Some books are classics for a reason and for us, THE SELECTION will always be YA royalty! There’s so much to love: the high stakes competition, swoon-worthy characters, glamourous fashion, dystopian world, political intrigue, those iconic covers… we could go on!
As with any book that holds such a special place in our hearts, it leaves us wanting more. And while The Selection series itself is complete, there are other novels that swept us off our feet with their blend of romance, competition, glittering royal settings and pacing that left us breathless!
Read on for some of our favorite Selection-esque reads.
Books to Read if You Loved The Selection
FULL OF ROMANCE, ROYALTY, AND HIGH STAKES COMPETITION
1. A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass
“Love has a sound. It sounds like a thousand heartbeats happening at the same time.”
Princess Annika has lived a life of comfort—but no amount of luxuries can change the fact that her life isn’t her own to control. The king, once her loving father, has gone cold, and Annika will soon be forced into a loveless marriage for political gain.
Miles away, small comforts are few and far between for Lennox. He has devoted his life to the Dahrainian army, hoping to one day help them reclaim the throne that was stolen from them. For Lennox, the idea of love is merely a distraction—nothing will stand in the way of fighting for his people.
But when love, against all odds, finds them both, they are bound by its call. They can’t possibly be together—but the irresistible thrum of a thousand heartbeats won’t let them stay apart.
Kiera Cass brings her signature sparkling romance to this beautiful story of star-crossed lovers and long-held secrets.
2. The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith
A new Victorian-inspired romantasy, perfect for fans of Bridgerton, The Selection, and The Cruel Prince.
London, 1848—For four hundred years, England has been under the control of an immortal fae queen who tricked her way onto the throne. To maintain an illusion of benevolence, Queen Mor grants each of her subjects one opportunity to bargain for their deepest desire.
As Ivy Benton prepares to make her debut, she knows that not even a deal with the queen could fix what has gone wrong: Her family’s social standing is in shambles, her sister is a shadow of her former self, and Ivy’s marriage prospects are nonexistent. So when the queen announces a competition for Prince Bram’s hand, Ivy is the first to sign her name in blood. What a bargain can’t fix, a crown certainly could.
Ivy soon finds herself a surprising front-runner—with the help of an unexpected ally: Prince Bram’s brother, the rakish Prince Emmett, who promises to help Ivy win his brother’s heart…for a price. But as the season sweeps Ivy away, with glittering balls veiling the queen’s increasingly vicious trials, Ivy realizes there’s more at stake than just a wedding. Because all faerie bargains come with a cost, and Ivy may have discovered hers too late.
3. American Royals by Katharine McGee
Two princesses vying for the ultimate crown.
Two girls vying for the prince’s heart.
This is the story of the American royals.
When America won the Revolutionary War, its people offered General George Washington a crown. Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still sits on the throne. Like most royal families, the Washingtons have an heir and a spare. A future monarch and a backup battery. Each child knows exactly what is expected of them. But these aren’t just any royals. They’re American.
As Princess Beatrice gets closer to becoming America’s first queen regnant, the duty she has embraced her entire life suddenly feels stifling. Nobody cares about the spare except when she’s breaking the rules, so Princess Samantha doesn’t care much about anything, either . . . except the one boy who is distinctly off-limits to her. And then there’s Samantha’s twin, Prince Jefferson. If he’d been born a generation earlier, he would have stood first in line for the throne, but the new laws of succession make him third. Most of America adores their devastatingly handsome prince . . . but two very different girls are vying to capture his heart.
The duty. The intrigue. The Crown.
4. House of Marionne by J. Elle
17 year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city, in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell’s veins.
Until someone discovers her dark secret.
To hide from the assassin hunting her, and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever.
If caught, she will be killed.
But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and— assassin in training.
When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: embrace the dark magic she’s been running from her entire life or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to love.
Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one inside.
5. The Jewel by Amy Ewing
New York Times bestselling author Amy Ewing delivers a dark and riveting tale that “will have fans of Oliver’s Delirium, Cass’s The Selection, and DeStefano’s Wither breathless.”*
The Jewel has many meanings: wealth, beauty, royalty. But for Violet, the Jewel has always meant servitude.
Born and raised in the Marsh, Violet is destined for the Jewel. She is trained as a surrogate for the elite and is bought by the Duchess of the Lake at auction. And she quickly learns that beneath the Jewel’s glittering façade lies the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.
Violet must accept the ugly realities of her life…all while fighting for her survival. But before she can accept her fate, Violet meets a handsome boy who is also under the Duchess’s control. A forbidden love sparks.
But their illicit affair has consequences, which will cost them both more than they bargained for. And toeing the line between being calculating and rebellious, Violet must decide what, and who, she is willing to risk for her own freedom.
6. The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross
From Rebecca Ross, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divine Rivals, comes a lush, sweeping debut romantasy about an outcast who finds herself bound to a disgraced lord and entangled in his plot to overthrow the king. Perfect for fans of This Woven Kingdom and The Shadows Between Us!
When her seventeenth summer solstice arrives, Brienna desires only two things: to master her passion and to be chosen by a patron. While some at the renowned Magnalia House in Valenia seem to be naturally gifted at one of the five passions—art, music, dramatics, wit, or knowledge—Brienna struggled to find hers.
Then, Brienna’s greatest fear comes true: She is left without a patron.
Months later, her life takes an unexpected turn when a disgraced lord—the charming Cartier Évariste—offers her patronage. When Brienna reluctantly accepts, she quickly learns that there is much more to Cartier’s story. He’s part of a dangerous plot to overthrow the king of a rival land and restore the rightful queen, and her magic, to the throne. With war on the horizon, Brienna must choose a side. Can she help her patron without betraying the world she knows?
Plus don’t miss the thrilling sequel, The Queen’s Resistance!
7. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
A sweeping tale of power, intrigue, and betrayal from #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard, perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series.
Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood—those with common, Red blood serve the Silver-blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.
To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard—a growing Red rebellion—even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction.
One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.
8. The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired byA Thousand and One Nights.
Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.
She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.