Slightly spoilerific, but only slightly.
Didn't like this one as much as the first one, so much so to the point that I kind of rush-read some of it. I admit it, not the best thing to do, but the plot this time bored me to tears (I think too much time was spent in the castle with Elisa dodging one assassination attempt after another to the point of redundancy). How she's trying to learn to adjust to being a queen was interesting, but after the assassination attempts it's not as prevalent and therefore not strong enough to have kept me interested plot-wise.
The love story, which at first was wooooonderful got to be nothing but a tease, and I felt as if suddenly, Hector most especially, began to act uncharacteristically and inconsistently. The ending was a really craptastic cliffhanger, so if you're a hater of those, best wait till the next comes out.
I did like how Elisa continues to grow as a strong, young female character, and grows more into making her own decisions, though it was frustrating at times how much she is still forced to be led by others due to her young age as a queen. And female. And not beautiful enough. And...yeah.