I think the way this book could have been improved was to chop out the first 2/3 of it, and then add the remaining bits to either the end of the first book or the beginning of the third. Perhaps this was a flaw as a reader, but I simply did not care about most of this book. The ending was fantastic, and reminded me why I enjoyed the first book so much. But so much of the book dragged...I'm hoping the final book can recover it for me. My overall suggestion would be to read all three together. Perhaps that would make it less annoying.