I've been meaning to read the first book in this trilogy for ages, and now I know I absolutely must—it is surely even better than I thought it would be! The writing in this second book is absolutely delicious; the style is gorgeous. As a rule, I despise prologues, but I guess I'll have to make an exception here—this prologue is just the right amount of intriguing and lacks the pretentiousness that most prologues have. It and the first chapters strike a perfect balance in point of view: The voice used succeeds in connecting the reader to the characters without taking on the overly effusive quality that's so (annoyingly) prevalent in YA these days. It keeps a nice, formal distance in narration that allows us to get to know the characters within the bounds of the story's tone, and is wholly refreshing. This is going on my list to read ASAP!