Thread:StoryGirl83/@comment-28828403-20180121151221/@comment-3452092-20180123160051

I hope that helped then. Obviously, I don't believe she's trying to rush him, and I've given you examples of why I feel that way and it sounds like you see where I'm coming from, so I hope that relieves your mind a little on the subject.

I think Maxwell has had his own storylines, but in a way they have been subject to other people's storylines, such as the missing money, extreme "over spending" on his part when the Beaumonts needed the money turned out to be tied into the story of Drake's missing sister and his whole relationship with his brother is tied into all sorts of storylines (Liam's in as much as he went behind his brother's back to pick the woman their house was putting forward, Drake's in as much as went behind both Bertrand and Drake's backs to help out Savannah and do things the way she wanted even if maybe he was unsure if that was the correct thing keeping her secret from them both). He's not actually intertwined with Hana all that much. They interact and are certainly friends at this point, but I think maybe they are new friends (Liam said he met Hana when she came to court. Most likely Maxwell did as well). He's everyone's background cheerleader and helper. I think maybe what he needs is some way to assert himself or maybe some storyline where he's the one who can do better than everyone else. Yes, he can cheer people up better than anyone else, but right now I feel like he thinks that's the only thing he is good for, so I think he needs something else, something where he can help everyone else out of a tight jam. Or maybe he just needs to find some way to understand just how special he is. He helped the MC track down the reporter, figure out Constantine was behind everything, and locate Tariq and yet, he doesn't understand how much he helped there. Maybe in the situation to come, whatever it may be, his detective skills are needed but in a much shorter period of time where everyone else is unable to think of solutions, but his outside the box thinking figures out something hugely important. Or maybe his ability to cheer people up becomes immensely important to the plot. I'd really like to see him get a confidence boost and understand just how important he is, so I think that's the kind of storyline I'd like to see with him in book 3.

I'm not sure. Obviously we are meant to believe that enemies who see weakness in the current situation are meant to strike and with how the last chapter ended, Madeleine is obviously going to have some sort of comfrontation with the MC. Since I am currently reading both books, one thing that strikes me is how confident Madeleine was, at the Beaumont Bash, the last event of the season before the coronation, that things could change, almost as if she didn't believe there was any likelihood of the MC becoming queen despite being the clear favorite. Now, Olivia felt that way, too, but with Olivia I think it was purely based off her friendship with Liam from childhood and her own emotional connection to him. Madeleine had no such preconceptions. And yet we know she had nothing to do with the scandal that caused the MC so much trouble in the second book. And even if she had nothing to do with any potential plots before, maybe someone had contacted her, vowing to throw their support behind her if someone else was chosen or something. Maybe she blew them off before, but now her pride has been wounded. She's lost the position she wanted, twice. And it was always the position, never the man, that she wanted. It may be that now that this has happen, she might go back to these potential people who told her that they would back her and told them she's changed her mind. She has to know plenty that can hurt a lot of people if she wants to use it that way. I hope for her mother's sake that she doesn't want to use it that way.

However, I think it unlikely that whatever brings Madeleine to the MC's side at the end of that chapter is the big threat of the next, mostly because this confrontation will be at the beginning of the last chapter, so I think it likely this will be a "so you got what you wanted" kind of thing with more vailed threats that may or may not mean anything.

Oddly enough I've been highly suspicious of Justin ever since he showed up. I hope I'm wrong, because most of the time he seems like a really nice person, but every once in a while you worry what he'll do when crossed. For example the story made a point of mentioning that he was angrier than you'd ever seen him when you rejected his idea of playing the footage of Tariq during the wedding shower, if you chose to tell him to wait on it. And then some how a reporter got through and released the footage. What I want to know is, was that footage that played on everyone's phones identical to the footage that you showed Madeleine, again, if you choose to warn her, because if it was secretly gotten, there should be clear evidence that it was secretly gotten, such as the angle of the camera. Of course even if he didn't do that on purpose, it could just be that he really doesn't like Madeleine for some reason. I know Bertrand contacted him, but I wonder if maybe there is more going on here. Maybe he arranged the meeting somehow. Or maybe I'm wrong and he did contact Bertrand claiming to know the problem Bertrand was trying to handle.

I sincerely hope that Bastien doesn't sacrifice himself for her, at least not to the point of death. I had quite enough of that with what happened in The Crown & the Flame. . . twice. Now, if he's injured trying to protect her, that's another thing, but I don't want to see him dead. I think Bastien showed up when he did, because he's been tryin to fix things ever since they confronted him at the bachelor party. He couldn't do anything until he was released from his vows from King Constantine, but ever since then, I think he has been trying to make it up to them. I think he was sent to watch her because Liam did reognize the potential for danger at this ball, maybe even at the urging of his father and despite how that loyalty was used against him, 'Liam'' recognized loyalty in Bastien that would protect the MC no matter what. Also, Pixelberry hasn't made any more guards, so there's that. Regardless of what happens, if the MC is going to get guards (and depending on what happens that may or may not happen), then she needs to have guards we actually meet. I think it would be more than a little amusing if Bastien became her guard, and with Pixelberry probably not wanting to invest in another character when they have one that works perfectly in that role, it's possible that Bastien showing up the way he did could signal the idea that he's going to take on that role. It is possible that he could sacrifice himself for her, but I hope if he does, it's a sacrifice that not only doesn't end up in his death, but also ends up with him taking on a different role in the story.

I guess there is a lot of what I think the plot of the next book might be sprinkled into all I wrote above, but here's a go at it. I think someone trying to undermind the MC or blackmail her or or some such is probably too mild a thing for the last chapter of the second book, so I don't think that will be it. I also don't think trying to harm her love interest or take them captive would work, because, one of her love interests is the King and no one in their right mind is going to use the King as bait in that way. If they can harm or capture the King, it's going to be as a way to get to him not the MC. Which isn't to say they won't try to harm or kidnap the king, but you won't be seeing that as a way to get to the MC. It would maybe work with the other love interests, but not with the King in the mix.

One person I chat with on here suggested that maybe they will kidnap the MC and the first few chapters will be split between the MC in captivity trying to escape and the other characters trying to rescue her. It's an interesting idea and maybe it could happen, but the problem I see with that is makes little to no opportunities for the MC to interact with any of her love interests, and, especially, with Maxwell being a brand new love interest, I think that's something they have to make sure occurs. Now, maybe if they had the MC captured with her love interest. It would require some divergent storylines that depend on her love interest (especially since this still puts the potential of the King being kidnapped), but it's less so than if the love interest was kidnapped by his/her self as it brings multiple points of focus.

The idea of the King being overthrown is interesting, but on what grounds? The broken engagement? There is precedent. I suppose we could find out that things didn't go so well in that situation, but I get the impression they would know about it already if it hadn't.

Maybe an assasination attempt, not on the MC, but on the King. It's happened before. Maybe there is a cult dedicated to Madeleine and as long as she was the queen to be, they were fine with how things were, but now she's not and they are mad. And maybe Madeleine's not even connected with them, but knows about them and is mad enough that she doesn't care to warn them something might happen. Honestly, I want to think good of her more for Adelaide's sake than for her own. I do like Adelaide.

And an assassination attempt could put them on the run, so it could drive the first few chapters and finding and stopping the threat could drive most of the rest of the book with potentially a royal wedding at the end of the book (either to the MC or to Olivia. I firmly believe that if the MC doesn't end up with the King, Olivia will). Maybe they will spend some time at the MC's new duchy.

And I definitely think that there will be a conclusion, one way or another to the situation between Savannah and Bertrand.

No problem. As you can see, I can be very chatty myself. And I love to discuss these ideas with people. :D