King's Cage: All Will Burn

by Victoria Aveyard
(Red Queen #3 . . . out of 4)
Scott County Library audiobook 14 discs
read by Amanda Dolan, Adenrele Ojo, and Erin Spencer
genre: YA dystopian fiction

This was torturous! And when I got to the end and realized there's another book after this . . . I went online to read about it so I wouldn't have to actually go through the agony of reading it.

Clearly, Aveyard's writing resonates with enough people to make this series very popular. But some of the reviews I read online had the same reaction I did: too long, too much of Mare being Mare, disappointing (especially for those of us who loved the first book!).

My quick notes in the car: self-recriminations, self-talk, doubt, angst . . . ugh! Get over yourself!
Each time Mare drones on about how she "broke" Gisa's hand (um, pretty sure Gisa chose to try to steal, got caught, and the silver guards hurt her . . . exactly how was this Mare's fault?), I want to scream.

Then the whole part with Maven and love . . . really?!?! When did she ever seriously feel love toward him? The murder / hate dichotomy with love / a kiss . . . just messed up.

To have some sections narrated by Cameron, then Evangeline (aka "Eve") . . . interesting choice.

"Convoluted, angsty, gross, ugly, drawn-out . . . on and on and on . . . ugh."

Suffice it say, I will NOT waste my time with book four. Thank heavens for the online reviews! I only wish I'd read them for this book and saved myself the time. It's interesting that at least one reviewer thought that the books were each getting better and better . . . but at least one person shared my opinion that the first was best and they are getting longer and poorer in quality with each one. (#4 is over 600 pages!) Longer is NOT better!