My favorite character in the book is the Challix - the giant cat that is kept as a pet. It seems there is less internal rambling in book two than there was in book one - it is still hard to listen to. I was thrilled to find this book moved faster and had more of a steady pace through the plot than book one. It does not fall into the terrible twos category. While I read this book because it was part of a challenge, I look forward to book three hoping it will continue to get better as a series.