I didn't love this as much as the first one, but I'm still giving five stars because I did still love it, and I read it at break-neck speed. The story continues from Book 1, with a good amount of delicious sexy bits and steadily building relationship tension. The central magical plot was a little tighter than the one from Book 1, and had me physically shuddering a couple of times from sheer fear. The descriptions in this book were grotesque at times but the work of a master historical fiction writer, and I do love a heavy dose of darkness in my romances. As with the first book, characterization in this was spot-on, and the banter between Lucien and Stephen is always fantastic. At times, Lucien's quick wit had me laughing out loud. Overall a fantastic follow-up.