I was pretty disappointed in this book because it seems like a lot of fantasy readers really love this one! But it really wasn't for me. There were some cool parts - I liked the world building and the magic system and I really liked the stuff about the Lord Ruler. But a lot of the character stuff and prose felt flat to me. Vin suffered real bad from "not like other girls" syndrome and also special snowflake supergirl who's the best at everything despite the least about of training. The love story didn't do anything for me - these two characters barely know each other and have met like 4 times and all of a sudden they're willing to risk their lives for each other? Especially when Vin was so slow to trust any of the other characters. They also set up this big heist that didn't really seem to go anywhere for me. The action scenes were pretty cool! But a lot of the other prose just plain wasn't very good. The dialogue was cringey, and Sanderson just over explains a lot of the reveals/twists. We got it with the hint! No need to bash your readers over the head with "did you get it?" If it wasn't for the main villain, this book would be one or two stars. I don't think I'll be continuing on with this series.

There were some things I really loved in this one, but I'm not sure it was worth all the stuff I didn't care about. Parts dragged for me. And I was a little bored with Vin and Elend being together as a couple. The ending was great though!

I enjoyed this - though like the first one, it seemed like it could have been edited down a bit. A lot of it dragged for me. But it did start to pick up - and the closer we got to the end, the more invested I was! I liked both Vin and Elend more in this one. They both are changing and growing as characters. Side characters like Sazed also get more interesting stories. Overall though it does feel like a “middle book” - but there’s still some fun twists and turns!