Well, I can say for sure that I cannot wait to read the last one and see how this all wraps up. This novel definitely did the normal 2nd book dealio, where it ends on a cliffhanger SO much bigger than the first one. Frustrating. But regardless, it was a pretty solid sequel. I appreciate the way that it did have it's own plot, separate from what happened in the first one, but still it dragged in the middle and then sped up TOO fast at the end - the plot pacing was just not as solid here as it was in the first one. One thing I was very happy with was how the relationship/love triangle situation was handled. It was an issue, but not overly prevalent in the grand scheme of things - and Theron was taken care of neatly, in a way that makes it ok that he may be "gone" (still sad, but life is sad sometimes, and it wasn't anything unreasonable). Also, I'm glad the original break happened earlier, before Mather came back and we see Theron's connection to the Decay, because that makes it much easier to say goodbye (no guilt, or less guilt anyways). Plus, with the entire goal of everyone's lives being to restore Winter, it makes sense that Meira and Mather fit better with that goal as an endpoint. Interestingly, I liked and disliked Meira's constant self-judgement and turmoil - very reasonable for her age and life changes recently, so I appreciate that (and the "she can make mistakes" outlook is refreshing), but perhaps it could have been dialed back a bit. Again, Meira's inner dialogue with herself is a bit repetitive and tiring. We get it. And the whole "finding keys" treasure hunt is fairly cliche and, really, is entirely too easy (I mean, I get that Meira herself recognizes that, but still). And I do hope there are some good answers in the final installment - I feel like a lot of things happened here that were convenient to the plot, but without real substance. What the heck is Raelyn's game (I get jealousy of Jesse and Ceridwan, but that's small to fuel a whole take over the world scheme)? What was Angra waiting for? What is going on with the mines? Reres (is that his name?) came from nowhere... And I'm concerned this whole "Meira must sacrifice herself to save everyone" situation can only end in giant cliche. Saving everyone is a lofty, idealistic, goal that generally doesn't lead to great endings for stories (particularly ones like this were I feel like some of the "bad" qualities are over-hyped for the benefit of the reader and to enhance the hero's "goodness")... But we'll see. Also, RIP Alysson, Garrigan (the SADDEST), and Noam...not so much Simon.