Mandi Kaye @ Never Too Fond of Books

This is another one that wasn't what I expected. The reviews are so mixed; but on the other hand, someone thought it was good enough to cast a television show based on it before the book has even been released.

It's been billed as a dystopian novel, but that's a misnomer. While the society the novel is set in is decidedly dystopian, the plot of the story does not fit the bill of a dystopian novel. It may come later in the series, but this first novel was strictly a love story. There was no rebelling against society, no rebuilding of society, nothing that comes with a traditional dystopian.

That being said, I adored the love story. Truth be told, I fell a little bit in love with Maxon myself. I am firmly planted on his team- I truly dislike Aspen. It probably helps that Aspen was missing for the majority of the book, but he ended up on my bad side, and I really don't see how anything could change my mind on that front.

It seems like the series will be straightforward and predictable- America will fall for Maxon and they will live happily ever after in the end; but I'm not entirely convinced of that. Cass is a much better writer than that. And while I do hope they get that happily ever after, I'm also hoping the series goes a little more full on dystopian, with the Caste system dissolved thanks to America and Maxon.

But regardless of how the series ends, it has certainly begun with quite the bang. Definitely one of my favorites of the year so far.

If you're a fan of well-written love stories- the kind that happens between best friends, not the kind that happens at first sight- then this is absolutely the book for you.

Slight Disclaimer: I've never watched the Bachelor. I never intend to. Though many comparisons have been drawn between this book and that show, they are not the same though they may have a single similar theme. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this book, since I very obviously did so.