Enjoyed all of the references to contemporary life and especially to contemporary fantasy, which I've never experienced in a fantasy novel before. The main characters are so obviously from this world, and have grown up with the same frames of reference as most American 20-something's have. Grossman emphasizes this with references to everything from Harry Potter and Dr. Who to Bowser from Super Mario Bros. 
 Good storyline. All the background on Julia was great, as she was pretty well only tangential to the first book. Surprisingly easy to pick up, seeing as it's been 2+ years since I read the first book.