While the first half sometimes dragged a little and included some long-winded scenes surrounding Arya, Sansa or Catelyn which were tiring to read, I love everything about the second half of this book: the uprising of the tension culminating in several huge turning points, the character developments, the amazing prose, and so much awesomeness. Jaime and Brienne are two characters which grew to my heart, and Tyrion only proved why he is one of my favorite characters ever. Apart from some badass moments surrounding Daenerys (dragons! yay!), Samwell was my personal hero out of this novel. Jon's storyline and the climax at the Wall was disappointing, but only in comparison to the other plots, not in itself. Highest recommendation possible!