The Selection, by Kiera Cass (The Selection #1)

Synopsis:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I've had this on drafts for quite some time now, and wanted to publish it as soon as possible. I had read about The Selection on many different sites, and also heard from a friend, and the opinions were so different... Some people hated it, some people loved it... So I decided to give it a try. 

The synopsis makes it sound like a typical romance love-triangle novel, but it kind of surprised me. The idea isn't that unique, but Kiera Cass develops it well, transforming a kind of simple plot into something nice and fairytale themed, a princess story. There's the girl, her poor boyfriend, and then there's the prince. At first sight, the easiest thing would be to thing that the prince is rich and all that but he's not a good person and that's all. That would be easy. But he's not. Prince Maxon is amazing. He's rich, handsome, smart, funny, a complete gentleman, a good friend, trustworthy... Absolutely perfect. And it doesn't take much for America to find out. About half into the book I decided I prefered Maxon way over Aspen, but it has nothing to do with being shallow. Maxon grows really close to America, but he doesn't love her as much as Aspen does, or that's what it seems. Aspen's love was epic. And now America has this huge problem. She makes friends with the Prince, and he promises to send her home when she's ready and wants to leave, but she doesn't seem to want that, not now that she's finally made some friends, even if they're from places far away from her hometown. 

I enjoyed life in the palace, and I really like the Queen. I want to know more about her. I love Maxon, but I don't think I know yet who's America going to choose (that's why it's a trilogy). I think the storyline is too simple and the characters aren't that deeply developed, but I enjoyed reading it and will go for The Elite and The One.