The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles, #2)
Loads better than #1. Loads loads. I'm not sure exactly what changed, but I'm glad about it. I was pretty bummed about not liking The Red Pyramid very much. Riordan still does all his Riordan-y things (both the things that I like and the things that annoy me), but he's more comfortable with the story this time around, and most importantly, he's more comfortable in the voices of Sadie and Carter. And where I could pretty much predict the entire plot of The Red Pyramid, this one felt much more inventive, and actually managed to surprise me not just once, but several times. I'm actually kind of anxious for #3 to come out now. (Dammit.)