I enjoyed the first book a lot more - what can I say, I'm not a fan of "rebel/underdog group trapped in underground base/community" narratives (the only other example of this being Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, but, "weird that it happened twice" and all that). It dragged in some parts, and got confusing in others; I suppose the issue with building such a beautiful and complex world is acquainting your readers with it in a way that doesn't leave their heads spinning. 

Still, I love Essun, I love Alabaster (or, rather, I love to hate Alabaster?) and I adore the audiobook narrator, who also narrated the first one. I'm excited to see where the story goes next!