Less good than the first in the series, still a guilty page turner although it feels like more of a set-up for the next book than a standalone story. ( )

It took me a while to get into this one, and honestly, I feel like it suffers from middle book syndrome. This just felt like a filler book. Things don't really pick up till towards the end. The twists/reveals weren't surprising, and I pretty much expected this from the new characters introduced. I know this is kind of vague, but I'm trying not to use any spoilers. Overall it was ok, and I do want to see how it all ends in the final book. ( )

This actually kind of disappointed me. The first novel was incredible. I loved the Jack the Ripper angle and the boarding school setting.

This one focused less on the school life and more on life outside of Wexford and unfortunately, I just wasn't that impressed. I also got quite annoyed at how often Rory refused to do her homework but acted like it was a shocker that her grades couldn't get up. And tbh, I expected her to take her exams with Allister over her shoulder whispering the answers.

There were definitely some plot twists that I enjoyed, but there were also a few that I didn't like very much at all. ( )

Rory's character arc in this story was more satisfying than in the previous book. I thought her struggle to deal with the aftermath of the attack was portrayed realistically and thoughtfully. But, again, the ghosty bits and the regular Rory bits felt disconnected to me. I really like MJ's teen fiction, it's realistic and snarky-but-not-mean funny, but this paranormal stuff is not working as well for me.

Also, I got the timing on this seriously wrong. I was trying to read this book closer to the release of the next one, [b: The Shadow Cabinet|17412895|The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London, #3)|Maureen Johnson|/assets/nocover/60x80.png|24258340] which I thought was coming out September-ish but the Amazon page says March 2015. Boo! ( )

This was a decent follow-up to The Name of the Star, and I plan to stick with the series. I like Maureen Johnson's playfully humorous writing style and her ability to deliver genuine scares. I care about the characters she writes, and I want to read more about them.

The pacing felt a little odd this time around, but I think it was because she took time for Rory to actually go through the aftereffects of the trauma she experienced in the last book. She had a rough time, which I thought was more realistic than just launching into the next adventure with a shrug after being stabbed in the gut and thinking she was going to die .

I'm less enthusiastic with where the story seems to be going and the unresolved bits at the end. The author definitely won the unpredictability prize by killing Stephen the way she did. I never saw that coming. Now I worry that the next book will be Rory/Stephen angst because they can't touch each other now that he's a ghost. Or can they? Since what she did was kind of an experiment, maybe the outcome will be different. I don't know. But I worry that too much time will be spent on this issue. And I don't want him to be a ghost. So there.

Jane Quaint and co. were a bit over the top toward the end too (although I loved the daring rescue by Stephen, Boo and Callum). I wonder if they will be the archenemies in the next book; if so, I'm not too thrilled with the idea. I did think it was an interesting touch that J.Q. was feeding her "patients" pot brownies during therapy, and Johnson did a nice job of subtly creating a mood of unease (for the reader) at the beginning of Rory's relationship with her.

I could be wrong in my predictions. I could be worried for nothing. I certainly didn't predict what she did in this book. I have high hopes that M.J. will deliver the goods in the next installment in the Shades of London. ( )