This is actually a 2 1/2 star review, but since you can't do half stars...

I consumed this sequel in just under four hours. Which would be impressive, although it should be noted that these books are not densely written and about a third of it consists of descriptions of what people are wearing and the names of fashion designers, which I am quite glad to skip.

That said, if you liked the first one, you're almost guaranteed to enjoy the second because the author doesn't really mess with the formula that worked so well before. Smart woman.

The intrigues thicken. Bliss' mystery deepens, including the identity of her mother and the whys and wherefores of all of her nightmares and blackouts. (It's amazing the girl stays upright with so little sleep.) Jack's infatuation with Schuyler is given more significance, and I liked the reasoning behind it. It makes it more than just a shallow, dude-she's-freakin-hot thing. The connection between Mimi and Jack through all of their life cycles is explored well, but apart from that their characters are much the same. I was hoping for more development from Mimi. Best friend Oliver takes a familiar and predictable turn in regards to his feelings for our heroine, Schuyler, who grows a bit more spine and remains likable as she travels in search of her exiled grandfather.

Once again, the book is strongest where its exploring the idea of these reincarnating fallen angels, how they interact in familiar and yet not-the-same patterns over and over again. I honestly wished the adults could put in more page-time. Charles Force remains the most complicated character in the book - hard to like but yet not bad (at least...not yet). The addition of Schuyler's grandfather gives the character landscape a boost. There's a moment where he's talking with 16-year-old Jack in a tone that suggests they've had this conversation before - through the centuries. It felt like a throwaway scene, but I wanted there to be more like them.

The book didn't start off on the right foot for me because it violated a pet peeve of mine. In the first few pages, it almost blatantly infodumped everything that had happened in the previous book. If people aren't clever enough to start with the first book in the series, then let them swim without a lifejacket and try to pick up what's going on.

There are other problems. The head-hopping by the author means sometimes she has to double-back and have characters remembering scenes that happened instead of us getting to see them in real-time. It's a method that tends to leave gaps, although she does pretty well at keeping her threads in hand. There a couple of divergences so Bliss and Schuyler can pursue modeling careers. (Why?) The addition of a new boy at school feels contrived - a means to a certain end - and a couple of other elements to the end (I don't want to spoil anything) feel a bit deus ex machina.

All the negatives aside, I'm still interested in how the intrigues will be resolved.