First book had much better pacing. If you make the agreement with yourself to see this book as a soap opera, it's fantastic. If you don't suspend your disbelief, however, there are a few moments that made me roll my eyes a bit. Some characters accept things too easily or provide too much exposition dump, do the "evil villain telling you their plans" bit, some things come out of nowhere and the reader has to just accept them. But I can't argue that I didn't speed through it. I'm looking forward to the next one. 

 
To pay your debts, you had to know who you owed. You had to decide who you were willing to go to war for and who you trusted to jump into the fray for you. That was all there was in this world. No heroes or villains, just the people you'd brave the waves for, and the ones you'd let drown.