Shortly after starting this book, I was very close to putting it into my small DNF pile and walking away. For starters, as much as I enjoyed the beginning of book one, I was ambivalent at best about the end of it. Then, at the start of book two, I'm thrown into 200+ pages of a new POV character with the characters I loved from the first book only making cameos if at all. What on EARTH was Brett thinking?!? 
 Then it happened. I realized that Brett is a genius, and I'm a fool for ever doubting him. All the things that bothered me about the first book were made clear in this one, and the last 2/3s of the book are so much more vivid and intriguing from seeing that new POV. Those characters I loved, especially Leesha, really shine in this book, and their paths are going in directions I couldn't have anticipated. The entire world is starting to tilt, and I can't wait to see what happens next. 
 This is one of those rare occasions where pushing through when I felt completely disconnected from a story really, really, really paid off. I think it's also the first time I have ever rated a 2nd book higher than the 1st in a series.