Falling for love, or saving your intimate one? Falling for love, or rescuing your dying world? This is the choice that falls upon Cassia and Persis, the choice that decides their future. In both Matched and Across a Star-Swept Sea, the main female protagonists fall in love with great passion, but both with the 'wrong' choices. In Matched, Cassia's choice put herself into serious trouble: she commits an infraction and now classifies as an aberration. However, in Across a Star-Swept Sea, Persis's choice could create a much greater impact: plunge the world she's sworn to protect into another dark age. 

Matched – a story about a world where everyone was equal, to conform in unity, to obey no matter what circumstances. Cassia has always trusted the Society’s judgment. The officials decide every aspect of all citizens’ lives. Yet to the inhabitants, who receive their most appropriate job, their most suitable match, their chance of living a long life; the price of freedom is hardly anything. When her ‘perfect’ match appears on the Matching screen, Cassia is sure that he is her one and only…until she sees another face flash across the screen from the micro-card input. Cassia faces with the impossible choice, but determines to take on the ‘impossible’, choosing a path no one else has ever dared to follow - choosing passion over perfection, Ky over Xander. Ky is an aberration due to his parents’ actions. In the Society, aberrations still live amongst the common citizens, but with hidden identity; and they absolutely are not permitted to be Matched. However, after the single flash across the screen, the hiking on the Hill, the poems they read to each other, the secrets they keep for each other; Cassia believes she found true love, and she would do anything - even if it meant breaking the rules and going against her community - to stay with him.

Across a Star-Swept Sea - a story about a world where people experiences corruption after centuries of war and the deadly uprising upon the ruling aristocrats. The heroine, Persis Blake, also falls for a boy that could bring danger. On the surface, she is a rich, famous, and frivolous teenager born in an aristocrat family. Underneath, she is the extremely intelligent, mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy. Everyday items such as her gossipy flutternotes and her pet sea mink are actually her classified plans and her secret spy. While Persis’s performs upon a fake ‘romance’ with Justen Helo, it is her most dangerous mission ever. Though through the mission, Persis starts to fall for this handsome medic, but she can’t risk showing her true self as the Wild Poppy; especially when she learns his concealed background. Not just being the stepson of Citizen Alfred - who is one of the leaders of the revolution - or his dislike to the event even though his kin are all supporting it. “His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect” (blurb).

Your choices determine your consequences. In Matched, Cassia's choice might put Ky and herself into serious trouble. However, in Across a Star-Swept Sea, Persis's choice could create a much greater impact. Cassia falling for Ky has created trouble for herself. According to the officials, she commits an infraction and is in danger of classifying as an aberration. Even though she becomes the best sorter of the year, with departments hurrying to hire her, her personal relationship has become an obstacle. The official gives her a chat and her final warning. Otherwise she will be declared as aberration herself and Ky Markham, of course, could be sent back to the Outer Provinces where war rages and the chance of survival is extremely low. That had made Cassia think twice, but together, they managed to overcome the obstacles. However, Persis’s choice could plunge the world she's sworn to protect into another dark age. Until the time she found out the truth about Justen Helo, she thought he as a loyal medic that tried his best to serve and help the people who are in need. However, she then found out he had actually founded the deadly drug while doing scientific research along his stepfather, one of the top associates of the rebellion. Her love was the one who started the harmful event. He affected all the people that she was desperately trying to save.

In both books, the main female protagonists have the similar love experience. They made their decisions by following their hearts rather than normal social behaviors. However, the consequences of their choices are quite different. Cassia’s choice caused problem mainly for herself while Persis's choice could result in a disaster to the place where she's living. Since they chose to listen to their heart rather than their common reactions, they all experienced a happy ending.