Nice read, a fun fantasy novel. I was going to give a slightly lower rating, as the story was slow in places, and some of the characters were annoying or typical or had annoying aspects, but there were some nice twists at the end that you felt coming but just could not see the shape of except in hindsight. That was very well done, and the world building was also improved from the last book; the world feels less (but still a bit) like its just the main city and a surrounding wasteland that could contain anything.

RIP main characters getting no-divorce-possible forever-married

I can't get over the details in these books.  The characters are all well written, the character development is so good to read as well.  While this book was a lot slower-paced I still found it interesting, learning about the world building and how the magic system works made up for it.  Having said that I didn't like it as much as the first book, though like the first book, nearing the end it got really intense; so much happened at the end I don't really know how to process it.  Overall I really like this series far.

I liked reading this book, but it was a journey full of ups and downs. The likeable protagonist from the first book starts off this book by killing a dog, tormenting her servants, and... gender-shaming a slime...? The weird old "Smile more and you'd be pretty" dude from the first book gets replaced by a younger guy who's big on pointing out that Vin "isn't like other women, she actually has a thought in her brain, cares about things, and isn't a complete idiot." (Not an exact quote.)

I was reading this book with a group of people, and the best character in the series murdering a dog so she could use its dead corpse to torment someone else was just... the point where most of them put it down. I've been reassured that the third book is the best and it makes up for the second book. At this point, I feel like I'm being held hostage.

The thing is, I've heard Sanderson talk about how awkward his early books were in terms of gender and dog murder. Knowing that makes it easier to read. But I'm starting to wonder if maybe these books at the start of his career were a mistake. I'll probably try Stormlight Archives and see if it's better. Clearly, Sanderson is a skilled writer... so long as there are no women, LGBTQIA+, or non-white characters around. Then it gets bad fast.