Review: Crown of Midnight

Title: Crown of Midnight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury
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"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.

It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for. 

I don’t know how to begin. It’s been so long since I’ve been this invested in a book… Crown of Midnight really is something else. I didn’t have high expectations going into this sequel, because while I did enjoy Throne of Glass, it still took me quite a few days to get into the story. I suppose that with the introductions and initial worldbuilding having already been done in the first book, there was more room to get straight into action in this installment, and boy did Sarah J. Maas take advantage of that.

Although there were still some moments where nothing was really happening in the early parts of the plot, the pacing soon quickened as the events occurring got more and more intense. I loved the mysterious aspect of it all, how I was (and still am) constantly kept guessing about what would happen next and yet still often be caught by surprise when a secret is revealed. Whatever action and suspense I’d been looking for but failed to see in Throne of Glass, this sequel was able to deliver.

I very much appreciated how toned down the love triangle between the three main characters became, because while I love having some romance in the picture to spice things up, throwing in a love triangle is hardly ever the way to go. I think this is what allowed Dorian to develop more and actually come to have an interesting story of his own. We also got to delve a bit deeper into Chaol’s (<3) character through his relationship with his father and, of course, with Celaena. 

Crown of Midnight is quite a solid continuation of the series, and is definitely a step up from its precedent in terms of overall quality. It’s a must read!

      

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series as well as the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and canine companion.