Better than the first of the series but still had moments where it just seemed to drag. Unlike the first, it did seem like the characters were getting somewhere and that there was an ultimate goal in mind. Very much like Nykyrian, in the first book, Syn has had a very horrible and hard life and is very much cynical. Shahara has suffered a lot and it makes it hard for her to trust. Occasionally, I think that Kenyon's goal is to come up with the most awful pasts for her characters and see how she can make them overcome it. Of course, nothing has ever been able to beat Acheron's or Zarek's pasts (Dark Hunter Series). Still both Nykyrian and Syn come really close to accomplishing that. 
 The world of the League seems to be more about defying the League that really being a part of it. Usually you think the name of there series has more to do with the characters than someone they just despise and is a major factor in their universe. The League is pretty much the Empire (Star Wars) or the Alliance (Firefly) only they are assassins that are highly train, for what is supposed to be the better of society, and often ends up being to it's determent. 
 Syn is our hero, a very reluctant one, but one nonetheless. He's a thief with a heart of gold. He's respectful and courteous and has more names that any character I've ever come across. He always seems to have an alias and it makes it much more interesting trying to figure out who he is. One of my favorite aspects of the story is the mystery of what C.I. stands for in C. I. Syn. I'm not sure we every really find out. We also learn just how horrible Syn's past was and all the horrible things he's had to endure. Of course, none of this can really taint our hero, not even his horrible parents or his backstabbing wife. 
 As for Shahara, she's got a big family but she's endure a horror that made her push everyone away. So while she deals with that admist running for her life with Syn, she discovers Syn is pretty much the only man she can deal with getting close to her. Shahara also has to deal with the fact that she's been sent there to capture Syn, even though she'd rather keep him for herself. Not to mention there is a twist! 
 Wow. Sherrilyn Kenyon, you've really thought this through. I would say this series is getting better as it goes (I'm half way through the third book) and it is a definite must for fans. Apparently, these books are nothing like they were way back when they were first published.