I enjoyed this book so much more than the previous one. The characters are starting to feel familiar and the new places that Thalia and her friends visit are introduced to us at the same time as her, so it feels less like we were dropped into the middle of a story. Also, while book one was a rescue/academy story, book two takes us to Thalia's clan (think Vikings) for the first half of the story and Joss's village in the clouds for the second part.

This story was super fun. I love when the academy stories leave the academy. And while I generally hate love triangles, Chanda is testing me on this one. I've had my suspicions since book one about where it's going, but it could be anyone's game. I also really loved the new settings that the story took place in. The two places are reminiscent of a Viking village and an Aerie village.

I also really loved that the characters from book one continued to be the major characters in book two. We got to see Thalia and Joss and Kael in environments that were outside of their comfort zones and it was such fun. Chanda has written some really great characters. I'm excited to see where book 3 takes us and what the Septori are up to. ( )

Really good!!! ( )

The Steele Wolf is the sequel to "The Iron Butterfly," and essentially resumes right where it left off, with more romantic entanglements, and at least as much, if not more, action for Thalia, Kael, Joss, and the others.

While this second book was entertaining and a fun read, it didn't speak too me as much as the first book. I felt as if this book was in stasis. Yes, there was again lots of action, but it kind of felt as if everyone/thing was running in place (rather like a treadmill, where you run & run but never actually get anywhere). That is not to say that nothing happened, but it began to feel a bit repetitive and like filler. I think that all of the meaningful portions of this book could have been covered in one-half to two-thirds the current length. However, until I read the entire series there is no real way to determine if things I considered superfluous in this book are actually setting the scene for future books.

For all that I said above, this was still an enjoyable read, and I am very much looking forward to the next book. I suspect that this will end up as a trilogy, but that is the beauty of books - anything can happen! ( )