Flame in the Mist

well, i was prepared to give this a 1/2 star rating until the very end, when i finally started caring about characters/plot/etc. and now will likely read the sequel... if, like the first book, i find a reasonably priced secondhand paperback copy at a local bookstore

my gripes with the writing remain. the constant stop and start of sentences, sentence fragments, and lack of detail in places i'd like there to be/too much detail in places i didn't want there to be made a great chunk of this book painful to read. additionally, i just could not bring myself to care about most of the characters for most of the book, which, on top of the lack of atmosphere/world-building, made it extra painful.

and yet? here we are with a three star rating because my chismosa ass ate up the last 100 pages. why couldn't the entire book have been like the last 100 pages? all that suffering for 300 pages and for why?