Actual rating: 3.5 
 First line: The girl was eleven and three-quarters." 
 I reeeeally wanted to love this sequel more than I did. The writing was beautiful as always and the characters were deliciously complex, but the first half of the book dragged and I thought I was going to have to count down the pages until I was done. Luckily, it picked up and all the different plots merged together to create a mostly satisfying ending. 
 Some things about a couple characters that I want to get off my chest. Shahrzad's father is SUCH an idiot. God, I hate this man. Everything he did pissed me off and (view spoiler)[when he "sacrificed" himself to save Khalid at the end I almost threw the book. YOU WERE THE ONE THAT STABBED HIM YOU FUCKING IDIOT. I have zero respect for this man and I honestly don't care that he died. (hide spoiler)] Also, Tariq needed to get his shit together because every time he acted impulsively, something bad happened. Forget sharing blame, it was his actions. 
 Okay, wow, it looks a lot like I didn't like this book but in the end, I am happy with my reading experience and I'd recommend this duology for those who enjoy beautiful writing, fascinating characters, and a different type of fantasy story.