Finished Half the World by Abercrombie.
Despite its "simplicity", I liked Half a King well enough, but this is much, much better. Maybe the romance aspect could be eliminated altogether, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Just a personal preference.
Can't wait to read the third and final book; however, I gotta say I'm a bit worried since, if I remember correctly some impressions read a while ago, many consider this book the best in the trilogy, and this could mean that Half a War may not fully take advantage of the very promising premise its predecessor builds, and end up being disappointing. Let's just hope I won't feel the same way as others.
Each of the sequels relegate the previous main characters to supporting roles, along with time a time skip between each. If you really liked Thorne's story, but don't click with the new characters, I can see it being a bit of a let down. On top of 3 new YA-aged leads in Half a War, it's still an Abercrombie book, so don't expect all of your favourites to be treated all that well.