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Alas, Mom and Dad couldn’t stand to watch their firstborn be stripped of a title by an unfortunate but rather lovely set of breasts.
Twenty years ago, Dad’s first act as king was to dissolve the castes, and the old system had been phased out slowly over my lifetime.
20 years would do NOTHING
When Dad had first decreed that the castes were no more, people all over the country had been delighted.
this also wouldn’t happen
“Coffee, Your Highness,” Neena said, setting the drink on my table.
brown maid, this book is so progressive
Looking at the charred remains of the building, I honestly didn’t know whose side I was on. The owner had the right to promote or fire anyone he wanted, and the waiter had the right not to be seen as something that, technically, didn’t exist anymore.
you aren’t sure whether you’re on the side of someone who burnt down a restaurant?
“You are Eadlyn Schreave. You are the next person in line to run this country, and you will be the first girl to do it on your own. No one,” I said, “is as powerful as you.”
positive affirmations
“Morning. Did you see the papers?” he asked. “Yes. At least no one died this time.” “Thank goodness for that.”
“I don’t understand it.” He took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. “They didn’t want the castes anymore. We took our time, eliminated them slowly so everyone could adjust. Now they’re burning down buildings.”
good to see he’s still really stupid
I wrote his instructions in my elegant cursive, thinking how pleased Dad would be when he looked at it later.
i’m already despising this
But those who are growing up without the castes and are still running into opposition . . . I guess they don’t know what else to do.”
is critical thinking illegal in new north america
“Do you think he’s sick? He does seem tired these days.” Neena’s hands worked her magic as she spoke.
something that makes the obsession with characters having maids even worse is that it’s so obvious they’re meant to be friends??? but then there’s this super weird power dynamic. people can have normal friends ???? why not just give her a friend??? why does it have to be a brown maid???
Dad bit his lip looking at Mom.
put them both down
“It’s a huge opportunity,” Dad insisted. “You’re trying to shackle me to a stranger!” “I told you she’d be stubborn,” Mom muttered to Dad.
the entire premise of these two books is SO FUCKING STUPID. I think that’s what annoys me most is that it’s very obvious that all kiera cass wanted to write was the dumb vapid romance but for some reason she wanted it to seem important so then there are these random political plot points that don’t make any sense. it doesn’t make any sense that instead of trying to make better policy that would protect employees or encourage unions that these people would immediately jump to having another government mandated bachelor season. what will this do?? it was an absolute mess last time and a lot of people died at the end of it. there was constant unrest and the palace was broken into at least 10 times. and you’re telling me this supposedly good king would voluntarily put his daughter through the same thing instead of actually doing his job? dissolving the caste system “slowly” over 20 years and then expecting to be hands off is naive and ridiculous which isn’t surprising because that’s all he is
“Perhaps a guard then? Happens to the maids often enough,” she suggested with a giggle. I scoffed. “That’s fine for them, but I’m not that desperate.” Her laughter faded.
she’s an asshole
He quickly piled papers on top of the one he’d been working on. “A letter to Camille.”
ok so why couldn’t they just make a big spectacle about him getting married to the french princess instead of doing the selection again?
“Huh,” he said, following. “So they’re being denied jobs?” “Jobs, education, money. I’ve heard of people refusing to let their kids get married because of old castes. Nothing is happening the way Dad thought it would, and it’s nearly impossible to control. Can we force people to be fair?”
why are there no protections in place for this did he not even try to prevent discrimination???? i cannot believe we’re supposed to think he’s a good ruler
“But other women aren’t expected to produce an heir.”
why is this still a monarchy what’s going on also wouldn’t it be fine if any of her siblings had kids ??? they would be able to continue the lineage right????
“Ow!” I complained, looking up to see Kile Woodwork, Miss Marlee’s son.
oh brother
Kile and the rest of the Woodworks had rooms on the same floor as our family, a singularly huge honor.
and why is that
I was about to ask if he did bathe, because he looked like he’d been running away from anything that resembled a bar of soap.
?
I hated it when he talked about my future like that, like sex and love and babies weren’t happy things but duties performed to keep the country running. It took every speck of joy out of the prospect.
then dissolve the monarchy i don’t understand why this is such an insurmountable issue to you people
I had never liked to imagine Dad possibly falling in love with anyone but Mom.
ok
“It’s not a stunt. It’s had an excellent track record. But please, dear girl, tell me what you want.”
the selection has had an excellent track record? the process dependent on a caste system and invented by a dictator?? ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
No matter how romantic he thought this was, all I could think of were the thirty-five loud, obnoxious, weird-smelling boys who were about to invade my home. Nothing about that sounded magical.
ok
I had already been running through how I could get most of the boys to leave of their own volition.
why would this work she’s such an idiot
“I’m eighteen. I’m genetically encoded to fight with my parents.”
shut up
They were the Woodworks’ only children, and I knew Miss Marlee meant the world to Mom, so I kept it to myself that I thought her kids were the absolute worst.
why is she so mean
There was only one woman in Dad’s cabinet, Lady Brice Mannor.
wow…….
What would happen if I, as queen, made my entire board of counselors women?
dude is it 1950 there was never any mention of misogyny in the workplace in the first three books? does the wage gap come back in a big way after world war 4????????? she’s the crown princess right like are women in leadership positions that uncommon?????????? everything about this country sucks and that’s the weird part about these sequel books is that we’re supposed to believe there was a happy ending at the end of the third one and things were moving in the right direction but then now you’re continuing the story and things have barely changed?????
Gavril Fadaye had slicked-back silver hair but a very handsome face.
ok thanks for the shit description of this character that’s been present since the first book
I walked across the carpeted stage to polite applause.
who is applauding??? her family? there was never any mention of a live studio audience
I squared my shoulders in front of camera C and smiled.
why do we need to know which camera she’s looking at
the caste system no longer divides our people along imaginary lines.
isn’t it a huge issue that it still does because your overly optimistic dad thought that just one and done abolishing the caste system was all he needed to do ? was there any affirmative action for people that used to be in lower castes ??? most importantly you had an entire caste of homeless people were they just expected to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and buy houses ? what was the plan here??????
We’ve never had a female-run Selection before.
A man I assumed was our head chef bowed to us, not able to go very low because of his wide stomach. His face was closer to red than white, but he didn’t sweat, which made me think that all the years in the kitchen had simply steamed him.
i see that americas fat shaming was genetically passed on to this bitch
A true seven-course meal could take six hours from the first sip of a cocktail to the final bite of chocolate.
she has a say here if she doesn’t want a 6 hour meal then she could just say she doesn’t want a 6 hour meal. i also believe that if she truly didn’t want to do the selection she could have convinced her parents
“Enough!” I sighed, exasperated. “I don’t care. I have no idea what a boy would like in a recreational space, so I suggest you ask someone with some testosterone. And as for me, I’ll be in the garden.”
she could have done this yesterday i’m so tired of her acting like she has no agency
I lay on my stomach in my bikini on a blanket in the open stretch of grass that spread out just before the forest.
??????? this sounds so uncomfortable
When the palace was mine, that was the first thing on the agenda.
the first thing she’s going to do when she’s queen is add a pool to the palace. we’re supposed to like this person????? the issue with the arc of a main character becoming nice here is that i just read three books telling me that the two people that end up being her parents are actually really awesome people that are grounded in reality and think of The People . i’m supposed to believe they raised this selfish spoiled brat of a daughter??????
She was with one of her friends, an upper-class girl she’d chosen to associate with specifically because the company in the palace wasn’t enough for her.
is she so mean to this girl because she doesn’t have any friends? is it supposed to be a good thing that she doesn’t “associate” with people outside of the palace?
“Josie, how old are you?” “Fifteen,” she answered proudly.
she’s a child! she’s being SO mean to this girl and she’s 3 years older than her!!!!
Josie was a commoner. She didn’t have any such restrictions. Not that it stopped her from acting like she did.
what a nonissue
“I’ll see you at dinner!” Josie was a little too enthusiastic about it. I tried to lull myself back into relaxation, but Josie’s piercing voice kept finding its way over to me,
she’s just bullying this kid in her head 24/7 what is her problem
If she didn’t like my tone, then why did she push me?
i hope she pushes you off a cliff grow up
I wanted to scream at her, and at Dad, too. Sure, I took shelter in long baths or a drink with dinner. I didn’t think that was too much to ask for considering what I sacrificed.
i understand that this is intentionally a character flaw but i don’t think it works in the narrative because her personality is not in a vacuum i’m fully blaming her parents for her thinking she “sacrificed” a lot being the crown princess. i’m not attributing this moral failing to her because her parents raised her to be like this so whatever growth she has is not going to matter because she could have been a good person the whole time if her supposedly perfect parents raised her right
“All that and more,” Miss Lucy insisted. “I knew there was a huge chance of the baby being born with mental issues. I told her we’d be able to tend to any need he had, that the queen herself would see to it. She said she talked with her family, and they agreed to help her, and that she never really wanted to let the baby go in the first place. She only looked into adoption because she thought she’d be alone. She apologized, like that could fix it.”
??????
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s not your fault.” She said those words kindly, bravely. “I think we need to accept that it’s over. Years of treatments, so many miscarriages, three failed adoptions . . . we just need to let it go.”
thanks for the weird recap of their struggles it’s almost like they know this bitch is eavesdropping on their private conversation
Was my mother right? Was I not as observant or caring as I thought?
yeah
He gave me a tiny smile and spoke softly. “It’s a privilege I never had. Go ahead, love.” “What do you mean?” “Later. Go on now.”
dude i cant even fully hate this girl she’s so sheltered i dont understand why her parents hid valuable information about their lives from her
handful of people in the room actually applauded.
WHO???? WHO IS IN THE ROOM!!!????
