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Crown of Midnight
Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass, #2
Release Date: Today! Go get it!
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Rating: 4.5 stars
Word Rating: *clutches heart*
Reviewed by: Blythe
An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.
After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.
Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.
Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?
Just when I was beginning to think high fantasy was somewhat of a lost cause for me, Sarah J. Maas comes around yet again and slaps me across the face with the excellence that is Crown of Midnight, solidifying the brilliance, creativity, and outright talent she has as a writer.
Surely you've heard of or read the hype that surrounds Maas' Throne of Glass series, yet I was not one to succumb fully to the hype last year, with the release of the first installment which the series is named after. I certainly enjoyed Maas' debut, and found Celaena's fierceness to be endearing and fun to read, but I also found myself annoyed during select moments because I felt Celaena's badass nature was strictly told to us in Throne of Glass, but never really shown.
With that issue, and all others I had while reading Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas steps up her game immensely. In Crown of Midnight, Celaena's badass nature is firmly established, despite the fact that she does not actually kill any of the people she is appointed to kill as the King's Champion (as established in the very beginning of the novel, so it is not a spoiler). Although there is minimal to no killing on Celaena's part for the first half of the novel, with each traumatic event to take place throughout Crown of Midnight, a shred of Celaena's ferocity sheds more and more.
That, in my opinion, is one of the most laudable aspects of Crown of Midnight--the way Maas so deftly crafts Celaena's character as she is gradually experiencing a descent into irrefutable instability. Along with this, Celaena is also met with such an amazing amount of growth and character development, as is Chaol and Dorian.
Now, I love Chaol. I really do, and have since I read Throne of Glass. But Dorian never really appealed to me when I read Throne of Glass, and I really doubted that he would in Crown of Midnight.
Once again, Maas surprises me. While both Chaol and Dorian's relationships with Celaena are met which much development throughout Crown of Midnight, I feel that the development in Dorian and Celaena's relationship is the most remarkable. That is not to say that I didn't absolutely adore Chaol and Celaena's relationship development in Crown of Midnight, though, because I certainly did, hard as it may have been for me to read at times due to how much I ship them.
Basically, Sarah J. Maas has upped the ante in every single way with Crown of Midnight. The stakes are higher, the twists are unbelievable, the plot is absolutely fantastic--there's MAGIC! And FIGHTS!--and, of course, there are the gut-punch moments from which you've likely heard cries of anguish across the internet.
And let me tell you: those cries of anguish are very well accounted for. The second half of Crown of Midnight was an undeniably emotional rollercoaster, with extreme twists and turns. But it is worth it. Crown of Midnight is an absolutely magnificent sequel that will shape up to an equally-as-magnificent series, if not even more so. And believe me when I say I am beyond excited to read more of what Sarah J. Maas has in store.
Surely you've heard of or read the hype that surrounds Maas' Throne of Glass series, yet I was not one to succumb fully to the hype last year, with the release of the first installment which the series is named after. I certainly enjoyed Maas' debut, and found Celaena's fierceness to be endearing and fun to read, but I also found myself annoyed during select moments because I felt Celaena's badass nature was strictly told to us in Throne of Glass, but never really shown.
With that issue, and all others I had while reading Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas steps up her game immensely. In Crown of Midnight, Celaena's badass nature is firmly established, despite the fact that she does not actually kill any of the people she is appointed to kill as the King's Champion (as established in the very beginning of the novel, so it is not a spoiler). Although there is minimal to no killing on Celaena's part for the first half of the novel, with each traumatic event to take place throughout Crown of Midnight, a shred of Celaena's ferocity sheds more and more.
That, in my opinion, is one of the most laudable aspects of Crown of Midnight--the way Maas so deftly crafts Celaena's character as she is gradually experiencing a descent into irrefutable instability. Along with this, Celaena is also met with such an amazing amount of growth and character development, as is Chaol and Dorian.
Now, I love Chaol. I really do, and have since I read Throne of Glass. But Dorian never really appealed to me when I read Throne of Glass, and I really doubted that he would in Crown of Midnight.
Once again, Maas surprises me. While both Chaol and Dorian's relationships with Celaena are met which much development throughout Crown of Midnight, I feel that the development in Dorian and Celaena's relationship is the most remarkable. That is not to say that I didn't absolutely adore Chaol and Celaena's relationship development in Crown of Midnight, though, because I certainly did, hard as it may have been for me to read at times due to how much I ship them.
Basically, Sarah J. Maas has upped the ante in every single way with Crown of Midnight. The stakes are higher, the twists are unbelievable, the plot is absolutely fantastic--there's MAGIC! And FIGHTS!--and, of course, there are the gut-punch moments from which you've likely heard cries of anguish across the internet.
And let me tell you: those cries of anguish are very well accounted for. The second half of Crown of Midnight was an undeniably emotional rollercoaster, with extreme twists and turns. But it is worth it. Crown of Midnight is an absolutely magnificent sequel that will shape up to an equally-as-magnificent series, if not even more so. And believe me when I say I am beyond excited to read more of what Sarah J. Maas has in store.
I felt exactly the same way Blythe, I loved Throne of Glass, so was worried going into this but Maas definitely came out all guns blazing with this book. I don't think my poor heart has recovered from the emotional mess I was left in! Lovely review Blythe! :)
ReplyDeleteI was so excited when I saw this on my Kindle today. I'm gonna need to head over to Recaptains to get a refresher on book 1 before I can read it, though.
ReplyDeleteBahaha, your word rating is awesome. Also, I like that idea. I would steal it, only that would be a) lame and b) I probably have enough metadata already (OR DO I?).
ReplyDeleteIn my head, Sarah J. Maas just slapped you good. LOLS.
Aha, I said in my review those people who thought Celaena didn't do enough murdering would like this one. That part where she's wading through all of the dead bodies and making more dead bodies and totally covered in blood was very Kill Bill in it's oh hey murd'rin.
Dorian is nice. BUT CHAOL. MY SHIP BETTER SAIL SAFELY INTO A HARBOR.
Your word rating basically says it all, Blythe. It took me TWO MONTHS after finishing this one to find the words to review it. Yeesh. I loved how much Celaena grew, and that we SAW her be that badass finally. I liked seeing growth from Chaol and Dorian, even though their tense moments made me kinda sad. Agreed that this one definitely raises the stakes!
ReplyDeleteI have had this book since release day & I've been so nervous about starting on it because I've been in such a reading slump and don't want my enjoyment of it to be affected so I'm glad to see you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteYour review is fabulous, I'm definitely a big fan of Chaol, not so much Dorian and Calaena is awesome so I'm pleased to see we get more bad-ass moments from her.
Does it end on a cliffhanger??
Thanks for sharing!
It does end on a cliffhanger (IMO), but not a bad one, also. It ends with a very big twist that could be seen as a cliffhanger to some and not seen as a cliffhanger to others.
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