Summing Up "The Elite" (Bk 2) & "The One" (Bk 3)

Why I Chose This Book:  I had already devoured the first book in less time than I care to admit, and I languished for a few days, because I couldn't find the last two books in the series to read for free, so I bought the paper copies (they were actually less expensive than the Kindle versions - can you believe it?!)

Book Rating (1-5 Stars):  Once again, these two books did not disappoint!  5 stars!

Setting of the Book: America & Canada in the future - called Illea, and split into 35 provinces, instead of 50 states...and however many Canadian provinces there used to be (Also, it has royalty, not a president, and people are separated into "castes" which is basically like your career and income and life is pre-determined by how well you marry and how much your family has always made.)

About the Author: Her name is Kiera Cass, and, as we already established, she has a B.S. in History and hates salads.  Just in case you were wondering.

Plot of the book in one sentence:  America Singer remains in the competition along with 5 other girls to compete to become the next Queen (they will be chosen by the prince), but (plot twist) the boy she's been in love with for the last two years is assigned to be her personal bodyguard while she's in the palace.  Also, there are Northern & Southern rebels who regularly invade the castle, putting everyone's lives at risk.  No biggie.

Genre: YA Fiction

Point of View: Exclusively told from America's POV - first person.  I like it.  Although there are novellas written from the queen's perspective, the guard's perspective, and the prince's perspective (they are all a part of the extra book "Happily Ever After").

Favorite Character: Okay, there was a girl that was pretty horrible to everyone in the first two books, but by the end of the third book, she has a change of heart and becomes a pretty good friend to America (spoiler alert!)

Least Favorite Character: The king.  For sure.

Other (Main Characters): the prince, America's boo-thang from her past, the King, the Queen, the other girls (there's one other contestant who America has become friends with)

If the Book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?
America would be played by Annelise van der Pol (Raven's sidekick from "That's So Raven")
Maxon (the prince) would be played by Chace Crawford (Nate from "Gossip Girl")
Aspen (the guard) would be played by Liam Hemsworth (because eye candy)
The King would be played by Josh Brolin (he could definitely pull it off)
The Queen would be played by Bridget Moynahan (from "Blue Bloods")
There are also 3 maids that tend to America during all three books, not to mention at least 6 or 7 girls repeatedly mentioned as contestants, but I'm not about to "cast" all of them.  Get it...cast...caste...?  Ehhh?  Ok, nevermind.

Favorite Scene of the Book: The last attack at the end of the third book - it was a nail-biter.  And honestly, I did not see it coming, and THREE of the main characters die, can you believe it?!

Least Favorite Scene of the Book: When America's friend is caught in a compromising position with one of the guards (who she is in love with) and, as a result, is publicly caned.  It tore up my heart.

Did I like the Ending? Yes, although some of the characters that died during the last attack...not cool.

Which of my friends could I see loving this book? I've already let my sister borrow the entire series, and, just as I predicted, she's already read them ALL.  lol

Which of my friends could I see hating this book? Chuck Norris

This book left me feeling: Content :)

How Long Did It Take Me to Read It: The second book only took me 3 1/2 hours on a Sunday afternoon.  The third book took about 4 hours.