The Betrothed

The Betrothed #1

by Kiera Cass

When King Jameson declares his love for Lady Hollis Brite, Hollis is shocked—and thrilled. After all, she’s grown up at Keresken Castle, vying for the king’s attention alongside other daughters of the nobility. Capturing his heart is a dream come true.

But Hollis soon realizes that falling in love with a king and being crowned queen may not be the happily ever after she thought it would be. And when she meets a commoner with the mysterious power to see right into her heart, she finds that the future she really wants is one that she never thought to imagine.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Audiobook, Royalty, Historical Fiction

307 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2020

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

[✨ A ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know what I was expecting... But it wasn't this.

What I liked:
*awkward silence* *crickets chirping* *tumble weed blows by*


What I disliked:
• the main character was annoying from the very first chapter. Thought she'd improve but big nope
• characters lacked personality
• this book was falsely being pitched as ‘steamy YA’. Well that was complete lies. There was probably only 5 very basic kissing scenes. But that's it. It's not that I'm upset about the lack of steam, I just don't like when things are being falsely advertised. Many people I know are only looking forward to this book because of what Entertainment Weekly said. It felt like I was tricked and I don't appreciate that.
• I actually am not averse to the much hated love triangle OR love at first sight tropes — as long as they are well executed. This was.... not.
• the love interests had no chemistry
• the ending was a whole mess. Author tried to do something for shock value but just didn't make sense.


Final thoughts: I really loved the selection series. Yes, even the ones with Princess Eadlyn . I, like many, have eagerly been waiting years for Kiera Cass to release something new. I guess maybe my expectations were too high? I don't know. I'm just seriously disappointed.


1.5 ⭐️

« ARC received from Harper Teen via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review »
____
7 October 2019

That's right! WE ARE GETTING SOME NEW KIERA CASS IN MAY 2020!! Read more about it here + the first chapter.

A steamy YA romance duology [don't say I didn't warn the younguns] and a love triangle. ⬅️[ edit after I read: they lied to us. No steam at all.]

[Claudia Lomelí · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 estrellas.

Qué acabo de leer. Nada de esto tuvo sentido.

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably closer to a 1.5*

[B · Rating 1 out of 5]

NOTE- My full review still did not fit here, so please read it in the comments. I was able to add some quotes that are in the comments review here.

A PROPER DETAILED REVIEW CAN BE FOUND IN PAGE TWO OF MY COMMENTS. (scroll at the bottom, please)

The detailed review in the comments is with quotes and gifs and it has points I can’t fit here, so I’d recommend you to read that one first, then this. :)

I tried squeezing it twice, but this review refused to cooperate, just like this book. I had too much to say, and too little space so I’m only summarising all that I said at the bottom here.

I’m also not following my review format.

~0.5 stars~

( CONTENT/ TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THE BOOK)

-Mention of some of these in the review-

So today my friends, I’m going to summarise my unique recipe on how to write the world’s best novel.

Let us begin.

(P.S- This book starts with the description of the weather, if you do that, you’ll get bonus points. It’s such a creative way to start a book, isn’t it?)


Step 1- Have a non-existent plot line

I thought this book would be about Hollis finding her inner self and questioning all that she believed. Or maybe, it would have some kind of conspiracy, where Hollis realises that the King has been fooling the kingdom all along regarding some major truth. Or maybe, it could have been Hollis comprehending how appearances can be deceptive. Basically, I expected anything other than what we got.

What did we get?

We got our MC, Hollis (who I shall thereby refer to as H, because I hate the name Hollis) staying in the castle and grumbling about her extravagant life.

Throw in some random stuff, like irrelevant information on character backstories, info-dumping and some so called SwEeT moments between the love interests.

Nothing else happens.

Now, every single person who read this book told me the ending is MiNd-BLowiNg, so I thought ok. Maybe this book will get better.

Did it?

NO.

That ending is one of the most chaotic, and seriously pathetic endings I’ve ever read. But more on that later.

So see, this is step 1 of writing an excellent novel.

Are you taking notes? Plot needs to be non-existent (yes, I know I said the same thing thrice, but it’s to honor the repetition of words in this book)

Step 2- Have no world building

If you see the shelves this book is in, you’ll notice it’s a fantasy. And a romance. And a historical fiction.

Which means there should be world building, right?

W R O N G.

We get 4 paras of irrelevant info- dumping that makes NO SENSE, right on CH 2. (see the comments of this update- https://www.goodreads.com/user_status... )

*slow claps*

Have you noted it down yet? Non-existent plot and no world building.

Yes, yes it’s = a good book.

Step 3- Have flat, boring characters with as much personality as a piece of cardboard (frankly, a cardboard actually has more personality than them)

You want me to elaborate?

Ok.

We have Hollis Brite, our MC.

She’s the most amazing person in this world. Everyone loves her. (Except for me)

“Do you know what I want, Hollis? I want to hire someone to walk behind us and ink down every single word you say. Every compliment, every story. You are endlessly entertaining, and I don’t want to forget a second of it.”

“It’s like I said: you constantly give. Your time and affection, your laughter and care. You have already given me a thousand gifts in them.”

“Isolte has a queen, but it is universally acknowledged that she lacks a level of strength and generosity one should expect from a leader. Your people will be fortunate to have you.”

“I know. I like that about you. You’re always trying.”

"You are quite a remarkable lady, Hollis.” His face grew a little darker when he added, “You will be an unforgettable queen.”

But this is the reality of Hollis Brite-

“I was no soldier. I was no cartographer. I wasn’t book smart or exceedingly kind or remarkable in any way that anyone had ever taken note of.”

“I pushed down the only reason that crossed my mind as to why this could be a bad thing: that when placed next to a proper queen, I would look foolish.”

In fact, she admits all of this herself.

Look, I have no problem with an average character. I’m the literal definition of average, so no complaints there. My issue is that everyone pretends Hollis is the best person in this world. I don’t have the energy to tolerate that.

Let’s just say I found Hollis to be an Eadyln 2.0, and my love for Eadlyn shows in my review rant for The Heir.

Next, we have a king, who sticks his tongue out in front of an entire court and fellow rulers.

“I made a face at Jameson, who understood my exasperation completely, and when he stuck out his tongue in reply, it was all I could do not to laugh.”

He’s just annoying. I don’t even want to talk about him.

Then we have this guy called Silas, who’s only personality trait is that he has Speshul blue eyes that stare into Hollis’s soul. He and Hollis have like 10 conversations in the whole book.

“For a moment, the world stilled. I found myself completely lost in his gaze, unable to look away. His eyes were a shocking blue—a color rare enough in Coroa and completely unique to anything I’d seen before. It wasn’t the shade of the sky or of water. I didn’t have a word for it. And the blue pulled me in, refusing to let me go.”

Nice, isn’t it?

It’s just blue for God’s sake. STOP.

We also have Delia Grace, who I liked a bit in the beginning but hated later on, and Nora whose personality changes midway through the book.

The only characters I liked were Ethan (is that his name?), who's the only smart one, and Valentina who’s POV this book should have been from. I gave this book 0.5 stars for them.

So, step 3 is to write bland, flat characters. They should not have a personality, don’t forget that! We readers hate characters who have a personality, right? Hope you’re taking notes now.

Step 4- Have some insta-love

I’ll just say it. This book has the most of the most of the most insta-love (let’s pretend that made sense) I’ve EVER seen in the entire history of my reading life. (and I’ve read Children of Blood and Bone)

Hollis has like 15 conversations with Jameson, and 10 conversations with Silas and she’s suddenly iN lOvE with both of them.

“It was such a strange sensation, so very new. In that instant, I knew this must be love. It was more than the weak knees, but the unflinching resolve he inspired in me . . . all of this was unique to Jameson.”

“But Silas kept catching things that I didn’t know about myself. He said he liked the way I thought.”

"Since the moment I’d locked eyes with Silas Eastoffe, I’d felt something. The string was pulling me, taut and unyielding. I couldn’t help but notice I still felt that pull as he walked into the hall, eyes downcast, as if he couldn’t muster the strength to fake any kind of happiness.

“It’s quite possible that I have loved Silas Eastoffe since the moment I laid eyes upon him.“

“I would live in a shack if it meant you would be there with me, Silas Eastoffe.”

These characters don’t know anything about each other, not even their birthday or favourite colour. And they are iN lOvE.

Step 4 is to have insta-love, my friends. It’s every reader's favourite thing in the world.

Step 5- Have the insta-love relationships also be toxic

This might be the first book I’ve read where I think both the relationships are also not healthy, along with the insta-love.

I smiled. “You are the most important thing in my world.”

Look Hollis, you met these people days ago. They shouldn’t be the most important people in your life.

“But it felt completely unique, the way he moved his thumb back and forth on my hand, as if a single patch of skin wasn’t enough for him.” [Hollis in regard to Jameson]

Does this sound healthy to you?

And all both of the guys do is talk about how wonderful Hollis is, which makes it ten times worse.

I’m just annoyed.

This is a very important step. Don’t miss it.

Step 6- Have no character dynamics and make the MC’s life revolve around the love interests.

These characters have nothing to do than sit around the palace and waste time. They just do… nothing?

“I picked up a berry and hurled it over at her, hitting her square in the chest. Cecily and Anna Sophia laughed, and Nora’s jaw dropped in shock. But she quickly picked up some fruit of her own and threw it back at me...”

And on top of that, all the MC does is think about Jameson and Silas and all that and I just wanted her to STOP.


Step 7- Tell vs Show, and Have poorly framed and grammatically incorrect sentences

The entire book comprises of everyone telling us things.

Then the book starts with the description of the weather.

“It was the time of year when the sunrise still had frost on it. But winter was fading, and the flowers were starting to bloom, and the promise of a new season filled me with anticipation.”

A- This sentence is grammatically wrong. It should be ‘time of the year’.
B- It makes no sense. What do you mean by sunrise still had frost on it?
C- IT’S THE WEATHER. IT’S A BASIC WRITING RULE NOT TO START A BOOK WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF THE WEATHER.

We have some other sentences thrown here and there that are poorly structured as well, but now I don’t have place.


Step 8- Repetition of words

My list of all the repetitions- (I lost patience for giggling, and I’m sure I missed A LOT, but never mind.)

Pressing lips together

“... which forced me to press my lips together...”

“...I pressed my lips together...”

“Jameson pursed his lips a little...”

“She pressed her lips together.”

“She pressed her lips together, fighting more tears.”

Raising eyebrows

"I raised my eyebrows , allowing that. “Is it as cold as everyone says?”

“If you’re speaking of the winds, yes, they can be brutal sometimes. And if you’re speaking of the general public . . .” He raised his eyebrows. [Both in ch 7]

“Silas raised his eyebrows, looking over at me.”

Smirk

“I saw Delia Grace place a hand on her hip, her smirk saying everything.”

Few paras later

“I smirked at that before turning to Delia Grace.”

Squinted

“Do you know about Crowning Day?” I squinted. (Ch 15)

I squinted up at her. “Where’s Delia Grace?” (Ch 16)"

She squinted at me.

“He squinted his eyes,”

“He squinted,”

“I squinted.”

Nodded

I nodded.

He gave a little nod before stepping back.

She nodded,

Lady Eastoffe took in the horror on my face and nodded once.

"He nodded.”

I nodded again,

I nodded.

He gave me a quick nod of his head.

Smile

“He smiled.”

“His smile didn’t seem as genuine as it had before.”

“He smiled. “...”

He gave me a very thin smile.

"I smiled. “You are the most important thing in my world.”

“He smiled with a shrug.”

“I watched as his eyes settled on the red dress, a smile almost spreading across his face before he realized the girl in it wasn’t me.”

“She smiled, loving the praise. Valentina was a new person when she smiled.”

“When she smiles, you two could pass for sisters,”

"Judging by the smiling faces and relaxed shoulders around the room, it seemed most people in the court did.”

“Jameson smiled slyly.”

"I smiled“

“He smiled down at me,”

"And how he smiled, as if he wasn’t holding anything back, saving his worry and care and affection for anyone else.”

"I feared that something about the set of my smile or the shade of my eyes was going to give me away.”

“A whisper of a smile crept onto her lips.”

“Her smile faded."

When her smile was unguarded, she looked younger, more hopeful.“

“ I supposed the people had never seen this smile.”

“That bright smile disappeared in an instant, and all the light around her died.”

“I gave her a sad smile.”

“He hasn’t smiled that much in ages.”

“Valentina was smiling, wiggling a small leather purse.”

I commented with a smile.“

“I caught him smiling at her a few times when I was very young.”

“I smiled.”

“Ah,” she said, her smile humorless.

“...he offered, a slight smile on his face.”

No,” I said firmly, trying to smile.

“He smiled”

“Keep your king smiling”

“I smiled up at Jameson”

“I forced myself to keep a smile on my face.”

"I forced a smile and nodded.”

“He gave me a small smile, and I did the same in turn.”

“Delia Grace gave us a thin smile before doing her next steps.”

“I clutched my hands in front of me and worked to pull a smile to my face.“

“I gave her a weak smile.“

“But I smiled to myself,”

“She nodded, a whisper of a smile on her face.”

“Jameson would expect smiles when I returned, smiles for the rest of my life.”

“I smiled.”

I smiled. “Yes, it is.”

I smiled at her in gratitude

“but he smiles for me sometimes”

I have more quotes with ‘smile’ that I put in page one of the comments, as now I’m running out of place so I can’t put everything here. There are quotes with other repetitions as well; namely giggling, squinted, pressing lips together, raising eyebrows and a dozen others I lost patience to mark.

What do I say, except for the fact that this book desperately needed an editor? If this was a debut, or a book written over 20 years ago, I would have excused some of it. But it’s not, so I’m pointing it out.

This is my absolute favourite thing to see in books, by the way. Repetition of words. It’s a crucial step, don’t forget it!


Step 9- A failed attempt at a social hierarchy

From my understanding, (as it wasn’t explained at all) this book has a different kind of social system, where women are looked down upon.

“Men battled on open fields; women battled behind fans.”

Now here’s the thing, I don’t agree with such a system personally, BUT I don’t mind it in books IF it serves some purpose, AND someone realises such a thinking is wrong WHICH wasn’t the case here.

This was just there for the sake of it, and no one has any issue with it? I don’t know, but I wanted more emphasis on it.

But it seems we readers like seeing it. You better be taking notes by now.

Step 10- Have a chaotic ending, which is also nonsensical and is full of plot holes

I talk about it in spoilers below, but the ending of this book came out of nowhere and made no sense. It was such a disappointment.

Well, that’s how you write an excellent book. (In case someone didn’t get my very obvious sarcasm, please don’t write all these things in a book. I personally hate it, and I don’t think a lot of people enjoy it either.)

That’s my review. I’m not saying anything more. And I’ve run out of characters anyway.

I’m just happy I finished. I will NEVER read book 2. Don’t even try to convince me.

A huge thank you to each and every person who liked/commented on my status updates and helped me overcome this painful endeavor.

Now does anyone still want to read this book?




If you do decide to read it, hope you enjoy it more than I did!

~Peace
Bhavya.


…………………………………………………

Another Update- 3rd April, 2021

I wrote my long review, but only half of it was fitting here.
MY FULL DETAILED REVIEW IS ON PG 2 OF THE COMMENTS.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I’m going to shorten it and post it here again in a while.

……………………………………………………

Update- 3rd April, 2021

I’ve drafted my review, but I’ve run out of characters and still have a lot to talk about. I need to shorten it now. This might take some time, sorry for the delay.

……………………………………………………………………

Update- 2nd April, 2021

0.5 stars

I FINISHED THIS BOOK!
I AM NOW FREEEEEEEEEEE!




Huge rant review to come once I regain some of my brain cells. ^…^

……………………………………………

Update- 31st March, 2021

There’s a very tough competition going on between repetition of words.

Here are the scores so far-

Smile count-6
Giggling count-10+ (I lost patience to keep track)
Pressing lips together count-4
Smirk count-4-5 times
Raising eyebrows count-2
Squinting count-2

Vote for it here-https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

Who do you’ll think will win? :)

Also, here’s a meme by my friend Mrin. Huge thank you to her, as the meme is so far the best part of the book. ❤️



………………………………………………………………

Update - 20th March, 2021

I started reading. I’m on ch 2 and already regretting my decision.
I just read 4 paras of info-dumping. ON CH 2!

……….…….……….…………

So this has nothing but disappointed reviews, which means it won’t be good. But I think I’ll maybe give this a try, just to see if it’s as bad as everyone is saying (which most likely might be the case)
The cover is gorgeous though.🥰 I’ll still try to go with an open mind and maybe I’ll rant about it if it’s bad

[Lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure where to begin because this book was a mess. It's not that I hated it but that it was ridiculous.

Imagery - I hate too much detail and not enough dialogue, but this book did the opposite. The rooms in the castle were sometimes minimally described and 95% of the characters had zero description. Delia Grace? Not sure what she looks like. Nora? No clue. Hollis's parents? Can't tell you. The only characters that were described were Hollis, Jameson, Silas, and Silas's family. Silas's family was described as having yellow hair and blue eyes. Silas had striking blue eyes and long blond hair. Jameson had honey drizzled eyes, bronze skin, and brown hair. Hollis had fine, blonde hair, was beautiful, and was short. These same descriptions were repeated whenever Jameson or Silas entered a room. It was tedious.

Characters - Everyone was flat. No background, depth or life was given to any character. Hollis acted like an 11 or 12 year old despite being 16/17/18. She was dull, naive, and had a personality of an elementary or middle schooler.

I cringed every time Jameson entered the picture because he uttered the most ridiculous and laughable phrases to Hollis like "You are the rising sun.", "I want to hire someone to walk behind us and ink down every single word you say.", and "I do have some beautiful things, though there is one gem in all of Coroa I am aching to call my own."

Then there was Silas who was not a major character in the book and interacted with Hollis a few meager times before they realized they were soul mates. Silas spoke to Hollis with the same ridiculous lines Jameson did and suddenly Hollis realized that Silas knew her perfectly while she was only a trinket to the king.

Hollis's parents only existed to bicker with Hollis and order her around. They would randomly burst into her room and lecture her every few chapters. We know nothing about them except that they love to argue, want Hollis to marry the king, wish she would distance herself from being glued to Delia Grace (I concur), and that she would stop acting immature (I also agree).

Next is Delia Grace who I abhorred from the first chapter. She also acted like an 11/12 year old and was somehow Hollis's best friend. Despite being BFFs, Hollis was obsessed with Delia Grace. That was all she talked about for 75% of the book. Despite being the future queen, all her thoughts circled around Delia Grace. Before she made a decision, she had to ask Delia Grace. If she wanted advice, she had to consult Delia Grace. If she wanted to go eat dinner with the king, Delia Grace had to be her shadow. Everything was about Delia Grace and her and Hollis were unhealthily stitched to one another. The readers even get unnecessary information on Delia Grace's background, family history, birth rights, royalty line, etc. Why? I'm not sure because it adds nothing to the story. From all the mentions of Delia Grace, Kiera Cass should have made her the main character.

Lastly, Nora. Nora's introduction is described as her glaring daggers at Hollis because Hollis has captured the king's attention. Then in the next interaction Nora is a sweet and cordial girl who adores Hollis and is ecstatic to be her second lady-in-waiting. So which Nora is the correct description? Because for the rest of the book Nora is diligent and not jealous of the king fawning over Hollis.

The only character I liked was Valentina, especially when I got to know more about her. Eradicating Hollis's story and replacing it with Valentina's would have created a stronger book.

Plot - What plot? The only plot was Hollis giggling over Jameson and then falling into instant love with Silas the moment they laid eyes on each other. It took not even 5 minutes of conversation spaced over two or three days for them to realize they loved each other. A few days later she was ready to ditch Jameson to marry Silas. That isn't love. That's lust mixed with mania (obsession). Hollis was thrilled over the idea of wanting something she couldn't have and Silas felt the same since he kept planting ideas into her head to run away with him. He was actually hurt after they kissed on day two (or three?) and Hollis broke away and was worried about Jameson finding out and ruining her reputation. Silas had the audacity to be offended over Hollis's initial rejection. He knew she was practically engaged to the king and yet still decided to kiss her.

I don't remember The Selection being this badly written and I'm positive the characters had more personality and description than all of The Betrothed characters combined. Will I read the next one? Probably. Why? I don't know. I guess to see where this ludicrous story goes.

Thank you Edelweiss for an ARC.

[jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

i literally had zero expectations for this and somehow im still the slightest bit disappointed.

and its not that i hated it - i dont have any negative feelings about this story. im just left feeling a massive amount of indifference towards it, so much so that i feel guilty giving it the three stars i would usually give to books i find average.

theres just nothing about this that makes me want to pick up the next book. the characters are bland, there is no plot, and the ending just doesnt make any sense. however, there was never a point where i was strongly compelled to stop reading.

this is just kind of one of those stories where you realise you wish you could have spent a couple of hours reading something more stimulating, but you know you will get over it because its not the end of the world.

↠ 2.5 stars

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not happy right now😫 so I wanted to express my feelings by a book review with lots of emojis to cheer myself up!👩🏻‍💻

I heard the warning choo choos sound of disappointment train! I should have listened!🚞🚞🚞

I yawned too much, I took nap breaks at least 10 times, I tried to skip chapters. 😴😴😴🥱🥱

But nothing has changed because THERE IS NOTHING HAPPENING IN THIS BOOK! 🙇🏻‍♀️No action, no thrill, no tension , no cliffhanger! Nada. 🤷🏻‍♀️

And THAT FREAKING ENDING 😤😡😡, oh please, I need a ice cold drink and memory eraser to for fixing the damage the book has done!🍸🍹🍸🍹🍸🍹🍸🍹🍸🍹

I don’t like the first book of “Selection” series, too. ( I didn’t even try the other books) So this is my fault: wrong choices will never end with better results!
🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

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[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars. Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for the ARC of The Betrothed by Kiera Cass WARNING, I will be spoiling EVERYTHING.

I am cringing as I think about writing this review because I know it's going to be so negative. I don't understand what happened. I really enjoyed The Siren and was swept into the world of The Selection, which wasn't my favorite story, but boy did I need to know what happened!

And then we have The Betrothed....

What a caricature of a book. As I was thinking about it last night, I realized the whole book read like a book jacket. It seemed to be a synopsis of a book, rather than the book itself. The characters were so one-dimensional and as another reviewer pointed out, we didn't even know what they looked like. We DID know that Hollis wore gold, and a flower crown at one point.

Also, none of the characters were very likable.

Hollis was okay, but even though her last name was Brite, let's face it, she wasn't very bright.

Jameson was annoying, he seemed to treat Hollis like a child. He'd also laugh hysterically at things that weren't even funny. If Hollis was the only one who could make him laugh, and she wasn't even funny, I can't imagine how BORING EVERYONE else had to be!

Silas, fell in instalove with Hollis for no apparent reason. Also, she seemed to love him in return?? Where was the development of this relationship? I JUST DIDN'T BELIEVE IT.

Valentina: She was the one person I actually liked. More of her, please? She seemed like the only real character. I'd read a book about her.

Nora: She was terrible at the beginning and then sweet all the sudden and on Hollis' side? I'm confused.

Delia Grace: I thought she was going to be a good character, but it turned out she was just jealous and manipulative.

And now, let's talk about that ending. Deep breaths.

Hollis decides to run off with Silas and leave the crown behind. Get this, she actually does, without a hitch! I thought we'd have some tension built and they'd be caught together, or Jameson wouldn't let her go or SOMETHING. Jameson just lets her run off, thinking she'll come back. But NOPE. Silas and Hollis get MARRIED, and a couple hours later, EVERYONE IS KILLED! What? I must confess, I did not see that coming.

Even though Hollis, her mother-in-law, and sister-in-law (the females) were left alive, I didn't feel like their grief was shown. It seemed to me that Hollis could care less that Silas, her ONE TRUE LOVE, was now dead. Maybe that's because she knew him for TWO SECONDS.

I also think Cass is setting her up to fall for the annoying cousin who actually called her out on being a pawn (can't remember his name)...or Silas isn't actually dead.

Basically, I thought this was a wreck of a book. I am thankful that it read very fast, so I didn't have to waste much time on it. I am still utterly confused about how it was so terrible because I know Kiera Cass is capable of writing a good story. Hopefully the second book is better by ONE THOUSAND percent. Also, MAYBE middle schoolers would like it? IDK, it was very juvenile.

And here's what I think SHOULD have happened: We all know Hollis wasn't that Brite, I mean bright, therefore she must be a pawn, right? I thought Jameson chose her specifically because of her lack of smarts. He was elevating her so quickly and acting enthralled with her because he had a scheme to have her kidnapped by the other kingdom (or someone he hired to look like the other kingdom). Then because his betrothed, his future queen, the sun in his sky (blah blah blah), was taken from him, he would have a reason to go to war with and take over the other kingdom. Very Princess Bride-esque. I thought Jameson had some nastiness hidden under the surface. Obviously he didn't value women (or at least Hollis) for more than their looks, but I thought there was something more nefarious going on--especially since his father was supposedly terrible. I'm not sure where it would go from there, probably some snarky love interest along the way... but I thought this was what should have happened to get the story rolling.

I'm a bit exhausted from writing this. My fingers were pounding the keyboard quite incessantly. Calming thoughts. And...move on to better books.

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 1 out of 5]

”In the end, we made enemies with our heads, but we unmade them with our hearts”.

¿Cómo es posible que la misma autora que me hizo suspirar y enamorarme con La Selección escribiera esta… cosa? ¿Dónde quedó la magia, la construcción de personajes, las frases épicas y el romance slowburn que me encantaba? Además, este libro lo vendieron en todas partes como un romance mucho más steamy y hot que La Selección, pero en realidad todo es marketing falso porque está más caliente mi nevera que esta historia. Calculen.

En fin, vamos a ver. Aquí nos encontramos en Coroa, un reino que perdió a su rey recientemente, dejando a cargo a su hijo mayor, Jameson. El heredero, ahora rey, se ha caracterizado por tontear con muchas de las solteras elegibles del reino, así que cuando su atención recae en Hollis, una chica de familia noble, todo el mundo piensa que será un romance pasajero, incluida ella. Hollis, desde siempre, ha soñado con ser reina, así que siempre es delicada, complaciente y educada. Y cuando el rey se interesa en ella cree que por fin el destino la está premiando. Poco a poco su relación con el rey, para sorpresa de todos, se va volviendo más seria y, cuando Hollis tiene la corona de reina al alcance de una propuesta de matrimonio, aparece alguien y la hace dudar de su deseo de convertirse en la soberana del reino.

Si esta historia hubiera estado bien ejecutada podría haber sido increíble, pero no lo estuvo. Sigo preguntándome qué editor, qué lector de prueba o qué persona leyó este manuscrito y le dijo a Kiera Cass que era magnífico, que los personajes transmitían muchísimo y que la historia iba a cambiar a una generación como lo hizo La Selección. Vaya mal le han hecho a Kiera Cass dejándola publicar este libro. Y, si creen que estoy siendo súper hater, vayan a leer el 80% de las reseñas que hay al respecto.

Creo que este libro es de las cosas más superficiales y terribles que he leído en la literatura juvenil. Nos hemos acostumbrado a leer sobre protagonistas fuertes, decididas y que usan su inteligencia para salir de los problemas en los que, muchas veces, ellas mismas se meten. Pero lo que me encontré en The Betrothed fue a una mujer absolutamente hueca y sin ningún tipo de interés que fuera más allá de verse bonita, hablar poco y complacer al rey. Absolutamente todo el libro se desarrolla alrededor de pensamientos como “¿qué tela resaltará mejor mis ojos?”, “¿seré lo suficientemente bonita para estar al lado de Jameson?”, “¿lograré decir algo inteligente para entretener a la monarca de un reino vecino?”.

Y, dejando de lado que la cabeza de Hollis está más vacía que toda la cuenca del Atlántico si no tuviera agua, ¿podemos hablar de las relaciones del libro? Es decir, se supone que Jameson está súper enamorado de Hollis y que ella está encantada con él. Pero ¿y la química? Ninguna. Nula. Inexistente. El rey sale con unas frases grandilocuentes de que Hollis es el sol de sus días, pero en realidad todo es cringe y nada romántico. ¿Y lo steamy que prometían en las campañas de marketing? No esperen nada de eso. No hay ninguna escena de sexo y los dos o tres besos que aparecen por ahí son tan inocentes como los de una película de Disney. Ay, en serio, es que todo fue una absoluta decepción.

Eventualmente Kiera Cass intenta meterle un giro al asunto y llega esa persona que hará que Hollis se cuestione si realmente quiere pasar toda su vida al lado de un rey. Y uno esperaría que ese otro sujeto fuera una bomba, que rompiera todos los paradigmas del libro, que fuera el causante de que la monotonía muriera… pero tampoco. La relación que tiene Hollis con él es, si cabe, más superficial que la que tiene con Jameson. Todo son palabras apresuradas de cómo se aman tres días después de conocerse, de cómo no pueden vivir el uno sin el otro y… no, sencillamente no.

Es una lástima que este libro haya sido tan pobre, de verdad. Es triste ver cómo el gran comeback de autores que en su momento te encantaron se va en picado. ¿Y saben qué es lo peor de este asunto? Que The Betrothed es una bilogía.

[farith]

dnf 27%

i wasn’t even expecting anything and yet i still got let down.

***

The king has chosen her.
Her heart belongs to another.



Uhm, isn't this The Selection with another cast?

[Megan ❀ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is proof that Kiera Cass never left 2012.

Look, I didn't expect this book to be good. The Selection wasn't good. But to this day, The Selection trilogy remains one of my favorite guilty pleasure reads because of how entertaining it is. It's trashy and I love it. So that's about where my expectations for The Betrothed were - garbage but entertaining - and somehow it managed to be worse.

While I'll concede that Kiera Cass's world-building seems to have a bit more thought behind it than her previous works, that's pretty much where the praise ends. The world-building is still bare bones. The writing is extremely simplistic and clunky. The characters are one-dimensional, and the love triangle - I know, a love triangle in a 2020 YA book - is cringey. But I probably could've gotten past all the bad, like I did with The Selection, if the book wasn't so mind-numbingly boring.

I'm actually astounded by how boring this novel is. Nothing happens. Literally nothing. There are no stakes, no tension, no plot. It's just bland characters putting on pretty clothes and talking about the same things, over and over again, in slightly different settings. There is absolutely nothing compelling about this book.

And that ending? No spoilers, so all I can say is: what the fuck. I'm baffled, TRULY baffled, that someone read the ending, knowing the rest of the novel it was attached to, and thought it would be a good idea to publish it.

So we've already established that this book is bad. But no, it had to get even worse. Twice in the book, Cass uses the ethnic slur g*psy. One of these times, she uses it to refer to a group of murderers. And that's when I knew, definitively, that this was a 2012 trash fire. Because while that may have flown back when Cass was relevant, a white writer and her publishing team letting that appear in a YA book when novels like The Hate U Give exist and #ownvoices books are everywhere is just unacceptable. Publishing needs to do better.

So yeah. Literally what was the point of this book existing.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy cow this is going to be a hard review to write.

The Selection is one of my favorite series. So, understandably, I was very much looking forward to this. And it truly does have one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the book was so bad (IN MY OPINION) that it may have knocked Kiera Cass off my list of favorite authors.

My spoiler-free explanation: Through most of the book, NOTHING HAPPENED. It was so boring and all the characters were flat and uninteresting. I read the first half one day and couldn't bring myself to finish until weeks later because I just did not want to pick it up again. Unfortunately, I did pick it up again, and it just got worse from there. It went from nothing happening, to one very important thing happening near the end that ruined it for me. It was going to be a 1.5-2 star for me, but by the end I was like, "holy cow, how did someone read this and go, 'yeah, let's publish this.'"

I hate writing such awful reviews, but this was just one of the most disappointing reads in a long time. It didn't just fall flat—it shattered my trust in Kiera Cass as an author. I hate hate hate to say that, but it's true.

Now for the spoilery explanation.

This had the most pointless love triangle ever. Jameson was perfectly fine, Silas was so bland, and yet as soon as Hollis sets her eyes on Silas she wants to abandon Jameson? I did not get the connection between them at all. I didn't love Jameson or anything, but I could see her with him way more than with Silas. And then after 250 pages of NOTHING happening, Silas is like, "Hollis, run away with me," and she DOES, and then it's like "and we got married" which was super quick and out of left field, and then like hours after they get married, THESE KILLER DUDES COME THROUGH AND KILL EVERYONE. I'M NOT KIDDING. THE ONLY ONES LEFT ALIVE ARE HOLLIS AND SILAS'S MOTHER AND SISTER. So not only did Kiera Cass give us a bland love interest—as soon as he and Hollis got married, she killed him off. And that's basically where the novel ended. I am furious. I was not invested in the story, so I didn't care about Silas's death, but if it had just ended with them getting married it would have been a 1.5 or 2 star read and I'd just be "meh" about it instead of full of rage. How in the world did the author who created my beloved Maxon Schreave write this garbage???? I am pretty much in shock.

[MischaS_]

I believe I read like five chapters from Selection, neither the characters nor the story was interesting to me, and I just did not continue the book, sort of forgot that I was even reading it. I then when the rest of the series was published, I always just enjoyed the pretty covers but never felt like giving it another chance. (Which is surprising when you consider my obsession pretty dresses).

So, why do I keep going back to this book and I'm considering reading it?

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not sure what I just read

--------------------------

I so badly wanted to love this one. I always love a good historical drama and this one was posed to be positively titillating - a girl that is betothed to the king but falls in love with someone else once she finally manages to catch his eye? It is set up to be positively juicy. However, it was just so.........boring. There was no romantic tension in either of the pairings. The characters were all so.....flat. I really wish I could have liked this one but the whole thing just felt so poorly executed 😫

[Patricia Bejarano Martín · Rating 1 out of 5]

MY GOD... PRONTO RESEÑA PORQUE TENGO MUCHO QUE DECIR...

[Paulo Ratz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Olha, tem bastante tempo que eu não dou 1 estrela pra um livro, mas não tive dúvidas agora.

Com certeza um dos piores lidos da vida. Que decepção. Que escrita pavorosa. Uns romances sem pé nem cabeça, uns personagens com zero carisma, umas reviravoltas pouquíssimo exploradas. Era melhor ter contratado um ghost writer!

Não tem absolutamente nada que salve nesse livro. Não consigo pensar em uma coisa original, interessante, marcante. O tempo foi jogado no lixo em favor do jornalismo investigativo. RS

[human · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I liked The Selection (well, the first three books) was because it was
a) fun
b) the characters were adorable
c) shit actually happened.
This book had none of the above. I was bored, bored to tears, bored out of my mind while reading this.

The characters were flat, boring, and basic. All the MC does during the entirety of this book is either laugh or giggle, mention how much of a disappointment she is but was still able to get the attention of the king, or fall in love with some fOrEiGnEr she sees because they HaD a CoNnEcTiOn. Not to mention, she was horrible to the only friend she had, who, to be fair, was horrible right back. The only character I even remotely liked was Valentina, and that was more out of pity than anything.

Romance? What romance? Oh, you mean the staring into each others souls and letting the silence go beyond awkward? Yeah, not a big fan.

There was no plotline to speak of until more than halfway through the story, and even then, that was only mentioning that "dark things were happening in Isolte" yada yada yada, and that "her parents were hiding something" who, y'know, wind up dead anyway. If their secret turns out that tHeY wErE fRoM iSoLtE aLl AlOnG, I will be seriously disappointed. Well, more disappointed than I already am, because of how much that was foreshadowed and hinted at.

When Silas (and all the others tbh) died I felt no remorse whatsoever because it was a whirlwind romance, not TrUuUe LoOoVe. When (oh crap I forgot her name) ...Hollis decided to go off to Isolte with Lady Eastoffe and Scarlet, and started spouting off lines about how they were her true family and how she would rather be in danger with them than safe alone, I *almost* laughed because of how melodramatic she was acting. The whole 'running off to Isolte' seems like a desperate attempt at moving the nonexistent plot forward more than anything else.

So yeah. Overall, I was more disappointed than I was expecting, and I certainly thought this was a waste of time. I don't hate it so much that a better use for it would be setting it on fire and using it as a heat source during the apocalypse, but it's almost there.

Edit: actually, nvm, it most certainly is there.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definite Instalove. I felt no connection to the romance. I will read the sequel but this didn't capture the same feelings that The Selection did for me.

[Elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first part of this review will be spoiler free, I will write when the spoilers begin

Let me introduce you to the main character. Her name is Hollis and she is the most annoying and stupid person ever. If you thought Tris from Divergent was annoying then boy you got a big storm coming. Reading about Hollis making stupid decisions made me lose my last three brain cells.


this book is just as shitty as everyone says it is, spare yourself the torture and just don’t read this

I can’t really tell you the plot because nothing happened in the first 75% of the book so if you don’t want any spoilers then you should stop reading NOW


okay Hollis what is your problem? first of all in the first chapter you hate the king, in the second chapter you love him??? And you know he’s gonna propose and stuff and then when he gives you the queens room you start crying and stressing because it’s too much????

Hollis: Omg being the sugar baby to the king his so hard and I can’t take this omg it’s too much i’m gonna cry

STOP ACTING LIKE A KARDASHIAN
side note: there’s nothing wrong with the kardashians, just implying that they are pretty spoiled and entitled


and then nothing happens for 200 pages until Hollis is like i love Silas except the fact that she doesn’t know him, all she knows is that he has blue eyes. and then she just leaves the king(who’s an asshole btw) and marries Silas.

and listen i actually liked Silas but then HE GOT FUCKING KILLED LIKE WHAT HE WAS THE ONLY CHARACTER I LIKED WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT

people think Hollis is gonna fall in love with Ethan in the next book and if that happens then i’m gonna be mad, even more mad then i am after reading this book




————————————————————————
I’m so mad, RTC




————————————————————————
I really want to read this but everyone is giving it one star so I don’t think I want to pay 17$ for it

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book made even the worst Barbie movie look good.


(no, The Princess and the Pauper isn't the worse movie. yes, I love Barbie movies with all their predictable plots, sparkly new outfit reveals, and fluffy plots bc they're still GOOD and HEARTWARMING and FUN)

I had no expectations when I started this because I knew, oh I knew, this was going to be nothing but mindless fluff to whittle away a few hours with. But then . . . BUT THEN it couldn't just be silly, happy fluff, no, it had to be STUPID and even my tired brain at 1am had enough energy to wonder "WTF".

Really, this could have been smarter. I've read fluff books that ARE smarter, that at least try to be something beyond the sparkle-infused awe of Barbie's pivotal wardrobe change. This was literally nothing but wardrobe changes pasted together with feasts THAT LACKED FOOD DESCRIPTIONS C'MON!! and then a lackluster attempt to rally the plot near the end. It didn't try at all . . . and then it tried too late, too much, too badly.



I mean . . . WHAT IS THE POINT of this book??? There literally wasn't a point beyond shaky characters that had me believe cardboard has more depth, a plot that echoed too much of The Selection, and reeked of tame instalove. Look, I was under the impression we'd get steaminess and perhaps a bit more, all right? LOOK AT THE COVER AND HOW MUCH SHOULDER SHE'S GOT BARED OKAY DON'T TEMPT ME WITH FALSE ADVERTISING jk jk jk I mean I you can dress sexy without expectations of sex, yes, I stand behind that fully 100% . . .

H O W E V E R

This was so PG it felt forced. The kisses here came across as blushing children scurrying in for a quick peck before covering their faces in adorable shyness. It did not seem actions from teenagers or adults, let alone a king who is more than once proclaimed to have, hmm, "dated around" for lack of a better term. But, because marriage is held in high pureness among our society that explains everything??



Give 👏🏻 me 👏🏻 realistic 👏🏻 portrayals 👏🏻 of 👏🏻 forbidden 👏🏻 love 👏🏻 !! Scratch that, just give me realistic portrayal of everything! Grief, love, friendship, politics, royalty . . . they were just dusting skeletons in this book and that just annoyed me SO MUCH. Especially when the ending was supposed to be oooooh so shocking! So suprising! Heart rending, tear jerking, noooooooo this can't bE!!



What I'm trying to say is this book was rather awful in many aspects but mostly because it really wasn't anything. Oh, there are pretty parts and I guess you could say this is a clean-read . . . but I don't want to trade clean for empty, y'know? There was just NOTHING to this book beyond that beautiful cover, which honestly earns the 2nd star of this review from me.

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight]

10/15/19:
A COVER AND TITLE AND SYNOPSIS

I'm so excited. I mean, I'm disappointed that the cover doesn't match her other ones, but it's still gorgeous and I am SO pumped to get my hands on this! And it's a series!!!!

Count. Me. In.

6/15/19:
Soooo..... is this ever happening? This is just strange. Did she say offhandedly at some point that she might write another book and this Goodreads page happened but she has no plans? What is Kiera Cass even doing right now? Her last two updates on her website are one from 5/5/16 where she said she's canceling the tour for The Crown and then a laughable one from 2/14/18 where she said she refuses to attend any events where someone accused of sexual assault will be present. I mean, really? What events? She hasn't done anything for years!

So she might just be done as an author.

Ooh! But I just checked out her Twitter page. She said she's "working away" on her new book when someone asked. So... who knows, really. But there's hope. I guess we really can't rely on authors "official" pages when Suzanne Collins "official" website isn't even updated for the Mockingjay movies. (I couldn't find her Twitter because there are far too many people pretending to be her.)

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I might go for a Selection series reread in the fall for the atmosphere. That and The Siren are all the Kiera Cass we have right now. Embrace it.

9/20/18:
NO! NO! NO! NO!
YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO US
PUSHED TO 2019 ARE YOU SERIOUS AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH

9/13/18:
Sooo... we're technically a week from this book's release but we don't have a cover or title or anything. Is this real? I'm so confused. I just want more fluffy Kiera Cass on my shelf, is that so much to ask?

10/27/17:
I don't know what the title is, I don't know what the cover looks like, I don't know what it's about...

But it's by Kiera Cass.

SOLD!!!!

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simply dnf.

At this point, who am I even kidding. I probably won't ever start with this series nor will give this book a chance. Given the reviews that don't look very good (at all) and I myself will probably cringe at the plot, so I decided not to waste my time on a book that I'll dislike and later on will regret my time that I spend on reading it.

Saying that I'll not be reading Kiera's 'The Betrothed' series, does not mean I don't like her books. Besides this, I've read all of her books and 'The Selection' series will always be a guilty pleasure and in a way a comfort series of mine.

I've been meaning to write a post like this for a long time, but I never could find the right words to do so. But after writing this I feel kind of relieved as if this was a huge burden on me.


****************************************************
A new Kiera Cass book has finally been announced!!!!!

[demi. ♡]

OH MY FREAKING GODDDDDD. NEW BOOK FROM KIERA CASS? SIGN ME IN!

P.S. Good job! Your book covers never disappoint me. ♡

[nia🏹 •shades0fpaper• · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can find this review on my blog Shades of Paper.

Ever since I heard Kiera Cass was coming out with a new book I knew I had to pick up as soon as possible, because even though The Selection series isn’t the best crafted piece of literature, it was such a fun and fast paced book to read, full of drama and romance, so after reading the synopsis of The Betrothed I was expecting something like that. However, I ended up really hating this book, sadly.

Though it had some similar features, like the romance drama and similar characters, this book was pretty different from The Selection. To be honest, it didn’t have a bad start. Though I wasn’t blown away by the beginning of the story or the characters, there was a little bit of information about the world building and the society, which was pretty surprising.

On the other hand, I found that once I reached the 20% mark there was pretty much no plot at all. The book was purely focused on the romance and the characters, and I would have no problem at all with that, if the characters were one: interesting, and two: well crafted and complex, and unfortunately, these characters were not only stereotypical and plain, but also I feel neither of them had any development at all.

And I could have given it a pass if it had an enjoyable and angsty romance, but this had one of the most cringey, insta love-y and cheesy romances I’ve ever come across in a book. Not only the protagonist lacked chemistry with both male interests, but there was a love triangle that came totally out of nowhere and there wasn’t any dynamics or interactions between her and the love interest when she suddenly realized she was in love with him and started to made such stupid decisions. I don’t mind a love triangle when it’s well written, but there wasn’t anything that made me root for any of the characters.

And the protagonist infuriated me. Yes, at the beginning of the book she wasn’t amazing but she was okay, but as I kept reading and reading she became so annoying and stupid, and I just couldn’t understand why everyone thought she was so interesting and unique when she was only pretty, because that was all she was.

Then, the cherry on top was the plot twist that literally came out of nowhere and didn’t add anything relevant to the story. There wasn’t anything solved or wrapped up, and I understand that it is the first book in a series, but still, it added a plot point that wasn’t even there until then.

Overall, I was at least expecting to enjoy this book and have fun reading it, but the characters and how they acted throughout the story didn’t help at all. I wasn’t a fan of the romance, and sadly I won’t be continuing with the series.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This doesn’t change my opinion whatsoever. All thoughts are my own.

....

This sounds like The Selection but if America was born wealthier, but I will be definitely reading it because I’m:
t r a s h.

Thank you HarperCollins and HarperTeen for the ARC.

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | BlogLovin’

[Cesar (Inactive) · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star

I'm going to use my last three brain cells to try and write a cohesive review for The Betrothed. Which is hard because there's nothing cohesive about this story, the characters, or anything in it. If you looked at the rating, it's not well-liked and now after reading it, I can share in their sentiments. Keep in mind I'm not angry with hate. I'm more disappointed with Kiera Cass' attempt at writing a believable romance. If you could even call it a romance.

Before I begin my review, let me tell you something. About a year ago, I went to the library with my brother so he could study for his exams while I browsed around. I have known about The Selection but didn't have any interest in it. But I decided why not and picked it up. I only got about to 100 pages before I decided it wasn't for me. Now after reading The Betrothed, I have to admit that the Selection was more interesting. And that's coming from me who didn't even finish the damn book. Keep in mind that The Selection wasn't that good either but I was entertained by it. When The Betrothed went on sale last month for the kindle, I bought it just to see what all the negativity is about. Here I am now with my final thoughts.

The Betrothed is a mess. A mess of a story, a mess of a romance, a mess of uninteresting characters, and a mess of everything. I've seen fans say that it's basically the Selection just with different characters and setting and I can see where they're coming from.

The Betrothed is about a girl named Hollis Brite (who is definitely not bright in the slightest) who lives in a kingdom (that we know absolutely nothing about) and is in love (Hah!) with King Jameson. When Jameson starts to reciprocate her feelings, she is ecstatic to learn this and the possibility of her becoming queen is right around the corner. In comes love interest N0. 2 Silas (because there has to be a love triangle for whatever fucking reason) and Hollis is now wondering where her heart truly lies (Because she's stupid enough to believe that she is in love with someone after having no less than four conversations with him) and if she really wants to be queen.

If you haven't picked up on the obvious hints, this story has no style or substance. If Kiera thinks we're dumb enough to believe a pathetic love story with boring characters, she's wrong.

I would normally start off with positives but there are none.

There are plenty of negatives and I'm about to lay it out for all of you.

Cons.

-Characters-
The characters were not interesting. Hollis is a ditzy blonde who believes in happily ever afters and has absolutely no idea how to form any logical thoughts or actions and is about as interesting as a block of wood. Which would be an insult to the block because they have more facets than Hollis. When I say she's a ditzy blonde, I'm being literal with that statement. She too naive about love and the prospects of becoming a queen. You would imagine that she would do more research and look at the past history of queens to get some sort of knowledge to help her. She doesn't and it shows by how she treats important things involving her kingdom and the relationships with other kingdoms.

Hollis has no sense of autonomy. She is driven by her feelings rather than logic. She falls in love with Silas at first sight and falls for him even more after four conversations. Conversations that don't reveal who Silas is as a person. The same can be said with Jameson and how she views being a queen. She pulls a complete 180 after meeting Silas and another 180 when he decides she isn't sure if she wants to be queen. And she does them faster than Usain Bolt running. It's rather insulting to the reader that we are to believe Hollis' feelings and thoughts when she herself isn't even aware of what she wants or having a clear grasp of her feelings, let alone any logical sense. If you told me Hollis was supposed to be a well-written character who has to make difficult choices that could determine her future, I would've laughed at your face.

Jameson and Silas as characters and love interests were the same as Hollis: Boring and lackluster. Jameson is the pretty boy with a crown and Silas is the other guy. That's about as much description as you get from them. They fell in love with Hollis for whatever reason and it was too fast and too sudden. Like Hollis, they lacked autonomy. None of their actions or thoughts made sense and if anything, they were just as bad as Hollis. Silas himself is remotely uninteresting and aside from being described how handsome he is, I can't see why Hollis would have any feelings for someone she doesn't properly know.

Every side character is also static. They're basically carbon copies of each other. Delia Grace is bubbly and sweet. Nora started off as a potential enemy but then turns into an exact copy of Delia Grace. There's also another girl who then starts to be like Delia Grace. They have no distinction or personalities other than being bubbly happy girls who are almost the equivalent of a manic pixie dream girl.

There was one character, Valentina, who was more interesting than the rest and I would've gladly preferred her to be the main character than Hollis.

-World building-

This is a romance story that completely throws out any world-building created by Kiera. We are told that Coroa is a great kingdom but there isn't anything indicating why it's better than the other kingdoms. Counting Coroa, there are 12 kingdoms and we know absolutely nothing about them or if they're even going to play any role in the upcoming sequel. Why is Coroa the way it is? Does it have advancement in politics and technology? What about the other kingdoms? We don't even have an estimate of what time period it's inspired by.

I've seen people say it's supposed to take place in the 1500s but for all I know they could be living in the 1600s or 1700s and we still wouldn't have any resemblance to the setting. There are tons of fantasy stories that take place in centuries that make it abundantly clear which time they are in. Here? There's nothing.

While we're on the subject of world-building, there is a racial slur used (g*psy) and it makes me wonder why Kiera Cass would think it would be ok to use that word knowing people will point it out. White editors really need to just not ignore these kinds of things.

-Romance-

Here is the elephant in the room. Any resemblance of romance is just insta-love. Hollis falls in love too easily. Throw in any hot guy and she'll say she's smitten by him and after having one conversation, she's in love with him. Give me a fucking break. Does Kiera Cass think we're dumb enough to believe in this crappy love story.

-The Twist-

There is a twist near the end of the book and I'm going to give a major SPOILER WARNING for it and even Game of Thrones. You have been warned.
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Near the end of the book, a group known as the Darkest Knights storm in on Sila's and Hollis' wedding reception and massacre everyone Red Wedding style from Game of Thrones. This was supposed to be shocking and horrifying except Hollis wasn't even in the room when it happened. The Darkest Knights showed up and left. It was so lackluster that it doesn't even count as a shocking twist. Now, if Hollis was inside and saw everything and managed to survive, then it would've been a lot more interesting. But no, we got the pg-13 version of it and a boring one at that.

Silas is dead (Here lies Silas, we know literally nothing about you 2020-2020) and that's about it.

The Betrothed is a baseless book without any substance in it other than a crappy romance with boring characters. Kiera Cass needs to change her style from royal romance and give us something different. There are plenty of romance authors who do write royal romance stories except some of them mix it up when they write new stories with new characters. That's how they keep going whereas Kiera Cass thinks readers will be satisfied with a mediocre story and romance. I hope she improves in the next book for the sake of her fans and for her to grow as an author.

I don't hate this book. I'm disappointed by any amount of wasted potential there was that was squandered down by Kiera. If you told me this was just a quick money grab, I'm inclined to believe that. I don't think I'll even be continuing with this series.

If there's any hope for this series, that lays with Kiera Cass on improving her writing and character development. If not, then we'll be getting another terrible book.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Betrothed is the first book in a new Young Adult duology. It is a royal romance.

I really liked The Selection series so I was very excited to read a new book by this author.

The narrator is Hollis (1st person POV). It's not stated how old she is. But I'd guess maybe 18, since this is supposed to be a YA series.

I am honestly not sure what genre to classify this book as. In the author's note at the beginning it says that the story takes place in the 1500s. But that was not mentioned in the actual book. And honestly it did not feel historical to me. The author did mention swords. And there were castles. But other than that it really felt very similar to The Selection series. Others have classified this story as fantasy. But I really did not see any fantasy elements in the story.

There are many kingdoms in this world. And this story takes place in Coroa. Jameson is the King of Coroa.

I remember when the book was announced as a "steamy new romance". There is romance. But it is very YA and not remotely steamy (just in case anyone was expecting something sexy).

The story is about Lady Hollis. She is a lady at court and lives at the castle/palace. The King (Jameson) has shown interest in her.

I really liked the beginning of this book. I liked Hollis a lot. And was very intrigued by the King and the court.

I didn't read the book blurb before reading The Betrothed. So I was quite surprised by some of the things that happened.

There is a family that comes from another kingdom (Isolte). And they become an important part of the story (the oldest brother is Silas and the sister is Scarlet).

This was a quick interesting read. There were a lot of very surprising twists (especially in the last 30% of the book). And honestly the author did a few things that completely shocked me.

Since this is the first book of a duology I was very curious how the first book would end. I was also very curious to see if there would be a cliffhanger ending.

While the story is definitely not complete, I wouldn't call the ending a major cliffhanger. There are definitely things that I want to know more about. And I am super curious to see what will happen in the next book. Overall, this was a good first book.



Thanks to edelweiss and HarperTeen for allowing me to read this book.

[Claire ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacklustre characters, setting and writing raises fears that THE SELECTION is a one-hit wonder. THE BETROTHED tries to be so many things: dramatically, romantically, and politically indulgent, and fails on all three accounts.

It's bad, folks.

What I expected? Not perfection, but something lighthearted and addictive and as charming as THE SELECTION.

What I got? A dull TV soap drama set in generic fantasy land with snooze-inducing characters.



I really liked THE SELECTION series even with all its flaws, but THE BETROTHED genuinely feels like it's trying to be exactly the same but with worse characters.

So what's it about? Against all odds, Coroan lady Hollis Brite has all but been chosen to be King Jameson's bride, a huge honour in their court. Hollis thinks so too, until she meets Silas Eastoffe, the swordsmith son of refugees from Isolte, Coroa's natural enemy, and Hollis must choose between her place in society and her heart.

The book is exactly that of the premise, as Hollis wanders through extremely tame court politics and keeping her growing love for Silas a secret for 60% of the book. Because as you know, there's nothing more interesting than the riveting drama of deciding what to wear each morning, the smalltalk of tepid conversation between characters, and meeting new people. Holy god, it. Is. Dull. Thankfully the book is short enough to hold your attention. The last third is most interesting, but the bar is so low at that point that it's not exactly a compliment.

I'll admit I'm actually rather surprised at how the book ended. The book refuses to challenge Hollis as a character until the end, so it was refreshing to finally become invested in the barebones plot. However, the way it reaches said conclusion is not at all satisfying. Remember the Southern Rebel villains from THE SELECTION series? THE BETROTHED's villain is exactly the same, but worse. Faceless, nameless people who wreak havoc for a watery, contrived reason. Their name alone made me laugh out loud, and that's never a good sign.

First, let's address the characters. List because I'll forget them all before #2 guaranteed.

• Hollis Brite, sole child of her well-to-do parents and our boring, one-note protagonist. She has no quality that makes her unique and interesting compared to other YA protagonists or heck, compared to THE SELECTION's America, of all people. She's supposedly funny and stubborn and 'quirky' but because she's written so flat none of these seem applicable to her. Her voice is generic and there's no driving force behind her actions until the end. Truly mediocre.

• King Jameson of Coroa, the handsome young king who unloaded compliment after complimented onto Hollis and did not much else. Probably the most forgettable character, despite his page time.

• Silas Eastoffe, a refugee son of an Isolten lord who ran to Coroa to escape Isolte's king. How can I possibly convey how flat this character was? As love interest we're supposed to fall in love with him through Hollis' eyes, but he has literally no stand-out qualities. He's nice to Hollis and has sparkly eyes and that's it, and we're supposed to buy it? Nope. Is that all there is to his personality? Really? The romance I'll get too, don't worry.

• Delia Grace, Hollis' lady-in-waiting. I wanted more of her, but her character was majorly squandered and her motivations are confusing. She's Hollis' best friend but resents her because of her circumstances and has attempted to sabotage her position, but they're still best friends??? What??

• Nora, Hollis' other lady-in-waiting. No point talking about her. She was hella filler.

• Hollis' parents, the cookie-cutter "I want our daughter to be the best!" type who force her to do things and exact harsh reprimand when she disobeys (which is frequently). It's so weird; they are majorly underdeveloped considering their relationship with Hollis, but then one day Hollis just outright refuses to obey her mother in one situation, and the mother is just... okay with it. She concedes to Hollis in what has to be the biggest anti-climax to their relationship. If it was that easy why didn't Hollis refuse to listen to them at any other point?

• Etan Northcutt, an Isolten noble who is a jerk to Hollis for her position in court.

• The Eastoffe family, who are Silas' family. One-note personalities, all of them. Scarlet Eastoffe should've been more heavily developed given her role in the story but she meets Hollis and suddenly they're as close as sisters, and it's not satisfying whatsoever.

• King Quinten of Isolte, who is the laughably cartoonish Big Mean King who rules with an iron fist. Isolte and Coroa have developed a bitter rivalry over the decades and yet Quinten pops over to Coroa every year for feasts and games.

• Queen Valentina of Isolte, Quinten's young wife and probably the most interesting character, with her own character arc, thoughts and wants. If only all the cast were as interesting as her.

Tl;dr for the main cast: flat. Underdeveloped. All of them. Other side characters are a total waste of space.

Scene setting is entirely absent. I would've gone into this in the characters section but I don't know what anything or anyone looks like. Delia Grace? Not a winkle of description. Nora? No idea. Keresken Castle? Some sprinkle of hallways here and there but nowhere close to build a big enough picture. I can forgive place description because I can at least envision the interior of a medieval castle, but failing to describe your own characters? The first of whom is somewhat relevant to the plot? It's completely maddening. From here on out, Delia Grace has five purple horns and blue skin, and no one can correct me.



And oh lord, the romance is blander than white bread. I mean it so wholeheartedly when I say that the two leads share zero romantic chemistry. Less than zero. Minus one chemistry. Seriously. Hollis is immediately attracted to Silas and describes how lovely his eyes are and how kind he is to her, but it comes across as superficial when we at that point knew almost nothing about him and she's known him max two weeks. What on earth is there to swoon over? Sheesh, I haven't felt this much disdain about a romance since SEAFIRE's random make out session at the end of the book. That popped out of nowhere, but whilst there was build up here, none of it felt surmountable enough to lead to romance.

The writing is uninspired. Very much similar to the her other books, Cass' style of prose is monotonous and boring.

"Here is information I will give you," said Jameson.
I smiled. Thought about his words.
"Here is my reaction," I said.
He laughed. Insert my reaction to his laughter here.

Rinse and repeat. There's the occasional line that made me pause and go "huh, that was good", but it's a drop of water in a barren desert. There's no poetry, no magic. Sentence structure is often the same and most paragraphs begin with I with very few attempts to liven it up. I would've hoped after five books Cass would be improved but it seems not.

Now, the ending? That really spiced up the book. I wouldn't say the execution is all there, since the villains had no personal stake in Hollis' life, but it did entirely spin Hollis' world upside-down and I'm interested to see how she deals with it in the sequel.

My closing comments are these: four years wait and we get this. Incredibly disappointing. I think it's fair to say that THE BETROTHED, with its similar name, cover, premise and marketing to THE SELECTION series, is trying very hard to hold onto the coattails of its success, and failing miserably.

WILL I READ ON? I think I'm on the Cass train for life to be honest, despite my reservations, though I don't think I'll go out of my way to read the next one.

Weirdly enough I think this deserves one star overall, but I really didn't hate reading this book as much as I hated other books I one-starred (cough cough cough). So you are saved by my hatred for other books, Hollis.

E-copy received from HarperCollins Children's Books in exchange for an honest review. This title releases on the 14th May 2020.

LAST REVIEW

2: THE BETRAYED ★☆☆☆☆

1: THE SELECTION ★★☆☆☆
2: THE ELITE ★★★☆☆
3: THE ONE ★★☆☆☆
4: THE HEIR ★★★★☆
5: THE CROWN ★★★☆☆

1: A THOUSAND HEARTBEATS

---

7th October 2019:

me before today: nah i’m over being suckered by royal romances and pretty dresses on the cover

me today: WHERE CAN I PRE-ORDER

[May R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vuelve Kiera Cass con una novela arrolladora, diferente e inesperada

Demasiadas emociones juntas como para poder reflejarlas en una reseña. La Prometida es la primera parte de lo que parece que será su nueva bilogía. Una novela que encaja en el género romántico épico con tintes históricos pero basados en un universo creado por la autora, un poco en la línea de La Selección pero muy distinta a esta última. Para los fans de su anterior saga, como yo misma, quizá un tanto decepcionante al no encontrar algo similar; pero a la vez también una novela que muestra otra cara de la autora y que sin duda gustará a sus lectores.
La Prometida es una novela bastante más adulta que sus anteriores. El estilo de Cass impregna cada página y fácilmente reconocible; aun así es muchísimo más maduro y plantea cuestiones que son más adultas que aquellas que encontrábamos en La Selección . Eso me ha gustado, pues vemos una evolución evidente en la autora y aporta algo distinto a su universo de reyes y princesas en apuros.
La trama de esta novela es consistente pero quizás ligeramente rápida. Seguimos en el universo de castillos y bodas, de promesas y guerras; pero esta vez siguiendo la vida de Hollis, una chica que siempre ha sido preparada para conquistar al rey. Sin embargo, cuando lo consigue nada es como esperaba y decide seguir a su corazón. Esta es la trama que tenemos en la novela, el día a día de Hollis y su autodescubrimiento personal y el descubrimiento de un mundo perteneciente a la realeza que no termina de encajar con sus sueños. He disfrutado de la historia, la trama está bien elaborada y sigue la línea narrativa que ya conocemos de Kiera Cass.
Quizá el problema que he encontrado con La Prometida ha sido con los personajes y el romance. Hollis es un personaje redondo, que evoluciona y cuya psicología es curiosa porque parece no estar creada para despertar simpatías en el lector; es narcisista, ególatra y un tanto caprichosa. Esto ha sido lo que más me ha gustado de toda la novela, poder encontrar una protagonist aun tanto deleznable que atrape al lector y nos muestre su psique. Sin embargo, tanto el rey Jameson como Silas cumplen un papel fundamental en la trama y podríamos decir que son protagonistas de la historia pero se quedan como papel en blanco la mayor parte de la novela. No he terminado de conocerlos, tampoco de entender cómo funcionan y creo que ha faltado profundizar en ellos.
De ahí a que el romance de la novela me parezca precipitado y un tanto inverosímil. Tenemos un claro ejemplo de amor a primera vista pero no un desarrollo de esa relación coherente que nos lleve a entender la resolución de la novela. Esta ha sido mi decepción con la novela porque después de haber leído La Selección y descubrir la capacidad de Cass para profundizar en sus historias, me ha resultado extraño no encontrarlo en La prometida .
Más allá de eso no he podido parar de leer, el ritmo de la novela es vertiginoso y te mantiene atrapada desde el principio hasta el final. Además, cuenta con un final inesperado que abre las puertas a su continuación y ya no puedo esperar para ver la resolución de la historia de Hollis y el resto de personajes.
Sinceramente y como conclusión creo que La Prometida no es una novela para todo el público de Kiera Cass. Hay una evolución evidente en su estilo y sus personajes tienen aspiraciones más adultas que aquellos que encontrábamos en su anterior saga. Es un romance épico con tono histórico y cuya evolución es más lenta por ello mismo. Si os gustaron los anteriores libros de la autora lo recomiendo pero creo que tenéis que empezar a leerlo sin expectativas y sin esperar lo que dio en La Selección .

[Gabs · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5 ★☆☆☆☆

July 20th, 2020: Almost two months have passed since I read this book and I realized that two stars was too much.

——
June 3rd, 2020 review:

”I would love you without condition. I cannot offer you a palace or a title, but I can offer you a home where you will be treasured for exactly who you are.”


And yet, I didn’t feel anything with that quote. Why?

1) The love interest is boring and forgettable.
2) The romance wasn’t credible since it was never built or developed.
3) You don’t want to know it, believe me.

What happened to this book? I’m still wondering that, Kiera Cass.

I don’t know why I did this to myself, but words aren’t enough to describe how bad this book is.

The characters are plain and boring, there’s no plot or world building, the writing style is not remarkable to focus on it and the ending came literally out of nowhere just to “repair” the whole book (because absolutely nothing happens).

The fact that I didn’t like or enjoy any character is already a problem. Both love interests were one dimensional and completely boring. The protagonist is so annoying and silly that I wanted to throw myself out of a window. The love story isn’t developed and I can’t imagine how anyone could be interested in her. It was so frustrating!

The worst part is that I read this with an open mind. After rereading the Selection trilogy this year (and loving it again), I was so excited to read more from Kiera Cass..., but this— ugh 🤮 a living nightmare.

The ending (even with the pointless and ridiculous things that happened) surprised me and gave me space for theories. Perhaps the Darkest Knights are the only interesting stuff, but it didn’t fix the whole book. NOTHING can save this sunken boat.

Will I read the next book? Yes, let’s witness this disaster. It will probably be like punishing myself, but I’m going to give the author another chance.

•

Spoiler thoughts:

1. Are you seriously telling me that Silas loved her so much that he was ready to marry her right after six conversations?

2. Holis just dropped her whole life and future for a stranger who had “beautiful blue eyes” (she repeated this over and over again). Completely credible. It happens all the time 👏🏻

3. Jameson laughed at everything Holis said. Wtf was that? Why is he laughing so much if she is so boring?

4. After so many complaints about Holis being adequate or not to fit the queen’s shoes, are you telling me that Delia Grace (with all her scandalous past) is accepted just like that after ONE SINGLE CONVERSATION?

5. So you created all this mess and a chaotic love triangle (and not in a good way) just to kill one of the main characters? That was completely pointless. Besides, we can’t feel anything for a character we hardly know anything about.

6. I don’t believe Silas’ death. He will appear again and probably become the king with Holis by his side or something like that. If he’s truly dead (and again, even if I don’t like him that’s completely pointless), then she will end up with Etan.

•

Don’t read this unless you really want to. Save your time and money.

[Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller · Rating 1 out of 5]

[1.5/5 stars] A lot of people seem to be aboard the Kiera Cass hate train. I’m not one of them. Her writing is what it is, and that’s okay that it doesn’t work for some, but the projected disgust at a lot of her works seems a little over the top. It almost feels like shaming her books is what it takes to sit at the cool kids’ table. And if that’s the case, I’ll go sit outside by myself and read her books while I eat.

That said, The Betrothed was not a strong installment. I absolutely loved the Siren and the first two Selection books, but this one left a few key elements on the table.

Firstly, she didn’t take the time to establish the main character’s credibility. Her merit as the perfect candidate for the king was just a given, and I think it would’ve gone a long way to start the story earlier and SHOW how she’s different and what circumstances made her that way. As it stood, it was baffling enough to see how vastly opposite she was from her incompetent and overbearing parents, yet she miraculously knew how to perfectly navigate court life and the attentions of royalty. It just didn’t add up. So the only thing left to assume was that all of her success has been based on purely superficial things, which is very much not a satisfying thing to read about… unless it’s intentional and part of the character’s growth arc (it wasn’t). It was mentioned a couple of times that the lady was the only one to make the king laugh, and she wasn’t desperate for the throne or his love, so I suppose those are decent reasons for her to stand apart. But it wasn’t emphasized, the characters even going so far as to discuss how random the first encounter was and how it could’ve been anybody. None of it accounted for the how’s and why’s of it all. I wanted more development.

Second, the character didn’t have to struggle for anything. Wealthy, beautiful, witty – this character entered the picture with the world at her feet and only petty court ladies and her own questionable decision making as obstacles. Skill without having earned it in stories is unrelatable, unbelievable, and a bit of a snore. As conflict is inevitably what drives a story, a character plodding along without anything substantial to overcome was just meh. It was doubly annoying for the character to be given the world on a silver platter only to dash it to pieces without a care. She’d faced some trials by the very end of the book, but it was a bit too late to make up for the lack at the beginning.

Finally, the character didn’t exhibit a lot of emotion. If she didn’t appear to care, why should the reader? A king is fawning over you? Cool! We’ll see how long it lasts. That bitch over there is calling you names? Whatevs, I think I’ll just make friends with her. Your parents are trying to rule your life? Meh, I do what I want anyway. It all sounds rather cavalier, but in execution it led to a character that just appeared to be floating through life without any real drive or desire to contribute to her own future and well-being.

Recommendations: The Betrothed was not one of my favorites. It did not highlight the things Cass does well, and that’s unfortunate. If you’re going to try one of her books, pick either the Siren or the Selection series, but be warned that her works are incredibly polarizing. I, personally, have delighted in a few of her books and still plan on picking up future releases (aside from this series). It just missed the mark. For an adult, anyway. My observations are mostly craft-related and I don’t think my 13 yr old self would’ve cared about any of that, but rather just delighted in the loveliness of the setting, the clothes, the jewelry, and perhaps would’ve even been enamored with the love story. Tame enough for younger eyes, I think this one would be better suited for tweens and early teens.

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com

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