The second book in the Aftermath trilogy features more appearances by characters from the original movies. I'm not sure if this was always planned, or if it was done in response to fan complaints about the first book, but I was a little disappointed. I really enjoyed the focus on the new characters in Aftermath. Fortunately, those characters are still the main characters of this volume, they just have to share the spotlight more with Leia, Han and Chewbacca.
While the first book served mainly to introduce the new characters, this second volume starts to fulfill the promise made to bridge the gap between Episodes VI and VII. We're starting to see the seeds of the Resistance and the New Order.
I'm looking forward to the final volume.