I am so happy that other character are getting their minutes of fame. I was always curious about the Queen, about her role and how she got to win the Selection games.

In this book we find out all about that. And it was a nice trip. Unlike the previous selection books with America, there isn’t much rebelling going on (only one event), so that was a change. It was all easy and calm.

Amberly (or the queen), I am not sure, I loved her, but I also didn’t like her (confusing I know). I found her way too weak and blurgh. The constant headaches and pains just got in the way of more romance with the future king. I know they serve a goal and that it was a way to show that our future king didn’t care about her illnesses but sorry, it was just too much. I didn’t feel sorry for her, I felt annoyed. Especially since she just gave up after hearing a certain thing (which, sure I can imagine would break your heart and all that, but just keep fighting for a dream, maybe you won’t win, maybe everything falls apart, but you need to keep fighting and hoping).

I did like our future king (more than in the previous books). I am not sure what happened in between stuff, but sorry, it seems he became exactly like his mom and dad. Something he didn’t want to become in this book. It is a shame that he lost that battle.

I didn’t like the king and queen in this book. Dear Lord, those two. Especially that queen. She is an absolute terror and nightmare. Hitting, kicking, smacking, throwing people away. Sorry, but I disliked her soooo much.

There was enough romance, though I didn’t really feel the connection between Amberly and the future king. It felt more like a pity thing than true romance.

All in all, I am not sure if I would recommend this. Again, it was fun, it had good moments, but the romance just was bland, there was too much whining and too little romance and selection moments.