The Betrothed (The Betrothed #1)

**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.

No spoilers in this review:

Stay away! There was no “happily ever after” and no romancejust flat characters and a painfully slow plot.

I never give 1 star reviews. Books take a lot of effort to put out, and there’s usually SOMETHING redeemable about every story. I pre-ordered the book because I’ve really liked most of Cass’s books (especially The Selection). Unfortunately, The Betrothed was some hot garbage. I wish I could get my $15 back.

First, this book did not have a “happily ever after”! I don’t want to give spoilers, but the ending was a BUMMER. Depressing. Sad. Not worth reading. Give me back my time!

The characters were flat and boring. The Eastoffe family was interesting, but they were all side character who barely got any page time. Jameson didn’t get fleshed out much. Silas wasn’t a compelling or romantic hero. I didn’t mind Hollis terribly, but I couldn’t really follow her. I didn’t understand why she made the decisions she did. I kept reading, thinking, “This will make sense eventually.” But it never did. Delia Grace was a terrible character too. I felt bad for her and kinda liked her until her heart-to-heart with Hollis 3/4 through the book. After that “confession,” I hated her.

The book was SO SLOW. The Betrothed had none of the glittery magic or political intrigue of The Selection. It dragged on and on. I never got “hooked” — I just read a few pages a day, hoping that the book would GO SOMEWHERE. And there was some quickness to the end of the book, but the resolution was downright depressing.

Finally, there was absolutely NO ROMANCE in this book! There was no courting, no swooning and sighing, no tension, no cute banter, no sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see how a character is going to react or respond.

Did I read the same book as everyone else? Why are people giving this 4-5 stars??

This is nothing like The Selection or The Siren. I will not be reading the next in the series, and I do not recommend this book to anyone.

I really, really loved the Selection (not including the spin off about Americas daughter) so I was excited to read this new book. Now I wish I wouldve waited until more people left reviews. If youre reading this because you want to hear about an enchanting romance than this is not the book for you.
****spoilers****
I agree with everyone who has said they couldnt connect with either Jameson or Silas. Especially Silas. Jameson she rarely saw and when she did see him it was just to exchange compliments for a few minutes and then leave. Silas she had a few random conversations with and somehow felt so in love she had to abandon her life and friends and family for him. I didnt feel truly connected to Silas at all. I didnt even feel saddened by the ending of the book.
I felt like overall the book just needed way more details so you could connect better to all of the characters. Delia Grace was someone I literally hated once her true colors came out. Silas was boring with nothing to him. Jameson was mainly a figurehead (I felt like it shouldve been explained better how he went from girl to girl to just wanting Hollis). Her parents needed more explaining as to why they wanted to be a part of royalty so bad and what a son couldve given them that Hollis didnt, and why couldnt they have more children to try for a boy?
Valentina and Hollis were literally the only two characters I liked, but even I agree that their friendship was odd. Valentina flipped from hating Hollis to loving her so quickly, it was hard for it to seem believable.
Overall, I wanted to love this book but it entirely fell flat for me. For a romance novel with two love interests I wasnt really feeling the love. Perhaps the younger crowd will eat this up, however.

No no no no no
Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. Up until about 60%. After that it felt rushed, random and heartbreaking. The ending didn’t made any sense to me and I wondered if there was going to be a second novel as so much didn’t make sense.
I won’t read it again and for some reason its left me feeling angry
I feel disappointed

The author never fails to make amazing stories and this is no different the characters were so fleshed out I could see them! I cried and laughed with them and Im still annoyed about what happened to a certain character because Im a sucker for love

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