I don't feel it as much as I did Shadow and Bone -- not sure why. It doesn't feel like it's own sequestered story like Six of Crows did and it makes it feel like it's kind of limping along rather than standing on its own legs. I would rather see a stand-alone 'big bad' rather than a return of the same one. Not sure how it will be handled in the second book, but I don't have high hopes for it.

I think it would have been better served with Lizabeta remaining the antagonist.