The second part of this series after The Warded Man. I heard many speak against it because the first half of the book focuses on someone other than the main character from the initial novel. It basically was meant to give the reader a chance to learn this character and how he came to be where stands now. 
 Personally, I found the building of this character engaging and wasn't hindered at all by this different approach. Learning more about the Krasian people was interesting and for me quite engaging. Granted it wasn't difficult to gain a hold of how this society worked as it is comparable to real world counterparts. 
 But my issues with this book that kept it from 5 stars was a character that was just TOO perfect. I believe the term utilized for such is Mary Sue which Leesha really was. In the first novel I held no issues with her and looked forward to reading more about her but in this second volume she left me highly disappointed to the point I got worn reading about her. I found one of the secondary females more interesting before long but almost am getting concerned the writer is making her a bit much too. 
 In the end, I enjoyed the series all the same. Arlen did some things I found irritating with the whole 'They are better off without me' theme but otherwise I am looking forward to the third part of this series and will probably keep my eyes open for more from this author.