While I was reading this, I didn't think I liked it very much -- I just thought it was OK. However, once I was done, I reflected back and realized that it was one of those books that sucked me in and kept me coming back for small snippets of time throughout the day without consciously knowing that I was doing it. I liked a lot of the characters ... and loved to hate a few of them. Somehow, after the fact, I realized that I really did like the story; maybe I'll have to read it again sometime and see if I can enjoy it as much while I read it as I do after it's read.