I tried to go back to back from book #1 to this book; I had difficulty. Book #1 ended in a lot of excitement and book #2 had to start a new story, which meant new setup and a slower pace. It's really my fault for enjoying the first book and trying to go straight into the second without pausing. You do get to see more development of the "main" story. So book #2 took a while longer for me to read than book #1, but after I gave myself a little pause in reading, I was hooked again.