Happily Ever After: Companion to the Selection Series audiobook

5 Here and Now ★'s “It hurt to think of his lips on mine, of all the possibilities he's whispered to me in darkened rooms. He felt so real, so possible.” The Maid is in Lucy's POV (America's maid) and it takes place during The One when they are all on the plane heading back to the palace after visiting with America's family and Maxon calls them all back two days early because he's finally ready to end The selection and pick his Princess :) This was a very short story. Only 11 pages... and in just that amount of time, I had fallen in love with it! I can't believe it actually brought tears to my eyes 😭 (I'll post the quote that did me in). It seriously made my heart soar with happiness and admiration. I love getting a look into Lucy and Aspen's relationship and I am so happy that they ended up together. Lucy was always my favorite of the maids. As for Aspen, I have always adored and respected him. Whereas Lucy was fragile and quite Aspen was strong and brave. Aspen was Lucy's knight in shining armor and she really needed someone like him in her life. Aspen gave her the strength she needed to come out of her shell and gave her hopes and dreams beyond anything she'd ever allow herself to wish for. Really though this was one of the best couplings and I would love to have an actual book of there story. This just wasn't enough to sustain my needs for more! This was such a sweet and tender story about unexpected love and I truly enjoyed getting a bit more on one of my favorite pairings. There love for one another is true and beautiful. This was to damn short in my opinion but it was a strong one! (This is the quote that made me tear up) “Everyday you say something or do something that challenges me, changes me.” “You think you walk, Lucy? I think you fly. You see yourself in a uniform? I see you in a cape. You're a hero, of the quietest but most genuine nature.” Illustration of Lucy & How I picture she'd look. “I love you, Aspen. I know it more solidly than I know anything else.” Illustration of Aspen & How I picture he'd look. “It took years for her to have that effect on me. It took weeks for you.” Merged review:Overall these were all really charming and such cute short stories. They were wonderful and really refreshing reads. They were fast-passed and made me smile :) Some much more than others. I loved reading from the different point of views and I am so so happy that I took the time to read this. Each story brought a little something special to the table. Also though very simple, the illustrations are lovely and a great addition. I really liked looking at the map as well. I recommend this to ALL fans of The Selection series! You will not be disappointed. ꧁Individual ratings and reviews of each story below꧂ THE PRINCE: ★★★ “There was something about her.. Even the way she didn't like me drew me in, and I couldn't help but smile.” This one was just alright for me. I didn't love it but I can't say I hated it either. It's written in Prince Maxon's POV which was initially what drew me in. It takes place a couple of weeks before The Selection which is on his 19th birthday. I really enjoyed the first few chapters. The ones that took place before. It was nice seeing all the preparations for the 'lottery' that wasn't a lottery at all! It was wonderful to be inside Maxon's head, to see his fears and doubts throughout the whole prosses and what his expectations were going into it and whether or not if he'd find love in the end. I have loved Maxon from day one and this just helped solidify it even more. He's charming, sweet, passionate, a bit sheltered and he generally cares about the selection and each one of the girls. I also enjoyed having his thoughts on the girls as well. Especially the one he has about America :) Maxon is so easy to love! The last couple of chapters were retellings of Maxon and America's first few encounters in The Selection just through Maxon's eyes instead. They were pretty boring because it was basically the same. It does give us some good insights though. Illustration of Maxon & What I picture he'd look like. THE GUARD: ★★★ “Accepting help is its own kind of strength” Again... This was just an okay read. Aspen's POV really didn't add all that much to the story. Shame because I was looking most forward to his. I was hoping for something more sadly this just didn't deliver. On the other hand, it was nice getting a look into his thoughts and feelings and his desires. Aspens POV gives us insight into King Clarkson's nature, motivations, manipulative ways, and his cruelty. I liked getting to see the relationship's form between him and America's maids Anne, Mary and Lucy and the respect they have for him and see the love they have for America. It was nice seeing Aspen's camaraderie with the other guards. Also, I enjoyed the couple scenes between Aspen and the old man who works in the stables. The old man gives some pretty good advice too :) My rating for this story has nothing to do with my liking or not liking Aspen. It's solely based on the content and the entertainment factor which was low in my opinion. And... For the record, I have always loved Aspen ever since the first book! Not necessarily with America but his dedication to America remains steadfast throughout EVERYTHING and he's caring, sweet and all around a wonderful person.Illustration of Aspen & What I picture he'd look like. THE QUEEN: ★★★★ “You will be the only thing in this world that is truly mine. And I will put you on a pedestal so high, it will be impossible for anyone not to adore you.” This was surprisingly a very delightful read. It's in Amberly's POV and takes place during her very own Selection with Clarkson. For the record, I have never liked Clarkson. He was always portrayed as a mean hurtful tyrant in the first 3 books therefore so my dislike for him lingers in this. Amerly is such a sweet and caring person, though if you've read all the other books then you already know this about her. I didn't love the fact that she was so submissive, whatever he told her to do she would jump. But ya know whatever if it worked for them then so be it. Amberly got what shes always wanted- Clarkson and a whole new life. And Clarkson got a little peace of mind. I do believe their love for one another is genuine at least :) I loved getting a chance to see how Maxon's parents met, I just wish I knew why Clarkson went from this kind-ish guy to be such a hateful man. Illustration of Queen Amberly & What I picture she'd look like.Illustration of King Clarkson & What I picture he'd look like. THR FAVORITE: ★★★★★ “I’d rather have my last memory be of his death than suffer knowing that his last memory was of mine.” Wow! This was really fantastic!! I gotta say this is my favorite. This is in Marlee's POV and we get a look into Marlee and Carter's relationship, how they first met, how they fell in love and what happened to them after the caning. I love all the extra juicy details into there relationship and I really enjoyed seeing a few scenes that happened throughout The Selection series but through Marlee's eyes. I have been dying to see what exactly led up to that intense and heartbreaking moment that tore at my heartstrings in The Elite and this did not disappoint whatsoever! I have adored Marlee from day one when America met her on the plane on there way to the palace in The Selection. In which they became fast friends. Marlee is such an amazing character and I absolutely love her!! So to have this story and in her POV I was beyond thrilled. I love Marlee and America's friendship and I admire her relationship with Carter it melted my heart. Marlee and Carter's relationship was so beautiful and touching and the love they have for one another was so inspiring. I love that even with EVERYTHING... all that they suffered and endured they still managed to persevere. And that ending was everything I had hoped it would be and so much more :)Illustration of Marlee & What I picture she'd look like.Illustration of Carter & What I picture he'd look like. SCENES FROM CELESTE: ★★★★ “For the first time maybe ever, it didn't matter if I looked beautiful or not. I felt it.” Scenes from Celeste are just that. Three different short scenes from Celestes Perspective. Which includes The Arrival (meeting America, Marlee, and Ashley), The Kiss (Celeste trying to seduce Maxon) and The Departure (leaving the selection). I really despised Celeste throughout The Selection series but she won me over in The One. Celeste was the main villain in The Selection series and I gotta admit I loved hating her... but I loved getting to love her even more. I just wish she would have realized all her errors much sooner than she did because I would have loved to have more time with her. In The Selection, we meet this mean, manipulative and vindictive girl who was there for all the WRONG reasons. But once she realizes all her stupid petting mistakes we get to see a whole other side to her. We get to see her vulnerability and kindness and her chance at redemption. She turns out to be such a wonderfully sweet person and an even better friend to America. The ending to The One seriously Broke. My. Heart! Scenes from Celeste gives us a better understanding of her actions and I really loved being inside of her head even though they were extremely too damn short! I would have loved having so so much more :) Illustration of Celeste & How I picture she'd look like. THE MAID: ★★★★★ “It hurt to think of his lips on mine, of all the possibilities he's whispered to me in darkened rooms. He felt so real, so possible.” The Maid is in Lucy's POV (America's maid) and it takes place during The One when they are all on the plane heading back to the palace after visiting with America's family and Maxon calls them all back two days early because he's finally ready to end The Selection and pick his Princess :) I fell in love with this! I can't believe it actually brought tears to my eyes 😭. It seriously made my heart soar with happiness and admiration. I loved getting a look into Lucy and Aspen's relationship and I am so happy that they ended up together. Lucy was always my favorite out of the maids. As for Aspen, I have always adored and respected him. Whereas Lucy was fragile and quite Aspen was strong and brave. Aspen was Lucy's knight in shining armor and she really needed someone like him in her life. Aspen gave her the strength she needed to come out of her shell and gave her hopes and dreams beyond anything she'd ever allow herself to wish for. This was one of the best couplings and I would love to have an actual book of there story. This was such a sweet and tender story about unexpected love and I truly enjoyed it. There love for one another is true and beautiful. This was such a strong addition! I WANT MORE!!! “Everyday you say something or do something that challenges me, changes me.” “You think you walk, Lucy? I think you fly. You see yourself in a uniform? I see you in a cape. You're a hero, of the quietest but most genuine nature.” Illustration of Lucy & What I picture she'd look like. THE EPILOUGE: ★★★ “I knew we were only just getting to the best part of our lives.” The Epilogue is another really short story which is in America's POV. It takes place two years after The Selection has ended and it's on Maxons birthday. I didn't really have a strong connection with The Epilogue. It felt a bit rushed and I think for something like this it would have benefited from being a little longer. For what this was though I did still enjoy it and I'm glad I took the couple minutes it took to read it. It was very sweet and I loved getting to see little glimpses of the friendship that has formed between Maxon and Aspen and I liked seeing a little bit of May and that Marlee and Carter have a one-year-old son named Kile. But it did kinda feel like it was just tossed in there. I also love that it took place on Maxons birthday. America throws him a party and has such a wonderful surprise in store for him at the end.Illustration of Maxon & America and what I picture they'd look like. WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: ★★★I guess this was a nice way to wrap up the series. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? shows us what happens to Kriss, Natalie, and Elise after they left the Selection. It was nice getting a little more background on them, but I really wasn't a fan of the way the story was told. It all felt really rushed and I wish it would have gone into a little more depth but they're all doing pretty much what you'd expect. I felt the saddest for Kriss because she had it the hardest time after but I'm truly happy she and the other two girls eventually found there HEA's as well :) I probably would have enjoyed this much more if Kiera Cass wrote from their perspective. That being said it was a quick and easy read-only containing 11 pages so I figured I might as well read it. This was really a bittersweet moment for me! What I picture Kirss, Natalie and Elise would look like.

The Maid hace parte de los relatos cortos de La Selección que encontramos en el recopilatorio Happily Ever After.Esta historia nos muestra a Lucy y Aspen hablando seriamente del punto en el que se halla su relación. Los dos están enamorados, los dos han perdido un montón a lo largo de su vida y, por supuesto, los dos quieren evitar el ser heridos de nuevo por sus sentimientos. En The Maid vemos cómo Aspen sigue un poco enredado entre lo que siente por America y lo que siente por Lucy... pero lo mejor de todo este relato es ver a Lucy plantándose firme y no dejando que Aspen juegue con ella por su confusión sobre America. La verdad es un relato cortísimo, pero que disfruté un montón pues, en primer lugar, ni siquiera sabía que existía. Lo encontré por casualidad pues, tras terminar de leer el libro en español de La Reina y la Favorita fui a mi edición en inglés a ver si había cosas extra y... VOILÁ!.Merged review:The Maid: ★★★★Scenes from Celeste: ★★★★★The Prince: ★★★★★The Guard: ★★★★The Queen: ★★★★The Favorite: ★★★★★The One Epilogue: ★★★★★ THE MAID The Maid hace parte de los relatos cortos de La Selección que encontramos en el recopilatorio Happily Ever After.Esta historia nos muestra a Lucy y Aspen hablando seriamente del punto en el que se halla su relación. Los dos están enamorados, los dos han perdido un montón a lo largo de su vida y, por supuesto, los dos quieren evitar el ser heridos de nuevo por sus sentimientos. En The Maid vemos cómo Aspen sigue un poco enredado entre lo que siente por America y lo que siente por Lucy... pero lo mejor de todo este relato es ver a Lucy plantándose firme y no dejando que Aspen juegue con ella por su confusión sobre America. La verdad es un relato cortísimo, pero que disfruté un montón pues, en primer lugar, ni siquiera sabía que existía. Lo encontré por casualidad pues, tras terminar de leer el libro en español de La Reina y la Favorita fui a mi edición en inglés a ver si había cosas extra y... VOILÁ!. SCENES FROM CELESTE ¡Las Scenes from Celeste fueron otras de las sorpresas que me encontré mirando mi ejemplar de Happily Ever After! Confieso que eran las 11 de la noche y cuando llegué a esas páginas pensé que iban a ser de lo más aburridas, que me iban a hacer odiar a Celeste más de lo humanamente posible y que más me valía dormir que perder el tiempo con ellas... pero no. Estas escenas nos meten en la cabeza de Celeste durante su llegada a la Selección, su beso ultra apasionado con Maxon en un pasillo y el momento en el que es eliminada. ¡Y es que el cambio mental que vemos en la cabeza de esta mujer es brutal! Si bien empieza la competencia siendo una mujer despiadada y con un sólo objetivo, sobre el final entendemos que está rota por dentro y que no se quiere ni un poco. Me pareció preciosa la conversación final entre ella y Maxon, de verdad. Quizá lo que más me dejó en shock de estas escenas fue el momento del beso y todo lo que pensaba Celeste en ese momento. Como una máquina que va calculando cada pequeño paso y movimiento. Fue escalofriante. Si por casualidad encuentran el libro Happily Ever After no duden en leer estas escenas. Es una lástima que no estén en los libros de historias cortas en español. THE PRINCE Nunca voy a tener suficiente de Maxon, ¿okay? Podrían escribir un libro entero sobre cómo limpia los lentes de sus cámaras para tomarle fotos a America y yo lo leería. Ese es el nivel de amor que tengo por este personaje... que no existe... que nunca va a salir de las páginas de un libro... *llora desconsoladamente*, jajajaja. El punto con esta historia corta (QUE ES DEMASIADO CORTA Y ME PARECE FATAL PORQUE LA DE ASPEN TIENE MÁS PÁGINAS ¬¬) es que vemos a Maxon unas semanas antes de que empiece la Selección. Conocemos sus dudas, sus miedos y, sobre todo, un poco del ambiente del Palacio y de las relaciones entre el Rey y su hijo. Porque, vamos, todos los que hayamos leído La Selección sabemos que el padre de Maxon es un capullo y que no se merece nada de lo bueno que le ha pasado, empezando por la Reina Amberly y su hijo Maxon. Ahora, lo mejor de esta historia es que vemos algunas de las escenas de La Selección desde el punto de vista de nuestro crush literario favorito

I'm so happy to have finally read this!! Huge shout-out to Rizoli for lending it to me, by the way. This made me remember why I love Kiera Cass' writing so much. It's because I don't have to think at all and because it is so addictive. It took me so little time to read even though I'm so busy in school! It was also nice to be back in this world and the feels hit me hard with the pictures and the happiness and I just... I feel happy.

Sigh. So many people have complained about this bind-up being a ploy to leech money from its readers, but I DON'T CARE. The cover is beautiful. The illustrations were beautiful. I love the Selection series. Judge away! :PIn all honesty, I don't really bother reading novellas. Don't ask me why because I don't know the answer myself haha. I'm probably just too lazy. Or maybe because I would rather read new books with new stories and characters. It better be one HECK of a series for me to even consider reading a novella. But I decided to purchase this bind-up anyways because as previously said, I LOVE the Selection series. It's actually one of the first series I've read that brought me back to my love for books and reading. So I didn't mind spending money on this beautiful piece of work because I never spent money on the novellas that were released prior to Happily Ever After in the first place. With that being said... The Queen: 2/5 STARS Sadly, I did not like Queen Amberly's story mainly because I didn't particularly like her character. I never gave Queen Amberly much thought in the original books. I figured she was kind, humble, and loved by her people for good reason. Nothing more to it than that. Instead, the Amberly in this novella was just plain weak in my opinion. She was head over heels in love over a prince she only knew from what she saw on television and hadn't even had a proper conversation with him. She was a complete pushover and would jump if you told her to jump without question. This girl honestly had no backbone and it irritated the living crap out of me. The insta-love felt super cringeworthy and I didn't really connect with any of the characters. The Queen is definitely my least favorite novella from the book. The Prince: 4/5 STARS Honestly, this should've been more of a novella during the Selection told in Maxon's POV instead of making Daphne and her unrequited love for Maxon play even the slightest role in the story. She was irrelevant to me and all I really wanted was to finally get to the part where Maxon and America meet. Not to mention the fact that her character was just so annoying and needy. And the "romance"... Ugh. It's so weird. All the newly introduced relationships so far up until this point are so rushed and cringeworthy. I get that these are just novellas and there aren't enough pages for development but ugh. This is why I don't read novellas! But it all got better when Maxon and America finally met. They were just so adorable and just... AWWWW! And Maxon is such a great guy! I loved getting a peek of what his thoughts really were during the Selection. I was so disappointed when the story ended and honestly wouldn't mind it one bit if Kiera rewrote the whole book in Maxon's POV. It was just crazy realizing how much I've missed Maxon and America!

4 I didn't need a Man ★'s “For the first time maybe ever, it didn't matter if I looked beautiful or not. I felt it.” Scenes from Celeste are just that. Three different short scenes from Celestes Perspective. Which includes The Arrival (meeting America, Marlee and Ashley), The Kiss (Celeste tryng to seduce Maxon) and The Departure (leaving the selection). Oh boy, I really despised Celeste throughout The Selection series but she won me over in The One. Celeste was the main villain in The Selection series and I gotta admit I loved hating her... but I loved getting to love her even more. I just wish she would have realized all her errors much sooner than she did because I would have loved to have so much more from her. In The Selection we meet this mean, manipulative, vindictive, bitter girl who was there for all the WRONG reasons. But once she realizes all her stupid petting mistakes we get to see a whole other side to her. We get to see her vulnerability and kindness and her chance at redemption. She turns out to be such a wonderfully sweet person and an even better friend to America. I love getting to see Celeste grow out of it and the ending to The One seriously Broke. My. Heart! Anyways, Scenes from Celeste gives us a better understanding of her actions and I really loved being inside of her head even though they were extremely too damn short! I would have loved having so so much more. I recommend this to all The Selection fans out there :) Illustration of Celeste & How I picture she'd look.

SO GOOD AHHHHFull review to come soon!

While I wouldn't rate every story in this collection 4 stars, it was interesting to garner an insight into the other characters from The Selection series and further my understanding of their motives and actions. I found some parts a little repetitive as alot of the scenes were featured in the main series but viewing them from an alternate perspective was fascinating. Also, knowing the ending of each story did not impact my enjoyment of them, as I thought it might. I love an author who takes the time to expand their fictional worlds in this way so this collection combined is wholly deserving of 4 stars.

Out of all the books I've read in The Selection series, this is definitely my favorite! (Although it's not another installment, just a compilation of novellas) In this book, you'll have a clearer view of every character and somehow understand their decisions throughout the story. My personal favorites are The Favorite and After The One. At first, I had my doubts about this series, but I found myself loving every part of it!Quotable Quotes"I could feel my dreams slipping through my fingers. I might as well embrace defeat now. It would hurt less later.""I liked it here, in his arms. I'd always wondered what they'd feel like.""It's a strange thing to discover how much you matter to people you didn't really know you mattered to.""His world looked like a storm. I was going to be its center.""This was joy. This was love. So many words you hear about or read about, and now... now I knew them.""You will be the only thing in this world that is truly mine.""Any girl who would risk her life for someone she loves certainly deserves to be called a lady.""I'd studied her face in a dozen shades of light, in a thousand stolen moments. With her words, I knew without a doubt: she loved me.""But I've seen a lot of people let the bad around them make them hard or stubborn. In the end, they miss the chance to make their world better because they only see the worst in it.""She seemed paralyzed now, afraid of taking any kind of step because she didn't know what would fall apart along the way.""Yes, we still had a long way to go, but I knew it wouldn't feel that way if we were in it together.""I want her to stay. It seems like everyone leaves when I need them to stay.""We know you're strong, but accepting help is its own kind of strength.""And I just thought that maybe I could give you a shot at a life that would be better than the one that I would have been able to give you. And I convinced myself that was the right way to love you.""You're the only thing I've ever wanted to fight for.""He was control to her chaos; she was levity to his seriousness.""Maybe you stole me. Because I distinctly remember belonging to myself once, but now I'm all yours.""I needed to be beside him tonight. So much was going through my head, and I knew he was my only safe place.""Love only yourself a little bit longer, until you can't stand not to love someone else.""So that's the only kind of love I've ever understood. When you love someone, you sacrifice."

THIS IS LIKE BEYOND 5 STARS.ITS SO FREAKIN GOOD THAT I HAVE NO WORDS FOR IT OH GOD.I TOTALLY ADOOORE THIS BOOK!!!

This was such a cute collection of stories! I loved getting to see more from some of my favourite characters from the Selection series and getting to know more about how their lives played out after the Selection. I only have two small complaints about this collection. The first being that two of the stories had been in a previous collection so I had already read them. The second being that there was no story about Eadlyn! I would have loved to have had a story about her life and marriage after her Selection. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

What can I say? I freaking loved this bind up! It was everything I wanted and more!! I especially loved The Favourite... It was my favourite! I have a full review on my blog containing short reviews for each of the stories in the book, as well as an overall review! Check it out here :)

Um bela forma de acabar esta série, especialmente porque o outro livro desiludiu-me. Neste livro ficamos a conhecer a história do ponto de vista de várias personagens ao longo da série.