Happily Ever After

Cass, Kiera. Happily Ever After. 2015. 416p. ISBN 978-0-06-241408-3. Available at FIC CAS on the library shelves.

A companion volume to The Selection series and The Heir, Happily Ever After presents short novella about events that happened in the main books from the point of view of different characters. In “The Queen,” Amberly, Maxon’s mother, describes her courtship with Prince Clarkson and the evolution of their relationship during her own Selection. “The Prince” presents several events that take place in the story from Maxon’s point of view and the reader can see and feel his budding relationship with America, providing another look and another interpretation of events.

In “The Guard,” Aspen describes his feelings about being a guard in the royal palace and how he protects America. His feelings for Lucy are also explored. Marlee, America’s best friend, also gets her own novella in “The Favorite,” which describes how she fell in love with a guard and was punished for it by King Clarkson, as well as her ultimate redeeming when Maxon ascended the throne.

Finally, a few more stories, illustrations, and a map are included in this volume, with the most interesting being three scenes from the Selection and the Elite written from Celeste’s point of view.

Fans of the series will enjoy these different looks at critical parts of the novels and how others perceived the same events.