Title: The Favorite
Author: Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection #2.6
In: Happily Ever After (Kiera Cass)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dystopia, Easy reading, Romance
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: HarperTeen
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: As they whipped the canes around, warming up, I averted my eyes.

While America Singer’s heart was torn between Aspen and Prince Maxon, her friend Marlee knew exactly what she wanted—and paid the price.

Marlee and America’s relationship is what we all want in a girlfriend – somebody who sees into the very heart of ourselves and still loves us, regardless. Her punishment for falling for a guard was a GIGANTIC turning point in the series, and it was interesting to see what truly happened in Marlee’s own words. This tale also helped to show the character of Marlee, her sweetness, her faithfulness and her amazing inner strength. The willingness to do anything for love is such a noble trait that quite frankly, few people have, and for me, Marlee epitomises this in such an understated way.

Discovering what happened to Marlee and Clark before their whipping, and what hand Maxon played in it helped to further the simple beauty of their love. But, it also showed that Maxon truly tried everything to save these integral characters, and truly had no hard feelings for what many saw as a very public betrayal. The ending to the tale, and the revealing of how Marlee and America were finally able to continue living their lives together helped to seal this faith in Maxon and trust that everything eventually turned out alright for all of the characters.

Image source: Epic Reads