Not as thrilling as the first one, but still very fun to read. I think this is the first teen book I've ever read with a reasonably mature romantic relationship, i.e. very little of the indecision, refusal to communicate, and obsession with "bad boy" jerks or the "mysterious new kid" that usually infuriates me in the genera. Not that those devices aren't seen in adult books as well (and are equally annoying there, as far as I'm concerned), but it's nice to see that teens especially have a decent role-model for a change. And really, I picked this up looking for awesome supernatural crime fighting, not a soap opera :).