This. book. was. crazy. 
 It completely "unmade" and then "remade" into a much bigger, grander-scale story. 
 If you enjoyed the first book, you will love the second. Things are far darker and more epic than in the first book. Fair Warning: It WILL break your heart. 
 Helene gets a lot more of a role in this story and her chapters are a little tough to get into at first if you weren't a fan of hers in the last book, but trudge through them because there is very important info in them and her story is probably the most heartbreaking and tough of all of them. 
 There are a few plot points that weren't exactly a surprise if you're good at guessing that sort of thing, but it absolutely did not make them any less enjoyable to read. It was upsetting to see Laia lose confidence so heavily, but it was understandable based on the things that occur and eventually you realize that it is more than just those things that cause it as well (can't say too much because spoilers). 
 The main characters, just like in the first book, go through many changes due to their trials & tribulations, and by the end they all have grown so much, but still have so many things to figure out and work through. I love seeing characters that make mistakes and that aren't perfect, try to work through their faults but not perfectly. Seeing them continue to struggle is far more realistic than those "sudden revelations" that precipitate a radical personality change to where the character begins to be oh so perfect, that you find in some stories. These are people that are changed from who they were at the start of the first book, yes, but also are still struggling against those same defaults. 
 If you're a fan of adventure stories involving epic journeys, of tragic YA dramas with a magical bent, or strong female characters, then you'll adore this series.