This was a great continuation of the story that the first book set up, however I didn't connect with it the same way I did with the first one. It would be hard to follow up the first one, so I don't really see that as a fault of this book. Not to mention the first book gave me major trust issues. I think what made this one less captivating was the characters. I wanted to like Mal but this book didn't help with that. I grew increasingly annoyed with him as the book went on and I can't really connect with his character. All the new characters were cool and had unique and interesting personalities, but I didn't feel like I could trust any of them. I still really like Alina though. It was hard watching her go through so much pain and struggle, I just want her to be happy. This book was much more somber than the first, which was fitting for the story but made it harder to read. The last two chapters really hit me. My heart hurt reading those chapters and the after chapter didn't help much. I can tell the conclusion is going to really hit me hard. 
Overall I really enjoyed what Leigh Bardugo did with the story and I can't wait to dive into more of her writing.