I would say that this series is probably not for readers who don't really like fantasy or who read page-turners. Both of these books are rather slowly paced with some climatic points here and there. There also isn't a lot of romance. The chemistry is there when the two main characters are together, but they take a while to figure things out and when they do, they aren't together very much. 
 I felt in some ways that there was a little more going on in this second book than in the first and it seemed to engage me a little bit more as well. Then at the same time I really wanted a lot more interaction between Neryn and Flint, which we get very little of. Of course, I'm a romantic, so I wanted a little more of that same chemistry from the first book. 
 I still like where this story is going and the characters. I do have to say that I wish Neryn would have been a little stronger and more willing to depend on the Good Folk when she needed to. She doesn't stand up to Tali much when I think she really should have as well. Tali also got on my nerves with all her talk of focusing only on the fight against the king and being rude to Neryn. I just think when life is short, you should live while you can when you can. I also didn't like how little faith she had in the Good Folk when they had already proven themselves so many times. I think Flint was probably the character I liked the most even though he is pretty tortured and we don't see a lot of him. There is a part towards the end that really shocked me. I just didn't think the author would do what she did. There is also a great set-up for the third book. 
 I'm really looking forward to seeing Flint around a lot more in the third book. I think the next book is probably going to be much more intense, if it is the final book in the series. There is a battle to wage and tasks to complete.