one of the more engaging elements of the first book in this series was the relationship of the two main characters. they played well off each other and their interactions made the story enjoyable. this follow-up keeps them apart for basically the entire novel. and, imho, the book suffers for it. though each main character is given a "sidekick" to banter with in this book, neither pairing works as well as the two main characters did together. the narrative seemed to plod along and i found myself skipping ahead frequently to see if the two main characters would be reunited anytime soon. the ending was interesting; resisted being near and tidy, which i appreciate, while still being emotionally satisfying. but, all in all, i'd have to say that i was disappointed with this sequel.