Broken Throne (Red Queen #4.5) by Victoria Aveyard

Amy  

fantasy, young adult

I enjoyed the Red Queen series and was happy to give this compilation novel, Broken Throne by Victoria Aveyard, a try.  It included several goodies for fans of the Red Queen world:
-          Two previously released novellas, both of which I’ve already read and did not re-read (Steel Scars and Queen Song)
-          A summarized history of the world of Red Queen
-          Three new novellas
-          New insights from Maven and Cal

Since I was listening to the audiobook version, I found the summarized history portion tedious and boring. I’m sure those who are big fans appreciate the reference information that was provided. However, I did not need all this background or detail.  Some of it served as a reminder about the events of the series since it had been a while since I’d read about that world.  But, still, I mostly forwarded through it after giving it a lengthy try.

I enjoyed the first new novella, World Behind, which highlighted two new main characters coming from different backgrounds (one red and one silver) and the formation of their friendship.  The story was fun with deceit, adventure, and bravery as well as engaging characters.  It took place during the time of the Red Queen series to give us a view of life for the “regular” people.

The second new novella, Iron Heart, centers around Evangeline’s life after the events of the Red Queen series.  This one didn’t pull me in and I care no more for Evangeline than I did before.

Fire Light is the third new novella and switches between Mare’s and Cal’s viewpoints. It takes place after the events of the Red Queen series and after events in Iron Heart.  I was really happy to learn how things turned out for the two of them since their relationship had been left open-ended after War Storm.

Fare Well is a short “story” with viewpoints from Maven and Cal.  It was alright but did not really move the story forward or provide any insights that were meaningful.

This audiobook was narrated by too many people to list and I have no idea which narrators read which characters' parts.  Most of them did a good job.  I would say the guy who voiced Maven did the best job and the guy who voiced Cal did the worst job.  The rest were sufficient for their short segments.