This book was not has good as the first one, but I haven't given up on the series. I liked the first one SO MUCH that it set a very, very high bar. This second installment suffered from a shocking start followed by a very slow, almost sluggish, middle section in which a lot of quiet scenes failed to convey (at least to me) a vast emotional shift between two key characters. The end picked up, with a few sharp twists, some intrigue and some excitement but that didn't entirely erase how I felt in the middle. I will take a little break before starting in on book three, and we'll see where this story goes!