(I got this book for free through a goodreads giveaway so, you know, full disclosure.)
This series definitely gets better. Some of it is that this book isn’t constantly trying to explain the world to you the way that the last one was; it gets on with telling the story. Some of it is that the characters are older and more mature and that’s makes the reading of it a pleasure. And some of it is that this book spent more time with my favorite characters and less with my least favorite and that’s always nice.
And despite this being fantasy (or perhaps because), Chakraborty has a real gift for showing the complexities of political motivations and conflict. We know who we’re rooting for, but we also recognize how those on the other sides come to think and do what they do. It feels true to real life (especially in MENA these days, but also to a long history of conflict in ways that European based stories don’t always honor.)