I liked it a little better than the first one in a few ways, mostly due to the fact that some of the new characters were fun. But it still had a lot of the flaws I noticed in the first one, such as the worldbuilding and the obsession with beauty as well as Alina's relationship with other girls. Mal's character annoyed me even more than in the first one. And despite all the action, part of me felt that very little went on. I was a bit bored even during the exciting scenes and I can't figure out why. It had all the elements to make me really into the book but something was missing. Here's to hoping that the third one gets even better.