The Prince: A Novella

By Kiera Cass

Don’t miss this captivating novella set in the world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series!

Go behind the scenes of the competition with this story from the point of view of Prince Maxon.
Before America Singer was chosen to compete in the Selection, there was another girl in Prince Maxon’s life . . . . In The Prince, follow Prince Maxon through the week leading up to the beginning of the Selection—and the day he first meets America.
The Prince also includes a teaser to The Elite, the enchanting second book in the Selection series.
Don’t miss The Betrothed, a glittering royal romance sure to captivate Kiera Cass’s legion of loyal readers and lovers of courtly intrigue
alike!
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9780062248169

Kiera Cass

Kiera Cass is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series and The Siren. She is a wife and mom and too many other things to list. If she could make a crown out of anything, it would be the unending tears of her readers. You can learn more about Kiera and her books at www.kieracass.com.

Book preview

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Excerpt from The Elite

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Back Ads

About the Author

Books by Kiera Cass

Copyright

About the Publisher

CHAPTER 1

I PACED THE FLOOR, TRYING to walk the anxiety out of my body. When the Selection was something in the distance—a possibility for my future—it sounded thrilling. But now? Well, I wasn’t so sure.

The census had been compiled, the figures checked multiple times. The palace staff was being reallocated, wardrobe preparations were being made, and rooms were being readied for our new guests. The momentum was building, exciting and terrifying in one fell swoop.

For the girls, the process started once they filled out the forms—thousands must have done so by this point. For me, it started tonight.

I was nineteen. Now, I was eligible.

Stopping in front of my mirror, I checked my tie again. There would be more eyes watching than usual tonight, and I needed to look like the self-confident prince everyone was expecting. Finding no fault, I left for my father’s study.

I nodded at advisors and familiar guards along the way. It was hard to imagine that in less than two weeks, these halls would be flooded with girls. My knock was firm, a request made by Father himself. It seemed there was always a lesson for me to learn.

Knock with authority, Maxon.

Stop pacing all the time, Maxon.

Be faster, smarter, better, Maxon.

Come in.

I entered the study, and Father briefly moved his eyes from his reflection to acknowledge me. Ah, there you are. Your mother will be along shortly. Are you ready?

Of course, I replied. There was no other acceptable answer.

He reached over and grabbed a small box, placing it in front of me on his desk. Happy birthday.

I pulled back the silvery paper, revealing a black box. Inside were new cuff links. He was probably too consumed to remember that he’d gotten me cuff links for Christmas. Perhaps that was part of the job. Maybe I’d accidentally get my son the same gift twice when I was king. Of course, to get that far I’d need a wife first.

Wife. I let the word play on my lips without actually saying it aloud. It felt too foreign.

Thank you, sir. I’ll wear them now.

You’ll want to be at your best tonight, he said, tearing himself away from the mirror. The Selection will be on everyone’s thoughts.

I gave him a tight smile. Mine included. I debated telling him how anxious I was. He’d been through this, after all. He must have had his own doubts once upon a time.

Evidently, my nerves read on my face.

Be positive, Maxon. This is meant to be exciting, he urged.

It is. I’m just a bit shocked at how fast it’s all happening. I focused on lacing the metal through the holes on my sleeves.

He laughed. It seems fast to you, but it’s been years in the making on my end.

I narrowed my eyes, looking up from my task. What do you mean?

The door opened then, and my mother walked in. In typical fashion, Father lit up for her. Amberly, you look stunning, he said, going to greet her.

She smiled in that way she always did, as if she couldn’t believe anyone would notice her, and embraced my father. Not too stunning, I hope. I wouldn’t want to steal attention. Letting Father go, she came and held me tight. Happy birthday, son.

Thanks, Mom.

Your gift is coming, she whispered, then turned back to Father. Are we all ready, then?

Indeed we are. He held out an arm, she took it, and I walked in their shadows. As always.

About how much longer is it, Your Majesty? one reporter asked. The light of the video cameras was hot in my face.

The names are drawn this Friday, and the girls will actually arrive the Friday after that, I answered.

Are you nervous, sir? a new voice called.

About marrying a girl I haven’t met yet? All in a day’s work. I winked, and the watching crowd chuckled.

Doesn’t it set you on edge at all, Your Majesty?

I gave up trying to align the question with a face. I just answered in the general direction it came from, hoping to get it right. On the contrary, I’m very excited. Sort of.

We know you’ll make an excellent choice, sir. A camera flash blinded me.

Hear, hear! others called.

I shrugged. I don’t know. Any girl who settles for me can’t possibly be a sane woman.

They laughed again, and I took that as a good stopping point. Forgive me, I have family visiting, and I don’t wish to be rude.

Turning my back to the reporters and photographers, I took a deep breath. Was the whole evening going to be like this?

I looked around the Great Room—the tables covered in dark blue cloths, the lights burning brightly to show the splendor—and I saw there wasn’t much of an escape for me. Dignitaries in one corner, reporters in another—no place

Reviews for The Prince

[kaenicole · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I know this was a Novella but I could have had way more of Prince Maxon. It was fun to get in his head if only for a short while :)

[Fê · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Muito boa a visão do príncipe. O melhor até agora.

[Ashante · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't really enjoy this book knowing that America was sort of taken and I thought that the princes' father would be nicer?

[Bailey McGee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed meeting people from Maxon's POV. It gave me a little more idea why some people acted the way they did. I loved the relationship and love quickly shown between Maxon and his mother. And it foreshadows up coming problems with his father.

[Brooklyn Anderson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love

[Ruhma · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was amazing but short.

[Char P · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A little bit short ! But it was great!

[Sumayasalam · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was very nice to find out about how Maxon felt about America when the first met which I really enjoyed. But I felt sad that I did not get to finish the whole book, because the book ended just at the end of the selection book, and I didn't get to find out how he felt in the Elite and The One. But other than that it was a very good book, I've enjoyed it very much that I couldn't stop reading it. I love the selection series, best series I've ever read!

[SacredLight · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read the selections first to third sequel and waiting the fourth one to come out!(the heir) And I'm so overwhelmed to found out there's more! this time rather than being with America through her journey instead it's prince maxon! I love this so much and I hope they make a movie out of it!!! (๑و•̀ω•́)و

[zamzamlovve · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

great book

[Bailey O'Loughlin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love these books

[ChristinaDragomi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

<3

[Aika Sainju · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

greart!!

[nxtalia · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

He managed to make me disappointed in Maxon, and given the pedestal on which I had him, I thought it was impossible. (Translated from Spanish)

[Cris ¿Qué libro leo? · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A super short book that shows us a little more about the history of the selection. Where we can delve a little deeper into the story of Prince Maxon. If you are a lover of this saga, you will surely love seeing a bit more of the story. (Translated from Spanish)

[Itbet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

17 / 02 /21
To be very short, I liked it a lot.
The 'The Selection' saga is one of the first books I read when I got into this world of reading, it gave me so much joy and nostalgia to read now from Maxon's point of view.
I wish there was a book that integrated the books of the main trilogy but from Maxon's perspective; I would like to know the other side of the story, his thoughts, and everything he felt regarding the Selection.
If they released the book, I would read it completely. (Translated from Spanish)

[estiham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reading Maxon's point of view, I've fallen even more in love with him, if that's possible. I want a book just about him. (Translated from Spanish)

[NatGalVa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In this secondary book (which in this application says it comes before "The Selection," although it actually comes after that book), it tells us from Prince Maxon's point of view how he experienced the Selection before naming the girls and afterwards, in addition to recounting his first and second meetings with America. I liked knowing what the prince felt when he found out who the chosen ones were, and about America's behavior in the garden... It deserves nothing less than a 5/5. (Translated from Spanish)

[Andreagq · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked reading a little from Maxon's perspective. (Translated from Spanish)

[john.cooper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Peters' series of Civil War mysteries (written under the name "Owen Parry") are unique and fascinating, combining vivid historical detail with fully drawn, idiosyncratic characters in complex and tense situations. By contrast, Traitor is set in late '90s Washington, D.C., where a Pentagon-based colonel discovers a massively corrupt and bloody defense contracting scandal. Peters' protagonist is not your average square-jawed hero: he has mixed feelings about the second-tier rock musician he's dating, and his quiet, understated manner has left him unappreciated by the higher brass and short of close friends. By the end of the third chapter, his girlfriend has been made a target and he himself is temporarily held by strangely emotional French (!) torturers after mysterious computer disks. He's got just a few short days to find out what he's mixed up in, deliver the disks, and save a loved one's life while constantly battling the Frenchmen, corrupt military brass, and incompetent D.C. cops. The violence is extreme and the plot dizzying.

The book is an homage to the noir paperbacks Peters read as a teenager and young man: the evil is pure, the conspiracy is elaborate but believable, and Raymond Chandler's model hero describes Peters' quite well (" Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean... He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man"). The book does not quite match the high standards of a Chandler novel—the hero is so confused and afraid that living in his shoes as a reader can be a bit miserable, and he has too few triumphs along the way to ease the misery. Nevertheless, it is a page-turner that kept me up several hours later than I otherwise would have remained awake. I would recommend it to those who don't object to their escapism being disturbingly realistic, gritty, and at times gory.