3.5 Stars 
 This second book in The King Killer Chronicles is a true continuation, following the same format as the first book (in which an older Kovthe is recalling his origins and rise to infamy, whilst present-day drama is also unfolding.) As with the first book, there are a number of of stirring quips and laugh-out-loud moments--along with the worldbuilding richness readers have come to joyfully anticipate from Rothfuss. Yet, while the first book could be billed for an audience ranging from Young Adult on, this book takes a more consistently adult tone. 
 Our hero is 16-years-old in this account--still at the University, dealing with a shady moneylender, chasing the elusive lady Denna, and locked into a vicious rivalry with the overly influential Ambrose. It's this rivalry (and Kvothe's persistently youthful imprudence) that leads to it being necessary he take a sabbatical somewhere safely far away... 
 Though Kvothe experiences plenty of character development and gets somewhat better at feigning adulthood through much of this book, there are still plenty of instances that left me longing for a chapter titled: Kovthe Makes Good Decisions. Never mind all the horrendous and fantastical danger he continually ends up in--it's his arrogant sass that should have killed him by halfway through this book. 
 -Thanks to Kvothe, I'm proposing a new literary abbreviation be added to the usual lingo: TMTL (Too Mouthy To Live.) 
 Strangely, my favorite part of this book was also turns into my LEAST favorite. 
 Let me start by saying that the friendship dynamic and the whole cultural disconnect going on between Tempi and Kvothe is deeply enjoyable. (The mystery of the Adem people and their nigh supernatural fighting capacities was hinted at in the first book, but here we have a live and endearing example.) From the very start, Tempi's flat affect and language barrier made things interesting. Kvothe's curiosity and determination then made the relational growth between them feel completely organic. I also loved the time spent expanding on Adem culture and historical underpinnings. 
 The Adem are quite the contrast. A female-dominated honor-based society heavily reliant on hand gestures for emotional expression--who consider only themselves civilized and all others "barbarians." I thought it was terrifically interesting, until it turned out that they apparently don't know where babies come from. 
 No paternal concept whatsoever. 
 Which was vaguely amusing, until other procreative logistics came to light. The Adem somehow haven't noticed that sex is related to pregnancy, and therefore have zero concept of birth control. They also have an incredibly casual regard for sexual activity. And yet, women are still of primary importance in a mercenary fighting sense, and their towns somehow aren't crawling with excess children (whom the men are free from taking any responsibility for.) 
 From there, the Adem only became more nonsensical--not to mention disquieting in probable behavior ramifications. 
 -Unfortunately, there is no explanation offered to support how a nation of single mothers could function without obvious overburdening. 
 -In a culture so anti-taboo, openly promiscuous, and biologically ignorant, it's only reasonable to conclude they would have no problem at all with incest. (Although the degrading genetic side-effects of this go conveniently unmentioned.) 
 -The normalcy of teachers sleeping with students leans distressingly in the direction of a pedophile-friendly culture. 
 Seriously... in said culture filled with promiscuity and no concept of birth control, (indeed, no concept that sex results in pregnancy at all) I don't know how I was supposed to buy that a healthy 20-year-old female could have sex over 500 times and never fall pregnant. 
 *poof* There went all suspension of disbelief. 
 On a related content note... I didn't care at all for Kvothe's sudden shift to fairy goddess-groomed 16 year old sex-machine. Every non-committal guilt-free "love" scene that resulted, while not terribly graphic, felt uncomfortably detached from meaningful emotion whilst smacking of teen male wish-fulfillment. (Particularly when one remembers that Kvothe is supposedly in love with Denna.) 
 On the whole I set this book down liking Kvothe a lot less than I'd thought I would. But while I couldn't enjoy this part of the tale as much as I did The Name of The Wind or even The Slow Regard of Silent Things, I am still invested enough that I'll read the third book--at whatever point it comes out.