Marija

Not as good as the first book, but still enjoyable.
Toby's character still would have benefited from having more of his story told.

This book is highly engrossing. The characters are unique, the plot engaging, and the words spun together flawlessly and effortlessly.
The first half of the book, detailing Toby's life is dark, depressing and morbid, yet very compelling.

Lackluster, hardly has a plot. Most of the book is Triana's thoughts about the deaths of her loved ones, which gets a bit boring after a while.
Stefan, although much more interesting than Triana, is still a rather dull character: moody, unpredictable, and without properly explained motivations. The book would have been better, if it concentrated more on expanding Stefan as a character.

Finally, the slaves are volunteers. There is some more variety compared to the rest of the books in the series.
This book introduces a lot of new characters, who feel plain. (However, even already established characters hardly have much in terms of personalities.)

Not much happens in this book. There are a few engaging moments, but not many. A lot of the story is simply just people walking from one town to another.
With how much research was put in for the book, the descriptions of places, lifestyles and people would have been done better.