So last chapter ended on what passed for a cliffhanger in this book, and it was completely pointless.  America says she doesn’t want to know the answer any more than we do.  They’re going to talk about it anyway, though. 

 Apparently Maxon decided that I needed to listen to what he had to say, whether I wanted to or not.  Finally he had me trapped, and would hear everything he’d been waiting to tell me.

Wow.  How can anyone actually like this guy?  Just look at the phrases in this.  It’s all about how he’s overriding her decisions because he thinks he knows best, and now she’s trapped and can’t get away.

This is a horror story.

Well, blah, blah, blah, Maxon’s story isn’t that interesting.  After America rejected him post-Marlee, he noticed Kriss.  She asks if he loves her and he answers with stuff like “it’s friendly” and “steady” and “I can depend on her” and frankly sounds a lot healthier than what these two idiots pretend is called love.

Then she asks about Celeste and he launches into a pity-me party about how his life is so stressful and he’s got all these expectations placed on him and he can’t escape his life any more than she can.

“You are aware I’m sure, that technically my father is supposed to retire in my twenties, when he feels I’m ready to lead

That is possibly the most ridiculous thing you’ve said yet.

People don’t launch into top-level politics until late 50s for a reason.

Then again, if you put all your kings in power when they’re 20, your country’s abject failure makes sense. 

Then he launches into an explanation of why each girl made it into the final six, and it’s exactly the same as what we got last book, just with more words.

All this culminating in the “reveal” that he only made out with Celeste because making out is fun.  Why not just open with that?  Oh, right, because you live in a 1950’s television show (not even the real thing, just some stylized version of it) and all displays of sexuality are bad for some reason, and the book thinks we agree and thus spends several pages trying to justify it.

Max, honey, I really don’t care if you get your jollies in a good macking session.  Especially given that none of the girls appear to care either.  Except for America, but this only started after Mer started crying about going home, so yeah.  If the big deal is that he’s not romantic or what not for making out with someone else, I refer to you to the start of the chapter where he overrode America’s request because he “knows better.”  He was already a poor romantic choice.

And even excepting that, what do you really expect from a bachelor-type competition?  This isn’t exactly normal dating, and expecting it to be is patently ridiculous.

And then there’s all sorts of more talking about the girls and how Maxon would have Kriss as his second pick, Celeste as his third, just because the other two are just so pathetic.  Oi.

More squishy talk.  America recaps her feelings for the whole past book, in case you slept through it.

“I’ve been so foolish […] I kept letting the crown scare me out of wanting you.

America, that is the opposite of foolish.  Foolish is marrying a guy for squishy feelings and then afterward going “oh, shit, fucked up a nation because I suck at this.”

More squishy talk.  Damn, this whole chapter is just squishy talk.  America suddenly likes him and wants to marry him again, because…he’s been abused and that proves he loves her?  And that’s enough to erase all the other reasons she’s been freaking out this book?  Because, really, her upsettedness hasn’t been about Maxon’s feelings, it’s been about the royalty thing.  It was only in the last couple chapters that she randomly decided he’s the second coming of Gregory.

Making out, squishy talk, OH FINALLY, America talks about the rebels and asks if they might possibly be after the diaries.  Maxon dismisses the idea because…the news feed that day got cut off before America started talking about them.  Um, but she saw them carting books away before that stupid display, so your reasoning is completely invalid, idiot.  Well, they both drop the subject, because this book doesn’t want to ever get anything done.

My god, this has all the material to fill a short story and some idiot turned it into a trilogy instead.

Squishy talk some more, then the end of the chapter.  Ugh, is the book over yet? 

Nope, two more to go.  *sigh*