Are you looking for action, adventure and interesting world-building? You got it 
 Looking for plots and scheming? You got it 
 Looking for great and complex characters and character growth? You got it 
 Looking for a kick-ass heroine? You got it 
 Looking for a bit of slow burning real romance with no love triangles? You got it 
 While the first book was focused on Yarvi and his growth from an insecure cripple to deep-cunning man, the second book is more about the characters around him and how they see him. Actually, the story focuses on two characters: Thorn, a female kickass warrior blessed by Mother War but belittled and not really liked by anyone, and Brand, a quiet guy also a warrior but trying to always do the right thing. 
 The pace is similar to the first one, a great adventure across half of the world to gather allies and fight the High King. There are a lot of actions scenes and scheming. We get to see Father Yarvi through the eyes of others and try to keep up with his plotting and wonder what the hell is going on inside his head. 
 What this book has that the previous one lacked is a beautiful slow burned romance that doesn't take over the plot and is sweet and clumsy as all first loves are. Both characters have their own insecurities that cause some misunderstandings between them and need to overcome. 
 Speaking of characters, Thorn was a breath of fresh air. Unlike most YA books, she isn't perfect; in fact, she has a LOT of flaws. Here is a female character who is not very feminine, curses, blows snot out her nose, pisses over the side of the boat, stinks, has lice, loves to fight, and is stubborn as hell. She was in a journey in a boat full of warrior men for a year and fighting all the time, what did you expect? For her to be clean, legs shaved, beautiful and without scars and behaving like a proper lady? However, behind the mask of a strong and brave attitude, there is a girl with a lot of insecurities about how her body looks, how different she is and what other people think of her... specially a certain boy. 
 Brand is her entire opposite, although brave, he is a gentle and loyal heart, always trying to do what's right. The problem is, as the series advances, we realize that not everything is entirely "good" or entirely "bad", it depends on from where you look at it and how. There are a lot of grays between those two words. 
 I have to be honest... I'm a bit afraid... everything is going too well.... I'm waiting for Abercombie's hand to smash the smile off my face in the third installment without a doubt. Hope everyone survives to tell the tale.