Alrighty! *Rubs hands* Let's dig straight into this one. There's meat to be found. 
 This book was refreshing to me. After reading Delerium and, well, you can read here and find out about that. 
 Things really picked up in this book. It wasn't so dull, focusing only on Lena's inability to breathe, and her intense love of Alex. Finally, she begins doing things. Excitement starts building. The Wilds appear (and are easily the best setting in the book.) New characters are brought in and they actually have some depth. In the first book, I was disappointed by how one dimensional everyone was. While, maybe not three dimensional here, they're definitely on their way. 
 The writing is, as always, absolutely beautiful and poetic. Lauren Oliver never fails to impress on that point. The style, as well, was interesting. While some people may be annoyed with the back and forth of the "Now" and "Then" alternating chapters, I actually enjoyed it. Personally, I preferred the "Then," but both were prettily done. 
 Of course, I still have a few issues with the mechanics of the world, but I'm kind of letting those pass and trying to simply enjoy the lyrical writing. 
 Also, the love triangle. I hate love triangles. But seeing as how Alex is dead... I can see why Lena might attempt to move on. Personally, I found the love between her and Julian to be, well, lacking, and not very believable. Still, I really liked Julian. He has the potential to be an interesting character, unlike Alex who was a bit of a paper cut out. 
 And then there was the ending. Cliffhanger. There goes a star. 
 So, three stars for pretty writing, and much more tolerable characters! Two stars shaved for the cliff-hanger, and rather disappointing love story. Still, great improvement! I'm curious enough to read the last book.