The court intrigue and political conspiracies that surprised me in the first book gave way to a meandering journey to find the horcruxes in the second book. I was pretty bored since I don't enjoy journeys or fetch quests. And even worse, dream sequences or anything adjacent just bores me to tears, and those were a good 25% of the book. Overall I think the concept, magic system, and world were strong, but I was hoping for power struggles with Ning serving in the court.