Real Rating: 4.25 - 4.5 
 I didn't even need to think a second to give this book below 4 stars - I gave it this rating in a heartbeat - because it was that good. I feel like I'm definitely alone on this, but I thought this book was so much better than the first book in so many different ways. I honestly can't say that I can think of more than one book that I have read as of January 1, 2016 that has been better than this one. 
 - I loved Maxon from the first couple of chapters since "The Selection," but this book brought his character to a whole new level. You can easily tell how much he has grown from that naive little boy he was before - yes, there were some sketchy parts that I just didn't totally understand why it was included, but overall, just the general tone of his character was just....just. 
 - I had hoped for the King to give a bit of encouragement when he had that little chat with America, but it'll definitely be more interesting the next book, which is already on hold. Seeing as there isn't really a main antagonist, besides Kriss now, since Celeste seems to be almost out of the picture. 
 - I couldn't put this book down unless I had to because it was THAT good. The characters, the storyline, everything - just perfect. There are flaws, a lot of them, but I loved it. It seemed a little less cliche than the last book was. A little bit predictable - obviously she was going to end up with Maxon - but it didn't take away from the story, because what I wanted to happen, happened. 
 - The beginning was amazing, it was good, but it wasn't until I was in about 100 pages that I really wanted to keep reading. 
 -I'm happy but also a little sad that America has some really competition now- Kriss- but it only makes the story better. Marlee, another character I loved from the very beginning, was brought to another level in this book as well.