This book is such a great improvement over the first, while still feeling very much like the same series. I enjoyed it, though admittedly I stopped reading it for a few months in the middle. It's not a particularly gripping read-- it moves at a very leisurely pace for three fourths of the book, and then suddenly everything happens all at the same time to conclude all the loose threads. It's poor pacing that is sadly consistent from the first book to the second, which is a little sad because it means it'll likely show up in the third book as well.

But I do intend to read the third book, and the fourth when it arrives. The characters are interesting and the story is compelling. The series has potential, and shows great growth from the author, even from book to book.

When Steifvater is on, she is on. Her writing of Adam's trauma and struggles with class are incredibly spot-on, they feel real and realistic and are one of the book's major successes in poignance and feeling. She's also very good at subtly writing Gansey's flaws, and making Ronan's motivations seem more complex than just raging anger issues. Blue's emerging sense of identity and maturity is fun to watch. The Grey Man is a hilarious and unexpected source of comic relief and a wonderful subversion of the sleek, cool, collected hitman archetype.

And then there are characters like Kavinsky, one-dimensional villains who are so over-the-top they seem almost to be parodying themselves. Kavinsky gets such morally complex and elegant lines as, "consent is overrated," and, "can we go before I have to get high again," just in case you weren't sure what kind of character he is. I know we were supposed to hate him, but I ended up disliking him not for himself, but because here he was again, taking up space with his tryhand antics when I could read about something more interesting and remotely believable. In a book with magical dreams, undead Welshmen, a dragon, and an actual wizard, the fact that a rude teenager sticks out as the most unbelievable part is notable.

Basically, what I'm saying is that this book-- this series-- is an incredibly mixed bag. I'm willing to stick with it, though, and even recommend it.