For those that saw the show- the book has amazing details and certain scenes in the show make much more sense in the book. I definitely prefer this book to the first in the series. Daenerys feels slightly more real in this one (though still oddly distant), the action is much faster, and the intrigue is greater. As Bran is older, his character is slightly more developed and the same for Sansa and Arya. Sansa’s chapters definitely have a unique voice, as do Arya’s and I’d argue the weakest ones might be those of Daenerys who feels hard to relate to/ less round of a character. The ambience is great and I had no major issues overall. A nice point to leave off on as well.