This book is part of a series, but I read this one without having read the first one, and it did not affect my reading enjoyment at all - it was easy to pick up on what had happened beforehand. Again, there is another book after the events of this one, but I am happy to report there were no cliffhangers and the ending was tidy, rounding out what transpired during the main events of this book. I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to when I started the book, and recommend this as a good read. I particularly liked Melissa, the sentient robot with a quirky level of sarcasm.