In my opinion, this was much better than the first in the series. It still had all the good things that I liked from the previous book, but without most of my complaints. The characters in the first book were compelling but at times drove me nuts. It was the world that had me wanting to read the sequel. And it was definitely an improvement, even though at times one of the lead characters seems almost too perfect. It switched back and forth on POV's like the first book but it seemed like it was balanced with neither dragging the story any. It was also interesting in that the origins of the world are finally explained here, with most of my suspicions proving true. This series is highly addicting so far and I've already got my hands on the next book.