When Antun Bulard asks Hadrian if he's ever been in love, Hadrian evasively changes the subject... 
 LOL Okay that was my first gif in a review, but I had to include it because I think it's exactly what happened to me--and one of many reasons I am looking forward to the sequel! Books centered around romance have a bad rep--there's probably some good ones--but books with a slow, somewhat unexpected love story are always good, and also tend to be more genuine. 
 Aside from that, this book is just fantastic. If you liked the first one, you will definitely love this one. There's more layers and complexities going on this time around, which should probably please some complainers from the first installment. But at the same time, it's not convoluted and doesn't take dozens of pages of political exposition to reveal itself to the reader. 
 I had a complaint from the first book that the female characters were under-utilized a great deal, and was especially disappointed in Arista's initially powerful entry being downgraded into emotional mess and damsel in distress. This book remedies that more than a bit, having Arista gradually and believably grow in power, and also has an introduction of another resourceful and entertaining female character. 
 I was kind of disappointed by the (near) absense of Alric, Mauvin and especially Myron, but there is a good a set of new supporting characters that really shine. Likewise, I was looking forward to Luis Guy growing as a stronger villain with a vendetta--he is practically replaced on the pages by the individual he personally vets, but it works for a surprisingly stronger role. Plus, there's always room for Luis to make more appearances. 
 I can't say enough good things about this truly FUN adventure. All I can think to sum it up, is a fitting quote from Princess Bride, where Peter Faulk describes the titular story he is about to read: "Fencing. Fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love! Miracles!" A little less tongue-in-cheek than that movie, a little more somber and bloody in parts, but a refreshing jolt of classic adventure for all ages.