Shadow's Edge (Night Angel #2), by Brent Weeks

  Shadow's Edge continues the Night Angel story started in The Way of the Shadows. Kylar has to choose between his desire for a peaceful life and his responsibility. Characters die, but not really, then they die for real, but not really, while new characters and previously unheard of cultures all converge on Cenaria. Why? No one knows. It's all the fashion now.

  In this book, though, characters are much more relatable and the narrative flow feels more natural. You root for them to succeed. I liked it more than the first book in the trilogy, but now I dread the last book, Beyond the Shadows, will have Brent Weeks finish the saga like he did Lightbringer, with characters randomly brought down or up in an epic finale that lacks real meaning. But it could also be great! The suspense is killing me.