"Sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you."
I heard that line about halfway through, walking the lakefront with Denise while she pointed out some bird she'd spotted. Missed the bird entirely. Was too busy thinking about how Kiera Cass had somehow made me care about a princess choosing a husband. Me. The guy who assigns Austen to teenagers and watches them groan.
Look, I came into The Crown with low expectations. YA romance isn't exactly my usual territory - I'm more Middlemarch than The Bachelor, if you catch my drift. But my niece insisted I listen to the whole Selection series before her graduation, and here I am, a 52-year-old man with opinions about Eadlyn's love life.
Where Fairy Tales Meet Real Consequences
What Cass does well - and I'll give her this - is she understands that the best romance isn't about the destination. It's about watching someone figure out who they are while they're falling in love. Eadlyn starts this book kind of insufferable. (Don't tell my students I said that about a protagonist. They'll use it against me.) She's been raised to rule, and she's got that particular brand of confidence that comes from never having to question your place in the world.
But then her mother gets sick. And suddenly this isn't just about picking a suitor from thirty-five options like some royal Bachelorette. It's about growing up fast. About realizing that leadership means something beyond wearing a crown.
The pacing stumbles a bit in the middle - there are stretches where the romantic back-and-forth felt like it was spinning wheels. My wife asked me three times if I was still listening to "that princess thing" because I'd gone quiet. I was. Just... waiting for something to happen.
When it does happen, though? Worth the wait.
Brittany Pressley Understands the Assignment
Here's where I get genuinely enthusiastic. Brittany Pressley - who's won an Audie Award, so this isn't just me talking - does something really smart with Eadlyn's voice. She doesn't try to make her immediately likable. She lets you hear the entitlement, the walls, the fear underneath the bravado.
The emotional scenes are where things get interesting. Some listeners have complained that Pressley over-dramatizes when Eadlyn is upset. I get that. There are moments where the performance tips into theatrical territory - you can almost hear the capital letters in her distress. But honestly? I teach teenagers. That's exactly how they experience emotions. Everything is The End of the World until it isn't.
Her male voices are less distinct - that's fair criticism. The suitors sometimes blur together vocally, which is a problem when you're supposed to be rooting for one over the others. But her Eadlyn is so specific, so alive, that I forgave the rest.
(My podcast listeners - all 47 of them - know I'm picky about narration. This is me being generous.)
The Romance That Snuck Up on Me
I won't spoil who Eadlyn chooses. But I will say this: the final act works because Cass earns it. The relationship that wins isn't just about chemistry - it's about two people who see each other clearly. Who challenge each other. That's the stuff that lasts.
Is it a landmark of literary fiction? No. The prose is accessible, sometimes predictable. Cass writes in the tradition of fairy tales, and fairy tales have rules. Identicals plays with similar expectations—you can see the twists coming, but the emotional journey still works. You know there's going to be a happy ending. The question is whether you care enough to get there.
I cared. More than I expected to.
Listening at seven hours and change, this is perfect for a weekend of errands or a couple of commutes. The production is clean - no weird audio issues, no jarring transitions. Just Pressley's voice carrying you through Eadlyn's world with that clear, dramatic delivery that makes the romantic moments land.
Would I Listen Again?
Probably not. But I'm glad I listened once. And I'm definitely not telling my niece that I got a little emotional at the end.
If you've been following the Selection series, this is the payoff you've been waiting for. If you're new? Start at the beginning. The Crown works because you've spent four books watching this world evolve. Coming in cold would be like reading the last act of Pride and Prejudice without knowing why Elizabeth hated Darcy in the first place.
For fans of YA romance who want something with a little more weight than the average love triangle - this delivers. Skip it if you need fast pacing throughout or if you haven't read the earlier books. For my fellow literature teachers looking to understand what their students are reading? Worse ways to spend seven hours. Trust me. I've sat through budget presentations.
