I like this series a lot and this installment really was i think in essence better than the first, but the beginning i felt was really confusing for me especially since it had been over a year since i had read Nightshade, so i felt as if their was more of a refresher needed. After pushing through the beginning (and looking up a synopsis of the first book) I was able to thoroughly enjoy it :) The cover was a bit of a letdown though, as superficial as that may sound. The cover was what initially drew me to Nightshade, so i was disappointed with this choice of cover, but you cant judge a book by its cover so don't judge this one by it's lack of prettiness lol