** spoiler alert ** 
 After having so much trouble getting through Vampire Academy, I found this considerably better! Actually, more than that, I enjoyed it. 
 Rose's character, though still sarcastic and often times bitchy, clearly grows up in this book. She recognizes when she does things she should not and even apologizes for them. I particularly found how she handled Mason's death refreshing. She knew she made a mistake in telling him what Dimitri told her, and that she did it merely to spite our favorite Russian guardian. 
 The addition of Rose's mother was very interesting. I think both of them learned from each other in this book - both in the guardian sense and just in each other. I imagine we'll see more of her in upcoming books. The real question will be whether or not we learn of Rose's Turkish father and Janine's former love. I want to know know more about that story. For someone as badass as Janine to lose her heart to a man, he must have been pretty special. Or a VERY good liar. 
 Adrian's character surprised me from the start. I liked him and I knew he was spirit bound. I will say that for the books - there isn't much that catches me off guard. All of the foreshadowing is obvious. 
 I think I look forward the most from the next books are the interactions between Rose and Dimitri and anything with Christian. Obviously I find Christian's spunk and absolute adoration for Lissa adorable. His character just gets more likable with each book. As for Dimitri? He loves Rose. Rose loves him. Something is bound to happen.