I ended up starting this book ahead of the recommended reading order because I was struggling to get through the first book due to my hatred of the boys in it. I thought this one might add some more nuance, and it definitely did. I did tandem read this with the first book despite the possibility of spoilers. 

While I still think it's gross what was happening, having the background and seeing their perspective made them feel a bit more grey to me and that was really helpful to me. This book made the characters seem a bit more complex and have some more depth to them. I am looking forward to seeing where it goes from here, and am curious as to how they may redeem themselves because I do predict that is in their future.