I bought this last week as I had read the first one, The Amulet. I really enjoyed that one, and so I was very happy to purchase this one.

Noticeable difference is that this is longer, and you can tell. But Alison Pensy has written a story that keeps moving, doesn't stop.

Have you noticed that in Hollywood, they think a sequel should always be bigger, better, louder, more extravagant, and most of the time more expensive than the first. They fail, usually.

This one does not.

Okay, it's a book, but still sequels in books can fail.

I personally think this is better than the first, as the dangerous situations that our two main characters are put in, are greater and more perilous than in the first book, but are greatly more explained, and so visually better and more exciting.

It's not perfect, what book is? Again, as I had noted in my review of the first book, this does keep up with the "he's so handsome, I just felt myself melt when I looked into his eyes' type of teenage girl world, but hey, I'm a 40 year old bloke, so it wasn't written for my age group. It doesn't linger too much on that style of writing, which is great.

I would also of loved more interaction with the dragons. Yes, we have dragons in the book. Maybe next time.

The characters all are likable.

One character I really liked, and is a little mysterious is Todmus. He really does have a tale to tell, especially about a horse (read the book) that he keeps secret.

If there is to be another book, then I ask the author to write more about Todmus and the horse. It's a great hook to keep the reader wanting more.
I am now a fan of Alison Pensy, and I hope she does well with future works.
I will certainly be buying more of her work as it comes out.

It's a great read, fast, exciting and you do feel for the characters, which is a great.