Excellent again. Slightly darker, and with higher stakes, than the first book; we learn a lot more about some of the secondary characters - their motivations and their pasts. Kendis is still the central character, but (as the author points out in the afterword) this book has some scenes from others' POVs. Tiny gripe - I wish those scenes were set off some way, with spacers of some sort. It's disconcerting to have the next paragraph be a different person. But I was never confused for more than a sentence about whose POV it was. Nasty villain, and some long-term effects from dealing with her - but there's lots more story before that comes into effect. ( )