Star Rating: 5 Stars 
 Oh Sanderson, you've done it again. This book definitely does not fit into the category of a mediocre middle book! It was ah-maz-ing! 
 Right from the start Sanderson immerses you in the world of the Final Empire. His world building ability is truly phenomenal. Right away I was struck - like I was with Book One - at the intricate and original magic that Sanderson has created. Allomancy is the ability to draw on metals for certain powers. Its so well explained and well described in action scenes. Straight away we are thrown back into the world he created, in the aftermath of the events of book one. This book is set a year after the fall of the Lord Ruler and now Elend is King and Vin is his bodyguard (and girlfriend). We see as Elend struggles to put his political ideals into action, struggles to hold the kingdom together and struggles to rule. The main plot of the book are the challenges that face Elend, Vin and the crew as three armies descend on Luthadel to take it for themselves. One of the attacking armies is Strath Venture - Elend's father - and this adds a fascinating element to see the relationship between Strath and his children. 
 What separates this book from the first book is that there is another plot line at play that is always hinted at, but never really becomes the main plot - Vin and Sazed's quest to understand the legend of the Well of Ascension and the Lord Ruler. It is truly skillful how Sanderson has weaved this among the main plot; subtly, never quite getting the full attention of the characters because their minds are always on the politics and the impending battles. However, I should have remembered at how easily Sanderson can surprise you as a reader and needless to say I never saw the ending coming until it was upon you - and then everything you have read before suddenly becomes so obvious. You sit there thinking "How could I have missed that?". 
 There are some things that I especially loved about this book. The first is Elend - he really develops in this book and I enjoyed seeing his progression. I like how Sanderson gave him so many ideals, someone who you think would be a perfect ruler, but then showed how real life doesn't work with ideals and he struggled to maintain control of his kingdom. There is something about Elend that really reminds me of Gansey from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. 
 This quote from The Raven Boys , I think, could be used to describe Elend as well: 
 "...drawn by a desperate but nebulous need to be useful to the world, to make sure his life meant something beyond champagne parties and white collars, by some complicated longing to settle an argument that waged deep inside himself." 
 I also love the complicated relationship between Vin and Elend. I love the play on gender roles - usually it is the Queen/Princess falling in love with the male solider who must do terrible things to protect her. But this time Vin is the solider who does the terrible things and Elend is the, arguably, weak one. I like that Sanderson has explored what that kind of relationship would be like. 
 I also like the introduction of Zane - he had a fascinating story line and I was kind of sad that he didn't get explored more thoroughly. I wanted to know everything that made him how he was! 
 Also - I have seen it mentioned that Vin is becoming more like a Mary-Sue (all powerful, no character flaws to be seen), but I respectfully disagree. I think that Vin is imperfect, in the perfect ways. Although she is powerful, I don't think that she is particularly smart and she certainly makes some terrible decisions. All of these things are consistent with her character's unpleasant upbringing as a street urchin. Although she can survive, she can fight, she has good instincts, she also has trouble seeing the big picture, has trouble connecting the dots or imagining people's motives. She also doesn't understand emotions like love, loyalty and trust. 
 In the end, I think that the most impressive feature for me of this series is how much it keeps you guessing. The ending has made it truly impossible not to read the next book. Highly recommended for any fans of high fantasy and definitely a good starter series for anyone thinking of trying high fantasy - it has all the great elements of fantasy without the dense language and slow plots that some books in the genre have.