasta lo que les pasa luego del castigo inhumano que les puso el rey. Admiraba su amor y fuerza cuando pasó lo último en "La Élite", desde ese momento quedé con ganas de más, por suerte esta corta historia me lo dio. Empaticé mucho con ambos personajes, Carter era la roca de Marlee desde el primer momento. Tenían un amor prohibido, pero todos sabemos que eso solo hace que sea más emocionante.

No hay mucho que pueda decir, ya que básicamente es un relato muy corto, pero si diré que me gustó mucho, siento que cumple con su función y te mantiene intrigado. Sin duda estos personajes se aman, me alegra que su relación fuese lo suficiente fuerte para sobrevivir lo que les tocó pasar.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Favorite is another companion novella to the Selection series. In this installment we get a behind the scenes look at Marlee and Carter's relationship told from Marlee's point of view.

I really enjoy these extra looks into the story as I often feel like the main books left out a lot of background information. This one let's us know how Marlee and Carter met and fell in love and what happens to them after the caning. There were peeks to the events in the main story but adding the extra details makes the story much more appealing to me.

Overall, an enjoyable addition to the Selection series, best to be read after finishing The One as it gives hints to the ending of that if you haven't read it yet.

[Phoenix Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novella a lot more than all the other ones. It was so incredibly sweet and it was kind of all knew to me. We get to find out more of what we never knew. Sometimes in novellas it seems like they are just repeating everything and everything is just the same as the main book but I enjoyed this one more.

[Saboteadora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este me lo leí del tirón. Está narrado por Marlee desde la noche de la fiesta de Halloween, así que comienza más o menos a la vez que "El guardián". Pero narra algunos puntos clave en vez de suceder linealmente en el tiempo, va saltando y llega hasta el final del tercer libro. Eso me gusta. Me ha resultado muy interesante.

[Yoda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Marlees story was without a doubt my favorite (Hahah, favorite get it?). She is such a lovely character I would love to read more about her! Her story is so sweet and adorable, I loved it!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was beautiful. I love Marlee so much and I'm so happy that she got her happy ending. Her relationship is so pure and perfect and I loved being able to see different events from her POV.

[Kelly Urbano · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this book was okay, I mean it went fast, but some of the books content didn't make me want more, it left me going ummmmmm. I mean I felt bad for Abril and Juan Diego(?) I felt like they didn't deserve to go to Panama(?) and live in exile. I feel like you weren't though because they are not really important. Also not much of it was memorable. I was glad Woodwork(?) and Marlee were safe.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a nice love story... all things considered...

[Ani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute and I liked seeing things from Marlee's POV. It wasn't the most entertaining one, but it was cute enough.
Now onto The One!

[Ana Encinas · Rating 5 out of 5]

La favorita, última historia corta de la saga "La Selección" y escrito por Kiera Cass. Con este relato me he quedado con ganas de mucho más. La protagonista no deja de sorprenderme en las pocas páginas que tiene la historia corta. Conocer desde su punto de vista su recorrido en La Selección ha sido una delicia a la hora de leer. Sin lugar a dudas es la favorita tanto para el reino de Illéa como para mi como lectora.

[Nicolinia Spurgeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shortest Story to make me cry!