In my review of the first book, I noted that it was heavily plot driven, with characters that were rich but ultimately crafted to fulfill the plot requirements of the story. By my estimation, this sequel does an excellent job of remedying this weakness: this book feels incredibly character driven to me. I especially love Alix, a new character introduced. Her story is so cool, with a certain "unexpected yet inevitable" quality to her character growth. Grace, the other new main character for this book, also does an excellent job of providing us insight into the continued lives of those inside the ATLAS complex and continuing to heighten the stakes and urgency of the overarching plot of the series. Masia and Barin were also fantastic; I really liked the inner conflicts that follow them from the consequences of the first book. The angst of Barin not wanting to admit to Masia that he loved her felt a little bit drawn out, but not *horribly* so. I'm excited to see what will happen in the next book!