Thorn even lampshades it. I thought the first half of the book was okay, personally, but I was expecting worse. It was annoying how often Murtagh got his ass kicked or got in trouble. At least there was more of a throughline here. I could tell when there was actual progress made toward the goal, unlike in To Sleep where they ran around everywhere and then finally stumbled into the final confrontation.

But if you think this half is repetitive, wait until you get to the second.