Would recommend: Probably not

I liked Graceling, the first book from this author and this series (although Fire is a prequel, so it's a little confusing with chronology), until the ending, where the pacing went all crazy. In this companion, I thought the pacing was much better, but the characters didn't resonate with me. The plot twisted and turned so much that I felt like I was watching some kind of medieval-fantasy soap opera; it felt really contrived. Maybe I just miss Katsa, the main character from Graceling, but Fire was not as interesting a heroine to me. Sure, it's a page-turner, and entertaining enough, but I didn't find it compelling.