Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

ISBN: 9781619630628
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Series: Throne of Glass #2
Released: August, 2013
Length: 420 pp
Goodreads  |  B&N

     SUMMARY
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul 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.
     REVIEW

We all know that so far Throne of Glass is the least amazing of this amazing series. After reading ToG I went into Assassin's Blade which changed my entire view on ToG. Then along comes Crown of Midnight which Sarah J. Maas took upon herself to use to wreck her entire fanbase and rip our hearts out. And that's putting it nicely.

There were so many amazing things about CoM that I don't even know where to start. First of all, for those of you who haven't read Assassin's Blade but were disappointed with Celaena's lack of Assassin-y skills, she surely redeems herself in the best ways possible in CoM. I won't go into detail because it is actually a wonderful aspect of the storyline, but Celaena really is the best of the best.

The world building gets deeper here, too. We learn little tiny tidbits about Celaena's past, how Adarlan came to rule and other things important to the story. Maas builds an even richer, more detailed world than what she gave us in ToG and Assassin's Blade. It also really brings together several different aspects, such as the assassin thing, the magic thing (which felt so displaced to me in book one), some other barely mentioned aspects from book one that take on a huge and amazing role in book 2. I love that Maas brings it all together. It's not one storyline per book with small connecting things along the way. No, it all matters, it all interconnects, so make sure you're paying close attention!

Also, there is Chaol. In case anyone was wondering who I ship, it's Celaena/Chaol. Pretty sure I've made that abundantly clear in the past but just in case.. ya know.. it's Chaol. CHAOL CHAOL CHAOL. This book has all wonderful things Chaol. The great part is that Dorian isn't all of a sudden cut out and forgotten just because great Chaol-things happen. Actually, some really awesome, important Dorian things happen. I just happen to heavily ship Celaena/Chaol.

Crown of Midnight basically builds you all the way freaking up, just to tear you the hell down. Like, rips your soul right out of your body. Yes, bad things happen. It's an epic fantasy series, so I know you weren't expecting things to be all hunky dory. But it is for a reason. A really, really important reason, and I forgive you Sarah J. Maas for ending me the way you did.


     THE BREAKDOWN

RATING: ★★★★★ - Absolutely loved it!

When I started Throne of Glass a few months ago, I didn't think I'd find my new favorite fantasy series. I didn't think I'd find another set of books that keep me on the edge of my seat the entire time I'm reading them, a ship that would make me f*cking cry when happy things are happening, characters that I become way too attached to, a main character I admire and identify with (I love that she's such a brat sometimes. Like me! Oh and she's a bit of a book worm), etc., etc.

Seriously, I hope this review finds its way into the hands of readers who are on the fence about Throne of Glass, people who kind of liked it but want to see what Celaena is capable of and see this series at its full potential. Well I'm telling you right now, everything you were hoping for in ToG takes off at such a high level in CoM that there is no way for you to be disappointed. I promise, you'll go from on the fence to absolutely in love right from the beginning of CoM.

I'm currently reading Heir of Fire and I can't to talk about it with those of you who have read or are reading as well. So If you haven't read CoM, get your ass up and read it, so you can move on to the epically epicness of HoF!

Have you read Crown of Midnight? I'd love to know what you thought of this one, especially in comparison to Throne of Glass and with/without having read The Assassin's Blade. As you can tell, I'm obsessed. I want to know what you thought!



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