Happily Ever After is a companion novel to The Selection series by Kiera Cass. The first story, “The Queen,” tells how King Clarkson and Queen Amberly fell in love. Their relationship is very toxic; his tests were controlling and not justifiable because he didn't want to marry someone vain. The second story included, “The Prince.” retells the beginning of the Selection from Maxon's perspective. This one didn't add much to the series, but it was interesting to know that Maxon thought of America as a challenge and wanted to pursue her from the moment they met. As for “The Guard,” it was unimportant; I understand that Cass was attempting to redeem Aspen in her readers' eyes, but this story didn't make me notice anything about his character that I hadn't previously.
“The Favorite” details how Marlee and Carter met and fell in love; although this story was short, it was one of my favorites in the book; their truly unconditional love was beautiful. The fifth story is all about Celeste, her thoughts and feelings during the Selection and after. I have always really enjoyed Celeste's character, but this story made me like her even more. The book's final story, “The Maid,” gave some insight into how Lucy and Aspen got together. Although this wasn't my favorite story, I loved the added depth it gave to Lucy's character. The final section of the book described the lives of the Elite after the competition; for the most part, it was boring, but I enjoyed the insight it gave into the girls' feelings. Overall, I liked this book, but some parts much more than others.