Storyline: 3/5 
 Characters: 3/5 
 Writing Style: 4/5 
 World: 4/5 
 I wasn't enthused at the idea of reading this sequel, but I do tend to finish series once I've started them. I found the first, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, to be leisurely and intriguing but largely forgettable. This was a much better book than the first, and for the bulk of it I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I read it, and I'll look forward to the third installment now. Jemisin wrote with a poetic sparseness here that I don't recall being in the last book. The world was a little bigger and the creativity more apparent. The main character was great, and I always appreciate it when a writer helps me to appreciate the beauty in artistry. This plotline, too, was a pleasant find; I had difficulty imagining where Jemisin could take the series after the first, but she made an excellent segue with the Broken Kingdoms. 
 The ending really did drag for me though, and my admiration for the story dwindled as I saw more and more of those elements that had kept me from fully embracing the story throughout. There was something passive about the book, and I'm not sure exactly what to attribute it to. I also learned something more about my own preferences while reading this story. I see now how romance is its own genre. Action-adventure writers; when they have nothing more insightful, creative, or original to add; throw in a formulaic (though novel-specific) scene to generate some excitement and intensity. There is a tried-and-true equation for this, and I see why mainstream literature critics snub genre writers. Not having read much romance, I hadn't realized how it did the same thing with sensuality. Jemisin turned to eroticism and titillation to fill the story. I suppose that given the option, I'd prefer a machismo fight scene over a feminine viewpoint love scene. 
 The title of the book (again) and the series name continue to mislead. The lesson to authors is that titles do matter. I think I would have liked both books better with more appropriate appellations. That book cover also gave a very warped impression of what Sky should look like, in my opinion. I think authors and publishers underestimate the power and significance of book covers as well. Throughout Jemisin relied too much on mystique and too little on detailed development. The magical system of the first promised more than it delivered. I had hoped, to my disappointment, that it would be filled out here. Likewise the nature of the gods never cohered. I've not read a lot of mythologies, but I suspect Jemisin is still doing more with the form than has been done before.