I liked this book better than the first.
I knew how it was going to turn out fairly quickly, but I think that just means the author has a good handle on foreshadowing, which I enjoy.
The violence felt a bit less gratuitous, but still not always used for a purpose (besides shock value).
I like when the author makes the “bad guys” multidimensional, which she does maybe half the time. It feels so much deeper to know why a character is doing something rather than “they’re killing because that’s what bad guys do.”
While I still wouldn’t put this book on my favorites list, I am much more intrigued about the series than I was after the first book.