4.25 stars 
 The Map of Bones was, by far, the most anticipated book of the year for me! I had fallen in love with The Fire Sermon, and was still reeling after that ending. So, when I ripped open the sequel, I have to admit that I was a little deflated at first. Part of me was hoping that the momentum from the first book would have carried over to the second, but instead, it seemed to be starting from scratch. It does make sense; there's the reintroduction of the characters, and some plot repetition to remind people of where we left off. It just made me more eager to get to all the good stuff! 
 I love where Cass is headed as a character, as she gains a whole new confidence in herself. She's getting stronger, in every sense of the word. Her gift, her sometimes overwhelming visions of the future, begin to spiral out of hand, but she seems to be close to understanding and interpreting them. Aside from the characters crossing over through the series, there are some fantastic new ones being introduced. I absolutely LOVE them! This is also leading me into a bit of dread, since I know they can't all possibly come through this uncertain future unscathed. The villainy, on the other hand, wasn't quite as threatening as I was expecting. Don't get me wrong; they're still horrible people, doing horrible things. But I'm finding the acts themselves to be more terrifying than the actual characters. With Cass' newfound confidence, Zach's hold over her has loosened. He seems smaller now, less imposing. I wonder if he's about to become more vicious, to compensate, or if he'll change his mind and decide that maybe he isn't quite as evil as he first thought. 
 The plot was definitely heavily weighted to the second half of the book, when the story arc swings wildly ahead. 
 The first half was intriguing, full of foreshadowing, and I'll give it 3.5 stars. The end, however, was 5 stars all the way! It had my heart pounding! I had complete strangers asking me what I was reading because it looked so intense! 
 As a middle book, it held its own. It answered a lot of questions, but also offered so many more. The third book is going to be EPIC! 
 A copy of this book was provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.