This was a satisfying...continuation/conclusion to the first book; it tied up the looser of the ends, it felt good. I was less invested in the characters this time around, perhaps after the number of deaths last time (except I was still upset when they died so, you know, good job transmitting affect) or just because it felt more like an ensemble cast. The wow-factor of the first (every myth EVER is true) became part of the texture of the universe: still incredibly well done, but expectedly so. The first book not only exceeded my expectations, it raised them. The second book certainly met them and I'm not complaining, but it lacked the impressiveness of the first.

I still highly recommend it. But, because it's a continuation, the impact of the first is somewhat lessened.

Having said all that, Kit Marlowe is the best character ever and the book's handling of the virgin in distress was beautiful and I loved it.

It's Matthew and having a male not only be the virgin who gives power, but can't use it, but also be a little damseled and acknowledge that he's being used for what he can convey and not who he is while still maintaining his existence as a complex character is a brilliant takedown of the entire trope without feeling out of place in a novel more interested in subversion than parody.