Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

**Minor Spoilers** I am a fan of the Selection Series and was so looking forward to The Betrothed, but for me, this book missed the mark. It felt like a first draft that you would send to beta readers and your editor. Not because the writing was bad, but because the plot was not well developed. The characters were flat. The pacing was slow in the beginning and then rushed at the end. I felt like a lot of information was missing, like what main characters looked like, rationale or inner dialogue for impulsive decisions that Hollis made, and the biggest thing missing in the book was ROMANCE. CHARACTERS: I found Hollis shallow, whiny, and immature. I could have overlooked all that considering this is a YA book and Hollis grew up at court and didn't know any better, but her character didn't arch into someone that the reader could connect with or even like. The book states over and over that she isn't smart or talented. The only thing we get from her is that she entertains well and is pretty. Then later in the book Silas is complementing her on her character traits, but it felt like Cass was just telling the reader who she wanted Hollis to be, rather than showing us throughout the book. I couldn't connect with either love interest and felt like I had no one to cheer for. Jameson was so overdone and cheesy, and I felt like his character wasn't consistent. At times he could be overbearing and controlling, but when the woman he is seconds away from proposing to drops him, he just lets her go without getting angry. That didn't add up to me. Hollis walked all over him like a doormat and he just took it. He didn't threaten her, grab her arm, insult her, yell at her...nothing! That doesn't seem believable coming from a powerful King who was just humiliated. And Silas, I don't even know what to say about him because I know NOTHING about him other than a few surface details and that his eyes are blue and apparently amazing. This is the main love interest and I can't tell you much about him other than his profession/hobby and where his family came from. Delia Grace was another character who seemed shallow. She was such a hypocrite. She grew up her whole life with people ridiculing her and judging her and then that is exactly how she treated all the girls in the book. Basically throwing a tantrum if Hollis didn't choose people she liked. Valentina was so rude to Hollis and then the next time they are together they become instant best friends. I don't know??? ROMANCE: What romance? Everything that came out of Jameson's mouth was cringe worthy, but Hollis ate it up and replied with some fake comment. Then all of a sudden she locks eyes with Silas and apparently falls madly in love. They had a handful of surface conversations and that's it. Next thing I know they are kissing right outside the grand hall (not worried about getting caught). The kiss happened so fast and was so unexpected I had to reread it just to make sure I wasn't confused. And the worst part, Cass didn't even give any details about the kiss...NOTHING! Where was all the "steam" they advertised? Even at the end of the book when Hollis was with Silas, I still didn't feel like their relationship grew. Throughout the book there was more time spent on relationships with Delia Grace, Valentina, Scarlet and Silas' mom and not the love interests. The part of me that loves romance was left so disappointed and bored. I just wanted a little tension! PLOT: It seemed like nothing happened the first half of the book. It really drug on for me. At the end, everything was rushed. Big events in the book were happening so fast and weren't built up or developed. It felt like theses events were given maybe a paragraph or two. Not only were these big events happening fast, they were swept up and cleaned up quickly with everything working out perfectly for Hollis...the king just letting her go, her parents being mad then magically appearing at the wedding, Delia Grace hooking up with the king, everyone forgiving her. It was all just too tidy and unbelievable. Hollis' final decision didn't make any sense at all to me. Overall, it was hard for me to even finish the book, but I spent $13 on it so I had to finish. I realize it is extremely difficult to write and publish a book and I applaud Kiera Cass for doing it yet again. I hate to give such a negative review, but I hope to save someone else the time and money.