Everyone knows that heroes and villains monologue, but this book overdoes it. If I am listening to an Audible book and AUDIBLY SHOUTING AT IT TO STFU! then something is wrong. Oh sure, it could just be me, but I think not. There is almost always an obvious conclusion to be drawn from a story at the beginning of a battle, as in who will triumph? MC or not? I can’t help but to push my thinking ahead and when a book is so obvious that the conclusion is forthcoming, then all the distractions, explanations and false drama are just compounded by dumb monologues spewed by the characters about to be destroyed. I enjoyed the 1st book bc it was different. I did not love the 2nd in the series and will not follow it further, which is my harshest criticism.