This is a delightful collection of Cass’ Selection novellas with bonus scenes and alternate POVs of events from the original trilogy, and really pretty illustrations giving a better glimpse of the characters.

The first novella, The Queen takes us to the past to Prince Clarkson’s Selection and how a Four from Honduragua managed to win the heart of the prince. It’s a bittersweet novel considering the readers already know how their relationship will end up, but you can see how they got together and all the missed warning signs. Amberly had a long-lived crush on the prince so the Selection is like a dream come true for her. She believes in the good in people, very much like Cinderella, and has firm rose-colored glasses for Clarkson. Once they do get close and she has some insight to his abusive home life, she is furter drawn to him. She wants to be the calm to his stormy life, someone who will never hurt him, she would die for him. And he likes that.

Clarkson shows a semi-sweet side, being concerned for her poor health a side effect of her polluted home enviroment, and encouraging her to keep going because he loves her despite her ill health. She may not be perfect queen material, but she’s a perfect wife for him, sweet, obedient and willing to do anything to make him happy. The last part is a bit yikes as he pulls a traumatizin stunt just to see who’d be the most submissive to his wishes. Amberly also downplays his violent temper as a natural extension of his volatile home life and that he just needs her love to even things out.

It’s a fascinating study of the two coming together and the beginning of a stockholm/abusive relationship. I almost wish to have had a whole book just of Amberly’s Selection.

The Prince takes the first few chapters of The Selection from Prince Maxon’s POV, starting with the announcement and the ego-battering accusation from France’s Princess Daphne that Maxon doesn’t know how to recognize love even when it’s in front of him. To be fair, this is after Maxon rejects her so she’ll say anything to hurt him like he hurt her, but it does bring up huge insecurities for Maxon as he wonders if he’ll be able to find “the one” if he doesn’t know that life-changing love. This is further exacerbated by King Clarkson telling Maxon that he rigged the system. But once Maxon starts the Selection, his worries are overtaken by the many girls and the fluttery feelings that have begun whenever he sees a certain red-head Singer. It’s a nice POV to see but I wished to have gotten a little more of his thoughts throughout the trilogy.

The Guard rescues Aspen from his previously poor characterization. You can see his passion, loyalty and his utter regret for how he broke up with America. Furthermore, he acknowledges how wrong he was and tries to apologize. Additionally, he continues to work on himself, focusing on helping America with her problems and try to see things from her perspective. If only he could put that into words. You can also see the beginnings of Lucy and Anne’s crush on Aspen, and Aspen favoring Lucy more, seeing her humble sacrifices and sharing the commonalities of a lost mother. We also get to meet Lucy’s father, the unnamed stable hand who gives Aspen great advice of doing more good for the world instead of warped by hatred and bitterness. There’s plenty more of Aspen’s fight against rebels and overhearing Clarkson’s illegal machinations, but overall, a great way of redeeming Aspen’s unfavorable characterization. I just wish we actually got to see him and Lucy falling for each other as this novella still ends with Aspen firmly in love with America.

The Favorite focuses on Marlee and Carter, flashbacking with how they met and fell in love to their caning and their post-exile lives. It’s a straightforward sweet romance, showing how love conquers all and the stubborn backbone that many miss from Marlee’s initial characterization. It also made me want an Anne story.

The Maid is the shortest novella focusing on the revelation that Aspen and America used to date, and Lucy’s feelings of betrayal before they reaffirm their love and Lucy accepting that she deserves to have an equal who will stand by her and protect her just as she stands by him. It’s nice, and it’s cool to see Lucy’s perspective too but again, I want to see when they actually got together? Who made the first move? When did Aspen get over America? I need just one scene of that.

Celeste focuses on three distinct scenes from Celeste’s POV, the arrival on the plane, kissing Maxon, and her dismissal, highlighting her cruelities and the insecurities that fuel them. They’re short but powerful, and just as bittersweet as the queen considering her happiness that she may able to apologize to those she hurt and that now she’s confident enough to make it on her own.

The bonus epilogue takes place two years after The One on Maxon’s birthday and America has a surprise birthday present. Super fluffy, almost like fanfic honestly considering the plot. Just fluff.

Then it wraps up with a Where are they now for the Elite contestants, Elise, Natalie, and Kriss and that’s about it.

A nice addition to the series, and cool to see multiple perspectives of the same events from (in my opinion) much more interesting characters.

4 stars.